Seika Sharpener Collection EX : RX-178 Gundam Mk-II (Chara-Hobby 2004 Limited)

I recently had the good fortune to stumble on a set of Seika figures that I didn't even know existed. The Seika Sharpener line (EX to be precise) has been featured here once before and they are some of the more difficult to find Gashapon-size figures out there. These figures are soft plastic fully-painted statues glued on top of hexagonal bases with a little pencil sharpener underneath. I believe Seika has also produced sharpener figure sets based on other franchise licenses but I haven't really bothered to investigate further.


Seika began producing much smaller Gundam-themed pencil sharpener figures around 2002 and soon followed them up with the larger figures around 2004. To my knowledge there is only a single set of EX Sharpener figures themed on different Zeta Gundam mobile suits, released in 2004. One of those figures was the RX-178 Gundam Mk-II in A.E.U.G. colours and this Chara-Hobby limited edition from the same year features the same figure repainted in Titans colours. I don't know what the figure cost back then but I bet they weren't particularly pricey. As you can see the figures come in generic boxes with a sticker identifying the unit number variant housed inside.


Each figure is further protected in a plastic bag with the right arm held in a separate smaller bag. The arm is designed to go on the shoulder in a specific way and so you have no posing options at all unless you want to modify the figure.


Whenever I see these old fully painted Gashapon figures it saddens my heart to look at the current era excuses we have for Gashapon and Shokugan figures. Just look at all this detail. The only modification I would consider is painting the leg thruster exhausts black but I decided against messing with them right now. Sadly, i don't own the white A.E.U.G. figure to compare the painting detail level but from what I have seen online they appear to be at the same level of detail.


Here is the full trio side by side. Only the unit number differs between the figures. It sure would have been cool if Seika had created optional arms with a beam saber and a bazooka but I can well imagine that such extravaganza was way out of the budget for a gimmicky figure series such as this. If you really wanted to it should be possible to dig up a suitably sized bazooka from the Gashapon HG figure line if you fancy a bit of modification.


The EX sharpener line is rated at roughly 1:280 although individual differences exist, considering the standardized sizes of packaging and bases that should come as little surprise. This line-up features a 1:300 Ground Type Gundam from Strategy of Gundam and the RMS-154 Barzam from the 1:400 Gundam Collection Gashapon series. The sharpener figures are unfortunately a bit of an anomaly outside of most of the common figure scales (not to mention the bases they come on) but are great miniature statues that will naturally appeal to anyone with an eye for lovingly detailed Gashapon figures.

Mobile Suit Ensemble EX 29 : GN-005 Gundam Virtue Set

Now that the Trans-Am color-versions of most of the 00 Gundam figures are in the process of being delivered I figured I should get my act together and finally get a review out on the old Virtue set which has been sitting unbuilt for ages now. It did take me quite a bit of effort to secure a copy I recall. The figure first appeared at the end of summer 2021 but it took me a full year before finally securing a copy on the secondary market. During that time the price had gone up from the P-Bandai ¥4950 to ¥7000 which is a nasty price to pay for an Ensemble figure and now in 2023 it is almost the standard for an EX figure, just look at the recent God Gundam and Master Gundam for example.


The box is of the smaller and lighter end as far as EX figures go. I noticed that there is no good clear image of what the Virtue figure will actually look like when it is fully assembled which I found rather odd.


At first glance it doesn't look to be very complicated. The bag count is only twice that of a normal retail figure and there are no real stand-out fancy looking components that immediately grab your attention.


One reason I had been holding off on actually building this figure is the overwhelming amount of components and the fact that there are not components for one but two different figures in here. I started out the other way around this time, building the accessories and option parts first, to cut down on the number of components to get a better idea of what I was actually supposed to be doing. One of the big questions I had going in was if there would be enough components to build both the Nadleeh and the Virtue, to give some bang for the buck spent on it. Well, let's follow the assembly instructions in order. First, Bandai wants you to construct the Nadleeh:


GN-004 Gundam Nadleeh


Ok, I admit I glanced ahead in the instructions and the first thing I saw was that to continue with the Virtue you had to immediately start pulling the Nadleeh figure apart again. I wasn't having any of that so here are some photos of the identical figure from the retail figure line, the GN-004 figure from Ensemble Part 17, released in March 2021. You'll notice that the figure has not been revised to match the new frame but is still using the version one connector pieces with slightly less movable shoulders.


The Nadleeh comes armed with plain looking GN Beam Rifle and a very narrow GN Shield. It can also utilize the two GN Beam Cannons normally attached to the Virtue's backpack, either handheld or attached to its shoulders. The Beam Cannons were not included with the retail figure but where found in that wave's Equipment Pack, so keep that in mind if this is something you would like to go seek out.


There is not a whole lot to say about this figure which hasn't already been covered before. It is a nice if slightly boring looking figure but it is a very unusual figure choice and I am delighted to have one but the figure from Part 17 will not be getting a sibling out of the EX29 set unless you skip on building the Virtue entirely, so you are better off hunting for the retail Nadleeh figure instead. Here you can see the leftover parts belonging to the Nadleeh after you have put the Virtue together. In my opinion Bandai may as well have skipped including these parts entirely if they couldn't bear the cost of including the missing parts from the retail figure - why not have the retail Nadleeh figure reissued and chucked it inside the box?





GN-002 Dynames and GN-003 Kyrios Option Parts


Before we look at the Virtue proper let's just quickly cover the option parts included for the rest of the Celestial being crew. There are two main accessories to be found here. One is the container-like Tail Unit which you can attach to the rear end of either the Kyrios or Dynames - using the corresponding connector pieces also included. The pack can be loaded up with various ordnance for use primarily against ground targets. It gives the Kyrios figure a kind of Wasp-like appearance and the Dynames just looks odd with it sticking out of its rear. The enormous Super Substratospheric Altitude Gun on the other hand is much cooler and comes with a bendy plastic connector to a large GN Condenser unit. Apologies for making this part of the review a bit bare bones but I didn't want to go through the trouble of trying to line everything up but you should be getting a good idea of how you can customize the two mobile suits further.




GN-005 Gundam Virtue


Alright, so time for the main event. The Virtue figure is actually a heavily parts-swapped Nadleeh figure featuring clip on armor that attaches over the Nadleeh's arms, legs and skirt armor. We have seen attachable leg armor in Ensemble before, but not like this with armor parts that connect to each other and dangle freely around the lower legs of the figure. I feel really uncomfortable about this approach and would much have preferred a completely unique figure without parts swapping but I know there will be different strokes for different folks.


The GN Bazooka can be displayed in a deployed mode by switching around the L-shaped connector piece that attaches the lower barrel to the main body of the gun and then extending the gold shaped pieces forward. I don't think it looks particularly attractive or convincing to be honest. The second picture shows the GN Beam Cannons still attached to the backpack assembly but rotated forward.


The clear base comes with two different supports for the GN Bazooka, one suitable for supporting the weapon when the figure is floating above the base attached to the typical Ensemble groin-connector piece and one for when the figure stands directly on top of the base. Simple but effective. Once again, sorry for not going through the motions of trying to whip up a cool pose for the figure here, I don't display my figures on bases if I can avoid it. My inner eye just saw a lot of pieces flying off left, right and center if I were to try to align those bulky arms to both hold on to the weapon...


Comparison photo with the Converge Virtue from 2018. As mentioned before I would have preferred if the Ensemble Virtue don't use clip-on leg armor and featured solid legs like the Converge figure.


Bandai are currently busy re-releasing the 00 suits in Trans-Am colours with the Exia and Dynames out already and the Kyrios up next in May. I haven't seen any indication that the Nadleeh will be given this treatment (it was released in a separate wave together with the Double Zeta and the two Jagd Dogas) but you can look forward to it and the Virtue popping up in a new Trans-Am colour Virtue set in June.



Conclusion

All in all I am not hugely impressed with the Virtue Set, considering value for money. Frankly I think the Nadleeh and the Virtue would have done fine as two regular figures in a retail wave supported by a third box with equipment like the GN Bazooka and maybe a few pieces tossed in to the regular wave equipment pack. Premium Ensemble fatigue is definitely becoming a thing.

SD Gundam Full Color Stage 20 - Gundam Special

Stage 20 was released in October 2000 and - according to the Bandai page - serves as a 4-year jubilee for the series as a whole. This doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to me. As far as I can tell the Full Color series was launched in October 1997, effectively making this the three year anniversary (unless you count full years on your fingers I guess). The set is themed as the "Gundam Special" featuring only mobile suits with the word Gundam in their names.


Not much assembly to be done here. Most of the figures are fully assembled from scratch and feature the odd articulated limb or head here and there.



104 : RX-78-3 Gundam G-3


Surprisingly, there is no RX-78 in this set but we do get its cousin the G-3 in its place. This is the first of only two G-3s to feature in the Full Color series; first appearance though was actually as a promo figure for the Comic BomBom magazine in 1999. This figure is the darkest of all the G-3 figures and the best looking in my opinion.


G-3s from left to right: Stage 20 (October 2000), "Stage 0" (Comic BomBom promo from 1999), Stage 63 (February 2006) and a more articulated version from the Full Color Custom series (Volume 14, November 2007).






105 : FA-78-1 Full Armor Gundam (Ver.1.0)


Stage 20 premieres the Full Armor Gundam from the MSV design series. The super compact format of the SD series means its colours are vastly reduced to olive green with some orange detail on its front skirt. Unarmored sections in white are completely absent which makes the figure quite dark but at least it stands out in your collection...


The Full Armor Gundam exists in two variants in the Full Color series - its blue variant was released later in Stage 29 in November 2001. The green suit also returns in SD Full Color Custom Stage 12 in 2007 but I don't have that figure at hand for a comparison. Interestingly the Full Armor Gundam is not present at all in the slightly larger NEXT/DASH/Senshi Forte-family, although it popped up in both colour variants in the Micro Wars line in 2020 just as that series folded.






106 : MSZ-006 Z Gundam (Ver.3.0)


This is the third appearance of the Z Gundam and the first time for it to wield a beam saber. I think this is one of the best variants in the SD line; the sculpt is not overly clumsy and there is a lot of nice colour on it.


There are quite a few Zetas in the SD Full Color series and their colours and proportions vary wildly as you can see from the combatants on display here.

Top row: Stage 12 (December 1999), Stage 60 with a Hyper Mega Launcher and curiously upside down colour scheme on its shield (October 2005), flying with beam Emitter from Stage 49 (May 2004), a bulky saber-wielder from Stage 44 (October 2003) and in Waverider form entering atmosphere (Stage 63, February 2006).

Bottom row: A Waverider with Hyper Mega Launcher released together with the Stage 12 figure (the weapons are interchangeable), a Karaba-colours Zeta Plus (Stage 33, May 2002), a very pale-looking dual wielder (Full Color Custom 15, January 2008), Saber-boy from this set and the first ever full color Zeta from Stage 8 (April 1999).






107 : RX-178 Gundam Mk-II (A.E.U.G.) (Ver.2.0)


We have another saber-rattler from Zeta in the set. The white Mk-II makes it second appearance here (third if you count the Super Gundam in Stage 12, Bandai doesn't...) with an unusual pose with the beam saber in its left hand and the right hand firmly clenched. While the figure is mostly white the differently coloured Vulcan headband and backpack improves its look from all angles. Just like with the Z Gundam, I think the figure in this set is the one with the best proportions of the bunch out there. It can be hard to get a decent balance between head size, shoulder width and so on in SD figures but I think Stage 20 is absolutely killing it in this regard.


There are a lot of different loadouts for the Mk-II figures in the SD line-up. Top row left to right: The Super Gundam variant from Stage 12, a very green-eyed Mk-II from Stage 27 (also compatible with the G-Defenser figure from that same wave) and a Gundam riding on Flying Armor from Stage 45. The bottom row has an awkwardly posed saber-wielder from Stage 48, the Stage 20 figure and the very first A.E.U.G. Mk-II carrying a bazooka from Stage 7.






108 : GF13-017NJ Shining Gundam (Battle Mode ver.)


Stage 20 also introduces the first two faces from the Mobile Fighter G Gundam television series. There aren't a whole lot of these suits in the SD series and most of them are variants on the Shining or God Gundam. In its first outing we get a rather nicely painted Shining Gundam with its left arm stretched out ready to deliver a painful "Shining Shot" from its twin forearm beam guns.


The Shining Gundam returns in Stage 33 in Super Mode form and as a rather diminutive figure in the short lived SD Gundam Bind series' third volume released in 2009.






109 : GF13-001NHII Master Gundam


You can't say Shining Gundam without immediately summoning a Master Gundam figure to give it some tough love. The black Gundam with its signature head shape comes in a ready for battle pose and wings folded on its back. As figures go it isn't the most interesting but I always love figures that come in a strikingly different colour and in that regard the Master Gundam delivers.


The Master Gundam has a second appearance in Full Color Stage 32 where it gets to go up against the God Gundam (and being aided by Fuunsaiki). The two figures are remarkably similar in pose which is a bit disappoinitng. The easiest way to tell them apart is that the version-2 figure sports yellow paint apps on its chest vents.


As quirky as the G Gundam mobile suits often are, I think the SD figure range is the perfect battleground for them to prosper. It is a shame that not more of them were scattered out among the Full Color sets. Imagine how cool it would be to have a couple of extra fighters like the Spiegel and the Dragon Gundam and some Death Army minions for them to clobber - truly a missed opportunity.




Conclusion

Personally I tend to gush over figure sets that feature army builder grunt-style suits but there is no denying that Stage 20 is a great mix of well-executed SD-figures. I get the impression that the SD series peaked somewhere in the volume 25-30 range, at least those figures tend to be the ones I encounter the most and these don't appear to be nearly as common. You will most likely come across them in mixed lots on auction sites or as the occasional set on secondary market sites like Mandarake. I picked up one such set there last year for ¥1000. As usual, mark ups tend to be way more aggressive outside of Southeast Asia so keep that in mind before overspending.