SD Gundam Full Color DX

While the SD Full Color series was busy doing its own thing and churning out multiple waves in 2004 Bandai also managed to crank out a couple of deluxe sets in parallel. The DX moniker is a common denominator among various product ranges and at least as far as Gundam figures are concerned, tends to crop up as a series is starting to wind down a little bit. DX content usually takes things to a whole new level that you simply cannot justify within the established budget of a traditional Gashapon or Shokugan range and so they are released a bit on the side. The Full Color DX retail price was twice as high as for the regular figure, a mighty ¥200 instead of ¥100. It was released sometime in the first half of 2004 I believe and so would put it somewhere around the same era as Stage 46-49.


There are five different figures to collect in this set and while all of them have indeed been released previously as traditional SD Full Color figures these versions have been amped up quite a bit not just in size and each also features an adorable little miniature pilot companion figure.



RX-78-2 Gundam + Amuro Ray


There always has to be an RX-78, doesn't it? Now while this figure might not be the most exciting of the lot it has a lot of features that go together with the G-Fighter figure but hey, at least Bandai have given it a full range of weapons to choose from. Both hands are also holding hands giving you a lot of options to mix things up. You can also take advantage of the peg on the back-skirt for some storage options there.


Have you ever seen a figure with a head-attachment such as this before? The reason this particular Gundam looks so weird in its proportions is because it will come apart in various combinations to synergize with the G-P.A.R.T.S. components from the G-Fighter and it required a couple of unusual engineering options on this front.





G-Fighter + Sayla Mass


The G-Fighter figure looks very traditional as far as these things go and is a decent looking figure in its own right. The colour applications have been applied where they should but Bandai generally does not take shortcuts when it comes to painting up the G-P.A.R.T.S. figures in my experience. Let's take a look at its transformation options below. Notice that you will need components from the RX-78-2 Gundam figure for each of them.





RX-78-2 Gundam + B-Parts


The G-Fighter figure is basically two halves attached onto a base plate with treads. The front section is referred to as the A-Parts section and the rear makes up the B-Parts segment. This awkwardly fused together configuration makes use of the B-Parts of the fighter craft and replaces the legs of the RX-78 to form this classic hideous thing. The clear stand you see on display here is borrowed from another basic SD Full Color figure that happens to include one; no stand is included with this figure. So much for DX I guess.


Bandai released the Gundam-B combo as a separate figure a couple of years earlier in Stage 28. The 2001 figure has its own dedicated flight stand (awkward...) and has a special neck section that allows the figure to see where it is going unlike our DX combination here which just stares down on the ground. The OG figure is clearly the better pick of the two.




G-Bull


Now that we have removed the B-Parts from the G-Fighter figure we will instead slot in the Gundam's main torso into the empty space (and this is why the head sits on two pegs instead of one). The little red part that attaches to the lower end of the torso is an option part that ships with the G-Fighter and that is not used in its standalone configuration. I guess this works but it isn't much to look at really.


A smaller G-Bull was released in January 2002 as part of Full Color Stage 30 and I guess here we can argue that the DX figure looks a bit more interesting. The older figure receives a G-Sky companion in Stage 31 and combines together with it in different ways similar to the DX figure (I covered it briefly in the Stage 31 review here).




G-Armor


Finally, we have the large G-Armor air assault thingy. Again, you combine the Gundam's torso with the G-Fighter but this time you stick it in between the A-section and the B-section. To make the thing look even more impressive you also flip the outer section of the G-Parts thrusters backwards to make it look bigger. It works quite well and would definitely look impressive on your shelf next to the other SD Gundam figures.


Side-by-side with the combination figure of the G-Bull and G-Sky figures from Stage 30 and 31 respectively. While the DX figure is bigger and has more colour to it the sleeker shape of the older figures also has an appeal. Ultimately though, the whole G-P.A.R.T.S. thing has been done to death and the thought of having to fiddle with it in Mobility Joint again just makes me sigh.




MSN-02 Perfect Zeong + Char Aznable


Next up we have a tall and well-sculpted Zeong with moving arms and rotating hands. I really like the look of this figure, the head is not so long as on some of the other figures and the legs has lots of interesting detail and paint applications on them. As a bonus, you can balance one or two pilot figurines in the palms of its hands which makes for some additional display options.


The Perfect Zeong is one of the oldest figures in the SD Full Color series and dates back to Stage 5 from September 1998. The basic SD figures were quite large back then but the DX figure still towers above it. I think it is safe to say that the DX figure outclasses it in every measurable category. Another thing I really like about the DX figure is that its monoeye is centred, Zeon figures tend to look better that way I think.





MAN-08 Elmeth + Lalah Sune


The Elmeth is one of those quirky old designs that doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. Bandai have updated the figure in a bid to make it more interesting with three of the craft's twelve Bit-type remote weapons being launched in a cascade of translucent colour. We have some nice colouring on the craft itself as well and you also get to train the two mega particle cannons up or forward as if they were attached to a stationary artillery piece back on Earth.

Recently, I also saw in one of those fan-published SD guide books that the Lalah Sune figure can fit inside the front section of the Elmeth if you remove the top section of the craft. Not sure if that is someone's afterthought or a dedicated playability option as this feature is not depicted in the actual mini-booklet.


Just like the Zeong, the Elmeth is also a really old sculpt originating in Full Color Stage 4 which released in the summer of 1998. Once again you can see that the DX figure is actually deserving of the name, every aspect of it has been updated and tinkered with to make the end result all the more appealing.





MA-08 Byg Zam + Dozle Zabi


Lastly, we go on to the big guns! The Byg Zam is up and it is so large and heavy that its legs barely supports it. A lot of its decorative colouring is the result of a multi-part design, evident in the parts-shot at the start of the review. It isn't the most imposing or aggressive version of the Byg Zam out there, it looks more like a tired old toad but the colouring and detailing is still great.


The Byg Zam first appeared in Full Color Stage 9 and released in June of 1999. The older figure is sturdy and has nice proportions but of course not as pretty when it comes to the colour applications. The old figure only had the two most forward sections of its eye ports painted black while the DX figure at least gets all the forward sections filled in. The sections on the back of the head are left for you to fill in yourself however.





Crew


The pilot figurines are in my opinion the best aspect of the DX series and so it is a shame that only two sets were made. You can find some more crew figurines if you are lucky (and wealthy) enough to pick up the large White Base and Musai play-sets as well as the Minerva from SEED Destiny which followed later. These are quite rare and go for prices around ¥7000 up to ¥15000.




Conclusion

This introductory DX set is a novelty item in the SD Full Color range and is a rare find these days, although not as bad as DX volume 2. Expect it to cost a couple of thousand yen at most, otherwise you are being scalped. Fortunately, all of the craft in this particular set were released in the main Full Color line and so you only really need to go after these if you are a fan of the pilot figurines. Personally, I would have loved for Bandai to just reissue these little simplistic pilot figures in a huge set of 50 different pilots to chase and collect for sure.

SD Gundam Full Color Stage 37 - G Generation Special

We haven't done one of these in a while so today we look back on Stage 37 which was released all those years ago in November 2002. It is a set of seven (I guess technically eight) figures all pulled from and promoting the SD Gundam G Generation video game series. I know absolutely nothing about the games or which of them it is technically associated with but according to wikipedia the SD Gundam G Generation NEO released on the PS2 in November 28 and so is probably it.


As usual, here are the figures in the state they rolled out of the bags. Most figures usually require some simple assembly (at least when the pegs made of soft PVC don't bend and twist instead of sliding into their intended compartments) while others are good to go.



218 : RX-78-2 Gundam (Ver.18.0)


Bandai kept coming up with new ideas for the RX-78 here appearing in its 18th different form since the Full Color series started. What could you possibly need another Gundam figure to do? At least this one comes fully kitted with both a beam rifle and a hyper bazooka. The bazooka can either be stored on the backskirt or held in hand (the rifle does not have this ability). Be careful when swapping out weapons on your SD figures, soft PVC does not always cooperate in the same way a rigid plastic figure would, the pegs are bendy but can be broken off if you are not careful.


Rather than attempting to line up all the previous instances of the RX-78 I thought we'd just compare it to one of its look-alikes from Stage 19. Both figures come with double weapons, both can store the bazooka on the backskirt, but the older figure also has a left hand which can hold the secondary weapon.






219 : MSN-02 Zeong (Ver.2.0)


Stage 37 is all about pairing up rivals and letting them beat each other up. The Gundam of course goes up against this flying Zeon which has one of the standardized Full Color figure bases that pegs into its crotch. The idea is of course to have it hover menacingly above another figure. The figure has a really crisp colour scheme and I really like the green underside with all the thrusters.


It seems I can never manage to get all Zeong figures in one picture, there is always someone missing from the line-up. This one is pretty close though, only the little Char Aznable mini-figure is missing from the largest figure (no idea where I put the characters figures, in a little bag somewhere for sure). There are a total of three flying Zeong figures in the Full Color line, this is the basic version and it was later joined by a Zeong launching its Psycommu hands (Stage 61, released November 2005) and the rare High Mobility Form from Stage 48 (April 2004). We also see a couple of the earlier non-flying versions of the Zeong and Perfect Zeong as well as the large Full Color DX figure.






220 : MSZ-006 Z Gundam (Ver.4.0)


The next pairing comes from Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and to no one's surprise the Z Gundam itself is one of the combatants. This is the fourth version of the MSZ-006 and it look positively strange with its arms wildly stretched out to the sides. Not exactly a favourite figure but at least easy to recognize...


There are plenty of different Z Gundams released in the SD Full Color family and I find that several of them look a bit goofy (and the worst of them is the very white figure from SD Full Color Custom at the back there).






221 : PMX-003 The-O (Ver.2.0)


Kamille gets to go up against the might of Paptimus in his awkwardly named The-O (I always have to be careful about not typing "the the-o"...). This figure is equipped with both the signature beam rifle and one beam sword. The sword can be held either in hand or by one of the two subarms that extend out in front of its feet (and here being a bit warped also unbalances the figure). You can remove the rather large sub-arms if you like but there will be a noticeable peg hole right in front of the machine.


Three O-figures were made. On the left we have the first version from Stage 8 (released in April 1999) and in the centre a very yellow from Stage 63 (the very last numbered sed from February 2006) which has equipment similar to the version two variant. I don't know what caused Bandai to switch up the colour scheme that hard on the last version and while it may pass inspection on its own it looks rather silly next to the two former releases.






222 + 223 : Haro x HARO-86-2 Psyco Haro


Perhaps the most interesting (and ill-fitting?) members of Stage 37 is a set of two Haro mascots. We get the OG green Haro from the original series as well as the black Psyco Haro that I know nothing about but it looks suitable menacing so I guess they are rivals in the game. Rather than flattening the bottom surface of Green Haro the figure gets to sit on a little pedestal to prevent it from rolling away from your display. Personally, I would have preferred if the base was in a different colour than Haro itself but I can see opinions might be split on this.

There are a couple of Haros in the SD Full Color line to collect, below you can see Lacus' Pink Haro and the version two Haro with arms and legs, both from Stage 41 (released in May 2003). There is also an orange Haro belonging to Celestial Being in Full Color Custom Stage 18 that comes with a Karel-type maintenance robot.






224 : MSN-04 Sazabi (Ver.2.0)


Bandai is seemingly always looking for excuses to throw in the Nu Gundam and the Sazabi to trigger more sales but in 2002 they were apparently a bit more laid back in making their choices because in a total of 37 waves there have only been two releases of the Sazabi and it did not return in Full Color Custom either. Just like the Z Gundam we looked at earlier this figure also has a bit of a crazy arm pose going, just not as extreme. I expected that the head was to be turned to face the right but if you look at the booklet illustration it is rather intended to stare to the left. I'm not really understanding what they are going for and so the figure could have been more interesting I think.


Here are the two Full Color Sazabis next to each other, the figure on the left is the version 1.0 with a greenish beam saber and was released in Stage 16 in April of 2000. The 2.0 figure is larger and has large shoulders and a little bit more colour even though both do a poor job when it comes to the iconic shield which needed the yellow flair the most. I'm not a huge fan of either if I am being completely honest.






225 : RX-93 Nu Gundam (Ver.3.0)


It isn't often that you see the Nu Gundam at the trailing end of a figure set, it is used to proudly lead from the front. I guess in such an all-star set it just happened to be plonked in at the chronological end of the U.C. timeline. This figure has pretty much everything I would expect from an SD Nu Gundam figurine. Enough paint applications to make it look interesting (if I could ask for one thing it would be the black top on the beam rifle). Amuro gets his insignia both on the shoulder and on the shield, so I think Bandai are a bit cheap to skip it on the Sazabi.


Look at these three figures; they look like triplets! It is quite unusual to see such a uniform look between different versions of the same mobile suit. Normally proportions, height and width, eye shape and size or colour choices tend to vary quite a bit between figures but these look like they were just given different gear when leaving the assembly line. From left to right we have the Stage 37 figure with beam rifle, fin funnels and shield followed by a beam rifle and fin funnel equipped figure from Stage 16. On the right is another beam rifle and shield equipped figure lacking the fin funnels, released in Stage 15. Stages 15 and 16 were dedicated entirely to Char's Counterattack and were released in March and April of 2000 respectively and they were clearly designed at the same time. We've seen other tandem releases of Nu Gundams with different weapon options both in Gundam Converge and the STANDart 1/220 line.






Conclusion

As far as the Full Color series goes, I have to say this is pretty far from what I am looking for in a figure set. Sure, there are a number of new sculpts here but it is mostly a cavalcade of retakes on some of the most commonly seen faces around the Gundam fandom and you'll have to forgive me for being a bit jaded. Other than that, the figures are great and are of course popular icons. As always, the Full Color figures are starting to become rather scarce on the secondary market so it pays to keep an ear to the ground if you hope to find them in the wild.