Bandai Namco Q-Style Qmsv Mini Char's Custom

Are you familiar with the Qmsv Mini series? No, me neither but I was gifted one such item the other day (No, not by Bandai Namco for promotional purposes or anything but from someone who knows that I am insane...) and figured it would be an interesting item to cover here. Basically, what we are looking at here is a premium random box collectible item. While random items are certainly nothing new for a Gashapon collector this type of product is clearly aimed at the grown-up-with-disposable-income collectors market rather than kids on their way home from school. The craze for premium collectibles has not yet subsided over here in Asia and you can still find dedicated stores in the fancy shopping malls right now, with perhaps Pop Mart out of China being the most common here in Thailand.


Based on the little research I did the Char's Custom collection appears to be the latest entry into the Qmsv line released in June 2025. As you can see on the box the set is comprised of a total of 8 different figures, six named and two secret variations. Figures of this type often have skewed distribution with some items intentionally more rare than other. While not immediately obvious you can find the distribution rate hidden away in the product details on the side of the box displaying the barcode. This review is shot while travelling and so the images are a bit rougher than usual but to clarify, here are the purported distribution rates:

1 - 20.00% - MS-06R-1A Zaku II High Mobility Type (Char's Custom)
2 - 12.50% - MSN-04 Sazabi (Glitter red version)
3 - 20.00% - MSM-07S Z'Gok (Char's Custom)
4 - 13.75% - MSM-07S Z'Gok (Char's Custom) (Metallic color ver.)
5 - 12.50% - MSN-0100 Hyaku-Shiki
6 - 16.25% - MSN-0100 Hyaku-Shiki(Char' Image color ver.)
7 - 03.75% - MSM-07S Z'Gok (Char's Custom) (secret rare)
8 - 01.25% - MSN-0100 Hyaku-Shiki (secret rare)

This set is clearly aimed at covering the Z'Gok and the Hyaku-Shiki, I imagine that the Sazabi may have been released in a different wave and likely also the basic MS-06S Zaku II. The secret rares at the end there will give Youtubers something to shoot for but I can't imagine they would be worth chasing down for even the normally completist collector. This screams CASH GRAB in bold letters. I guess the secondary market will be your best friend here and speaking of - earlier Qmsv figures currently have going rates around 3000 yen over at Mandarake with a few older rarities creeping up towards 6000 jpy.


Inside the box you will find another layer keeping the figure protected and hidden but wait a minute, what is that? A fancy paper card that spoils the surprise? Or maybe these are distributed like the old Bandai Pokemon Kids figures where the collector card doesn't necessarily match the figure in the box (which is a really evil thing to do by the way)?


The figure is protected sandwich-style in a final layer of blister packaging and yes the figure is indeed the same as on the card. Surely there could have been a more interesting way to do this so as not to spoil the tension immediately? I get that it might be convenient to see which figure is inside without having to open the bag if you are a re-seller, but this is something that Bandai Namco is actively trying to stamp out in the first place. The easiest fix I can think of would be to have a generic logo on the flip-side of the card, rather than revealing the exact figure name on both sides... Anyway, let's take a closer look.


As we complete the walkaround of this metallic color version MSM-07S Z'Gok we can see how a lot of effort has gone into painting it up in a slick and shiny finish. Even the claws have a slight pearly thing to them. There is some excellent detail for the head-mounted 240mm missiles and the waterjets mounted on the back. I am still not convinced by putting a transparent canopy covering the Monoeye-section. Bandai did the same thing on the Converge #Sharp Z'Gok and I just think it looks better (and more accurate) without. The proportions of the figure do not match any other Gundam figures that I can think of and I imagine the appearance will be a bit of a love or hate-thing. All the figures in this set appear to have very unorthodox proportions about them and the design style really screams "mainstream generic collector item" rather than "Gundam-fan mini-figure".


The Qmsv figures are much larger than even the Mobility Joint figures and would stand almost twice as tall as your average Converge figure.


Articulation on this figure is really minimal. The arms can swivel upwards (but hit the enlarged chest area so you have to gently bend them outwards to continue the upward movement. The legs also swivel a little so that you can adjust the angle of the toes from the body. In spite of its large body and small footprint the figure stands up without issues, presumably because it is also very light. Still, this is not an item I would place on a high shelf as it is bound to take a lot of damage if it were to fall to the floor. All in all, a cool looking figure but perhaps not really what you are looking for to round out your Gashapon or Shokugan collections. These are for hunter-gatherer collectors that need a new fix only in my opinion.

Vinyl Chloride Spirits Full Color SD Gundam Vol. 1

"What the hell is a vinyl chloride spirit"? I hear you grumble. Well, in this case it seems to be a messed up translation or play on words of "PVC Soul", a series of self-published books related to anime figurines, also known in Japanese as Doujinshi or Doujin for short. The author of this tome - going by the alias of Jadou - apparently has written several such books in the past and now the turn has come to the adorable SD Gundam Full Color family of figures. This self-published book is not released through a traditional publisher but you would be hard-pressed to spot a difference in quality - the most obvious telltale sign is the lack of barcodes, logotypes or other such formalized jargon. The book was released through the recurring Comic Market convention that takes place in Tokyo. More specifically it took place at the 102nd instance on August 12, 2023. At the time of writing this review the next event will be Comic Market 106 (typically shortened to Comiket 106 or simply C106) and it kicks off on August 16. The place seems to have had some incredible crowds in the past and looks like a bit of a nightmare to attend in person but if you are up for it, it should be a real spectacle. :)

Below are a couple of links for further reading:

A history of the Comiket-phenomenon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comiket
Official page of C102: https://www.comiket.co.jp/info-a/TAFO/C102TAFO/cmkfor_ticket.html
The author's own old-style website: https://jadou.sakura.ne.jp/


This book is the first in a series of three different titles and a rather heavy tome containing a total of 156 numbered pages and has a stylish wrap-around cover with a nice glossy finish. The binding is similar to other Japanese hobby books that you may have come across. It is very tightly bound and it will refuse to lie flat on a table unless it is closed.


The book is split up into three chapters each covering roughly 20 waves of figures. Here we see part of the author's foreword on the left and the chapter 1 introduction page. I skimmed through the foreword using google translate and it feels mostly like placeholder text written for the sake of having a foreword. It is mostly the author lamenting the lack of a seminal bible for such an important figure series - that once sold over 100 million units - but is now an antique. In his words, a baby that was born after the SD-series ended will now be a fully grown adult.


Next follows a chapter introduction segment that also gives a quick summary of all the figures contained within each wave. Each figure is numbered here although numbering wasn't technically introduced from the start. We use a similar system here on the blog page basically numbering the early sets from right to left based on how they are listed in the booklets. Exceptions are made for volumes 10 and 17 that are two sets completely made up of reissues.


The final part of the chapter introduction displays miniature images of the Gashapon machine cover mounts, you can't really see anything much on these images, we will return to this topic in a separate book review shortly. On the righthand page there you can see the introduction of volume 1 which starts of with a little generic text blurb and a picture of the booklet front- and back-sides. The begins the meat of the book which presents each individual figure with one photo from the front and one from the back, at a slight angle to better show off the features on the sides. The figures are not shown disassembled into components.


As you can see the pattern continues forward, volume 2 follows immediately after volume 1 and so on. Here and there little blurbs and "tips" are inserted into leftover areas on the pages discussing various gimmicks or tidbits of information surrounding the figures. Seen here on the left for example the discussion is focused on reprinting of SD figures, something that was typically never done. With the exception of the two Best-of sets mentioned earlier (Stage 10 and 17) almost every wave was printed and distributed only once, much like how figures are still released today. On a comparative note, many of the current-day Mobile Suit Ensemble sets have enjoyed a second print-run but Converge figures have been reissued (as "Revives") on very few occasions (not counting the recycling of older figures into new versions that is).


Another way to fill up gaps in the presentation is to include mini-dioramas often involving multiple figures. While the layouting is sometimes a little messy the overall presentation feels very much like a fully commercial product that you would expect to see issued by any of the larger publishers.


Here the author discusses how to spot the difference between the original RX-78-2 Gundam figure from volume 1 and its reappearance in the volume 10 Best Selection wave.


The Zeta Gundam and its Waverider form figure were designed to use each others accessories and so the book takes its time to show a couple of extra panels in situations like this.


Here the author discusses the fact that some sets actually feature different print runs of the mini-booklets with minor differences and the sweet hell of deciding whether to attempt to collect them as well. Personally I was not aware of this before reading the book and feel content enough not to consider it further... :)


Another neat little stand-off between Londo Bell and Char's new forces from the rejuvenated Neo Zeon faction. That Alpha Azieru figure is really wimpy looking, too bad it didn't make it into the larger DX series.


Chapter 2 covers the middle of the SD Full Color life-span. The figures from this era tend to be the most readily available on the secondary market in my own not so scientific observations. I would be really interested to learn about the size of each production-run, I have a sneaking suspicion that the figures from the lates 20s and early 30s very produced in larger numbers than the others due to how often I encounter them but I have nothing to back that statement up.


Here the author is discussing the popularity of certain mobile suits and ranks them based on how many times they have been issued in the SD Full Color series. Unsurprisingly, the RX-78 sits in a class of itself. Practically every early set would contain a new form of this iconic suit and it remained a constant even in the later era of the series.


Mobile Fighter G Gundam mini-diorama time. The Death Army Gundam Heads are cool modular figures that can actually be extended into even longer necks but for that to happen you first need to get hold of more than one figure and good luck with that!


The Adzam mobile armour with its Adzam Leader drone is actually compatible with Gashapon capsules to imprison the RX-78. Unfortunately in all my time collecting these figures I have never come across a single SD Full Color capsule but I am sure there are some of them out there somewhere.


The late era SD Full Color series was dominated by the advent of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and the Cosmic Era figures become very numerous in the series later years. Unfortunately that same era has been really dead on the collecting front for the past 20 years now.


The third and last chapter covers the last third of the Full Color saga up to its final sixty-third stage, an impressive feat indeed. I always thought it was strange that Bandai didn't at least keep the series going to a round or at least even number like Stage 64.


Here we see some of the various features of the Zaku Tank from Stage 51. Its rear platform is even compatible with the tiny mini-figures from the DX era (or the larger spaceship playsets).


While the SD Full Color series was concluded with Stage 63 there is also an official SP set that came out at the end to promote the Bonds of the Battlefield arcade game. I have never come across any of these figures or its booklet but as you can see they are a collection of older figures brought back to life with some slight paint modifications.


The last page of the book collects the 17 miniature Mechanic File-sheets that accompany some select figures in the sunset stage of the SD Full Color era. I'll close off this mini-review by stating that this is the best SD Gundam Full Color file I have come across out there and it is a lovely piece of nostalgia for the right-minded person. I see this volume coning and going in the Mandarake shop from time to time, expect to pay maybe 1500-2000 yen or so to get your hands on a copy.

SD Revival Part 2 : Gundam Superior Define

A couple of weeks ago we saw the introduction of a new capsule toy series in the cherished super deformed format called Capsule Index. The first wave is a 4-figure set of pre-painted figurines in a size that appears to be roughly similar to the Senshi Forte height but with the twist of them being in static poses (separate post here). I'm looking forward to their introduction and just hope it won't be too difficult to find them.

Well, Bandai's Shokugan division doesn't want to miss out on the fun and have decided to launch a super-deformed series of their own, with the catchy twist "Superior Define" to the name. However, their idea about how things should be done is completely different.


At first glance this looks like an offspring from the Gundam Artifact mini-model kit line. The announcement features no photographs showing how the figures will be delivered but I guess they will come on single colour-sprues in yellow-beige colour similar to the Artifact line (perhaps there will be a hidden secondary colour variation as well). I presume the figures will have to be built and they look to follow the same design philosophy as Capsule Index in that they will come in static poses, perhaps offering some limited amount of articulation.

The first set features the following mobile suits:

1. XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero (Endless Waltz)
2. Musha Seita Gundam Kirinji Special Edition
3. GF13-017NJII God Gundam
4. RX-124 Gundam TR-6 [Woundwort]
5. MSM-03C Hygogg

As an aside, I find it interesting that a Hyper Mode God Gundam is up for release August in the Mobile Suit Ensemble line but there it goes under the PC alternate name "Burning Gundam"...)


To further aggravate consumers the figures will be released together with a set of twelve different metallic stickers in a style that somewhat resembles the old SD trading card game format. It is not immediately clear how these will be packaged together, presumably each figure will come with a single random sticker. 5 figures and 12 cards is a weird ratio however, I think it lends further proof to the theory that each figure will come in two colour forms (let's say a solid and a translucent colour variant for example) and perhaps the set will also include a secret sixth figure?

I think I will be sticking to Capsule Index myself thank you very much but I would consider picking up the stickers on the secondary market if they will be traded there separately. Superior Define will hit the stores in August and each figure has an MSRP of 500 yen (550 incl. VAT).