Gundam Converge CORE 039 : The White Wolf of Solomon

The Matsunaga-themed White Wolf set follows on similar CORE sets centred on other ace pilots like Char, the Black Tri-Stars and most recently Anavel Gato. Unit markings aren't really a thing in Gundam Converge but they have become more common in the last years, a trend that I really approve of. The Gundam Collection 1:400 figure series was a pioneer in this regard and I would think there must be many more collectors out there interested in seeing re-releases of existing figures in colours and markings from famous units and theatres.


The CORE 039 box set is a Premium Bandai exclusive and shipped in February 2024. It features five different rides of Shin Matsunaga in his signature white colour. I'll have to state upfront that while Matsunaga is my favourite character in all of Gundam lore (and I keep waiting for MegaHouse to create an outrageously expensive figure of him) there is not a great deal of lore surrounding his persona and he has to be considered a minor character. Thus, I can imagine Bandai struggled a bit to come up with five mobile suits to stick in the box, perhaps a better idea would have been to create a mixed aces box similar to the recent Johnny Ridden Gelgoog 3-pack.


Five standard size Converge figures have been squeezed into the box and they come in the typical single pack plastic bags we are used to. There are a couple of sculpting news here but most of the content is recycled and repainted.


Each figure comes with one or more accessories, with some clearly getting more love than others. And with "some" I mean everyone except the Gelgoog which always seems to get the least love among the Zeon suits for some reason.



MS-06R-1A Zaku II High Mobility Type (Shin Matsunaga Custom)


Whenever you see a Matsunaga Custom figure it is usually the High Mobility Type Zaku so that is where we are starting off. This is the baseline retail HMT enhanced with a couple of weapon options and some interesting White Wolf special markings. Although many of these weapon options have been around in the Converge line for a while we finally get access to weapons with painted white hands. My main problem with this type of figure is to decide which weapon to display it with. :)


Matsunaga's High Mobility Type Zaku has already been released as a retail figure in the Converge #14 set five years ago in February 2019. The basic figure remains pretty much unchanged except for the printed markings on the left shoulder, left knee and that tiny triangle on the torso. In fact, one of the main issues I have with this set is that two of the five figures have already been released although this is clearly an improvement, rendering the old figure pretty much obsolete.






MS-06R-1A Zaku II High Mobility Type "Phantom" (Shin Matsunaga Custom)


Wait a minute... another High Mobility Type Zaku II? Yes, apparently, although this one is a little bit more exotic. Named "Phantom" on the box cover blurb this machine has a creamy vanilla base colour and swaps out the right shoulder shield for another spiked pauldron. Notice also the barely visible unit number 23 on the chest plate, I really like the overall style this figure has going for it.


Although unit 23 ships with four basic Zaku II weapons it is the Large Heat Hawk that is the main eye-catcher of this thing. This weapon is usually seen paired with Dozle Zabi's custom Zaku II, I don't know if the canon also supports Shin wielding it although he is considered to be a melee weapon specialist. I have a sneaky feeling that the figure we see here is an afterthought and that FusionWorks have already prepared a Dozle Zabi custom Zaku II for the Converge line-up to be released in the future. It makes me really excited. :)






MS-06FS Zaku II (Shin Matsunaga Custom)


What the... another Zaku II? When I first saw the announcement of this set I was immediately a bit sceptical to the line-up. Although they are all slightly different, three white Zaku IIs just seem a bit much. To be fair though, this is not a High Mobility Type Zaku II but the evolved main F-type. This variant has additional Vulcan self-defense guns in the head as can be seen clearly here. There are also many other subtle sculpt changes but nothing you would really think about unless you were to place it directly next to another Zaku II figure.


Just like with the large heat hawk above the Zaku II Type FS is commonly associated with Garma Zabi. Are we indeed able to look forward to not only a custom Zaku II for Dozle but also a custom FS Type for Garma later down the line? It sure looks promising. To date, one of the early MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type Converge figures was offered in the colours of Garma Zabi (with an alternative heat hawk option at the time), are we finally going to see a properly released version of this mobile suit? Seen here are the two Zaku IIs from Converge volume 5 (released in November 2011) in the colours of Char and Garma respectively.


I also want to mention that new Zaku Bazooka. When the Converge #Sharp reissue of the High Mobility Type was introduced in volume #14 it drew some ire because the new bazooka was rather tiny. The old accessory is still bundled with the two High Mobility Type figures in this set, but notice how the new FS Type figure struts the exact same weapon except it has been resized (and the sculpt is completely different with a hand attached to it). I don't think we have ever seen the same weapon depicted in two different ways in the same package. No idea why they didn't go ahead and correct the issue for the other two figures at the same time...






MS-14Jg Gelgoog Jaeger (Shin Matsunaga Custom)


Now, this next figure is where I start to become a little bit annoyed with this set. First of all, the Jaeger is a majestic and awesome looking mobile suit and the Converge figure does it perfect justice. The figure is imposing in size and has very crisp detail but it comes with two built-in issues. The first issue is that we already have a better looking representation of this thing in the Converge retail assortment. The second problem is that there is no optional gear in this set. Every figure in the White Wolf box gets multiple different gear options, including a couple never before seen weapons but when it comes to the Gelgoog; nothing! The Jaeger sports that cool ling-range beam rifle but we already saw it on the old figures. Here was the chance to include a Giant Bazooka and beam saber and shield combo. Maybe if Converge had already released Cima Garahau's custom Gelgoog Marine we could have got that shield but come on, at least design a beam saber for this figure. This is actually quite disappointing.


Now, for the first issue I mentioned; take a look at the two Jaeger from Sharp #22 (released November 2021); Matsunaga's custom figure has a bigger and better placed White Wolf insignia than the CORE figure; what is up with that? To further differentiate the two, the designers put a WW marking on the new figure's right shoulder and a generic Zeon insignia on the front skirt. I still think the old figure looks better. I'm sorry, but they fumbled this poor figure.






MS-06R Rick Dom (Shin Matsunaga Custom)


The last figure in this set is also a bit of a downer. It is basically a generic Rick Dom figure with the White Wolf emblem on the shoulder. It makes perfect sense since Matsunaga didn't coast around in a white machine but I can see why some people wouldn't think of it as terribly interesting. My main gripe with it however is the shoddy paint job on my figure; there red paint spills out on the head and the right hand has a rather big fray smudge on it. Not impressive for a CORE figure, you know the ones that are supposed to be of a higher and more exclusive finish? This is probably bad luck for me because the Rick Doms in the Anavel Gato pack (see image further down) do not have this problem. Bandai just can't seem to nail the quality control for its premium product and it is getting really boring.


While the Rick Dom figure sports the traditional Heat Sword and Giant Bazooka combo we also get a Heat Sword accessory for it in this pack. I have no idea if Matsunaga has been seen wielding it in any media but it is listed on the Gundam wiki so it seems perfectly legit. I also think it is cool to see a crossover weapon that you would normally associate with the Gouf. If only they would have shown that same love to the Gelgoog Jaeger...


Side-by-side with another pair of Rick Dom figures from the 302nd Patrol Set, armed with the other option gear included also with the White Wolf. I realize differently numbered figures might be a bit esoteric to some collectors but I really love this deep rabbit-hole stuff and would gladly buy the same figures all over again if they sported other unit insignias such as the Mobile Assault Force, Black Aces or Chimera Corps emblems.


Just before we go, here is a quick comparison of the different shoulder-side emblems on the four figures thar carry them in this pack; the Rick Dom only wearing a White Wolf on the front side.






Conclusion

So, what to think about the White Wolf set? Well, Bandai have been killing it recently with the White Dingo and 302nd Patrol force packs but I think the White Wolf set comes off as a little anaemic in comparison. Technically, it does feature five different machines flown by the White Wolf but with three Zaku II variants and two of the five figures basically being reissues of retail figures I can well see why some people would choose to skip on this set. As a Matsunaga-freak myself I also feel that this set has a couple of disappointments in the accessory department and I can't really recommend this set to anyone who hasn't already bought it; especially when you factor in the hefty price on the secondary market. It was bad enough that Bandai wanted ¥4750 (plus tax) for it - at the time of writing the set sits around ¥7500 over at Mandarake which is a rather tough sell.