Gashapon HG Mobile Suit Selection 36

We're closing out the year 2024 with yet another vintage review. I didn't get to go through as many sets as I had planned this year but regular work and duties had to take precedence. In focus today is another of the late Gashapon HG sets, released in March 2005 when the series had really found its groove but it was only a matter of time before the line was permanently shut down. I really miss these simpler and sturdy figures compared to the frail build-a-crap Bandai releases today.


As usual here are the figures as they came out of their respective plastic bags. This is not a complete breakdown of parts but just how they happened to be partially assembled straight out of the packaging. Soft PVC-pegs on older figures like these can often be a bit unwilling to cooperate, opting to change shape rather than attaching like they are supposed to, so I prefer not to pick figures apart needlessly.



ZGMF-X56S/β Sword Impulse Gundam


The Sword Strike Gundam sits in the middle of the Force Impulse Gundam released in selection 35 and the Blast Impulse which followed in selection 37. It has an impressive and sprawling pose which doesn't go well with a Gashapon capsule so expect your dual blade to require a fair bit of stretching out. Depending on your luck you may find that the figure stands firmly on its two feet without the ugly white support. I wish these stands were always made in clear plastic or at least another colour than the leg they support but that is what you can expect from these really cheap figures. I have toyed with the idea of making custom scenic bases for these figures but that adds to their storage footprint so for now I have let them be.






ZGMF-1001/M Blaze ZAKU Phantom (Rey Za Burrel Custom)


The second entry from SEED Destiny in this set is the wonderful ZAKU Phantom in the custom white colour of Rey (no not that Rey from Disney...). This figure also sports a really beautiful action pose and it has been allowed to float above the ground on the typical Gashapon HG stand. Notice the peg holes for replacement ammo drums on the undersides of the shields - I wonder if these were supposed to have been included in the original design. I also wish Bandai would have completed the range with the machines belonging to Heine and Dearka but at least we can find Yzak's blue Slash ZAKU Phantom in the related Mecha Selection range.






RX-78-2 Gundam


Well, it has been six sets since we last saw the RX-78 in selection 30 so I guess it was really urgent to pump out another variant. Speaking of which, this figure comes in a really neutral standing pose pretty similar to the figure from wave 30 except that the previous figure was a bit of a jubilee thing that came on a square black podium. A complete waste of space in this set if you ask me but hey, at least the figure looks tidy and doesn't unnecessarily flail around with its arms which makes storage a breeze compared to the nightmarish SEED figures with their many wings and limbs all over the place. Again a small stand is provided which may or may not be required.






FA-78-1 Full Armor Gundam


next up we have a random Full Armor Gundam showing up for the first time, just made it in the nick of time before the series was cancelled. We do not have a blue variant in this line but I guess it wouldn't be too hard to repaint this figure should you want to. Again, notice the green support piece available. While I can understand the increased cost of producing clear supports for figures that do not use clear plastic anywhere else, how about if they switched things up a little? Let's say they would have made the support for the RX-78 in the green colour of the FA-78 and used a white stand for the FA-78, would it have looked more interesting?






RX-178 Gundam Mk-II (A.E.U.G.)


The last three slots in this set are reserved for Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. These follow a wave of Z-themed figures released in selection 32 and a couple of stragglers in 34 and are actually reinterpretations of figures we have seen in this series before. First out is an A.E.U.G Mk-II armed with a beam rifle and shield. Interestingly, no leg support is provided for this figure and of course mine has really crummy legs and can barely stand up. The joys of collecting the Gashapon HG series in a nutshell. :) Other than that the figure looks really good and has a really neat gimmick in two optional right arms. You can see them used alternately in the images above. This is a really simple but effective trick that would have been nice to see on more figures of this line, especially army builder types.






RX-178 Gundam Mk-II (Titans)


Next up we have a colour-swapped Mk-II for Titans use. There is no unit marking on the shoulder this time, had it been released today there is a good chance Bandai would have made three variants with different numbers forcing you to go through many more coins to obtain the full set. :) This Mk-II figure also replaces the rifle with a beam saber, more or less straight as you can see...


Both Mk-II figures have grey hands and so you are free to mix and match the weapon options and bent or straight arms to find your favourite pose combinations. This is such a simple trick but it really brings out a lot of fun in the figures and it would have been great to see it employed on suits like the GM, Zaku II or Rick Dias to name a few.






RMS-106 Hizack


The last figure in this set is also my personal pick of the lot. The Hizack returns to Gashapon HG in fantastic form. Look at the details and paint job on this thing, absolutely superb for such a cheap Gashapon figure. Notice specifically the exquisite sculpt of the heat hawk weapon - it is not often we get to see so fine detail in a cheap figure. Many smaller Gundam figures would just have a big flat shape where the blade would become one with the handlebar.


The first version of the Hizack was released in selection 14 in the year 2000. A third variant which is based on the selection 36 figure but armed with a machine gun also pops up in selection 39 (together with a blue Federation version) released in December 2005.






Conclusion

The later Gashapon HG figures are really little works of art and the evolution from the series' humble beginnings in the late 1990s is a real treat to the eye (and wallet, since these things remain very cheap). Your main issue will be to deal with various issues where the plastic has been bent over time or due to careless storage or packaging. On the plus-side, these figures are rarely (I can't even think of a single example but I might remember wrong) subject to the sticky and oily residue which can sometimes haunt older Gundam figures.

Gashapon HG Mobile Suit Selection 35

Today we will power through another of the legacy Gashapon HG figure sets, this one from December 2004, nearly 20 years ago on the dot. The set was coming out on the very late tail end of the Gashapon HG saga and is noteworthy in that it only contains mobile suits picked from the SEED Destiny show which was running at the time. The current episode would likely be somewhere around 10 which is also when the Saviour made its first appearance in the television series.


Being late era Gashapon figures the attention to detail here is pretty meticulous and you can get an idea of the figure complexity from the above parts breakdown. As usual, the figures can be picked apart even further, this is how they appeared when they came out of their original plastic bags for the first time.



ZGMF-X56S/α Force Impulse Gundam


I am not a huge fan of the derivative Force Impulse design in general but this figure is absolutely killing it. The attention to detail is excellent and the pose is superb. As usual with finned type mobile suits you can expect to have to deal with a bit of plastic warping here and there, some figures will be better off than others, it is all pretty random.


The figure has a couple of gimmicks to it. The first is that the Force Silhouette backpack is removable and in its place you get this small blue backpack that attaches in its place, effectively converting the figure to the basic Impulse Gundam form. We also get this all-white colour Force Silhouette Flyer which is screaming for some colour apps and a peg hole to make it compatible with the standard Gashapon HG action base. I guess they tried.


The Force Impulse had a really random re-appearance in the single set of figures known as "Ultimate Solid", released in November 2008. The new figure has a fairly advanced, weathered paintjob and also sports a new exclusive accessory, an enormous Excalibur sword (full review here).






ZGMF-X88S Gaia Gundam


Next up we have the trio of Z.A.F.T. experimental suits that just so happens to look very similar to the second generation Earth Alliance machines from SEED, all down to being piloted by a similar troika of deranged pilots. The first challenger is the black Gaia which is highly reminiscent of the original Raider Gundam but this time it transforms into a black panther instead of a bird of prey. This figure of course has no transformational features about it and there also isn't any mobile armor mode variant available in this Gashapon series. The closest match you can find is an old 2006 SEED Styling-S figure of its four-legged mode. I was going to post up a comparison photo of it here but I couldn't figure out where I kept it so it may come up later. :) All-in-all this figure looks really crisp but its features include several thing and long parts that may require straightening out.






ZGMF-X24S Chaos Gundam


The Chaos is next with its beautiful green, black and white colour profile. Its aesthetics are vaguely similar to the old Calamity Gundam but it now sports a new backpack with two remote weapon pods of the same type as seen on the Moebius Zero piloted by Mu La Flaga. I have never seen a figure that can transform into its weird looking mobile armor form - which is somewhat similar to the Aegis Gundam - you may have to grab an actual model kit to access that mode.






ZGMF-X31S Abyss Gundam


The Abyss finally is your big-shouldered submersible Destiny look-alike of the Forbidden Gundam, replacing the Forbidden's large angled shoulder pads with sleeker rounded Qubeley-like shoulder binders. The close-combat aspect of the Nidhoggr Scythe is similarly replaced by a large Beam Lance. Like its brethren the Abyss can transform into an Asshimar-like mobile armor but and again I am not aware of any figure that represents this mode.


The full Phantom Pain-piloted trio side by side. Seen here without their large plastic supports that clip to the back of the legs these figures don't always cooperate willingly but you should be able to display them without supports for the most part.






ZGMF-X23S Saviour Gundam


Finally we have the fifth of the Z.A.F.T Second Stage mobile suits, the Saviour in a somewhat leaning pose. The colour feels a bit too pink compared to the original but the colour apps are on point for the most part with just enough whites and blacks to break up the red. Crazy spread out poses like these mean these Gashapon figures can be a bit of a pain to store unless you want to disassemble them, at least partially.






ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior (Lunamaria Custom)


The last two slots in this set are given to a couple of variants of the ZAKU Warrior, the Cosmic-era rip-off of the Zaku II. While this is overall a really cool design I'll never be able to come to terms with how they just lifted in the Zaku II, Dom and Gouf into Destiny. SEED Freedom continues this creative bankruptcy with variants of the Gelgoog, Gyan and Z'Gok. I mean what the hell..? Anyway, the figure has a couple of neat posing tricks available to it. The figure comes with two optional right arms, one with the elbow bent at a sharper angle. This makes more sense when we compare Luna's machine to the mass-production type below.






ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior


The mass-production type figure is a simple colour swap of the red version but it also replaces the Beam Tomahawk-equipped right-hand with that of a Beam Assault Rifle-holding one. While you need to get both figures to access both weapons this opens up some interesting posing variations. Notice by the way the two peg holes on the flipside of the shoulder shield. These are intended for storing spare ammunition-drums for the machine gun, although no such accessories are included. I don't know why these are not present, maybe a late change to cut on production costs?


Here we can see a trio of ZAKU Warriors utilizing the different weapon options and also right-arm variations. One of the more interesting design choices in this Gashapon-line I think and I wish more figures had synergies like these.






Conclusion

Overall, this set is an auto-include for any Cosmic Era collectors but most Universal Century-aficionados will probably just want to focus their resources somewhere else. Gashapon HG figures are not that easy to come by these days but from a price point of view this set shouldn't set you back that much. Last time I bought a set was in 2021 and it cost only ¥800 so maybe around ¥1500 or so today (provided you can find it of course).