Strategy of Gundam Ex III

Well now, here is something you don't get to see that often. A complete store display box of the Strategy of Gundam Ex III series. Or to be more precise, I have never seen it again before or after I stumbled on this one. The S.O.G. figures series are a very detailed Gashapon figure range consisting almost exclusively of Universal Century mobile suits in a to-scale range of 1:300. This places them sizewise between the slightly larger Gashapon HG and various 1:220 figure series and the smaller Gsight (1:350) and Gundam Collection (1:400) ranges. A display box contains 12 random (not so random, really) figures from a range of - in this case six - different figure sets to collect.


Let's do a walk around of the display box. Just like many cardgame boxes this one also allows for the lid to be folded and raised as an eye catcher to bid you to part with your money. On the sides we see the expected contents as well as the barcode and price.


Since this is the only SOG EX III display box I have opened I can't say with any certainty how Bandai chose to seed them, but from this particular example it seems the norm was to do three of every basic figure. That is, the Kämpfer and Hygogg having two variants therefore become a little less common than the others. The natural expectation to see two of each of the six different figure variants wolud have made these two mobile suits all the more common, which I don't think would have necessarily been a bad thing. :) Anyway, looking at the individual items as they are organized in the box the distribution ended up like in the chart below:


Notice how the figures are sorted vertically first, starting out with figure number one and going in order all the way to figure number six. The Kämpfer and the Hygogg get one variant each in the main sequence and then get a random(?) extra at the very end there. It would be interesting to compare notes with anyone else who has done a similar unboxing.


Each individual figure comes in a stylish box of its own, showing off the full range of possible contents numbered one to six (The Full Armor Alex is shown on one of the sides of the box and I didn't bother to include it here). Looking at the item number above the barcode I do believe these figures had an original recommend sales price of 450 yen each. That is about the same as I paid for this box last year, ¥5000 for the full box which makes this a somewhat pricey piece of nostalgia.


If you carefully open up the smaller box (look for the perforated edge of one corner to make this easier) you can find some additional information about the Strategy of Gundam series, a customer service registration card and a plug for the next retail basic figure series, volume four titled Operation Rubicon. According to the information I have gathered, it appears both of these two sets were released in tandem in March of 2007.


Each of the six figures comes in a multi-compartment plastic bag which helps to keep the smaller components from disappearing during the transfer. SOG figures are overall fairly sturdy and composed of several components and not so much a victim to plastic warping and bending as some other similarly sized figures (Gashapon HGMS and Gsight come to mind).


And here is a basic overview of the figures as they came out of their individual bags. This is not a complete disassembly of each figure but rather shows the state these particular figures happened to come in. The set is as you can see almost exclusively centered on the War in the Pocket miniseries.



1. RX-78NT-1FA Full Armor Gundam "Alex"


The first figure in this set is in my opinion the least interesting, and I find it less than convincing playing the role of an EX figure. Now, don't get me wrong, the Full Armor Alex is a unique and interesting design and the figure looks the part, complete with the semi-weathered feel so typical of S.O.G. I just don't think there is a lot of EX content in the box. Besides the Alex itself you also get a couple of accessories, notably a hand holding a beam rifle and one holding a saber. You also get a non-armored right arm.


The optional arm seems like a curious inclusion but it is in fact intended for the retail Alex figure that comes in S.O.G. Volume Four. That figure is armed only with a single gatling gun and a shield and all the extra gear in this box is really intended for that figure. It is possible to equip the Full Armor Alex with the weapons from the standard Alex figure which is also neat. However I did run in to a rather major problem. After testing out the new weapons on the basic Alex figure I found that the peg hole in the right arm socket had been widened to the point where its original gatling gun arm would no longer fit, it simply falls out now. Not cool, Bandai.


The last accessory in the box is the torso of a brutalized GM Cold District Type, presumably after Kaminsky got his claws deep into it. While a neat little piece of scenery I think the EX box would have had more value if Bandai actually placed a GM figure next to the Alex, or why not a second standard Alex figure. The box contents feel a little slim to me as is.





2. MS-18E Kämpfer (Shotgun ver.)


Everybody's favourite Zeon suit the Kämpfer is up next, and comes in two versions. This first variant is armed with a single Jagdgewehr shotgun and a beam saber. It also carries two Giant Bazookas on its back and two Sturmfaust single use rockets on its knees. You also get a clenched right hand and an open left hand as option parts if you prefer to only arm the figure with one or none of its handheld weapons. The Giant Bazookas and the Sturm Faust rocket launchers are not designed to be used however. The figure has been gently weathered and this includes also the beam saber which looks a bit odd. With all the elongated soft plastic components you can also expect some bendy parts here and there, typically with the bazookas. Still, this is a killer design and a thing of beauty.


Side by side with the watered down version of the Kämpfer that was sold through the Strategy of Gundam volume 4 Operation Rubicon. The simpler figure still upholds the look of the EX variant, complete with the Cyclops Team insignia on the left cheek, but it has been stripped of most of its weapons. You can also notice that the basic figure lacks some of the colour applications found on the EX machine; less thrusters have been painted yellow (the EX figure itself also misses a few) and the boosters mounted on its thighs are not painted gray.





3. MS-18E Kämpfer (Chain Mine ver.)


The secondary variant of the Kämpfer comes with the odd Chain Mine implement, an accessory that is often faithfully replicated on figures of the Kämpfer although the whole thing is a bit ludicrous. The detailing of the accessory is great but it is a bit limited in what you can do with it and I definitely prefer the basic Shotgun / Beam Saber combo. This figure also comes with a clenched right fist so you could always mix and match the accessories of both Kämpfer figures to try out some alternate configurations.





4. MSM-03C Hy-Gogg


The second big highlight of this set is the very meaty Hygogg figure which again is available in two versions. The basic version features two normal clawed hands and it looks absolutely fantastic. The detailing on this thing is phenomenal, just check out those bulging hands with those menacing beam cannons. The suit also carries an orange discardable jet pack on its back which gives it limited flight capacity. The appearance is improved by the Cyclops Team insignia and a gentle layer of weathering, a signature thing for most SOG figures.


Another impressive thing about the SOG Hygogg figure is its size. It almost reaches the size of the (very anemic-looking) STANDart Hygogg which is supposed to be a 1/220 scale representation. You could almost bring the SOG figure into your 1/220 line-up, at least if you relegate it to the background.





5. MSM-03C Hy-Gogg (Hand Missile Unit ver.)


The secondary variant of the Hygogg figure comes with a single use Hand Missile Unit covering up the right hand completely. This is a completely static pose as there is no way to open up the covering panels.


The obvious choice of comparison here would be the 1/220 scale Universal Unit representation of the Hygogg from 2016. It stands taller than the STANDart figure and also sports an openable Hand Missile Container but the rest of that figure is a bit mediocre.


Either Hygogg figure can also share its Jet Pack with the Experimental Z'Gok from the Operation Rubicon retail set. I think Bandai could well have afforded to include a spare Jet Pack with the EX figure rather than forcing us to leave one machine without. It is not like it would have been a huge additional cost.




6. RGM-79FP GM Striker


The last box in this set takes a departure from War in the Pocket and instead comes with two mobile suits sprung out of the Harmony of Gundam project which began releasing material in November 2006, shortly before the launch Ex III. We'll start by looking at the Earth Federation GM Striker, a curious close combat variant of the GM armed with a Halberd-like Twin Beam Spear which you just know is going to be a bent mess in a PVC Gashapon realization. The rest of the figure is looking really sharp though, and I love the colouring and sculpting. Again, it makes little sense to create a close combat mobile suit but at least it looks good.


I encountered one production issue in this display box; one of the Strikers had been packaged with two left arms. Still, I was able to salvage the situation with the help of some super glue, let's see if you can spot the leftie in this group. :)





6. MS-05L Zaku I Sniper Type


The second figure in the last box is this stunningly beautiful Zaku Sniper Type. It sports a sandy colour and some heavy weathering on top. To assemble it you have to attach the power cable from the back pack to the front of the Beam Sniper Rifle. Due to the way this piece is designed it ended up with a worrying crack in the plastic where the bend became too much for the material to handle. I had this problem to some extent on all of the figures and it could well end up breaking the part off completely, so exercise caution here.





Conclusion

Strategy of Gundam Ex III is a phenomenal figure set that has a natural place in any SOG collection. The main problem is actually finding the figures as the figure line only tends to show up as brief appearances on the secondary market and it can be quite frustrating actually finding them. Still, EX figures appear to be more commonly seen than the cheaper retail figures so I guess there is that...

Strategy of Gundam Ex

Lately I have been fortunate to come across some old Gashapon boxes of the Strategy of Gundam brand. While the figures themselves used to be fairly easy to source in the past they have become rare in recent years but to find them in their original packaging is even rarer. The rarest of all is the distributor packaging of which we have a fine example for review today. The Strategy of Gundam figures are scaled to 1:300 and feature interesting and well thought out colour schemes, often with a muted style and featuring washes on top. This particular set is the first EX wave and it first appeared in September 2006.


Here is a closer look of the distribution style 8-box which also doubles as a store display piece. As with many of the Gashapon boxes the lid of the box is intended to be folded so that it forms the backdrop of the box from which customers can pick up individual blind boxes. You can see the fold mark and perforated semi-circle of the box lid in the first photo of the review. The sides of the box are also intended to be modified by tearing off the top section of each box side to make a display piece which is easy to grab from.


This is the first time I have come across a display box with sealed individual boxes inside. Since the box comes from the secondary market I cannot be 100% sure that the contents have not been shifted around or modified, but since these sets contain no secret items, colour variations or chase pieces it seems unlikely that the contents have been tampered with. After opening up the 8 individual boxes I found the seeding in this particular box to be neatly organized as follows: The front row contained the two G-Fighters, the second row the two Gundams, third row the Goufs and the row at the back held the two Ground Type Zakus.


The individual boxes have beautiful artwork on all sides. The front artwork shows the G-Fighter variations in a landscape format while we can see the Gouf and the Zaku II on the back cover in portrait format. The Gundam itself is only visible on the sides of the figure which seems a bit odd.


Each box contains a combination of various plastic bags containing the figures in various states of assembly. I have opened quite a few of these and so far have never ended up with any packaging mistakes such as missing components or inadvertent duplicates, something that seems to be more common these days.


Here the bags are spread out so that each horizontal line represents the contents of one single box respectively. from top to bottom we have the contents of the Gundam, G-Fighter, Gouf and Zaku II respectively.


Components laid out to form the different figures. This is the semi-completed form that the figures are typically provided in - you can continue to pick them apart further which is something I tend to avoid so as not to wear out their joints.



RX-78-2 Gundam with Docking Bay


Let's start with the most boring figure in the box, the RX-78. The Gundam is of course featured also in the basic S.O.G. line-up and this EX-figure is instead intended to synergize with the G-Fighter, something we will look into a bit further down the review. It was therefore necessary to sculpt the figure in its most basic form and so Bandai livened things up a little by also providing a dock for the figure to power down in. As such this Gundam figure is a neat background scenery piece (or objective marker in a game).


The docking bay can be assembled in two different modes to allow the mobile suit to stand or lie down. The whole construction stands firmly regardless which option you decide to go for.


Here you can see the relative size of the dock compared to figures of the old Converge-era, modern Converge (#Sharp) and Mobile Suit Ensemble. If you are thinking about finding a dock for posing with other figures consider that most mobile suits with backpacks and large fins will be unsuitable for standing in the bay. Figures with flat backs such as the GM and similar builds would be the most suitable.






G-Fighter + FF-X7 Core Fighter


The main player in this set is the quirky G-Fighter mobile armor. It features an aerodynamic nose section, a large bulky main body with treads and fins and thrusters for use in space. No two G-Fighter figures look the same and the S.O.G. variant has a really short and tall profile and features some light weathering on top of its normally garish colour scheme. Being a transforming figure it suffers a bit from the Macross figure syndrome, in that it can be hard to line every component up as intended. The bendy plastic may play some tricks on you but overall the figure has many interlocking components that do a good job of keeping things together, though perhaps not entirely aligned.


The G-Fighter gets a little Core Fighter figure to assist in its transformation options. The main criticism against this figure is that the cockpit canopy is not painted differently, but you can easily amend that with a black marker pen. The big funky hole at the rear is used when combining the fighter with the G-Armor section. The S.O.G. line also has some Core Fighter figures without this peg hole as can be seen in the comparison image.


This G-Fighter has quite a few tricks up its sleeve, offering multiple alternative builds and combination features. The box contains a two-sided instruction sheet which does a reasonable job of explaining the different conversion procedures although I found myself ending up with parts flipped the wrong way here and there (some I only noticed once I began editing the photos much later). Here are the instructions for future reference:


Notice how some of these alternate builds also make use of components from the Gundam figure in this set. Overall, I needed three sets of figures to be able to build one of each combination.


You are actually able to build both the G-Sky and the G-Bull using the components from a single G-Fighter and Gundam figure pair. Notice how the Core Fighter is used to spearhead the G-Sky figure.


Next up we have the massive G-Armor combo which is an elongated variant of the G-Fighter with the Gundam's torso as part of the fuselage protected by its two shields. The G-Armor retains the G-Fighter cockpit section with the heavy mega particle cannons up front.


Below you can see the various G-Fighter configurations that you can assemble from the two E.F.S.F. figures in this set. A total of three G-Fighters and two Gundams were needed to assemble this group.


However, the story doesn't end here. If we inspect the sides of the Gashapon box a bit closer we will see even further conversion options - provided that you have access to some of the other figures in the S.O.G. line:


To complete the next figure variations you need the RX-78-2 Gundam and the Core Fighter/Mobile Suit Transporter from the first S.O.G. figure set, the "Operation V" wave released in June the same year. We are not going to discuss these in great detail, just quickly browse through them below.


The huge mobile suit flatbed transporter can transport the Gundam from the EX set (the G-Fighter figure is not involved in this particular variant) but the pose is not entirely convincing, seeing as how the Gundam rests on its backpack and heels only. Still, the illusion works better when viewed from above, and is again a suitable piece for a board game objective. You can of course transport whatever you want on said truck as long as it is fairly flat.


The Gundam figure from the first S.O.G. volume has a less static pose and is equipped with a beam rifle and shield. The Gundam can ride on the G-Fighter although you may need to fiddle a bit to get the two to line up nicely, I didn't really spend a lot of energy on it here but you get the idea.


The last combination involves taking the upper section of the volume 1 Gundam figure and combining it with the rear section of the G-Sky mode to crate the Gundam G-Parts B variant (G-Mechanical). We actually have a proper figure of the G-Mechanical variant released in S.O.G. EX volume five featuring an asteroid base, seen here on the right. If you want to you can use the base from S.O.G. Ex V together with the G-Sky or G-Mechanical from the S.O.G. Ex set.





MS-07B Gouf + HT-01B Magella Attack (green) + Cui


Moving our focus to the Principality of Zeon we don't have any fancy parts conversion going on here but Bandai compensates for it by giving us a bit of combined arms action. The Gouf seen here is a basic S.O.G. figure (which interestingly was not released in the basic retail line for some reason) but it gets teamed up with a Magella Attack Tank and a Cui infantry support vehicle. The Gouf is in the middle of striking someone with its heat rod and features a pose that is somewhat prone to falling over. While you can rotate the figures limbs a little to attempt to get it to stand up better you would probably have to give it a base of some kind if you were to use it seriously on a gaming table.


The Magella Attack Tank features a turret that can rotate or detach, but the main cannon is not intended to elevate. The tracks are also not movable. Still, it is a great looking figure and one of my favourite representations of this vehicle.


Should you use the S.O.G. Magella with your Converge display? Size-wise they aren't that different but you are not getting the compact aesthetic in the S.O.G. figure which will unfortunately mean it stands out a bit.


The Cui is a wonderfully weird Zeon vehicle, basically a moving wall behind which infantry can take cover from light weapons. The figure can be a bit difficult to ground properly unless you glue it to a base but it is a great display piece and gaming accessory.






MS-06J Zaku II Ground Type (Magella Cannon) + HT-01B Magella Attack (tan) + Cui


The Gouf set-up was so cool that Bandai decided to recycle it for the Ground Type Zaku II. We have the same ingredient list if mobile suit + tank + infantry support vehicle, it would have been cool if the Dopp fighter would have replaced one of the two extra vehicles for some added play options. The Zaku II figure itself has an interesting colour scheme and is armed with the Magella Attack cannon used in the tank and also features leg-mounted missile launchers and a large Heat Hawk for close combat action. The Heat Hawk clips into a slot at the waist and has a tendency to fall out easily, consider supergluing it to not lose it. Again the figure can be tricky to stand up without toppling over but is otherwise great.


The Magella Attack Tank in this box is similar to the one in the Gouf box except that it is painted beige. Notice how the gun barrel is slightly differently coloured, probably due to the different materials plastics used here. The tanks colours are not randomized - you will only find the green tank together with the Gouf and the beige variant with the Zaku II. The Cui in each box is identical so I didn't include repeat photos of it here.





Conclusion

The Strategy of Gundam figure series is really great, the sculpts are excellent, the figures are excellent for skirmish tabletop gaming and while they tend to be overpriced on eBay they are quite cheap if you look for them on the Japanese market. Personally I can't help myself, every time I come across a set of this series I need to purchase it.