Gundam Converge 033 : Return of the Red Comet

In 2020 Bandai released two Char Aznable-themed box sets loaded with red figures from his career. Here comes the spiritual successor to those sets, now centered on Full Frontal - "the second coming of Char" - and some of his battle steeds from the Unicorn era. The set shipped through the Premium Bandai program in March 2023 and was priced at ¥5400.


The box is the typical single colour affair that we usually see in the CORE program, albeit in a red tint instead of the usual black. A QR code leading to the online build instructions is well recommended to visit since no build instructions are included inside and there are a few pieces that might confuse you.


There is no way I would get the bags back in the box in such a neat order. By the way, what is up with that weird star marking inside the lid?


MSN-06S Sinanju


We'll start with the star of the show, the mighty Sinanju. And it is looking really good too. The mobile suit is for some reason rarely seen in Converge. It made its initial appearance as a retail figure in 2011 and was then followed by more expensive offerings in the SP, EX and now CORE program respectively. This figure is actually a reissue of the 2018 EX Sinanju Full Weapon Set figure but with metallic paint and some additional markings for the heck of it, which is par for the course when it comes to CORE.

Comparison of the components with the 2023 CORE figure on top and the older EX figure from 2018 at the bottom. As you can see there has been no major upgrade to the figure except the painting, and that the original figure's assembly instructions are now omitted in paper form.


We have had some questionable level of quality control on many recent Gundam Converge releases but I am happy to report that the figures I received in this set look immaculate. Not sure if the quality is consistent since I got a real stinker through Converge CORE as late as last winter.


There are a lot of cool optional armaments included with the figure; you can see some of the optional weapon choices above. Bonus points for Bandai here, they included a lot of nice translucent effect parts. Notice that the beam axes are included as regular handheld weapons and in a combined form forming a naginata, where a right hand has been molded directly onto the weapon. The proportions of some of these weapons make it tricky to pose them when the figure is standing flatly on the ground.


You can pick the beam rifle apart to attach the bazooka as an underslung grenade launcher. The beam axes also fit on the shield making it really tricky to wield unless you put the figure on the flying stand.


I have moaned about the excessive length of some weapons on the recent Converge figures and I don't think these oversized weapons are well suited for the average Converge figure. In the case of the Sinanju the oversized gear works better when the suit is being held up in the air.


Even though the original Sinanju Full Weapon Set figure was released two years into the new Converge #Sharp series the figure retains the first generation clear support piece that clips to its ankles rather than the redesigned pegged bases that were introduced with #Sharp. Its flight stand has received a small modification; one of the corners at the top of the bases now has a little extra tip that reaches up towards the figure to help keep it in place.


Side by side view with the original EX23 Full Weapon Set figure. Your opinion might vary as to which colour variant is the best - personally I mainly like the new figure's metallic gray weapons over the old ones.


The Sinanju began its life as a rather orange basic figure with no shield released in Converge volume 4 in September of 2011. It returned in dark red metallic colour as an SP figure in August 2012 with its bazooka attachment and a really nicely painted shield. The Full Weapon Set figure appeared as EX23 in August 2018 and now almost five years later we have the metallic colour version of it on offer. Who knows if and when it will make another Converge appearance?





MSN-06S Sinanju Stein (Unicorn ver.)


Ever since I laid eyes on its 1:220 STANDart figure the Stein has been one of my favourite suits and I love Bandai for bringing it back one more time. This time we are getting a really bright white Unicorn version as opposed to the medium gray we saw on both the original and revisited Narrative version figures. I definitely prefer the gray figure but hey, it is nice to have something different. The Stein's heavy beam rifle came out of the box a bit bent but otherwise in great shape.


The Stein comes with a more traditional level of accessories and a modern #Sharp action base. An optional closed left hand fist is also included which is a neat touch (most Converge figures will have a closed left hand so it is actually the left holding hand that is novel here).


I'm really digging the new beam saber accessories included with the figure although I will stick to using just one and a shield, leaving one as possible salvage for another Converge figure, the white Gaplant for example comes to mind.


The Sinanju Stein was released in December 2018 in its Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative appearance style. You can see subtle sculpt changes in the two figures everywhere. We of course also have the Sinanju stuck inside the Neo Zeong II (EX27, released in September 2019). I was lazy here and uploaded an old photo rather than putting them all in the same frame since the Neo Zeong II currently has the Narrative Gundam inside it. Perhaps I should buy another one but I am holding out waiting for the inevitable CORE metal colour Neo Zeong II...





AMS-119C Geara Doga (Full Frontal use)


The last figure in the trio is a figure I had plan to convert for a while now so now I can finally focus that energy somewhere else. We are basically looking at a repaint of Rezyn Schnyder's Geara Doga from Converge #04 (October 2016) but with a brand new accessory, the Sturmgewehr-stylized beam machine gun. This figure was also out for the longest time in the STANDart figure series so it is nice to finally see it pop up in Converge.


We get a lot of optional weapons for the Geara Doga but all have been seen in Converge before except the new custom machine gun. If I were to make a request it would have been for the tips of the Sturmfaust to be painted orange but I don't know if Frontal's machine carried them in the first place anyway.


Display of the various weapon systems on offer. It would have been nice if the Geara Doga had also received an optional left hand able to hold weapons for some interesting combinations.


The mass production type Geara Doga first appeared in Converge #03 in July 2016 and featured two optional head sculpts as seen on display here. Rezyn Schnyder's custom blue machine followed in Converge #04 in October of the same year and now we have a full line-up some six and a half years later.







When Bandai released the new Guntank figure in Converge #11 they included a base without a peg for it to stand on. I think that could have been a nice compromise also for the Sinanju figure in this set. It still baffles me that Converge and Ensemble throw in completely different looking bases from time to time.





Conclusion

In summary, this is an excellent figure set and from what I have seen it is in great shape also from a quality control perspective. Still, it might be of limited interest to those who already own the Perfect Weapon Set Sinanju, unless you are also dying for a Full Frontal custom Geara Doga. The set is currently selling for ¥7000 over at Mandarake and is probably going to climb a bit further so I wouldn't sleep on it if you plan to pick one up.