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. :)