Gashapon HG EX Mobile Armor Selection (Clear Color Version)

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.

Bandai Mobile Suit Gundam 30th Anniversary Okawara's Origin

As per a recent request we'll take a closer look at one of the special 30th anniversary Gashapon sets that Bandai released in 2009. The figures are based on famous designer Okawara Kunio's original mobile suit designs and some of the figures have literally been sculpted in very peculiar ways to follow the perspectives seen on the original drawings. These figures are pretty hard to find and I had to use some secondary sources to dig up a couple more facts. For example, the Gundam Ace Magazine logo at the bottom of the booklet threw me off a bit leading me to believe this may have been some kind of cross-promotional release but it looks to be nothing more than a simple advert, stating that the magazine releases on the 26th of every month.


I bought these items second hand back in 2019 and as you can see I don't have any parts of the original packaging included. According to Hobbylink Japan the figures were released as regular Gashapon capsule toys sold eight to a box. The release date is June 2009 for the first wave, while this second release most likely followed in the autumn of that same year.


This parts explosion shot reveals that we are mainly dealing with rigid figures that have shaped pegs designed to pose arms and legs in a very specific way. Thin of these figures as little statuettes with zero play value.


Each figure comes with a tiny little Okawara Kunio memorial plaque that can stand upright at a slight tilt. You can bet that these will be missing on a lot of second-hand figures out there so pay special attention when hunting if this is a concern of yours.



MS-06F Zaku II


This set is very Zeon-heavy, since the RX-78 and the Guncannon were featured in the first wave. I find it refreshing that there wasn't a repeat Gundam thrown in here for the sake of it, which is often the case. Anyway, this Zaku figure quickly shows what is so odd about this figure series. Although tiny these Gashapon are painted to a very nice standard featuring highlights and shading as well as special markings, something very unusual for tiny PVC minis. In contrast, the back of the figure is almost entirely monotone which looks really odd but I guess with the idea of you viewing the figure straight on from the front this was not going to be a problem.


Size and colour comparison with a Zaku II from the Ichiban Kuji one-shot "Solid Essence Collection" from 2020 and a STANDart 1/220 scale Zaku F2 Type. These figures don't really match any other figure series out there although you could potentially press a few of them into service in a diorama with smaller 1/280 or 1/300 Gashapon figures.






MS-07B Gouf


Up next is my favourite figure from this set, a Heat Rod-swinging Gouf in a great looking pose. The only complaint is the left foot resting atop a cloud-like white little stand but you should be able to work him into a diorama setting really nicely. Notice all the highlights painstakingly applied to the heat rod, this is really nice for a Gashapon.






RX-75 Guntank


This figure set has been doing great so far but here is where it all falls off a cliff. The idea of creating these peculiar messed-up perspective designs doesn't work at all in my opinion. if you really wanted to highlight the look of the original paintings maybe Bandai should have released these as flat rubber keyring mascots or acrylic sheets. Or why not, you know just let the figure keep its realistic proportions and put this neat paintjob on top. It doesn't help that it sits elevated from the ground on this blue mini-dais. I don't like this miniature at all.






HT-01B Magella Attack


The Magella Attack Tank unfortunately suffers from the same issues as the Guntank, this one looks like it has driven halfway into a swamp and got stuck. What a shame since the paintjob is so vibrant and colourful. Oh well, at least it save me the trouble of trying to find more units to squad-build because these things are really hard to find.






So there you have it folks, a short review today but there isn't really a whole lot to say about these minis or things to compare them to. I am still missing a couple of the first wave which includes the RX-78, Guncannon, Char's Zaku II and cursiously a Zaku I. There is also a third wave of repeats of the Gundam, Gouf and two Zaku IIs that stand on large rectangular white bases. I have them around here somewhere and they will eventually find there way on here but those are just more of the same basically.

Seika Sharpener Collection EX : SEED Destiny

Seika is one of those large corporations that seem to produce a little bit of everything. If you visit their corporate website it looks just as bland and uninteresting as the rest of them; a cavalcade of buzzwords and image bank material, visit at your own risk. In its more inspired moments however it does produce toys, or at least it did. You'll mainly find various types of IP-related stickers, books, or similar knick-knacks. Among the highlights of its contributions to the Mobile Suit Gundam-themed toy landscape the large Toy Book series springs to mind as well as a bazillion of various pencil sharpener figurines. The EX line upped that game but only saw a few releases themed around Zeta Gundam, SEED and SEED Destiny. Today we are examining the first SEED Destiny batch of sharpener figures released somewhere around 2004-2005.


Here is a quick walkaround of the standardized box because yes, these things are packaged randomly. Ex figures typically come in larger boxes holding 6-12 individual figures or similar. I don't have enough data to speak on the figure distribution among these boxes and I have never even seen an image of one for this particular set.


These figures belong to a previous era, when the world was at peace and third world labour was still cheap. This allowed us to enjoy cheap figurines packaged in lavish full-colour boxes and a rather redundant mini-booklet thrown in for good measure! Nowadays, black and white packaging is everywhere and we don't always get printed assembly instructions with the larger figures either. The early 2000s is a bit of a golden age for mini-figure collection.


Each individual figure comes wrapped in a plastic bag and occasionally has some additional cardboard wrapping around the thinner parts to protect them from bending out of shape. The material is a mix between soft PVC and a somewhat harder ABS-PVC blend.


The main gimmick of these figures is of course that they are pencil sharpeners. Underneath each figure a simple sharpener has been glued into place. That's why we have the hole in the side of one of the six edges and why we have the large and unwieldy bases on these things in the first place. Come on kids, surely you know what a pencil is? Right?



ZGMF-X56S/α Force Impulse Gundam


This set is pretty much dedicated to showing off the various Silhouette Packs that apply to the Impulse Gundam, a popular theme for miniatures around this time. The Aile Stri... I mean the Force Silhouette is basically a copy of the Strike Gundam atmospheric flight pack and is seen here in action as the figure hovers slightly above the ground. The figure is attached directly to the base and you are not meant to try to remove it from the base itself. Similarly there is no articulation present, think of this as a soft plastic statue with a decent ability to not bend out of shape. Both the sculpting and paint applications are as you can see really nice for such a small figure. I should point out that the Force Impulse also returns in the second set of SEED Destiny figures in a more traditional standing pose. I didn't have it out of packaging at time for this review but will revisit this entry to add a comparison photo eventually.






ZGMF-X56S/β Sword Impulse Gundam


Next up is the Sword Impulse silhouette close range combat variant, a daring design for a such small PVC figure. The (very nicely painted) blades are protected by cardboard wrapping and came out of the box in pristine condition, don't throw these away and keep them around for future storage. I am not a huge fan of this pose as it feels a bit unnatural and not to mention it will encroach on the space of figures you chose to place next to it. Still, this is my favourite variant of the Impulse Gundam and this figure does do it justice.






ZGMF-X56S/γ Blast Impulse Gundam


The Blast Impulse is the Launcher Strike look-alike for the Impulse and comes in a bit of an awkward pose here. Look at the beautiful detail and paintwork, notice the detail around the launcher handles and the various exhausts at the back. Even the little backpack peering out beneath the large fans is heavily detailed. Seika figures sometimes have a bit of a weathered finish with slight colour variations in the main body paintwork, you can see the shifting tone of greyish white on the legs here for example. It is a pity that we can't get small, pre-painted figures such as these anymore.






ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior


The last design in the set is my personal pick. and one I would have loved to get multiples of but Seika Sharpener figures is only something you will come across happenstance and these larger EX figures are even rarer. This mass production-type figure is the only one in the set to come in a classic standing pose and stands out a bit from the others in this way. Again beautiful colouring and detail work all around including the spare ammo drum attached to the backside of its shield.






ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom)


Don't look so sad, Shinn. Yeah, I know why you are disappointed, that secret fifth figure is indeed impossible to find - I have never even seen it on a photo. On the odd chance that I were to stumble on it somewhere in the future I'll come back and update this post. For now I just decided to upload a review with the basic range covered because otherwise it may never come up at all. I suppose I should confirm that I actually do not know that the secret figure will be Lunamaria's red variant but it is just something that I take for granted. The same pattern shows up in the SEDD Destiny 02 set by the way, where the basic set includes a green Gunner ZAKU Warrior and a secret red variant for Lunamaria's personal use (and that figure I have actually seen).



Conclusion

Should you go after the Seika EX sharpener figures? While there are a few really unique looking sculpts in this range they are unfortunately very hard to find, among the rarest of the rare small figures I would say. Still, they do show up at places like Mandarake from time to time and are generally not expensive, but you'll just have a miserable time trying to actively find them. I have resigned myself to picking Seikas up whenever I happen to stumble on them myself.