Gashapon figures will soon be considered vintage, surely? Supply is definitely beginning to dry up on the secondary markets but you do come across unopened sets such as this one every now and then. They don't appear to be highly sought after, prices in Japan are usually somewhere around ¥1500-2500 depending on the rarity. I picked up a full set this year for ¥1800 over at Mandarake. Volume 26 was released in what I like to think of as the golden era of Gundam Gashapon around 2003 to 2005. This particular set came out in March 2003 and as such is the second set to feature contemporary designs from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.
While the capsules are not seen here (these are very hard to find) the figures inside come wrapped in two layers of plastic bags. One inner bag contains a subset of the components with the rest wrapped around outside it and everything covered by the outer bag. As usual these figures can be divided up into more individual parts, this just shows what they look like coming straight out of the packaging.
GAT-X105+AQM/E-X02 Sword Strike Gundam
The mobile suits chosen for this set are grouped as three rival pairs. The first duel takes place between the Sword Striker equipped Strike Gundam versus the Aegis. This figure is one of those quirky dramatic pose-pieces that can look really good in the right situation and really awkward when not. It is an interesting pose but I tend to favour a traditional standing pose myself. At the same time, no matter how advanced an action figure gets, they can't replicate such tight bends and twists so I guess there is a place for statue-type figures such as this one. Notice the highly unusual support piece. While transparent supporting blocks are used here and there this figure also has a black circle with two pegs that slot into the clear block for additional support, it looks a bit weird.
GAT-X303 Aegis Gundam
The Aegis takes on a bit of a defensive stance here, it seems like that beam rifle is at severe risk of being cut in half by the Sword Strike. The design of this mobile suit is quite complex and cheap Gashapon figures with less moving parts can benefit greatly from this compare to more elaborate figures like Mobile Suit Ensemble or Universal Unit, which would likely have pieces falling off constantly. It has a decent paint job as well, capturing most of the important detail. The Aegis has a strange mobile armour mode where it resembles a giant claw, too bad there are no small Gashapon or Shokugan figures that represent it. Sure, Bandai's Robot Spirits figure can pull it off but I would have preferred a cheap figure which is not transforming, the HG Gashapon DX or Mecha Selection series would have suited it well.).
RX-78-2 Gundam
The next duel takes place between Amuro and Char and it looks like Amuro has just received a kick to the chest or at least attempts to defend against one. The Gundam has an unusual pose backing up with its shield unprepared while trying to get in a shot with the rifle. This figure comes with an optional right hand which further highlights Amuro being caught off guard. A traditional Gashapon HG stand is also provided as this figure is intended to be in a flying pose and has no means of standing up without one.
MS-06S Zaku II (Char's Custom)
Char is of course coming at Amuro kicking and screaming in his little Custom Zaku. This particular Zaku II is touted as a multi-action figure and sports some additional articulation but it isn't that interesting. You can see the strange diagonal cut in the torso there to allow the upper body to twist and the right leg has a swivelling joint to allow different bends at the knee. The plastic material used is a bit bendy and the knee joint didn't cooperate with me so I didn't force it but I suspect you can get a semi-decent kicking motion out of it. What is more strange is that the Zaku supports the standard HG MS action base but doesn't come with one, the base you see in these photos is borrowed from another figure. You can get the figure to stand unaided but it looks quite awkward and sort of misses out on a lot of the posability the figure was intended for.
I can't see exactly how the designers intended to pose the two figures together, but I guess you would have the Zaku attack from below. Here I put both figures on a base of their own and it still only comes off as mildly uninspired. This pair is the least interesting out of this set in my opinion. Fortunately, there are plenty of other Gundams and Zakus in the Gashapon HG series to choose from.
MS-07B Gouf
The final duo is the most unusual and also tightly knit-together pair of the set - they practically share a miniature-diorama together. There are a handful of figures in the Gashapon HG series that come with scenic detail and here we have a Gouf engaged in some close combat urban fighting. I don't know what is up with the material chosen for this figure but it has a rather rubbery feel to it and the joints are extremely tight.
When the figure arrived the right arm was not fully inserted into its socket, the left hand was inserted at a 180 degree angle and the tubes on the sides of the torso were not plugged into the torso. Amending these issues was quite scary as it felt like I was only moments from ripping the plastic instead of getting the pegs out of and then back into their slots correctly. In the end I prevailed and the figure looks quite alright but the diorama really needs the second half to work.
This Gouf is slightly smaller than the other ones produced in the Gashapon HG series, a few of which can be seen here. Notice the weathered look given to this figure to go better with the rest of the warzone diorama. Below you can also see that the figure has no problems to stand up on its own.
RGM-79 GM
The last mobile suit isn't really a suit but what is left of one, presumably following its unfortunate encounter with the Gouf. It has lost both legs and the right arm is severed at the elbow. The armour is banged up and bullet-ridden and has come to rest half inside a multi-story building. A few years ago Bandai did a one-off set of destroyed mobile suits and this would have fit right in with them. I think it looks fantastic but like the Gouf above it doesn't really match the size of the other GMs released in this figure series. That is the Gashapon capsule-size limitation at work.
Both the GM itself and its right arm can be removed from the diorama base if you want to use it for something else (I didn't attempt to remove the arm as once again this peg hole is really tight and there is risk of damaging the figure in the process). You can also see how the two diorama bases go together. It looks pretty neat although I take some issue with the different base colours and the painted line on the street doesn't line up perfectly but what the hell, it is a cheap Gashapon thing. This experiment is the only combination piece involving two figures in the entire Gashapon HG line.
Conclusion
All in all, this is a neat set if not too particularly interesting. You are mainly buying this set for that mini-diorama. While these are the only available sculpts of the Aegis and Sword Strike Gundam they do return in the special 10-figure SEED Best Selection that released in February 2004, so if those are what you are after consider getting them there.
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