The Full Color Custom series is the little brother of the now classic Full Color figure range. Each set will typically contain ten figures and come with two different booklet designs, highlighting each half of the set specifically. The booklet also shows off the main gimmick of this series, how many of the figures are made up of compatible building blocks that can be re-assembled into something hideous like that Z'Gok-amalgamation. Fun for the kids but there's not a whole lot of practicality around it if you are planning to build different model variants of the same suit for example. By the way, notice how the first booklet is not showing of the first half of the figures but instead figures 051-054 and 060 with the second booklet focusing on 055-059.
The FCC 06 set was released in November 2006 with price per capsule sitting at ¥100. As usual the actual Gashapon capsules are very hard to come by, but figures still in their original plastic wrapping are a common sight. As usual, the parts explosion shot shows the figures as they came out of the packaging, they can usually be stripped down further into more components.
051 : RX-78-2 Gundam
I wouldn't want to go into space combat armed with a ball on a chain but fortunately for Amuro the Bandai designers saw it fit to throw in a beam rifle and shield for improved survivability. The RX-78 is a very common sight in the original Full Color series but only shows up a handful of times in Full Color Custom. In fact, the first five sets are dedicated in their entirety to various Mobile Suit Gundam SEED series, volume 06 is the first to feature Universal Century designs. Notice all the extra peg holes scattered around the figure's arms and shoulders. The figure itself does not come with components intended to fit there, instead the intention is for you to play around with the figures yourself, maybe you always wanted a Zaku Machine Gun attached to the shoulder for example?
This comparison between a Hyper Hammer-equipped Full Color Gundam next to the Full Color Custom version is a good example of the different design philosophies between the two figure ranges. The original FC range typically focuses on dynamic poses and tighter proportions while the FCC figures are typically more rectangular in their appearance, often with oversized arms to facilitate standardized parts swapping.
052 : MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type
You might have expected Char's Zaku II to be the natural companion as the Universal Century is brought into FCC but instead Bandai chose to include a regular commander type suit. The weapon choice is also unusual, the only gear included is a pair of leg missile units. The idea is of course to complement the other mass production-type Zaku II in this set but I still think it is a bit stingy not to include a hand-held weapon. Notice also how the gear is so large that the figure cannot stand with its arms to the sides.
053 : MSM-07 Z'Gok
The last U.C. mobile suit introduced in the first wave is everyone's favourite Z'Gok. It comes with two differently posed arms that you can switch around and rotate as you please. As with many smaller Z'Gok figures only the two front facing slots for the eye to move around in are painted black. At some point I should really go through all the SD figures and paint them all up because the result will be a simple and effective improvement.
The old Full Color Z'Gok from Stage 9 (released in June 1999) isn't one of the better sculpts in my opinion. The early SD-figures are often quite tall compared to their younger siblings and have less articulation (and sometimes none at all). While I didn't include it here I should point out that Char's red Z'Gok appears in FCC volume 08.
054 : MS-06F Zaku II
Here is the companion Zaku II to go together with the Commander Type figure. As you can see it is the same figure with a different head sporting the commander antenna. The gear has been swapped from the leg missile units too the traditional Zaku Machine Gun. The leg missile unit peg holes are the same as on the Commander Type figure so you can mix and match (or put some other fitting accessory into the slot if you like). While it is neat to have some playability and customization options for your figures I still think it is too stingy to include one main weapon and one back-up weapon for two figures, especially when there are figures with dual weapons included in the same set. Would it have been better if this figure didn't have the (unused) leg missile peg holes? I guess I could make the case for both keeping them or providing a part without the holes, it depends on where you stand in the form over function category.
Side-by-side for the two figures included in this set. Char's red Zaku II pops up in the next volume expanding the gear choices further, since it is armed with a Heat Hawk. There are no further Zaku II types released through the Full Color Custom line save for a white High Mobility Type version belonging to Shin Matsunaga. Considering the playability factor of this series I think it would have made sense to release a couple of other versions as well.
055 : ZGMF-X24S Chaos Gundam
For the rest of this set we will be talking Mobile Suit Gundam SEED in various eras and shapes. First out is the Chaos Gundam which is SEED Destiny's rip-off version of the Forbidden Gundam. It is armed with a sizable beam rifle and a backpack sporting two remote mobile weapon pods kind of similar to those you see on the Gunbarrel Striker or even the old Moebius Zero. I am not entirely sold on the colour applications, I think the dark colour chosen for the body should have been something more towards mossy green. The orange and white accents help the figure a bit but it still comes off looking a bit too dark for my taste.
The figure has a head-swapping gimmick which lets you transform it into at least partial mobile armour mode. I think it comes off looking a bit goofy but the actual design is even worse so I cannot fault the figure itself for it.
See what I mean about the colour scheme? The old SD Full Color figure (released in Stage 52 in October 2004) has I think a much better likeness to the original design. I also like that they kept the legs in the brighter green colour for some added flare. The Chaos Gundam is the last of the Phantom Pain trio to make it into FCC, the Gaia appears in volume 04 (together with a bonus figure in Andrew Waltfeld's colours) and the Abyss sits in volume 05. I'd throw in a group photo here but I am still looking for that Abyss Gundam... :)
056 : ZGMF-X2000 GOUF Ignited (Heine Westenfluss Custom)
Up next is another of the classic Universal Century mobile suit repurposed for SEED Destiny. It is pretty much a MS-07B Gouf with some cosmetic changes and kitted out with a flight pack. This particular suit is painted in ace pilot Westenfluss' bright orange and red livery and is armed with a beam sword with two cutting edges and a shield. Yes, creatively bankrupt but I really like the design anyway.
This comparison section could be more interesting. The regular blue GOUF Ignited sits in FCC volume 10 (released May 2005), a figure that I am still missing, and the story is the same for the old orange GOUF Ignited in Full Color Stage 57 (May 2007). What I can show is the old blue GOUF Ignited from Full Color Stage 61 (November 2005) and the peculiar GOUF Crusher (from FCC volume 04, released in August 2006) which pretty much marries the GOUF ignited with a Hyper Hammer. These figures are all a real pain to find these days.
057 : TFA-2 ZuOOT
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the throwaway cannon-fodder ZuOOT was included into the Full Color series, we don't have many representations of it in figure form. In fact, the only other figure I can think of is the 1/400 scale version from the long-running Gundam Collection Gashapon figure range. Perhaps the toy designers shy away from it due to its transformation into tank mode but I'd happily take a figure stuck in one mode (or the other). The Full Color Custom figure is stuck in tank form but compensates for it by being overloaded with guns. I wish I could field an entire battalion of these. :)
The ZuOOT was developed further into the GAZuOOT (the name just rolls of the tongue...) in SEED Destiny. The new machine changes out the ballistic weapons for beam cannons and missiles but most importantly gets a new any unusual colour scheme. The GAZuOOT has never been released in figure form outside of the one you will find in Full Color Custom 07, where it released in January 2007. The Full Color Custom series is a true goldmine for rarely-seen Cosmic Era mobile suits.
058 : ZGMF-1017 GINN (Jean Carry Custom)
While it would be unfair to call this figure a disappointment it certainly has room for improvement. Carry is a bit of an obscure character that appears in one of the SEED Destiny side stories where he pilots a captured Z.A.F.T. GINN which has been repainted into pale violet colour. The figure would have looked more interesting if the corresponding white and yellow sections had been painted in also on the backpack thrusters (which will never happen on a 100 yen figure...). Personally I would have preferred turning a more exotically painted custom GINN into a figure, such as Elijah Kiel's blue machine with a sword in place of the antenna for example.
With Bandai's ever-changing colour applications in mind it would be really easy to mistake this figure for a basic Z.A.F.T. GINN; it even sports the exact same gear as this basic mass-production type GINN from Full Color Stage 39 (released in February 2003). The Jean Carry Custom could easily stand in as a grunt suit if you need one. Notice by the way how the older figure has a much more menacing look to it.
059 : TMF/A-802 P-Mod.W BuCUE Waltfeld Custom Type
Oh dear, I just moaned about the custom GINN and now I have to repeat myself for the custom BuCUE. This is another really obscure MSV out of the SEED Destiny range and if you compare the figure to what the actual artwork looks like you just want to cry. The real deal is mostly dark grey with orange highlights but this thing is just yellow all over. It sports a couple of fangs under the cockpit to resemble a Sabretooth (and when typing this up I noticed the fangs are attached incorrectly and now look like tusks instead, I might dig out the figure and re-photograph it in the future. I guess if you take the figure for what it is - a 100-yen novelty - it is fine but imagine how beautiful it could look if it was released fully painted up in say the Robot Spirits-line (with a five digit price to quickly cool down your arousal).
All of Z.A.F.T.s four-leggers suffer a bit in the super deformed format but at least it is nice to have a couple in the collection. Seen here also are the mass-production BuCUE in blue (Full Color Stage 40, April 2003) and the successor type, the LaGOWE in orange (Full Color Stage 41, May 2003). All units exclusively equip the twin cannon configuration only. The blue BuCUE is also available with a missile launcher on its back in Full Color Custom volume 05 and even the Kerberos BuCUE Hound exists in Full Color Custom volume 10 and I am really salty about not having found either of them yet.
060 : GAT-X1022 Blu Duel Gundam
Everyone knows about the Duel Gundam and the Assault Shroud-gear it receives after Yzak gets scarred for life in a duel with Kira, but this thing is neither. At first sight your brain will quickly identify it as the Assault Shroud-upgrade but then you start noticing the strange equipment and the heavy flightpack. So where did Bandai's toymakers dig up this thing? The answer is in the SEED Stargazer side-story. This figure does a much better job at looking like its original design than the previous customs we looked at in this set, it was clearly given priority in this regard. By the way, notice the Stiletto anti-armour penetrator - a small throwing-knife style of weapon - that you can bet will be missing from many figures you find on the secondary market so do pay attention.
A family photo showing the original Duel Gundam (equipped with the red shield) from Full Color Stage 36 (October 2002) and two Assault Shroud figures from Full Color Stage 41 (May 2003) and Full Color Custom 04 (August 2006) respectively, and the Blu Duel.
Conclusion
This is a killer-set of rare Cosmic Era mobile suits as well as featuring some crucial Zeon mass-production type suits. It will be much easier to find the U.C. era suits in the older Full Color-figure range. The Full Color Custom-range is notoriously tricky to source these days unless you have direct access to the Japanese domestic market. I can think of many things less painful than trying to start a FCC collection in 2025.
