Gundam Converge CORE 037 : Side Story 0079 Rise From the Ashes - White Dingo Team

When Bandai announced that the White Dingo Team was coming to Converge I blew as gasket somewhere in my head and had to pinch myself really hard. I tend to go hard on Bandai for their lacklustre premium releases (the recent "marking plus" versions of the Full Armor ZZ Gundam and Queen Mansa come to mind) but there is still a lot of good releases coming out in 2023 and this one is certainly in the top echelon. The CORE 037 premium box set shipped to pre-order customers in September and was priced at ¥5450. I was lucky to find a set on the secondary market for ¥7000, I had honestly expected it to be worse. Premium releases such as these tend to be high in demand shortly after release but sometimes come down in price as availability begins to outpace customers with a bad case of FOMO.


The CORE box-art is usually very sparse. While the typical Converge figure comparative stats are nowhere to be seen (as on most CORE releases) I was pleased to see that here each figure has a little introductory text associated with it. Of course, in Japanese only.


The box is packaged tight with eight plastic bags folded up and crammed inside. As usual with the Converge bags your hands will feel disgustingly sticky after handling them but it doesn't affect the figures held inside.


Parts and accessories as distributed per plastic bag. Except for the add-ons fo the Hover Truck the other two bags consist of a generous load of weapon and shield options, I am really only missing one or two beam sabers here (should be salvageable from other Converge figures I guess but still... it would have been icing on the cake).


As usual of late, there is no printed assembly instruction leaflet included in the package, instead Bandai want you to go to their website and find a pdf there, download it for future reference...


This is the official artwork for the mobile suits in the White Dingo squad. Notice the colours used and how the Converge figures go for a light blue and grey palette rather than the off-white and almost greenish grey. I watched some in-game footage of Rise From the Ashes and would say that the suits are generally medium to dark grey with a bit of a violet tinge depending on the ambient light. The game's cover image sports GMs painted in flat light and medium grey. Bottom line: Make of it what you will. The various insignia and markings on the other hand seem to be very precise and spot-on across the figures down to the letter.


I think a few words on the SEGA Dreamcast game is also in order. Released back in 1999 it also stands out for having an English translation released the following year. It sees the player taking on the job of Lieutenant Master Pierce Rayer because of course that is what his mother named him. You are tasked with selecting mobile suit and equipment of choice for both you and your two squadmates. A Hover Truck provides additional sensors and communications support. You then bumble around the battlefield during the Australian liberation campaign in what looks like a really fun if a bit limited simulation. It is not quite MechWarrior standard, its style reminds me more of the old Sierra gem Earthsiege II.



RGM-79 GM (White Dingo Team Custom)


The GM is your basic mobile suit choice and starts running around on the battlefield with either a YHI YF-MG100 100mm machine gun or the 6-round BLASH HB-L-03/N-STD Hyper Bazooka. You also get to choose between the sturdy FADEGEL RGM-M-Sh-003 basic shield or the fanged YHI RGM-S-Sh-WF/S-00109 Shield which also has some limited use in melee combat. All these weapons are available to you through the extra equipment bags but the basic figure comes in a bag with the bazooka or the Beam Spray Gun. I'm not sure if the gun will be introduced into the game at later stages but I didn't see it so far. Talking about the Converge figure in general the colour scheme is very attractive and the unit markings look very good overall. It is always a bit nerve wracking to see how the figures turn out when you take them out of the packaging but I had no bad surprises here.


The GM is a relative latecomer to the Converge #Sharp line but since its introduction in Converge #22 November 2021 it has already been given four appearances and I hope there will be more to come. The GM family is really large and Converge has only begun to dip its toes into that pond. Seen here from left to right are the Converge #22 basic GM, the Real Type Colour version from CORE 032 (February 2023), the Operation Jaburo version with camouflage pattern base (June 2023) and the new White Dingo Team version.






RGC-80 GM Cannon (White Dingo Team Custom)


Next up is a brand new sculpt for Converge #Sharp. The GM Cannon is the GM's bigger brother with additional armour and an over the shoulder 24cm cannon. Our Converge figure carries what I believe is a prototype beam rifle (the shape is reminiscent of the BLASH XBR-M-79E rifle used by the Ez-8, one such rifle is also included in this set as an optional accessory) but in game the suit starts out with the same armament options as the basic GM. The generous inclusion of extra weaponry and shields lets you kit the figures to your preference although the beam weaponry is a bit limited. You also get an optional left holding hand to let the machine dual wield, mainly intended for the 100mm Machine Guns although you are free to go crazy here. I love the look of the dark grey armour on the lower legs and the two GM figure designs complement each other well on display. Be careful with its two antennas that you have to cut away from a little sprue. Those peg holes are really tiny and the antennas were not a solid fit. I consider cutting the pegs off entirely and gluing the antennas into place but so far haven't dared to mess with these expensive figures. :)


The GM Cannon was featured in the old Converge generation in volume 15 as figure 91 (released June 2014), with a secret colour option. Lined up here from left to right is the basic MSV standard Earth Federation colour option, the special maroon-colour Jaburo Defense Team version seen briefly in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and the new White Dingo Team Custom. Notice that both the early figures are armed with the Beam Spray Gun.






RX-77D Guncannon Mass Production Type (White Dingo Team Custom)


Not initially available in the campaign the Mass Production Type Guncannon later joins in with its dual 240cm cannons attached to the backpack. The figure is packaged with one 100mm machine gun and also includes an option left hand to enable it to wield two. I have some minor issues on my figure with the antennas that go into the back of the head. These do not fit the peg hole squarely and so bulge out a little which in turn affects the backpack. This can be address with a knife but care should be exercised so as not to cut away too much, as I noticed that some of the pegs are rather loose on the White Dingo figures.


I really didn't expect to see the Mass Production Guncannon make it to Converge but it arrived in a flurry of War in the Pocket-themed releases in 2020. The standard colour variant is a retail release from Converge #20 and arrived in September 2020.






RGM-79SP GM Sniper II (White Dingo Team Custom)


The last suit in the team is the advanced Sniper II variant which can trace its pedigree to the GM Command family. It has a very distinct colour scheme that stands out from the other suits in this set and is of course armed with a massive long range BLASH XBR-X-79YK beam rifle. The figure's hand is moulded directly onto the rifle but you do get an optional right hand which lets the suit pick up any of the other weapons. he suit also has its own distinct shield type but feel free to swap the shields around if you want.


Side by side with the standard blue GM Sniper II figure from Converge #19. Notice the various changes to the design, besides the shield swap we also have a Vulcan Pod attached to the right side of the head and the GM Sniper II's standard Franz EF-KAR98K 75mm Sniper Rifle (not an obvious World War II-reference at all, they may just as well have called it Fritz...) is replaced with the BLASH XBR-X-79YK (the latter is also used by the RGM-79[G] GM Sniper).


The Gundam Converge GM Command family currently consists of the GM Command and GM Command Space Type (both released in Converge #18 in March 2020), the standard colour Sniper II (Converge #19, released in June 2020) and the new White Dingo machine. If we are stretching it we also have the related RGM-79SC Sniper Custom (a Converge-classic from volume 9 released in December 2012) based on the basic GM. If Bandai will finally turn its eye to The 08th MS Team - maybe we could also see the green RGM-79[G] GM Sniper (which belongs to the Ground Type Gundam family) as well.






Type 74 Hover Truck (White Dingo Team Custom)


The Type 74 - or more accurately the M353A4 Bloodhound - is a 4-crew support vehicle that runs around the ankles of your average mobile suit but is not intended to partake in combat. Lightly armed with a 20mm Vulcan cannon on a swivelling turret the machine instead sports a ground sonar detection suite and a retractable antenna. Its designation implies there are many variants of this vehicle but to my knowledge none have appeared in any media so far. This particular unit, callsign "Oasis", comes in a light beige colour with the White Dingo emblem on its left side (I would be really happy if Bandai would produce the standard grey colour variant). The fine sculpting on this model is incredibly detailed; those little window slits are crazy small and mess with my brain. Not so appealing though are the two antennae that need to go into very tiny peg holes on the turret sides. This did not go perfectly and once again I considered chopping off the pegs and gluing them in place.


We've had multiple Hover Trucks released in the part couple of years and the line-up now includes vehicles of all shapes and sizes, not to mention colour. Seen here from left to right are two accurately scaled Bloodhounds in 1/350 and 1/300 scale from the Gsight and Strategy of Gundam lines, released 2003 and 2006 respectively. To the right of the Converge figure we see two deformed figures from Mobile Suit Ensemble Part 09 (March 2019) and MicroWars 02 (July 2019). As for special features; apart from the Converge machine the Strategy of Gundam figure has a gimmick that allows it to replace the storage area canvas tarp with a rotating anti-air turret (badass by the way), the Ensemble figure can deploy its Ground Sonar and the MicroWars figure has an opening cockpit seating two crew figures, or one soldier in the turret.






There is a lot of optional weapons for the mobile suits to pick and choose from. I am not going to go into great lengths about covering which weapons are intended for which suit, (consult the build instructions for more detail) but will just point out that the GM and the Guncannon both have an optional left holding hand which enables them to dual wield. The Sniper has an optional right hand which allows it to carry any of the other weapons used by the rest of the squad. Above you can see a random mix where everyone got new weapons and shields to give you an idea of the set's customization options. I am really tempted to get a second pack to be able to mix things up a bit like this.


The Hover Truck gets a set of option parts which sees it extend its front and rear dozer blades and deploy the Ground Sonar. I find it a bit peculiar that the sonar component is not long enough to reach the ground, I would have expected it to be a bit longer (the Ensemble figure has the same problem by the way). The telescopic antenna at the back of the vehicle can be raised but again, like the Ensemble figure this is pointless since it cannot extend to its full length. It would have been really cool to get an option part with the full antenna (which is something like 4 times as tall as the vehicle itself), I suppose it wouldn't be the most complex component to custom make though but still seems like an oversight from the designers. A premium figure set is the natural place to include such a component.






Conclusion

Can you tell I am salivating all over this thing already? I am really happy that Bandai are finally reaching for the easy pickings and doing these themed Converge CORE releases. Besides the various Char-themed multi-packs I have been really pleased with sets like this such as the Shrike Team from Victory or the Anavel Gato team from last year. In 2024 we will have another set centred around Shin Matsunaga and I wonder if Bandai have turned their eyes on Garma Zabi yet? I do realize however that this type of set is not for everyone and the price is a bit prohibitive, but when you consider the average prices of the standard retail figures on the secondary market these days the gap between retail and premium seems to shrink constantly.

Mobile Suit Ensemble Part 16.5

With the recent appearance of Trans-Am reissues of the Exia and Dynames in Part 15.5 it seemed a no-brainer that Bandai would recycle Ensemble Part 16 next. Still, with only the Kyrios really worthy of this treatment I wasn't sure they would really go through with it - I mean there isn't a whole lot you could do with the other suits in that particular wave. Well, Bandai thought it over, decided we can sell these figures with minimum change and churned out Part 16.5 in May 2023 while doing the same thing with Gundam Converge. At first I wasn't sure if I should bother with all the figures in this set but of course caved in once the figures started appearing...


Ensemble Part 16 first released in January 2021 and now comes back with some superficial changes as part 16.5. The set is available both as capsuled or boxed variants as usual and comes with a domestic price tag of ¥500 plus tax. The set contains a few non-obvious designs so be sure to check out the expanded build instructions provided by Bandai in video format on the tube (also linked to here).




159 : RX-93-v2 Hi-Nu Gundam


I guess you can always sell the Hi-Nu Gundam and so Bandai were content with simply alternating its colour scheme a bit. We've been seeing this slightly violet hue replacing the blue also in Converge of late and as far as I understand it this can be justified by early illustrations of the Hi-Nu being violet rather than blue which later became the gold standard. My camera had some issues picking up the correct violet tone which is why these pictures have a very reddish background and I couldn't be bothered trying to correct the latter. Beyond this colour swap there are none of those superfluous "Marking Plus" prints usually added to the Ensemble reissues.


The figure comes with a beam rifle and shield as well as the basic frame for the fin funnels which have been separated into the Part 16.5 equipment pack, seemingly for the hell of it rather than any practical concern.


The colour change becomes much more apparent when paired with the old blue figure from Ensemble Part 16, released two years earlier. The beam saber here also comes from the set's equipment pack.






160 : GN-003 Gundam Kyrios (Trans-Am)


Right... onto the main course of this release, and the entire reason that this set exists. The Kyrios figure is getting the coveted Trans-Am make-over where the white sections are now mildly pink and the orange sections come in a dark reddish purple colour. I thought the original figure was rather slick looking already but this is also a nice way to display the figure.


The Kyrios is also quite light on accessories but has a couple of extras in the equipment pack. When I put out the original review of Part 16 a reader pointed out that you can parts-swap the figure into its flight form. I didn't really dabble with it a whole lot and I would much prefer a dedicated flight form figure than trying to build it myself.


The OG figure from 2021 together with the Trans-Am variant from Ensemble Part 16.5. Now we are only missing the Nadleeh, which was released in wave 17 together with the ZZ Gundam and the two Jagd Dogas. Bit of a tricky set for Bandai to convert into a colour variation set so I think they will be content with letting you build the Trans-Am Nadleeh from the Trans-Am Virtue Set. This makes it a rather expensive treat unless you forgo making the trans-Am variant of the Virtue. I still think it was idiotic of Bandai not to give you enough parts to build both suits in that EX-set.






161 : SVMS-01O Over Flag (Marking Plus ver.)


So, what do we do with the two Union mass-production suits then? They have a very distinct black colour already and no, Bandai did not tamper with this but instead slapped on a couple of markings across their bodies. The Over Flag here has a rather nice looking Union insignia on its chest and some random white markings here and there, including a strange insignia on its head which at first glance looks like cracked glass. If you pay close attention to the booklet art you will also notice that the original figure from Part 16 holds its linear rifle in the right hand while the Part 16.5 figure holds it in the left. I guess this is to imply that it is now piloted by Graham Aker? Still, you can always make this unit a generic flight leader or something.


Unless you are really into the design of the two Union suits you might struggle a bit with the assembly; I find these some of the most confusing Ensemble figures to build without proper instructions. You are also likely to experience some pain with bent wings since these are made from soft plastic and don't enjoy being crammed into toy capsules.


While the "Marking Plus" additions don't really do much to modify the basic 2021 figure I have to say it looks better than I expected. Not enough though, to build another squad (unless they would become dirt cheap over time like the Graze figures).






162 : SVMS-01X Union Flag Custom II (aka "GN Flag") (Marking Plus ver.)


Of all the figures in this set I think the custom GN Flag is the one to benefit the least from this reissue. However, it does make the figure available again for a certain period if you missed it the first time around. Considering the very few cosmetic changes and the fact that this is not a mass-production type (not that this prevented me from building a squad of GN Flags...) leaves little reason to upgrade the old figure. We basically get a couple of tiny markings on the shoulders and a model designation on the left shin. The GN drive also has a red marking on its side, visible from above. It is still a really cool figure but the Part .5 thing continues to be a bit of a waste of resources since Bandai tied their hands around the wave equipment pack concept which makes tighter and more focused reissue sets a pipe dream.


I really found myself at a near loss of how to proceed when the pieces came out of the box the first time I saw the original figure. Back in those days Bandai didn't produce detailed instructions and I recall squinting really hard at the promotional pictures to figure out how on Earth to proceed with assembly. The concept of Internet-only instructions also seems like a questionable solution but I guess Bandai thinks of this as cheap product with a very limited lifetime at best.


Side-by-side with the original figure, there just isn't a whole lot of pimping the colour scheme on this thing other than changing the base colour which they thankfully avoided. I recall the SP version of the flag from early Gundam Converge sporting a brownish base colour for example, but here it remains black. Note that the open hand seen on the old figure is not included in this set but stolen from leftovers from another Ensemble figure (these should always be made available at least once in every equipment pack...).






163 : Equipment Set for Wave 16.5


The equipment set is mainly geared towards the Hi-Nu Gundam but there is something for everyone in here. While the other figures simply get new gear options the Hi-Nu figure also gains conversion parts to create the Heavy Weapons System Type. You'll want to pick up two Hi-Nu figures and two equipment packs if you want to display them side by side (you can scrape by on one equipment pack if you omit the Fin Funnels from the HWS machine).


The equipment pack completes the base Hi-Nu Gundam by adding its six Fin Funnel remote weapons as well as adding the Hyper Bazooka. The latter weapon can either be held in hand or attached to the centre section of the back pack. This creates a fair bit of additional weight on the backside, limiting the poses you will get out of the figure of course. A generic transparent beam saber is also included in the equipment pack which is also seen here.


The Heavy Weapons Suite involves some very basic parts swapping. You remove the front skirt and chest armour and then clip the additional armour and thrusters onto the legs and back skirt. The shield is also completely revamped and finally you have a pair of 4-missile packs atop the shoulders. The beam rifle is replaced with a beefier multi-part version made of soft plastic; you may encounter some issues with warped parts here but most of the HWS components are thankfully made of hard plastic.


Another side-by-side with the original 2021 version - the two are identical except for the blue to violet colour swap. I only picked up one unit of the Hi-Nu for the benefit of this review but I've got to say I am now considering getting another one to field both violet versions...


The Kyrios gets two types of gear options, the first of which is a pair of hand missile units. These things have a generic handle-bar that also serves as peg suitable for clipping the units into the elbow sockets of the machine, a neat option that the Gundam Converge variant of the figure can only tream about. Notice the completely different colour schemes between the two figure lines by the way.


The second option involves picking apart the Kyrios' E-carbon shield and transforming it into a claw-type weapon. I'm not a huge fan of this gimmick but I would have liked it better if Bandai had included a full set of components to create a second shield that could be attached to the right arm in this configuration.


The Union machines get to share the experimental XLT-04 200mm Linear Rifle (I have no idea if the Over Flag has the capacity to use it however) and a pair of transparent clear sonic blades (in what I guess might be the plasma sword configuration). I painted one of blades red as seen here but I believe the official colour is a light green.




Conclusion

What to make of this set? Well, unless you missed out on Part 16 I see little reason to dig into this particular wave unless you are after the Trans-Am version of the Kyrios to round out a pearly Celestial Being squad line-up. The other figures are all excellent but I don't think the slight re-vamp here warrants the price-tag if you happen to own the other figures already.