For a blog that started out dedicated to Gundam Converge we sure don't see these guys around these parts as often as I would like. In part this is due to the branching out to cover all sorts of Gashapon and Shokugan ranges, but also because the Converge experience of 2024 is very different from how it used to be. While there are still a fair amount of releases in a single year, the frequency of reissues (especially as price-hiked Converge Redefinition exclusives) is quite high. Another reason is the difficulty in actually obtaining the figures that do come out. Case in point here, volume #25.
This set released back in May 2024 and it was only last week that I finally managed to complete the set after Quess had been playing hide and seek with me for the longest time. I picked up four of the figures almost immediately upon release but the Strike Freedom (naturally) was giving me a lot of pain, always selling out within minutes of me spotting one. When I had finally secured one it the red Jagd Doga was nowhere to be seen, dancing around with a big [Sold Out] tag underneath its product photo. Well, they are finally here and good to go for review!
There has been a recent trend of sticking Converge figures in two separate plastic bags but this time around everyone except the Strike Freedom figure can manage with just one bag.
291 : ZGMF/A-262B Strike Freedom Gundam Type II
I haven't even watched SEED Freedom yet and already I am starting to be a bit sick of seeing its winged suits. Converge continues to milk the main trio with the Strike Type II following the Rising Freedom and the Immortal Justice. I am curious how the three will interact in the show, it seems logical that this would be the last legs and final form of the continuously upgrade Freedom Gundam before being traded in for a new Rising Freedom but you never know, the Strike Freedom came into Destiny and eclipsed the Destiny Gundam after all. :)
So, what to say about the figure then? Well, it sure looks like the Strike Freedom. I guess there are some subtle changes that I should pick up on but without a direct comparison I am at a loss. What I do notice however is that leaning head to the left. The grey neck piece it attaches to does not fit properly into its socket. I tried removing it to examine this further but it simply won't budge. I am not sure if it is glued in place or not and didn't want to tear it at it risking damage during the review process but I might come back to revisit it later.
There are a couple of surprises in this box. Besides my initial surprise of seeing those tiny wings I did not expect the figure to come with optional hands and fully painted bream rifles. Look at those two stunners! A lot of the budget on #Sharp 25 was spent on this figure.
Here we have the figure again with guns deployed. Despite all of its splendour and sprawling colours the figure still looks a bit underwhelming, I guess it is those tiny wings that does it. Well, don't worry, Bandai has the solution in store for us.
Gundam Converge freedom Gundam Evolution from left to right: The OG X10A Freedom from 8 (released October 2012), the benchmark X20A Strike Freedom from #Sharp 04 (released October 2016) and the new Type II from #Sharp 25. Notice how the new figure has grown taller by a fair bit, I wish Converge would stick to a scale and be done with it.
And here we have the SEED Freedom trio from Converge #24 and #25 respectively. Notice how the Strike Type II dwarves the other two figures, presumably because the other figures have much larger wings that need to fit in the box. This really irks me, according to the monster manu... the Gundam Fact Files the difference in size should be negligible. i get flashback to the recent Mobile Suit Ensemble Impulse Gundam figure which had markedly different proportions compared to the Ensemble standard.
292 : MDE262S Proud Defender
Well, the reason the Freedom can afford to skimp a bit on its wings is because it is getting a separate box dedicated to them. Technically this is a craft of its own, but with about as much reason to exist as a backpack to a figure. Think of it kind of like the FXA-05D G-Defenser for the Mark II or the 0 Raiser for the 00 or one of those Striker Pack Skygraspers from SEED. Hurry up and bring me my gear already! (I might be completely wrong here but I would be very surprised if the Proud Defender has a bigger role to play). As a figure, there is not a whole lot to say, you can prop it up there on its little stand and tilt the wings around two axis. One of the two joints on my figure was nearly broken out of the box, be careful as the plastic is really thin around there.
As you can see, there is not a whole lot going here. The Proud Defender brings one additional weapon option for the Strike Type II, a giant Katana named "Futsunomitama" because of course you can't have a Samurai in space without a sword. I already managed to spoil a few things form myself when looking up its name in the Gundam wiki so I will refrain from adding more information here... meh. The sword clips into a tight holder on the right side of the armour's dorsal spine.
291+292 : ZGMF/A-262PD-P Mighty Strike Freedom Gundam
The main gimmick of #Sharp 25 is of course how the Strike Freedom Type II and Proud Defender figures combine. Now I have absolutely no reason to whinge about tiny wings as this suit is going all the extra mile. Wow, look at that thing, colour me impressed! It is no coincidence that the Converge Strike Freedom figure is priced around ¥2200 on the secondary market when the other figures in the set go for around ¥800-¥1000. I have myself toyed with the idea of getting a second pair of figures but for now have decided to make do with just the Mighty Strike combination.
Oh... my... days. This thing is on fire! Each wing consists of three main sections, the golden middle section swing out about half and the front section all the way up. You can also tilt the wings in two dimensions using the (fragile) joints at the back. The wings can be swept backwards and can be tilted upwards from the pose seen here. Notice the Type II now wielding the Katana as well.
Let's do a little Converge Freedom wing comparison; the Freedom Gundam from SP 07 (August 2016), the retail X20 Strike Freedom from #Sharp 04 and the Mighty Strike. There are a couple of additional versions out there and let's not forget that the retail Strike Freedom can put on a pair of massive Wings of Light, but I still think this is an interesting comparison.
293 : XXXG-01W Wing Gundam (TV Series ver.)
Bandai's strategy for the After Colony-Era Gundam figures seems to be to sneak one in here and there and they rarely venture outside of this comfort zone. I almost couldn't believe my eyes when the Vayeate and Mercurius popped up but it seems to be impossible to get any of the mass-production types to graze Converge. I sighed when I saw yet another Wing Gundam enter the fray, but I guess they actually found a variant they hadn't upgraded to #Sharp standard yet. I don't have a whole lot to say about this figure, it looks somewhat basic compared to the sprawling figures seen in this set, it is crazy to think that the Wing Gundam would be one of the least remarkable releases in a set but here we are.
I guess part of the Wing's fail to stand out is those small wings folded up really neat at the back. Granted, it is is not easy to follow up the Mighty Gundam wingspan but this almost feels like a pre-sharp era figure. I have to give high marks for the smooth paint job on the shield though, that is a fine thin red line indeed. One way to increase its appeal would be to add some more colours to its Buster Rifle, which should sing in violet and yellow. They just proved their ability to pull it off on the Strike Freedom figure above.
The television-series Wing first appeared in Converge volume 15 (released June 2014, just after the set with the Jagd Dogas in fact) and return in a "limited color" painted version in a special set called Converge Selection 02, released in December 2017. The variant is the one on the left there with a lighter blue colour and golden paint applications in place of yellow. I don't know... I think all three figures look a bit dull and uninspired if I am being honest.
The completionists out there will be happy to find all four variants of the Wing Gundam in the #Sharp line-up now. Seen here from left to right are the TV Version Wing Zero (Sharp #09, January 2018), TV version Wing (this set, #Sharp 25), the Endless Waltz version Wing Zero (Sharp #11, June 2018) and the EW version Wing (Sharp #06, April 2017). I can understand why we had to wait for this final version for as long as we did, the competition in this pageant is really tough.
294 : MSN-03 Jagd Doga (Gyunei Guss Custom)
While revised sculpt figures generally do not interest me that much there are some old Converge figures that definitely needed an upgrade and the Jagd Dogas were definitely among them. The #Sharp reissues are complete overhauls sporting an upgraded size, superb sculpt proportions and improved paint applications. I do think that the antenna on Guss' machine is a bit tall in comparison to the rest of the figure, a problem that exists with some of my favourite suits also in the old era (Barzam and Asshimar, I'm looking at you). Overall though, a marked improvement.
Each Doga comes with its own signature weapon. Apart from the sixpack of remote-controlled funnel-type weapons split up on each shoulder it also sports the iconic shield and a beam assault rifle. The shield does lack the red colour applications that would take the figure to the next level however, and I am tempted to try and paint them in myself.
The new Jagd Doga is a fairly large Converge figure, not quite reaching the Mobile Suit Ensemble figure in size but it sure is bulkier. The now 10-year old original Converge figure (volume 14, released April 2014) seems almost like a child in comparison. The colours have been swapped around as well; the new figure drops the golden detail for yellow and the turquoise blue is now almost green, a change that seems to have been a bit excessive.
295 : MSN-03 Jagd Doga (Quess Paraya Custom)
It is hard not to like the appearance of these two angry birds, the suits are similar but have very different paint schemes and a couple of cosmetic differences such as the antenna size, Quess' machine almost looks to be wearing a 19th century pickle-head helmet. I like how the funnels remain painted yellow, standing out better against the rest of the suit but the shield is still needing those four red circles to keep me fully happy. Look also at all the exposed metal and wiring on the upper body, a real treat for the eye.
Quess' machine comes with a unique hand-held weapon, a four-barrelled Mega Gatling Gun. The sculpt of this weapon is really crisp to look at.
Both Dogas feature a tiltable mono-eye. You can access it by pulling out the face guard, it sits on a little peg and can be turned left or right. I also had to take out the face plate to be able to insert the antennas properly, the large antenna on Guss' machine protested quite a bit, it appears paint had clogged up the peg hole a bit and I had to widen it before the antenna finally settled in.
Just like with the other figure, the colours used on Quess' Doga in Converge and Ensemble has shifted from release to release, I really like the darker red chosen for the #Sharp version the best. Notice also how the proportions of the hands and arms have been corrected and how the shoulders and legs have been upsized. This is great!
296 : RB-79 Ball (Twin set)
Lately, Converge has been leaving the last slot for vehicles and mobile armours and I'm all for it. In this wave we are getting a revised sculpt of the Ball Type mobile armour with two units sitting on a base with two differently sized arms. The arms are supposed to lean forward but you may as well put them hanging out the other side or mix it up a little. If you get two figures you can create one pair sitting on the short arms and the other on the long, I like this mix- and match opportunity. The new sculpt of the Ball has a smaller "eyes" and arms and a much more distinct cannon, it is pretty impressive how detailed the sculpts are these days. My figures came with slightly bent arms, I guess this will be luck of the draw.
I was thinking that it could have been cool to see two different types of Balls in this box. The closest relative is the Type-C Ball which has a mostly similar body and sports arms with twin sub-arms up front. I would definitely have been willing to look the other way if only the arms had been changed. There are many other cool Ball types in different colours that I wouldn't mind seeing in Converge either.
Side-by-side with a pair of first generation Converge Balls from volume 8 (first released October 2012, reissued in volume 18 in March 2015) and the colour swap RB-79K wannabe also from Revival Selection 18. While the old base has swinging arms and allowed for a bit more flexibility in posing I much prefer the new stand.
There are many Ball Figures in the Gashapon/Shokugan pool, here you can see a couple of select ones including the Strategy of Gundam 1/350 scale figure, a Ball Type K and basic RB-79 from Gashapon Warrior NEXT and an orange Ball Type K from SD Gundam Full Color Stage 43.
Conclusion
There are no two ways about it; I may have had to wait for this set for quite some time but the killer content within made it worth the while. I know I moan and whinge about Converge a fair bit, but let's not forget that it is primarily its retail series that delivers the best bang for your buck. You can build an amazing Converge collection without ever having to seek out those expensive CORE and P-Bandai exclusives. These figures were sold in Japan for around ¥700 รก piece, you simply can't go wrong with a price-tag like that. Looking forward to #Sharp 26 which is releasing this November (see you around somewhere next year I guess...).
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