The Duel in Texas is not only the title chosen for this stage but also the name of the 37th episode of the original television series. It is crazy to think that it first aired back in December 1979. I think Bandai missed the chance for a nod to the original episode by not releasing these suits in Stage 37. Whatever, this set is Stage 39 and it first hit the Gashapon machines in February 2003 which is also more than 20 years ago at this point.
Most of the figures were pretty much fully assembled straight out of the packaging, not that there is a whole lot of articulation available anyway. The Gyan figure comes with a clear stand and I think they could have included one for the Archangel as well.
234 : GAT-X105+AQM/E-X03 Launcher Strike Gundam
The first half of this set is dedicated to Mobile Suit Gundam SEED which was all the rage on television at this time. The show was nearing the halfway marker but the figures we find here were all well established at this point. It is posed in a semi-aggressive pose with the large beam cannon at the ready and a clenched righthand fist. There is good detailing and paint applications also on the back side, showing off a nicely painted grey backpack.
The Launcher Strike only has this single appearance in the SD Full Color line but it returned again in the 4th set of the SD Full Color Custom line in August 2006. The Custom figure lets you store the cannon attached to the backpack as seen here. We also have a Skygrasper equipped with the Launcher Striker Pack in Stage 44 which released in October 2003.
235 : GAT-X103 Buster Gundam
The Buster Gundam is the last of the G Project suits to make it to the SD Full Color line, getting beaten even by the Blitz and the Aegis. The long combined weapon of the Buster can be challenging for toy designers who have to make do with the small space inside a Gashapon capsule but it is pulled off really well here; the weapon looks crisp and even sports two colours to highlight the two components and the dual-handed pose looks great. My only complaint regarding this figure is that the shoulder-mounted missile launchers are not painted red, it seems like a fairly easy addition that would have made the figure pop even more.
The Buster Gundam mimics the release schedule of the Launcher Strike to a tee, its only release in the original full color line is the one we have in this set and it comes in an alternate pose with weapons stowable in the very same set as the similar Launcher Strike did, Full Color Custom volume 04 from August 2006.
236 : ZGMF-1017 GINN (Ver.1.0)
The last Cosmic Era mobile suit to make its debut here is the mass-production type GINN equipped with both a MMI-M8A3 76mm Heavy Assault Machine Gun and the MA-M3 Heavy Blade for close encounters. The weapons have similar peg handles so you can play around with them a bit but a bit caution is warranted, sometimes the pieces are stuck really well together after years of not being separated so avoid the twisting technique when you try to dislodge them.
There are a couple of GINNs released in the two SD Full Color lines. the top photo shows the version 2.0 GINN from Stage 41 armed with two hand-held M66 Canus missile launchers and a pair of smaller M68 Pardus launchers attached to the lower legs, similar to the weapon often seen on ground type Zaku IIs. The lower image shows a resculpted version of the GINN equipped with the same weapons as the figure from Stage 39. The suit belongs to ace pilot Jean Carry and has a slightly violet base colour. In my opinion most re-releases in the Full Color Custom line are inferior to the original Full Color line since they are mostly done with playability and parts-swapping in mind.
237 : LCAM-01XA Archangel
In the next slot we have the famous legged ship the Archangel, a mobile suit carrier and battleship and first of her class. It is challenging to squeeze a spaceship into an SD capsule but overall I think they did a great job even though these figures often have a tendency to fall apart or be slightly warped. The figure has a peg hole on its belly but you need to steal a base from another SD figure to use it, which is a bit lame.
The Archangel returns again in the very first set of the SD Full Color Custom line, released in April 2006. The latter figure loses its underside peg-hole (why???) but comes in a battle-ready pose with the Lohengrin Positron Cannons and Gottfried Dual Beam Cannons exposed. The same figure also reappears as a silver-colour version in a special set released in October 2006 but I didn't include it here. No official version of its sister-ship the Dominion exists in either line but it is supposedly available in the tiny Data SD Gundam figure range, but I don't have it available for comparison.
238 : YMS-15 Gyan (Ver.2.0)
Finally on to Texas Colony then. The Gyan returns to the Full Color series after having been away for three years. The new figure has received a facelift and takes advantage of more recent technologies such as a translucent heat sword and the standardized action base. The biggest drawback is of course that it cannot stand upright without said base, and you may well come across this figure in a used lot missing that crucial component so exercise a bit of caution. The Gyan design is really unique but I feel that the designers rarely do much with it. This was at least an attempt at something different.
The new figure honestly isn't that different from its version 1.0 appearance seen here at the bottom left (first released in Stage 4 and reissued in Stage 17, in July 1998 and May 2000 respectively) except that it flies now (cue that Oscar Isaac soundbyte...). That buff version in the bottom right corner hails from SD Full Color Custom volume 11 (released in July 2007) and equips a Hide Bomb attached to the back of the right shoulder. The head sculpt is pretty terrible but at least the shield is painted to a good standard, the main issue I have with the older figures.
239 : MS-14S Gelgoog (Char's Custom) (Ver.2.0)
Char's custom red Gelgoog was also released in the early days of SD Full Color but returns here involved in some heated melee action. The figure has an interesting pose where it is standing the left heel and one side of the right foot for quite the dynamic but still stable pose. The attractive and well painted shield is attached to the figures back and cannot be attached to any of the arms. The figure does have a peg hole in the groin area so you can prop it up on an action base if you like.
The version 1.0 figure was first released in Stage 4 together with the OG Gyan and deploys its beam rifle with both hands. The figure was also reissued as version 1.1 in Stage 10 in August 1999. A version holding a beam saber in its right hand also exists in SD Full Color Custom volume 10, released in May 2007.
240 : RX-78-2 Gundam (Ver.20.0)
The last slot of the set is un-orthodoxically held by yet another version of the RX-78, the 20th to grace the SD Full Color line. This figure is involved in a swashbuckling duel with either the Gelgoog, the Gyan or both and also features a bit of a dynamic posture. I don't know what happened to the shield, presumably Amuro had lost it at that part of the fight. Not the most interesting version of the RX-78 I think but it works really well together with the other combatants in this stage.
I'm going to go ahead and recycle this image from an earlier review, showing some of the RX-78s in melee action. Top row: Beam Javelin-wielder from Stage 34, a slasher from Stage 36 and our dual-wield from this set. Bottom row: Left hand wave from Stage 3 (or Stage 17 reissue), black hands from Stage 31 and pointer at the end from Stage 27.
Bring the pain, gentlemen!
Conclusion
All in all Stage 39 is a great selection of figures with several critical entries if you are building up a Cosmic Era collection. The Universal Century figures are focused towards interacting with each other (or other figures with dynamic poses) which make them great for mini-diorama settings. While this set is on the pricier side of the Full Color-era sets it is still very affordable; the last lot I picked up earlier in 2024 was priced at ¥1500. The main challenge as always, is actually finding them.
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