Universal Unit Volume 4

Yep, it's been a while since Universal Unit popped up here on the blog and I still have a couple of figures sitting in their boxes waiting to be assembled. So I have at least finally pulled myself together and completed piecing together the last figures of volume four. I actually begun working out on this set hot on the heels after the Universal Unit volume 3 review last summer but... I only progressed halfway before my attention was diverted elsewhere...

Universal Unit volume 4 is the last of the four regular figure waves that saw the light of day in this relatively short-lived series which didn't even last a full year. The first figures were out in August 2016 and this set which was also the final release came out in May 2017. The figures were initially sold in semi-blind boxes (you'd know which mobile suit you were getting but not which equipment variant) but at this stage Bandai had given up that shady practice and labelled the boxes with A and B versions accordingly. The figures  had a recommended price of ¥500 and were distributed in 10-boxes which would typically net you a complete sets and a couple of extras.

Ultimately the Universal Unit figures were a kind of stepping stone towards Gframe and are perhaps best known for putting an end to the Assault Kingdom action figure line and replacing it with miniature model kits.
   

RX-93 Nu Gundam

Volume 4 has some rather eclectic figure choices but it starts out with a really overused and done-to-death figure, the RX-93 Nu Gundam. I think that in many ways Universal Unit managed to do a good job of releasing some unusual mobile suit choices but there were plenty of common figures as well. Somewhat surprisingly there is no Sazabi in the UU line-up (and none of the other machines from Char's Counterattack either for that matter).

Combination photos displaying contents from both the A and B versions of the figure. Notice the common bag marked 1 which is included with either version. The bags 1-A and 1-B are included in the boxes marked A and B respectively.

The equipment on the left side of the figure is exclusive to the A-version, and the one on the right to the B-version.

The component shot above will give you an idea of the points of articulation of the basic Universal Unit figure. All the figures in this set share the same build and the joints are in many places quite similar so that you could customize the figures a bit if you wanted. Say, putting the Nu Gundam legs on the Alex and so on, as long as different bulky components don't get in the way of each other that is.

The basic mobile suit before adding equipment. It has been touched up a little with various paint apps since it is quite white out of the box.

The A-version of the Nu gets the Beam Saber, the nice two-colour Beam Rifle and the shield...

...while the B-version receives the large Fin Funnel pack and a bazooka.

This figure combines all the accessories from both the A- and the B-version of the Nu Gundam.

As bored as I tend to be with the Nu Gundam I have to say the Universal Unit figure is looking really on point. I guess you can always ask for extra features such as the same nice two colour-scheme on the bazooka or a black inside panel on the shield etc. but overall one of the best UU figures for sure.

Can you spot the UU-figure in this line-up of other proper prepainted 1:220 figure? Here it mingles with the STANDart versions (012 with dual Fin Funnels from 2009 and 054 from 2012), the Funnel-less Ultimate Operation figure from 2006 and the rather anemic Assault Kingdom figure from 2014.
   

LM312V04 Victory Gundam / LM312V06+SD-VB03A V-Dash Gundam Hexa

Here is where UU4 takes a turn for the more unusual and interesting. The designers have taken a step out of their comfort zone and left the bulky angular Gundam designs behind and take on the sleek and rounded shape of the Victory. This is actually a first for the League Militaire in the entire 1:220 history which I find commendable.

The A-version of the figure has parts to create the Victory Gundam while the B-version makes it possible to build a Victory Dash Hexa.

The Victory figure is the only figure in this set which offers two distinct mobile suit options in its A- and B-modes. While the A-box lets you build the standard LM312V04 Victory Gundam the B-version offers up a LM312V06+SD-VB03A V-Dash Gundam Hexa. The latter actually also has a different head sculpt which is not something you would normally find in Universal Unit.

LM312V04 Victory Gundam armed with both a beam rifle and a beam saber. It has been panel-lined as well as painted in places.

The basic Victory Gundam is a really beautiful design and the seam lines on the figure aren't too bad 8especially when compared to the Ground Type Gundam in this set). The mobile suit stands around 15 meters tall instead of the usual 18 meters for your typical Gundam and the figure is also somewhat shorter than the other Universal Century suits although scale is usually not a super strict thing in candy toys.

LM312V06+SD-VB03A V-Dash Gundam Hexa armed with its Overhang Pack granting additional speed as well as two powerful beam cannons and a mega-beam rifle.

The B-version pack really transforms this figure into a very different beast. i think the Bandai engineers have done a really great job with this figure. The only thing I kind of wish for is its beautiful beam shield but as it would be a large translucent piece I understand why it was axed.

Concept art for the LM312V04 Victory Gundam, LM312V04+SD-VB03A V-Dash Gundam and then the LM312V06 V-Dash Gundam and its LM312V06+SD-VB03A V-Dash Gundam Hexa variant.

One neat thing about the Universal Unit Victory figure is that you can take the parts from an A and a B box and scramble them to create the remaining two versions from the line-up above; the V04 Victory with and Overhead Pack creating the Victory Hexa and a V06 Victory without the Overhead Pack. It is something I didn't realize until I sat down with this review and I may actually go through the trouble of picking up a couple of extras for that purpose.

The Universal Unit Victory together with a Strategy of Gundam 1:300 Victory Dash Gundam (notice the different heads).

Amusingly, Strategy of Gundam features the opposite modes of the Victory - here the Universal Unit V-Dash Hexa poses next to a Victory Dash.

It is a shame that the Universal Unit figure line didn't stick around long enough to produce also the Victory 2 Gundam and the various Assault and Buster configurations. It would have been a perfect P-Bandai product (can't believe I just typed that...).
   

LM111E02 Gun-EZ

So far we have seen two really well executed figures in this set but here comes my real favourite. It is the only non-Gundam figure of the set and also a brand new mobile suit to enter the 1:220 figure line-up. I guess you can think of the Gun-EZ as the Mobile Suit Victory Gundam equivalent to the mass production type RGM-79 GM.

The A-version of the Gun-EZ comes with a beam saber and a beam rifle, the B-version only with a bazooka.

It appears that all the effort spent on the Nu Gundam and the Victory figures meant that the Gun-EZ will have to suffer as a result. I mean, look at that equipment selection. There are only three simple weapon choices here and Bandai decided to split them up like this? Very poor effort. I get that they like for us to buy more figures than we need but surely the Gun-EZ could have been a simple A-version figure only (like the Wing Gundam in volume three). I have a feeling the skimping on equipment is one of the factors that killed Universal Unit.

As you can see this is a very basic design but it stays pretty faithful to the original mobile suit. Notice that both arms are able to equip the beam shield, an accessory that is only available in its deactivated mode. Imagine if the Victory and Gun-EZ Universal Unit figures had been allowed to get their beautiful pink translucent beam shields. Even if they only appeared as an expensive P-Bandai pack I would be all over them.

The Gun-EZ posing with Strategy of Gundam counterparts; the LM111E02 Gun-EZ (right) and LM111E03 Gunblaster (left).

I know it would not have made sense from a financial point of view but imagine if Bandai had spread the love and also developed the LM111E03 Gunblaster for the 1:220 line-up. It is not as easy as switching out the head of the Victory Gundam but I would easily have taken it over something bog standard like a zillionth 1:220 scale Nu Gundam...

Overall the Gun-EZ figure is simple but quite accurate. As evident from the above photo I really enjoy it and perhaps one day I will look into pimping them with beam shields recovered from some of the other Victory or F91-era figures out there. Gundam Converge and Ensemble may have something of value to recover.
   

RX-79[G] Ground Type Gundam

I'm sorry but the last figure in this set feels like some kind of afterthought. I love the Ground Type Gundam as much as the next guy but it feels like it was just thrown in here because it is relatively cheap to manufacture. This is a figure that should have been so much more.

The A-version figure gives you two rifle options and the shield while the B-version comes with the 180mm cannon.

Just take a look at this component shot. Are you telling me that only one of the figures comes with a shield? You know, the shield which is supposed to feature the iconic "08" stickers? Bandai even included a sticker sheet with optional unit numbers but only fifty percent of the figures will even be able to use them? I'm sorry but this is pathetic. And hold on... where is the backpack? You couldn't even give us a simple plastic rectangle? Incredibly disappointing. Look to Mobile Suit Ensemble to see how it is supposed to be done...

The A-Box comes with the S-000011 Beam Rifle, the Type.37/100 Machine Gun and the Ap-A Shield (not equipped in these photos).

The Ground Type Gundam comes with some really distracting seams lines on its knees. Other than that its appearance is quite nice and its multiple colour applications on the torso are much appreciated.

The B-version figure comes with the 180mm Cannon only, here it uses the Ap-A Shield from Box-A.

I just can't get over the fact that not only is the shield not a standard accessory for both the A and B versions of the figure but if there is one figure who needs it it is the one that equips the cannon. The missing back-mounted weapon rack is also a huge disappointment. I wonder if it would be possible to equip one from the Ensemble Ground Type figure, which unfortunately is in very limited supply as it seems to be really popular.

While the Universal Unit figures are not the best at posing it is at least possible to do some kind of poor version on the classic Ground Type Gundam knee-bending pose.

Ground Type Gundams from Assault Kingdom, Universal Unit and FW Ultimate Operation.

Imagine if the Universal Unit Ground Type Gundam had been allowed to flourish, it could easily have been one of the best figures of the entire line. Again, an equipment pack with some of the missing accessories, a backpack and a GM head would have been pretty great. Then they would have the excuse to do a limited Ground Type GM as well...  :)
   

Conclusion

While the review did kind of end on a sour note I don't really want to chastise the figures too much. Sure, the Ground Type Gundam implementation was rather lazy and yes, more could have been done with the Victory Gundam figures as well but I really enjoy all the figures in this set (even if some of them are starting to overstay their welcome at this point). If you enjoy Universal Unit these figures are an easy recommendation. At the time of this review, Bandai has completely abandoned the 1:220 line-up after 14 consecutive years of awesome figures and I just hope that they will return to it eventually.

Universal Unit Volume 3

It has been quite a while since I had anything to do with the Universal Unit series. You know; the Shokugan mini-model kits that replaced Assault Kingdom and were in turn overrun by Gframe. I've had this figure set lying around in their boxes for more than a year but with some lazy summer days and plenty of sun I found the time to get to work on them.

Universal Unit Volume 3 released in the end of January 2017 with a suggested price of ¥500 per figure. I picked up a set of seven and then completed it with some extra GM Customs for army building purposes, paying typically ¥400 per figure on the secondhand market.

Universal Unit figures are normally sold in boxes of 10, containing two of each figure plus a couple of duplicates.

Note: This is not an actual box assortment but models that I have been picking up piecemeal.

Throughout the (short) lifetime of the Universal Unit series the concept went through some minor changes along the way, amending some of the poor consumer value to be had. Volume three did away with the "A or B" markings on the packaging so you could at least purchase two boxes of the same figure without worrying about getting a duplicate set. The poor practice of splitting up the accessories for each figure in two boxes continued though, except for the Wing Gundam Zero figure in this set, which got to keep everything in one box, making it unique among all the figures that were released in this series.

Fortunately Universal Unit figures aren't very pricey on the secondhand market and these figures still linger in the marketplace so if you are looking to pick up some of them it shouldn't be too hard.


RX-78GP01-Fb Gundam GP01 "Zephyrantes" Full Burnern

The set starts off with a classic Gundam model, the GP01 "Zephyranthes" in its upgraded Full Burnern configuration. I would have thought it would be a great idea for Bandai to release the GP01 as figure A and GP01-Fb as figure B but clearly that was too much effort on their part. Instead we get two identical mobile suits with a few equipment variations.

In the components pictures above you can see the accessories found in box variant A to the left of the figure, and the unique parts from variant B are laid out to the right. Those are the only differences between the two figure versions. As a result, there is no need to actually build two figures which is a considerable waste of plastic.

I must admit that the GP01 is looking pretty good already out of the box. However I strongly encourage adding some additional detail even if only like I did with some marker pens to make the details stand out more. I haven't bothered with panel lining but I have painted black the joints at the knees and elbows as well as the details on the legs, abdomen and thrusters. I also painted the head camera green. The figure comes with only three stickers, a "01" which goes on the shoulder, the yellow V on the chest and a targeting reticle for the beam rifle.

GP01 box variant A: BOWA Beam Rifle and Shield

GP01 box variant B: Beam Saber and Experimental Beam Rifle

There have been surprisingly few GP01:s released in the 1/220 scale. FusionWorks did a really beautiful GP01 in the Ultimate Operation series (taking some artistic liberty with the colour scheme only improves it further in my opinion) and there are a couple of ancient GP01:s in the Unifive/Yutaka 1999 Stardust Memory Series. This makes this Fb a valuable entry into your 1/220 collection.

1/220 scale GP01 history. Unifive/Yutaka Stardust Memory GP01 (with Core Fighter) and GP01-Fb (both released in 1999), FW Ultimate Operation GP01 (June 2004) and the latest GP01-Fb from Universal Unit Volume 3 (January 2017).

Gundam Development Program family: GP01 from Ultimate Operation (released June 2004), the Universal Unit Full Burner'n, GP02A "Physalis" from Unifive Stardust Memory (1999), the GP03S "Dendrobium Stamen" (Ultimate Operation, September 2006) and the GP04G Gerbera Tetra (STANDart volume 7, released August 2010).

You need to expand into many figure collections if you intend to collect the full Gundam Development Program line-up. The GP00 Blossom has to my knowledge never been made, however the other figures are available in various product quality and difficulty to obtain.


RGM-79N GM Custom

The figure I was most anxious to collect from this set (and actually purchased half a dozen of) is the only production model mobile suit in this set; the GM Custom of Stardust Memory fame. The GM Custom was developed after the One Year War and has several improvements vastly enhancing its overall performance. Only a limited number were produced due to high manufacturing costs and once the Titans took control of the development the mobile suit was later replaced by a cheaper variation, the RGM-79Q GM Quel.

Again the parts from the box variation A are laid out on the left, and from box variation B on the right. As you can see there are only three unique accessories, one is found in box A, the other two in box B. Pretty pathetic, the GM Custom should clearly have retained all accessories in one box like the Wing Gundam Zero.

The GM Custom is a great figure but like other Universal Unit figures it will look that much better even with only some really basic painting. I've used green to paint the camera, red on the various verniers and thrusters and a lot of black on mainly head, knees, elbow joints and thruster areas. The figure comes with four stickers; two intended for the shoulders and the other two for the shield in box B.

GM Custom box variant A: 90mm GM Machinegun

GM Custom box variant B: Beam Saber and Shield

There are no other GM Custom figures released in the 1/220 scale, so this is in my opinion an essential figure to grab hold of. The selection of accessories is a bit weak but you can always grab some extra firepower from leftovers from other mobile suits. The Beam Rifle from the GP01-Fb for example. Consider grabbing three of them to build the full complement of the Albion carrier. :)

Here we see some of the mobile suits attached to the Pegasus Class assault carrier Albion. The GM Customs and the GP01 are backed up by Chuck Keith in his RGC-83 GM Cannon II (another Unifive/Yutaka 1999 figure). Since the GM Cannon lacks accessories I let it borrow the GP01 Beam Rifle. The Albion floating in the background is from the Bandai Cosmo Fleet Collection (Volume 2, released in 2008).


XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero (Endless Waltz Version)

The only regular Universal Unit figure to come complete in one box, the Wing Zero is also the only representative from the After Colony Timeline. Personally I am a bit bored with the poor development of this timeline in the 1/220 scale, we seem to have got a lot of Wing Gundam figures but almost nothing else.

Since this figure is complete in one box you can relax in the knowledge that you only need to purchase a single box of this figure. I seem to remember the beam saber and the two buster rifles being separated in A and B versions when this volume was first announced although I am not entirely sure about it.

I have to say, the Wing Gundam figure is pretty spectacular, although I never really took to the idea of giving mobile suits wings of any kind. This figure can easily become the centerpiece of any line-up but it needs an action base to come to life. And... as you all know, regular Universal Unit figures never come with bases or support for them in any kind, which is a huge turn off.

The two Buster Rifles can be combined into a single piece, freeing up the other hand for some beam saber action.

The engineers have done a really great job of giving the Wing Gundam movable wings. The assembly on its back allows for movement in many directions and enables very different stances for the figure. Of course, without you building some kind of custom base, there is no way the figure will be able to stand on its own.

The Wing Zero was also released as a pretty similar looking figure in the FusionWorks STANDart figure line (which it also opened by being the very first item released in November 2007). The new Universal Unit figure comes pretty close to the mark and is generally a better figure I think, although it is severely handicapped by its heavy backpack.


ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos Lupus

The last figure of the set is another premiere for the 1/220 line, the Gundam Barbatos Lupus, which is a development of the previous two figures we saw in Universal Unit volume 1. Back when the Universal Unit series premiered, I kind of hoped that we would continue to receive more Iron Blooded Orphans figures in this series but instead it turned back into familiar territory with stuff like Nu Gundams and Ground Type Gundams which are littered all over the 1/220 scale already. To this day there are only the three Barbatos variations available in 1/220.

Again there are only three unique accessories, those from box variation A are laid out to the left, and from box variation B on the right. Back in the early days of Universal Unit when there were at least some differences in the mobile suits themselves this practice was not so aggravating as it came to be later. Again, I only needed to build one figure out of the two. One interesting feature of this figure is that it is the only one to come with optional holding hands.

I did some rather extensive colouring of the Barabatos Lupus and it really paid off in the end. I applied a lot of extra detail on the feet, the arms, the hip-mounted boosters and the backpack. Add to this the "standard" elbow and knee joints being painted black. The result is really stunning when compared to what comes out of the box and even if you are an unskilled painter like me it is easy to turn this figure into something extra.

Barbatos Lupus box variation A: Two 20 cm machine guns mounted on the arms.

Box variation B comes with the oversized Sword Mace. IBO has a penchant for these huge and cartoony weapons.

There are two stickers included with the figure, the two logotypes that go on the shoulders. These stickers must be wrapped around a rounded surface and do not attach very easily.

Another makeshift action base. This time I'm using the stand from a Universal Unit Hummingbird paired with some extra parts from an Assault Kingdom figure. Grabbing some of the later Assault Kingdom figures is an easy way to get access to several extra action bases which can also combine to create a base for whatever it is you need to pose.

The Universal Unit Barbatos family. The Third and Fourth Form Barbatos (both from Volume 1) and the Barbatos Lupus from Volume 3.


Conclusion

As much as the Universal Unit series can be annoying with its method of selling you two figures when you only need one, and how the figures do not pose that well due to missing action base support I find that I enjoy the figures a ot once they have been assembled and touched up a little. While they will never be as dear to my heart as fully prepainted figures like those found in STANDart or as playable as the figures from Assault Kingdom they do serve a nice purpose of filling out wholes in your 1/220 mobile suit line-up. The fact that they remain fairly cheap also encourages you to try them out.

I hope it won't be another year until I get to work on the last volume of these figures, which are also sitting around in their boxes waiting for some love...