What is this, another legacy figure set? What happened to the recent releases from Ensemble and Mobility Joint, even Converge has some new releases out? Well, they are in various stages of being shipped and assembled (and some of the pricy ones I will be skipping entirely). The darkest season of the year is also limiting the time available for photography so things always move a bit slow here in the winter. Instead I have dug up one of the old Full Color sets from the archives, this one hailing from September 1998 - just barely missing its 25th anniversary. The SD figure range is not what it used to be and at this point I question if we can really say it is still alive. I suppose Gashapon Senshi Forte hasn't been technically confirmed dead but we have now gone a full year without any new releases, and I don't think that the Mobility Joint figures can be considered a proper successor (even though I am sure Bandai does). Anyway... on with the review.
Like most of the early SD figures the articulation and moving parts are both limited in these designs. Some of the figures will have fixed heads and arms while others can swivel, sometimes only one of the arms will be movable for example.
025 : RX-78-2 Gundam (Ver 5.0)
Let's start with the easily most uninteresting figure in the box, the Gundam. Why least interesting? Because each of the early sets kept a spot for it on the roster so we're already up to five different poses which is getting a bit samey. I guess on the plus-side, if you were designing a miniatures game this would be an excellent player character choice since it has many weapon options to choose from. The most standout thing about this particular figure is the expressive left hand which gives a few ideas for diorama posing as well as the fact it is lacking a shield (and support for one).
026 : RB-79 Ball (Ver.1.0)
The first stages of the Full Color line was basically going through the One Year War chronologically and at this point we have reached the end-phase where some of the big boys are coming out. Not so frightening but appearing in greater number is the Federation Ball, a circular shaped coffin for its unlucky pilot. The SD figure has some problems with its arms that are prone to bending into the centre obscuring its greatest painted feature. It has no support for the traditional SD action base, presumably because it wasn't invented yet. A lot of the early mobile armour figures share the same issue.
A properly based Ball (a pair actually, insert your own joke here) appear in SD Full Color Stage 47 but they aren't too exciting either. The Gashapon Warrior NEXT line did it right with a completely cleaned up design, but that would be 15 years into the future...
027 + 028 : RX-77-2 Guncannon (Ver.2.0 + Ver.3.0) (Unit 108 and 109)
I'm being a bit lazy here reviewing two different figures as one, after all it is only the unit number that differs between them. We've seen the mobile suit already, but this time around the design has been spiced up with said numbering; Kai and Hayato now also have beam rifles to protect themselves after using up all their cannon rounds.
A selection of Guncannon units, from left to right: The first version from Stage 1 released in October 1997, the two units from Stage 5, a The Origin retcon predecessor RX-77-1 (that designation is still a headache, I went over it in the review of Stage 36) and the 4.0 version of the RX-77-2 from Stage 25 which can now swivel its cannons since they are attached to the head instead of the backpack.
029 : MS-06R-2 Zaku II High Mobility Type (Johnny Ridden Custom)
Bandai mixes and matches from different sources in this set. Just like the two Guncannons, Ridden's High Mobility Type doesn't appear in the original television series and instead leads a complicated life in the background lore of various MSV and manga accounts. Whatever its fate the red blitz really doesn't need any introduction, it is such an iconic design that the developers couldn't wait to throw it into SD form. I am not particularly fond of figures with the monoeye shifted to one side, I always prefer the centre view. The many fins on the High Mobility Zaku also blend into its legs making the figure look a bit blander than it really is.
The R-2 may have appeared early but you had to wait until October 2007 to get your hands on Ridden's High Mobility Type Gelgoog (released in the SD Full Color Custom series, wave 13). The Zaku appears again as a tiny figure in the rare SD Gundam Bind series in 2009 (I don't have one at hand) and then unfortunately skips all the Gashapon Warrior figure series until its last show in Mobility Joint volume 1 in 2022. Rough times, Johnny.
030 : MS-14A Gelgoog (Ver.1.0)
Another glorious Zeon design that I don't think we see often enough is the Gelgoog powerhouse. Being at the pinnacle of the One Year War tech tree this baby comes armed with beam weaponry, in this case a less practical but cool looking Beam Naginata. Of course you will see figures with various bends on the weapon but for the most part they stay somewhat in shape. I love this figure but it is a pity it doesn't have a shield on its back. The Gelgoog also returns with a beam rifle on a flying base in Stage 47.
031 : MSN-02 Perfect Zeong
The Zeong made its first appearance in Stage 4 and here it is again in Stage 5 after having had time to attach its legs. I have to say the figure has a lot of nice paint detail, especially the yellow rims on its hands. Again that thing with the side-looking mono-eye, but at least we have options here. I also like that the legs are an easily removable part so that you can transform your figure into the basic MSN-02 Zeong if you like.
various incarnations of the Zeong from left to right: The OG variant from previously mentioned Stage 4 (released two months earlier in July 1998), our Stage 5 Perfect Zeong, the version 3.0 figure with High Mobility Gear from Stage 48 (April 2004) and the goto-version of the Perfect Zeong from the SD Full Color DX line, released with a little Char pilot figurine. There is also a flying base Zeong figure in Stage 37 which I am currently waiting for to arrive, it will pop up here on the blog eventually.
Conclusion
SD Full Color Stage 5 is one of your typical early Full Color sets, with the less articulated but larger and arguably more chunky looking figures. It is a solid SD FC set and has several classic suits and armours that you don't want to miss out on if you are in to the original U.C. 0079 saga.
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