The Mobile Armor Selection series accompanies the HG Gashapon figure series and only really saw two sets released in 1999 and 2000 respectively. The first set also got this variant release in clear plastic as a special gimmick. The figures in this set correspond exactly to the Mobile Armor Selection Part 1 but have been re-moulded in single colour translucent plastic. As such I think they offer limited value to collectors unless you happen to be big on translucent figures in particular and their general rarity is also reflected in their price on the secondary market these days. I picked this set up just to review it and it cost ¥2500 which is a little bit higher than the standard colour versions but hardly anything that will break your bank.
The blind box design is also carried over from the Mobile Armor Part 1 but with an alternate colour scheme. Notice the promotional blurb for the fourth set of the old Gundam War collectible card game on the backside there. If you are interested, you can read more about the regular colour figures from Part 1 in the old review here: LINK
Each figure comes in a couple of plastic bags and requires a little bit of assembly. The plastic material is similar to the soft PVC used for the regular colour figures and as such you can expect a little bit of bending here and there, especially on thinner components. Each figure also comes with accompanying mobile suits or vehicles in corresponding scale. While the Gashapon HG figure series is not a strict to-scale series most figures are somewhere around an approximate 1:280 size meaning they are larger than the Gsight figures for example yet smaller than the more common 1:220 scale used in figures such as Assault Kingdom and Universal Unit. The mobile armours depicted here are much larger and so are massively shrunk down and not to scale with each other either.
MAN-08 Elmeth (translucent green ver.)
I'm not going to discuss these figures at length, there generally isn't a whole lot to say about them. I've propped up all the figures you see in these images atop of various bases primarily from the Assault Kingdom figure line - the Mobile Armor Selection figures do not come with any bases at all. The awesome size of the Elmeth is indicated by the inclusion of a really tiny little Gelgoog figure (would be nice if it was moulded in red plastic) and it also comes bundled with one of its own remote bit-type Psycommu weapons. The Elmeth carries twelve of these and while that may have been a bit much I think Bandai should have included at least 3-4 of them for added playability and not just one.
MA-08 Big Zam (translucent green ver.)
The Byg Zam figure is the only one in this set that will put up some resistance while you try to figure out exactly how the legs and feet should attach to give it a stable pose. In part that is the fault of the original Byg Zam design which is rather top-heavy and not ideal for a plastic figure. The figure is complemented by a little green Core Booster spacecraft.
MA-05 Bigro (translucent green ver.)
The last green figure in the set is that wonderful Bigro mobile armour that marries a rather menacing looking body with a dumb set of grappling claws which I am sure are of immense use in long-range space combat. This mobile armour is one of the smaller on display here and its companion green RX-78-2 Gundam figure is quite similar in size to a Gundam Collection 1:400 scale figure which made the regular colour figure an interesting addition to that crew.
MA-04X Zakrello (translucent yellow ver.)
We are switching things up with some bright yellow making this the most tasty looking gummy candy wanna-be of the lot. The two bladed arms are as you can see a bit warped but other than that the sculpts are of really good quality with quite a lot of detail - that is not necessarily showing up that well in these photographs. The Zakrello is joined by the Gundam G-Sky variant which is also nearing the 1:400 scale.
MAM-07 Grublo (translucent red ver.)
Our last figure here is also my favourite; the clawed underwater menace known as the Grublo. One of the cool aspects of the Grublo's look is that its two arms look an awful lot like ship propellers when stowed underneath the hull, however actual propulsion comes from hydrojet thrusters located in the main body. The arms are held in place wit two sturdy pegs when not in use but can swing forward roughly 180 degrees but not move sideways. Another unlucky RX-78-2 Gundam figure in roughly 1:400 scale is included this time red and armed with a beam saber. Again, this Grublo figure is definitely a contender for use together with the Gundam Collection figurines.
Conclusion
As you can see this set is a pure novelty item and really gimmicky in nature. There is really no reason to seek these figures out if you are looking to expand your collection of Gundam-themed figures. The regular-coloured figures on the other hand are in my opinion a much better purchase, especially if you are looking to add some additional mobile armor options to a 1:400 figure collection.
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