I thought we were done with the Witch of Mercury claw machine figure series after the "first seven" but Banpresto kept an ace up their sleeve. Suddenly another two figures appeared in the late winter sporting a combination-gimmick at that. Seems my work here is not yet done. I have been delighted that Bandai/Banpresto has been keeping up the cheap figure series also in 2024 with a couple of releases from SEED Freedom as well as another U.C. Newtype pilot character, that we will get to eventually.
So, we have two new versions of Suletta and Miorine released under the moderately spoilery title "Ending Season 2 Version". I guess it is my own fault for still not having watched series, eventually they'll probably remove it from the Gundaminfo channel. Anyway, according to HobbyLink Japan the two figures appeared a couple of weeks apart with Suletta hitting the arcades in late February and Miorine in early March of 2024. The two boxes use a common theme that also illustrate how the two figures were intended to be displayed. Intriguing.
The packaging is your typical reinforced cardboard box with a walled section inside holding each figure in a Shokugan-style compartmentalized plastic bag.
As you can tell from this image, assembly isn't exactly going to be a problem. Notice that the two stands that look very similar are branded with different article numbers, which can be useful if you encounter these items in the wild down the line. I've been meaning to generate a master list of Gundam Converge figure base numbers to aid in their organization but it is a large undertaking that I have not yet mustered the required energy for.
Alright, here we have the two figures put next to each other in a way reminiscent of the packaging. I moaned a lot about how the original WoM figures have such large bases that it is hard to pose them together - here are two figures designed to literally go hand in hand. However, if you look at the box art you might get the impression that the two figures should be further apart vertically; I guess practical limitations got in the way here and so the actual scene isn't quite as dramatic as on the box artwork but has a better chance of fitting on your shelf.
Each figure has a rectangular hole in the back which easily fits on the respective stand. This of course means you have no means of altering the pose with the exception of putting the figure upside down, so that you can display Miorine in the normal orientation if you so choose.
Taking a closer look at the Suletta figure we can enjoy more of the fine sculpting and paintwork which made the previous Witch of Mercury characters rather pleasing to the eye. One should remember that these figures exist in the lower budget bracket but this does not affect their attention to detail and character likeness which is really good. While I personally do not care that much for civilian clothes the proportions and sculptwork applied to her suit is really expressive and interesting, I am even getting some 1960s or 1970s vibes. It is nice to see a more mature looking face than the happy-go-lucky Pikachu-expressions we normally see on Suletta miniatures.
The Season 2 figures are slightly smaller than the original Banpresto Witch of Mercury figures, especially if you were to compare them to the very tall figures of Guel and Shaddiq. This can be a bit of a problem if you pose them together, I do wish that the original series had in fact been designed to be a bit smaller. The old Suletta figure seen here was the first of the Banpresto WoM series and was released in December of 2022.
Next we can examine the new Miorine figure, which I have flipped upside down for a more traditional pose. I must say that her dress and shoes are really dull and together with the white hair it makes her look like an old lady which I find a bit boring. I would have loved to see the figures in flightsuits instead. By the way, Miorine's hair must have proved a bit of a challenge to the sculptor. Ideally it should have had a freefloating spread when the character is suspended upside down. I guess what we see here is a compromise allowing you to display the figure in two different ways.
See what I mean? The old Mirorine figure from April 2023 has a lot of character and all the WoM figures really shine in their uniforms. The new pale skinned, white hair figure just lacks that same oomph.
So there you have it. Wow, nine WoM-figures released for the arcades in a little bit more than a year, and all of them are currently cheap and accessible on the secondary market. It looks like we will see more Witch of Mercury figures releasing this summer, but they will be coming out under the very expensive MegaHouse G.E.M. brand. The series will feature all the seven main characters seen in the Banpresto range but in various sitting or lying down poses. The prices however will start around ¥8000 per figure, which is frankly ridiculous. Not something to look forward to.
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