Gundam Converge CORE 038 : RX-93ff Nu Gundam x MSN-04FF Sazabi Set

We've all heard the phrase life imitates art. And there is much appreciation for the artistic endeavour of people who can bring the reality of suffering into inspirational works of art. This however, is something different. Here we have an example of life wanting to imitate art requiring art imitating life. What am I on about? Well the latest incarnations of the Nu Gundam and Sazabi of course, in their brand new "ff" forms. I would assume the abbreviation stands for Fin Funnel which would be odd, considering that the machines already made use of them before. The backstory here is actually quite funny and a bit of an eyebrow raiser.


As the Gunpla phenomenon continues to spread its tentacles across Japan (and elsewhere) new shops continue to spring up and in 2022 the Side-F store opened up to Fukuoka. Of course, the powers that be wanted a spiffy new life-size statue to draw the masses in - these are popping up everywhere as well it seems - and although a few of the good ones had already been taken there was still the mighty RX-93 Nu Gundam, one of the absolute icons of the franchise. However, it was quickly discovered that attempting to build the full RX-93 in all its glory would present wind-related issues, seeing as how the Fin Funnel pack is basically an enormous sail. Something needed to be done, and rather than going for a more aerodynamic mobile suit [insert your favourite suggestion here] the designers instead decided to dream up a new weapon option on the spot. The RX-93ff was born...


This premium release is the third life-size statue themed Converge product to follow on the hype. In December 2020 we saw the Yokohama Gundam Base RX-78F00 and in October 2021 the Shanghai GCP Version Freedom followed. On the spot today is the ff/FF pack which shipped to buyers in December 2023. I don't know the exact price as Bandai now likes to hide their premiums behind a regional wall and I can't be bothered to VPN around it, but the pair are currently selling at Mandarake for prices around ¥6000 to ¥6500.


The sleek and rather flimsy box is not supported by stiff cardboard rather the bags are packed tightly in a custom size bubble wrap bag, which should keep your item nice and tight. P-Bandais are of course also shipped in an outer brown cardboard box when shipping but I don't have one on hand. The gum is included of course, because how else could you call it a candy toy?


Each figure comes with two classic weapons as well as the new ff/FF funnel kits. I am especially pleased to see the Sazabi's Beam Shot Rifle included here, an item previously only available for the figure packaged in the Trail of the Red Comet box set (CORE 022). When I first saw the QR-blurb on the packaging advertising for the build instructions I steeled myself a bit, but thankfully there are only two official modes to build for each figure. No instructions are included in the box so download yourself a copy of the assembly guide for future reference here.



RX-93ff Nu Gundam


Now then, on to the figures. We're starting with the new ff-variant Nu Gundam and you will immediately notice it has a massive profile change due to its new backpack. The rest of the figure is very traditional Nu however, except that this sculpt is not based on the original #Sharp mold, you know the one with the annoying holes in its shoulders and legs to fit the Heavy Weapons suite. The suit has also received new variant colours in a beautiful dark blue, insignias have also been colour-swapped and a couple of extras have been strewn all over the frame to make it something new. I like the French colours on the forward skirt but I think that the rainbow-style pattern on the traditional Amuro-logos swing and miss. With no roots in the Gundam lore I don't care that much to be honest, this is a gimmicky kind of figure after all.


So, what the new weapon? Well, it is a single long range Fin Funnel remote unit that can also swing forward over the shoulder. To accomplish this you exchange the front section of the weapon into its open mode and swap out the piece connecting the funnel to the backpack. As you can well imagine, such a thin and long component is a prime candidate for warping, and the open funnel component on my figure droops forward a bit. Beyond this weapon we have the traditional beam rifle and beam saber but not Hyper Bazooka as it would now be impossible to store it in the traditional centre-slot of the backpack.


Side-to-side comparison with the OG Converge #Sharp Nu Gundam which released as figure number 120 in the opening salvo of Converge #Sharp in December 2015. Notice how the shoulders (and the legs) have been cleaned up with a new mold that get rids of the adapters for the Nu Gundam Heavy Weapons System. Better late than never...


The Converge #Sharp-family currently counts eight different variants, with the new figure being the first blue colour variant. I wouldn't mind seeing a "traditional" blue Nu Gundam figure complete with Funnels and Bazooka (there is one such blue variant in the old Converge SP-01 pack).

Top-row, left to right: Standard RX-93 Nu Gundam (figure 120, volume #01 from December 2015), FA-93HWS Nu Gundam Heavy Weapon System (CORE 004, released January 2016) and metallic colour variant RX-93 (CORE 010, released April 2017).

Bottom row: RX-93 Nu Gundam (Double Fin Funnel Type) (Figure, 247 - Converge #21 - released May 2021), the 10th Anniversary (Revive Ver.) reissue of figure 120 from May 2022, the light grey Anaheim Electronics First Lot Color variant released as an exclusive for the Converge Fan Club in October 2022 and lastly the RX-93ff. Not pictured here are the Converge 10th Anniversary box-set RX-93 (released May 2021) and all of the RX-93-v2 Hi-Nu Gundam variants.






MSN-94FF Sazabi


Now that you suddenly have this up-gunned Nu Gundam floating about, what's gonna' happen to the old Sazabi? Clearly it needs some new bells and whistles also, but let's make it less obvious by giving the new variant the FF designation instead of ff to make it less obvious. Out with the old half-dozen funnels that used to sit in the rack of the suit's backpack. Instead you now have an adapter that slots into all the three holes of each Funnel container and clips into each new Double Horn Funnel. The weapons are attached on a round peg and can be tilted forward in a move similar to the Nu Gundam's funnel weapon. If you think that the fuel tanks on the figure's back are poorly aligned that is because the left-most tank was damaged out of the box and is dangling on a thin thread of plastic waiting for emergency glue-repairs.


You also get optional grip adapters to replace the figure's hands, allowing the Sazabi to wield the two funnels like enormous beam sabers. However, no such beam effect parts are included with the figure... The mode is kind of near but it mostly reminds me of that guy who built a Sazabi out of crustacean scales...


As you can imagine, the Converge Sazabi-family is about half the size of the Nu Gundam-gang. Only looking at the releases that have come through the Converge #Sharp program we can count the following four: The basic Sazabi from the original #Sharp launch (figure 121, volume #01, released December 2015), a metallic colour variant from CORE 010 (released April 2017), the dark red sort of-metallic variant from the Red Comet themed pack (CORE 022, released August 2020) and the new FF Saz. Notice also the various new markings the FF-figure has received as well as its bright red colour bordering on cheap-looking, especially when you compare it to the figures that came before. The new beam saber has a green tint, something we have seen in other recent Bandai releases from time to time so this is likely as intended.







Conclusion

All-in-all, unless you have a special interest in the new Fin Funnel weapons (that are currently being blasted into every thinkable figure and model kit line as we speak) I think you can safely skip on this twin-pack. The money you save in this way can definitely be put to better use and you avoid any frustrations associated with throwing lots of money on a premium product that may well arrive warped or smudged; with Converge you never really know what to expect. :)

SD Gundam Full Color Stage 7

Full Color Stage 7 is the middle of thee sets focusing exclusively on Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and appeared in February 1999. The figures are characterized by being relatively large as many of the early SD figures and are also very light on the articulation. I wouldn't classify these figures as rare as far as the FC collection goes but considering it is almost 25 years since release you may have to dig in multiple places to find them, used lots are probably the best place to start.


Here are the figures as they come out of their packaging. Most have an arm or two to attach, some arms swivel at the shoulder while others are attached differently which means the poses you get out of them are fairly predetermined.



038 : RX-178 Gundam Mk-II (A.E.U.G.)


Second showing for the Mk-II which debuted in Stage 6 in Titans colours armed with a beam rifle and shield. The A.E.U.G. version instead gets the Hyper Bazooka option. I find it a bit strange that there is no early A.E.U.G. Mk-II with a beam rifle, the first one doesn't show up until Stage 27 (see below). If you are into re-painting the figures on the other hand you have a good opportunity to take both the Stage 6 Titans figure and the AEUG Stage 7 counterpart and colour swap them.


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, the 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, another beam saber from Stage 20 figure and the Mk-II carrying a bazooka from this stage.






039 : MRX-009 Psyco Gundam


The Psyco Gundam is a behemoth but the figure in this set is no bigger than the average SD figure. It comes in a rather stiff pose with one of its arms extended to give you a five-finger beam cannon surprise. Black mobile suits always look great and I'm surprised we don't seem them more often. The shield is really dull on the other hand, I've debated giving it a red trim but so far resisted tampering with it. Perhaps I'll sacrifice a duplicate in the future.


Here is a little family get-together with the mark one Psycos from Stage 7 (centre left) and what I believe to be the "Dice Gundam" variant from the rare Stage 61 set from 2005 (far left). On the right we have the Mk-II in its Mobile Suit mode (Stage 13) and Mobile Armor mode from the completely different (and non-deformed) Banpresto Micro Collection. There is a similar MA mode figure for the Mk-I here somewhere which I still haven't dug up (I made that remark when I used this very same image in a previous review...).






040 : NRX-055 Baund-Doc


Ohh... bit of a surprise to see a Baund Doc in SD-format. Its normally complex design is no problem for a compact SD figure though and I think the designers did a good job of maintaining its proportions even for such a small and stocky format. The colouring is also quite good but I am not really a fan of the outstretched right arm. Notice the leaning ears on one of the figures in the image. There is not gray (or yellow for that matter) variant of this figure, neither any mobile armor mode version.






041 : MSN-00100 Hyaku-Shiki


The golden suit must have looked really spectacular back in 1999. It is still a really attractive figure in the range, it even sports the Hyaku Shiki characters sculpted into its shoulder armour, you may want to take a really thin pen and fill it in, I know I have been considering it, again maybe I will sacrifice a duplicate. :)


This image gives an idea of how the SD figure line evolved over time. The early figures are larger yet sport less moving parts. Seen here is the Stage 7 Hyaku-Shiki (left) next to its counterparts from Stage 60 and a tiny version that appeared together with the Mega Bazooka Launcher in Stage 33 (right).






042 : MSK-008 Dijeh


The Dijeh is another pleasant surprise for the early SD range. This is a complex design that is all over the place but the designers really captured its feel spot on. You will have to forget the occasional bent wing or antenna on a capsule figure such as this. The only thing I think it is missing is a Dodai Kai to ride on, none were ever released in the old SD figure ranges, too bad since it would have been useful for many of the Zeta era figures to ride on. The Converge and Senshi Forte are a bit large, there might be some obscure Gashapon figure out there that I am not thinking of at the moment, maybe someone has a 3D-printed idea?






043 : MSA-003 Nemo


This stage is really full of rare mobile suit choices. Not that the Nemo was a rare sight in the television series itself but it can be quite hard to find in figure form. This figure comes in a very specific pose turned to one side which I find a bit unfortunate for an army builder type figure, it looks pretty odd to have a handful of them all staring to the side. Other than that it is an attractive figure and I love the sculpt of its rifle, all the weapons in this set look really good.






Conclusion

If you are busying yourself with building up an SD Zeta collection Stage 7 contains several no-brainers. Beyond the three sets mentioned in the introduction you can find some more Zeta era types in Stage 12 where the Full Color series starts blending into Mobile Suit ZZ Gundam. After Stage 14 release become much more sporadic but there are additional suits scattered among the later sets even if they are often variations of the early figures.

Banpresto Mobile Suit Gundam Witch From Mercury Nika Nanaura

We're following on the previous review with brisk steps towards the fourth character to come out of the Witch of Mercury television series. I do believe that the Nika figure was released in tandem with the Chuatuary Panlunch figure in October 2023. The two are now abundantly available on the secondary market. At the time of writing Mandarake usually has most of the series in stock for around ¥1200 per figure.


The Nika figure has a design very similar to the previous items and the box is very compact taking little space. It is a very handy size container to store a figure you are not display, although you typically have to remove the head again since the figures are normally a bit taller than the boxes they come in. This is very different to the often enormous boxes used by their contemporary MegaHouse figures.


The Witch of Mercury figures typically come with a thin outer boxes supported by a sturdy cardboard insert, the design of the insert differs from figure to figure. While the Panlunch figure had two separate inserts the Nanaura figure has a single folded insert for example. Inside you will find the figure and its base in a compartmentalized plastic bag. The sturdy pegs keep the figure in place, avoiding bent legs and the flexibility of the material makes the figure quite sturdy and durable. I mentioned this before but I really do like the design and material Bandai went with for the figures in this series. I secretly wish for a follow-up series of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED figures in 2024 now that the Freedom anniversary is taking place...


Where the Chuatuary Panlunch character design is excessive and unorthodox the design of Nika Nanaura is the complete opposite. The character is almost remarkably bland but personally I find it rather adorable, even though it mostly resembles a Postal Worker in summer uniform with comfy shoes for running in a lot of stairs. My figure seems to lean forward a little, I am not sure if this is intended or if it is a slight defect.


Unlike the Universal Century Newtype figures that have been released in parallel with this set, the Witch of Mercury figures have so far been fairly well to scale. The colour matching between the different figures' uniforms is also on point, although the overall dress codes in this school is really lax, bordering on abysmal. :)


The main drawback of all the Witch and Newtype characters that were released in this era is the choice of base. While large circular bases are common for figures of this kind I have never been a fan of them. It makes character interaction in a display very difficult when everyone is carrying their own social distancing kit with them. I would much have preferred oval or rectangular bases not much bigger than their footprints. if you wish to make your own bases you either have to create something which supports the pegs under the feet or cut them off effectively ruining the figures in the process. Other than that, I find these figures very entertaining. I have the last three WoM characters on order already, and the fact that they are all guys is even more interesting.