Gundam Collection 7-Eleven Color Set

In 2009 there wasn't much gas left in the tank of the Gundam Collection figure series. All of the major sets had been released at this point (save for DX9 which was a special feature for Unicorn) but 7-Eleven still managed to dig up the corpse and give it one last go. The chain is known for its many cross-promotional releases and Mobile Suit Gundam specials are a recurring sight on their shelves even in 2026.


The Gundam Collection series is all about blind-boxes and the 7-Eleven set maintains the tradition. Although there are only four figures to collect - a set that could easily have been sold complete - they of course chose to spread the contents out in as many random configurations. There are three mobile suits and the large Gunperry transport to collect. I don't know how much they sold for back then or if there are any larger distribution-style cases containing multiple boxes that feature special artwork.


Here you can see the contents of the four different types of figure configurations. Three our of four boxes contain a Gunperry and one of the other three figures while the last box gets you a nice little squad of three 7-Eleven themed mobile suits. As you can imagine, the weight difference for the last box is noticeable and it would have made it very easy to identify among the others. In my experience the box with three figures is the rarest on the secondary market, I could well see them getting picked up by squad builders.


Each box comes with this two-sided information and assembly instruction sheet. There are a couple of ways you can screw up with the Gunperry if you are not paying attention so it pays to be a bit careful. I have assembled many of these and still continue to make silly mistakes because I don't pay enough attention. :)


The top image shows each of the four bags while the parts-spread below shows three of them, I didn't bother to repeat the components for the two Gundam figures since they are identical in this regard.


There are no new figures in this set; all have been repurposed from much older releases. The two Gundam figures are based on the RX-78 from Gundam Collection Volume 10 from 2004, the GM is based on the very first set of Gundam Collection figures from 2002 and the Gunperry hails from the first DX-set which is also from 2004. Let's look at them in a bit more detail.



RX-78-2 Gundam (E.F.S.F.)


The basic RX-78 figure is just that, an incredibly vanilla experience of the Gundam. It has the basic beam rifle and shield configuration and stands at rest. I didn't have my original 2004 "E10"-figure at hand for a comparison image but I would imagine the appearance is very similar if not exactly the same. Even though the figure is only about 4 centimetres tall it has very detailed and frankly impressive painted details all over its body. Just look closer at that head and count the little vents on its sides then ask yourself whenever you saw a contemporary Gundam-figure with this much detail. The other thing that the 1/400-collection is known for is its soft PVC-plastic which sometimes leads to comically bent beam sabers and rifles - you can see the shield on this figure is a bit bent out of shape for example.

This figure is easily the most uninteresting of this set and I don't really understand why it was included at all; the other three figures are all in 7-Eleven markings. Perhaps the designers wanted a fourth figure but I can think of much better candidates than a plain-colour RX-78. The figure is even relegated to the background on the box cover - perhaps the marketing team felt that its colours would draw the eyes of people who would otherwise fail to notice the Gundam connection? While I can think of many sexy figures that would look good in a 7-Eleven livery the most logical choice for this set would probably have been the RB-79 Ball.





RX-78-2 Gundam (7-Eleven Color)


With the boring figure out of the way, let's get cooking with the 7-Eleven special figures! Up first is the same RX-78 figure but now redone in colours typical for 7-Eleven crossover releases. Much of the Gundam's basic colour scheme is maintained but blue has been turned into green and yellow into orange. The grey joints are also painted in a darker almost black style. And as icing on the cake, we have two tiny 7-Eleven insignias on the right shoulder and on the shield. The most outstanding feature of the 1/400-collection is in my opinion the heavy featuring of corps insignias and unit numbers and so this technology could easily be reused for 7-Eleven. While I am not generally into cross-promotion stuff I have to say this looks great.





RGM-79 GM (7-Eleven Color)


Well, if the previous figure looked spectacular take a look at this - a lime green GM! Man, I just love it. Unlike the Gundam figure this figure comes with a right arm that has a shaped peg - meaning there is only one way to pose it unless you modify it. Many of the Gundam Collection-figures have these shaped pegs although round pegs that allow different poses are also very common. You will usually only get one moving arm however, but it differs a bit from figure to figure.


The original figure from 2002 actually has some of its leg joints painted in black, perhaps the designers felt it necessary to make it look less toylike back then. While this detail is missing on the 7-Eleven version it would be fairly simple to add this detail with a thin marker pen yourself - the same experience that you would have with Mobile Suit Ensemble or Mobility Joint for that matter...





Gunperry (7-Eleven Color)


As nice as the previous figures are it is the Gunperry that is the star of this show and how can it not be? Just look at this thing, what a magnificent collector piece. The best thing about it is that it is made from rigid ABS-style plastic and so functions more like a miniature model kit than your average Gundam Collection figure. There are a lot of interlocking parts that help keep the construction stable and so it is important that you assemble them in the correct order for a smooth experience. It is not difficult however you will at times encounter the occasional peg hole that does not want to co-operate.

I have one figure where I had to do some extensive digging with a knife to get the part to fit and I was really worried that the whole thing might just break apart. If you encounter friction, be careful not to try to push pieces in, there may be imperfections that have to be cleaned up first.


All three rotors sit on arms that can be extended for flight mode and the side walls of the cargo compartment can also be folded downwards to allow easy loading access. You have the option of attaching two racks of cruise missiles on the insides of the cargo compartment although I suspect 7-Eleven would be unlikely to have a license granting their use. :) There is no particular feature to load the Gundam inside; you'll just have to chuck it in there.


The original Gunperry from the Gundam Collection DX-set comes in the classic U.C. 0079 colour scheme and is available in five different variants. One unit is completely unmarked while the other four have unit numbers 01 through 04 on the nose section. One nitpick I have with the Gundam Collection figures is that too many of them were numbered 01-03 and similar but many others got it right with completely different numbers out of sequence. Oh, how I long for this series to return and fill in the many gaps among missing mobile suits and also add new units from shows that have come later. Alas, some dedicated 3-d printers out there are doing a stellar job of adding some of the missing faces but I just want my PVC-fix. :)


Someone in the design team was really inspired and came up with an idea to add cargo to the Gunperry. You can find these stowed containers on the little flaps of the box so be careful not to destroy them. You have to cut them out with a scissor and then carefully fold the edges on three of its sides. We are talking a few millimetres here and so you best use a ruler or something similar to assist or you'll never get it right.


The paper cargo can then be used to cover up the empty side of the open Gunperry storage bay. This works reasonably well for one side but if you intend to cover up both sides you will have to glue the pieces in place while you are assembling the model because there is no way you will be able to apply these from the outside later. In my example I just put the paper in here temporally, the three side flaps press outwards against the edges of the cargo bay walls and holds it place reasonably well. However, you will not be able to close the sides of the cargo bay as the paper now takes up the place where the door would usually rest. It works best as a temporary detail for diorama images rather than a permanent addition I think.





Conclusion

What a great little set we have here. I guess the main criticism is that the figures are sold in blind boxes when it would have been easy to sell the figures as a complete one-off thing but we all know that is not how these things go. Besides, you can never have too many Gunperries on your flightline. In my head-canon I can well see some of the large corporations in the Zeta-era having access to obsolete military equipment for their security needs. I imagine someone like Anaheim Electronics doing a production run of Gundams and GMs with lower class armour and weaponry entering the civilian market.

As usual with these things, you will not encounter these figures very often but they aren't as rare as you might suspect. You will see individual boxes pop up on the secondary Japanese market from time to time. A couple of years ago I used to pick these up for about ¥400 each but in later years prices on all Gashapon are climbing. I recently saw a full set of four being sold for ¥5000 which is still not a bad deal for nine figures methinks.

Gundam Collection 00-1 box opening

Following on from yesterday's look into a DX3 box I also have one for the double-oh set. This release is a bit of an anomaly that exists on the side of the regular retail series. The fact that it is labelled 00-1 clearly indicates that Bandai did leave it open for possible future expansions but sadly this is the only set that was made. While it is a strong start there is so much unbroken ground to cover and it makes me a little sad. How lovely it would have been to see 1/400 minis for the Union Realdo, GNX-III or the Anf for example. At the time of its release in October 2007 the GC series was well into its decline and it was followed only by a few more DX sets and some other outliers.


This distribution-style box comes with the usual provisions for modifying the box into an attractive counter topper just like that of a collectible cardgame. The box contains 12 blind-box figurines. Let's complete the walk around of the box sides:


We are informed that there are ten different figures to collect (plus a hidden number of extras) in this set but as is usual with Gundam Collection the selection is much deeper. However, at this point in time the GC sets had devolved into a pretty miserable state. While this set does contain alternate variants of some of the figures it also heavily pads the contents with the dreaded silver- and gold-colour figures. These are basically the same figure with some cheap single-colour paint slapped all over it, not sure what you are supposed to do with those? the answer is of course, spend more money buying blind boxes until you get the properly coloured ones. Nowhere on the box do I see a representation of these dud-figures, all the sides contain the fully-coloured figurines which is rather deceptive.

Bandai did these shenanigans with a number of the last GC sets before the series folded entirely. Interestingly, we see a spin on this take in the new 2026 Gashapon Senshi ZERO figure line which sports 15 figures to a set, of which only three are fully painted. Very frustrating.


So, before we start here is a rundown of the ten different mobile suits you can find in the box. Celestial Being is represented by its four essentials - Exia, Dynames, Kyrios and the Virtue. The three "enemy" nations get three, two and one suit respectively. All the CB suits come with at least two different weapons choices while only the Tieren Ground Type gets an alternate variant among the others. Imagine what an awesome collection this could have been if the 00 series would have kept going for 4-5 volumes.

For me, I am still missing several of the different colour variants from the 00-1 set and so I hope to find a couple of new faces in here to flesh out the checklist.


As I covered in the discussion regarding DX3 you never really know if you are buying a genuinely seeded box or not when you are trading on the secondary market. In this particular case however it appears that the contents were untampered with which makes this opening more interesting from a historical point of view. The figures are prearranged in alphabetical order (each figure has a short code identifying it) with the first figure starting in the top left corner seen here which would be the last row of figures when looking into a box from the front. Below, is a simple schematic of how the figures in this particular box were arranged:

A001 - A001 - A002 - A003
A004 - A005 - A006 - A007
A008 - A008 - A009 - A010

Since 00-1 is a relatively small set with only ten figures you will most likely find all ten inside a single box. However, you should not expect to get a full set of painted figures. The worst set in this regard is DX9 where my usual experience is getting four fully painted figures out of 12, but 00-1 is a little bit more generous. There were seven fully painted figures in this box and then five of the pretty much useless silver- and gold versions. Normally I would expect half of the figures in a 00-1 to be the fully painted variants.


Here are some close-ups of the individual figure boxes. I love how the text on the backside reads something like "There are also other variations in weapons and equipment etc". Right. The word "etc." here means we took the figure and repainted it into something that you do not want or even expected.


Each Gundam Collection figure also comes with a little folded paper with some basic information about your figure. This set also includes a separate mini-flyer for the luxurious Ptolemaios carrier in full 1/400 scale. It had a devastating price of 12 600 yen already back in the day - these days I see them routinely going for about 50 000 yen so have fun with that. While I am not particularly interested in the carrier itself it does come with four unique variants of the Celestial Being mobile suits which I highly covet. Or well, three at least - I'm not so sure if that Virtue figure is actually different from the figure included in 00-1.


The figures that you see here are the three that sit in the leftmost out of the four columns, so the first figure in the back row, middle row and front row. And as you can see things aren't exactly starting out great. One silver-colour Exia, the Virtue in gold and a fully painted Enact. I won't dwell on these figures or review them in detail as many of them will stay in their bags for resale but it will give you an idea of what to expect from a 00-1 box.


Next column has a fully painted Exia, this time with the GN Short and GN Long blades instead of the GN Sword which we saw previously. Next a very welcome fully-painted Ground Type Tieren with the Smoothbore gun and then another AEU Enact but this time in silver colour. When you inspect the silver- and gold-colour figures closer you can see the original plastic colour peeking through at the pegs, so these were not cast in silver or gold but painted over.


In the third column we get a fully painted Dynames, a silver-colour Tieren High Mobility Type (dang!) and a gold colour AEU Hellion. I'd much rather have gotten fully painted mass-production type suits as they would be more useful.


In our last column all three figures are actually fully-painted. I was a bit surprised by this as I would have imagined the fully painted to unpainted ratio to always be 50% which has been my experience so far. Here we get the Kyrios with a beam saber, the Space-type Tieren and the Union Flag. All in all, this was a really good box for me because I ended up with six new variants to add to the line-up on the checklist page.


Above here you can see the individual booklets for each figure in placed in a pattern similar to each figure's position inside the box. So, the two Exias were found in the left corner furthest from the front and so on. Notice that the figures are only depicted with their primary weapon variants on the booklet covers. below you can find a reproduction of the checklist for the 00-1 set after I updated it with the new figures from this box. There are still plenty of gaps in the line-up but nearly all of them are just pointless silver- or gold-variants.