SD Full Color Custom 07

This summer I had the fortune of encountering a couple of the rarely seen Full Color Custom sets including this volume. This is the only chance I ever had at grabbing a complete set and i would expect it to be years until a similar opportunity arises, if ever. Custom 07 was released in January of 2007 and sits roughly in the middle of the series, back when Bandai still insisted on making two different booklet variants for the FCC figures. The figures cost ¥100 back then and the prices aren't that bad these days, maybe double, however actually finding them is the main challenge.


Here we see the figures as they fell out of their respective bags, this is not a complete parts breakdown since the figures can be disassembled further. the FCC figures usually feature articulated heads and arms and sometimes parts swapping gimmicks and weapons sharing. This makes them particularly nasty to purchase from the second-hand market, as previous owners will often treat you to missing accessories or even swapped around components. Buyer beware.



061/062 : RX-77-2 Guncannon (Unit 108/109)


We're starting with a two for one here since these two figures are the same except for the unit number printed on the chest. We've seen plenty of different variations of the Guncannon over the years, especially when it comes to the arrangement of the cannons. These two figures have a proper rack that attaches to the backpack unlike some figures where the cannons were attached directly to the head.


Two figures with 108 and 109 markings also exist in the old SD Full Color series, released already in Stage 5 in September 1998. Fortunately, the Full Color Custom line contains a fair number of new mobile suits types and not just rehashes like this.






063 : MS-06S Zaku II (Char's Custom)


I believe this is the only small SD figure of Char's Zaku equipped with a Heat Hawk. This is a pretty rare accessory and could easily suit various other Zaku II figures of the Full Color Custom line, this is after all what this series is about. That is also why you see the peg holes on the sides of the feet, designed for a green mass-production figure armed with leg missiles.






064 : HT-01B Magella-Attack


Vehicle figures are always cool and here we have the classic Zeon tank with a neat sculpt although the painting is not super tidy. The ugly peg holes on the sides of the body detract a bit, especially since you aren't really supposed to add any gear here. We can see the same thing in Mobile Suit Ensemble with random peg holes sprinkled along various surfaces of those figures too.


The tank figure also comes with an option part that allows you to steal its barrel and transform it into the hand-held cannon version equipped by the Zakus. It can be operated by various SD FCC figures such as Char's Zaku as seen here.


We have an older (and slightly better painted) version of the Magella tank in the original Full Color series that appeared in Stage 41 (released in May 2003), seen here in the middle. To the left we have a much more elegant and recent figure of similar size that hails from the larger Gashapon Warrior NEXT line, volume 21 to be precis (released in July 2014).






065 : ZGMF-X12D Gundam Astray Out Frame D


Halfway through this set already and finally something that isn't just a reissue of a suit we have seen before. But just what the hell is it? The name suggests it is a Z.A.F.T. design and sure the head looks very Gundam SEED, but the shield is giving off Z Gundam vibes, the strange beam saber looks like they usually do on Victory Gundam figures and that enormous (and loose) backpack is anybody's guess. Turns out it is a custom hot-rod from the Junk Guild built from leftover parts of the Testament Gundam. And ZAFT origin be damned, in the lore it is compatible with the Earth Alliance striker packs so if you want to have some fun with it you can dig out your various Strike Gundam and Dagger figures and see if they match. Personally, I can't be bothered.






066 : ORB-01 Akatsuki Gundam (Shiranui Space Pack)


We are back to mobile suit recycling again. The glorious golden Akatsuki pops up here with its space-use backpack which sports DRAGOON remote weapons similar to those of the Providence and Legend Gundam. I thought I had all the SD Akatsuki variants by now but no, the corresponding figure from the old SD Full Color range - from Stage 62 - has still managed to elude me so I can't do a comparison of the two. That figure does come armed with a dual-bladed beam saber and is presumably a bit sleeker as the old figures usually are.






067 : TFA-4DE GAZuOOT


There are quite a lot of cool mass-production type suits and vehicles in SEED and Destiny that pass by quickly from scene to scene, usually being blown up without much effort so that the main protagonist (or antagonist for that matter) gets to show off. Destiny was particularly nauseating in this regard. Enter the GAZuOOT, a transforming suit that can also convert into tank mode, pretty much a Cosmic Era spin on the Magella Tank. I absolutely dig this design and wish they were easier to come by as I would like to build regiments of these things. :)


Destiny was a creative snoozefest with much of its designs being copied from SEED and the GAZuOOT is based on the ZuOOT that we saw briefly in Africa in the original series. I distinctly remember Waltfeld denigrating the design as obsolete already in the beginning of SEED so it stands to little reason that Z.A.F.T. should spend resources and time to develop this successor. Perhaps they were just looking for government grants but hey, at least it now sports a couple of extra beam weapons. Still, I am amazed that both vehicles made it into figure form; you can find the ZuOOT in SD Full Color Stage 06.






068 : GAT-04+AQM/E-A4E1 Jet Windam (Neo Roanoke Custom)


This set continues to deliver the goods, really swinging into high gear at this point. Next up we have two Windam figures, this one in the ace pilot colours of Neo Roanoke and geared up with a AQM/E-A4E1 Jet Striker atmospheric flight pack. The wings also allow the carrying of additional weapons or stores and we can see some additional ordnance attached to its pylons for a bit of extra punch.


Neo's personal Windam also made it to the SD Full Color line, released in Stage 58 in June 2005. Overall, I think the old figure has a neater sculpt and better paint-apps but it of course is not customizable in the same fashion as the updated design.






069 : GAT-04+Mk438/B Multi Striker Windam


The mass-production variant tosses out the flight pack and heads into space carrying two unspecified missiles with nuclear payload. Bandai disappoints by not giving the figure a hand-held weapon, come on you literally produced thousands of standard M9409L beam rifles for the other Windam in this very set, the cost to include it here must have been pathetic. The figure does come with a little support that plugs into the backpack, without it you can forget this figure standing up any time soon.


The original Windam figure from SD Full Color Stage 55 does not carry any striker pack but at least has its beam rifle and better paint application. I would love to army build these things, but they are notoriously difficult to find these days.


The Windam figures from this set can of course exchange backpacks with each other, and I imagine with other Earth Alliance figures such as the Dark Dagger or Jet Dagger, unfortunately I am unable to try it out as all Dagger variants are hard to find.






070 : ZGMF-X23S Saviour Gundam


The last figure in this lot is Athrun's forgettable red mobile suit which although it looks great just tends to blend in with the other similar designs like the orange Gaia. The suit also has an elaborate paint scheme with reds, whites and blacks which doesn't lend itself well to a super deformed figure but I think Bandai pulled it off reasonably well here. Unfortunately, I don't have the original version from SD Full Color Stage 53 to compare with but the two look drastically different. The old figure looks more like the Aegis and has a tiny backpack and is armed with a beam saber.


This new figure has a little parts-conversion trick that allows you to transform it into mobile armor mode. Basically, you remove the head and place the backpack in its place and then fiddle with the orientation of the wings. The illustration in the booklet is really tiny and gives no aid in explaining exactly what you are supposed to do so I am not sure I did everything 100% correct. Still, the outcome isn't particularly interesting in my opinion but hey, it is a neat trick.






Conclusion

This concludes our look at Full Color Custom volume 07. While this set has a lot of recycled suits it also contains a couple of important mass-production types and some neat conversion gimmicks and so it is a shame these figures are so hard to locate. I hope someday we will get a detailed data-leak into the production numbers of the various Gundam figure sets because I can't even guess if these figures were made in the thousands or millions. Buy on sight. :)

Uuuhh... really?

Words fail me... what even is this? Why its a new Gundam themed Gashapon-series that will probably die a quick and painful death I gather. Imagine if Bandai would actually stay the course and continue building on an existing series instead of rehashing the same old characters and suits every two years. Anyway, if bitlot appears interesting to you, be on the lookout for this initial release in late January. The figures are about 6cm tall and are claimed to sport 10 movable parts. I heard the preorder price for a box of 10 is around 2500 yen.

SD Gundam Impact 04

In the aftermath of the retiring of the Full Color series the SD-brand stumbled for quite a bit before finding its footing again in the upscaled and semi-articulated Gashapon Warrior NEXT series. The gap bridging the two saw a string of what must be considered placeholder or failed attempts at reinventing the SD experience; the least interesting of which is probably the Impact line. In the six months that it lived it produced five sets of a total of 36 different figures. While I wouldn't write it off as a total flop its main reason for relevance today is that it produced a number of mobile suits that did not appear in the previous line-up.


Impact figures tend to feature a mix of round and shaped pegs and the articulation is usually very limited compared to the series that preceded it. Expect to see the occasional swinging arm but not much else. Several Impact figures also feature little miniature action-bases in the form of a dust cloud or the like, we can see one such piece in this set for the Musha Zeta which helps to prop up its feet.



22 : GF13-017NJII God Gundam


Close your eyes and think about the God Gundam. I'm pretty sure that what you see in your mind is far away from this thing. Like all Impact figures it has a very detailed sculpt but barely any paint on it and as a result it looks really bizarre. Perhaps they would have gotten away with it if they painted the whole thing gold like that Akatsuki and called it Hyper Mode. Instead we have this eyesore...


I think this image summarizes everything you need to know about the SD Impact line. Maybe it should be called Impostor instead... I have no idea why Bandai decided to go down this road. Oh, the comparison? That guy on the right there is a God Gundam from SD Full Color Stage 34, released in July 2002 - that's right, more than six years earlier.






23 : GF13-001NHII Master Gundam


It is very rare for a God Gundam figure to appear without a Master Gundam beside it. It is even rare to ever get any other mobile suit from the show which is not the Shining Gundam. At least with our Hong Kong master it is pretty hard to screw up the paintjob and this one looks passable. It stands in a weird pose with wings spread - the first for an SD figure - and the right arm can be tilted up and down a bit.


Again, the Impact version of the Master Gundam is outclassed by its two predecessors, the version 2.0 figure from Full Color Stage 32 has left paint applications on its chest while the first version from Stage 20 has to go without. As you can see, the Impact figures are not only questionably painted, they are also much smaller than the previous releases.


Each Impact volume has a dueling pair as its main attraction, here we see the two rivals having a go at each other. This is about as exciting as this set is going to get.






24 : GN-0000 00 Gundam (Trans-Am version)


You know, I really don't mind re-colour versions of old figures, even when said old figure was released only four months earlier. Trans-Am, Phase-Shift Down, alternate faction or ace colours or what have you - just show some effort. This is not effort. This is lazy and it looks terrible. NEXT.


Side-by-side with the "fully painted" version of the double oh, released in the initial line-up of Impact 01 in October 2008. The sculpt around the feet of the white figure looks a bit rough in the picture but isn't quite as bad in real life. The two feet actually are connected at the very back underneath the figure, presumably to help it keep its shape. There is also a 00 with the 0-Raiser in Impact 03 which I do not have in my collection yet. Your best bet for a decent looking SD-format 00 sits in the Full Color Custom 30th Anniversary Set which will be a pain to locate. Mine still sits in its packaging somewhere and is currently not available for a comparison.






25 : GN-006 Cherudim Gundam (Trans-Am version)


I have to say, the Impact figures are staying in shape for the most part. This Cherudim has a droopy V-fin on one side and some of the clear figures are a bit loose at the joints (as transparent figures tend to be a lot of the time) but the rest of the gang is fine.


Again, the original regular colour version of this figure can be found in Impact 01 and yes it isn't much to look at either. However, as far as SD Gashapon are concerned, this is a unique mobile suit choice for SD Impact, not available anywhere else to my knowledge.






26 : GN-008 Seravee Gundam (Trans-Am version)


They're not sending their best, are they? At least this figure is easy to tell apart from the other three due to its massive frame and weapons loadout. It is a pity that the paintjob is so lacking, the sculpt is great and I bet a skilled painter could really make these figures shine.


The regular colour Seravee hails from the same set as the Arios; Impact 02. Also seen in this picture is one of the old Full Color GN-005 Virtue Gundam figures for comparison (left). Notice the drastic difference in size. The Seravee never made it to the SD Full Color line so Impact is where you have to go look for it.






27 : GN-007 Arios Gundam (Trans-Am version) (clear orange)


Ok, just one more to go now. The Arios is leaning forward, it's right foot only touching the ground with its toes, the rest of the foot supported by a cloud-like mini-base. It is not easy to see on the normally coloured figure and not any easier here.


I chose the smaller Kyrios figures from the Full Color Custom line (left) for this comparison photo but it still dwarfs the Arios team. In defence of the Impact line I have to admit that the casting of the Arios mold is much more refined and detailed than the chunky old Custom figure. The Arios is also a unique MS for Impact.






28 : ORB-01 Akatsuki Gundam (Oowashi Sky Pack)


Each set in the Impact series contains exactly one Cosmic Era suit, drawn from either SEED or SEED Destiny. This time we have a really animated Akatsuki with its atmosphere-use Sky Pack, aggressively wielding a dual beam saber. It is a neat pose - something different - and it looks better in 3D than in these photos. Notice the tiny inscription on the left shoulder. The casting of Impact is great and I imagine there are some really nice looking custom paints out there.


Once again, the Impact figures are tiny and don't really sit that well with their bigger cousins. However, if you would like one that is not armed with a gun this will be your go-to figure.






29 : Musha Zeta Centaur Mode


Impact also consistently saves the last figure slot in each set for an SD character (Impact 02 actually has two of them), a theme reused in the early Gashapon Senshi Forte series. I liked this practice of tossing in something weird and there are many crazy designs based on the Zeon mobile suits but very few have made it into Gashapon form. Here we have a four-legged archer looking more like a Cherub than a Centaur but look at that little dragon head atop his V-fin, isn't that adorable? The forward legs rest on top of a small podium that does not attach in any way, you could make a more dynamic pose out of this figure if you glued it to a flat base. I kind of wished that the base would have been molded in a different colour but hey, this is the budget Impact-line.


The Musha Zeta chilling together with the Knight Gundam (white), Shin Musha Gundam (red) and the Musha Gundam Mk-II (blue), from Impact volumes 01 and 02.





Conclusion

Well, what can I say, not every figure series can be a winner. SD Impact remains an obscure oddity for those who just cannot help themselves and must collect every figure out there. More reasonable minds will resist the urge quite easily.