2022 was a weird stand-out year for Gundam Converge in it being the first year that didn't produce a single standard retail wave of figures. Granted, the effort was instead spent on the 10th Anniversary releases but it remains a fact that the last regular wave of figures - Converge #22 - was released way back in November 2021. Bandai is currently hinting at a Summer 2023 release for wave 23 but we don't know that much about the series as of yet, except silhouette images of the Magella Attack tank and P-01B Luggun scout aircraft. Bandai is also mulling a reissue of the Aerial which we will return to later in this review. Somewhat confusingly, the upcoming
Operation Jaburo re-issue wave is using sharp23 as its identifier on the official Gundam Converge website but hopefully there will be a proper wave 23 announced later.
Let's just take a moment to appreciate the first half of releases for Converge in 2023. I am sure you can see the pattern here. Apart from some modifications on the detail level, 2023 has basically been a reheating of the leftovers thus far. Let's hope the latter half of the year will be more exciting.
Before we continue, build instructions for Selection 03 can be
found online and as usual I recommend downloading them for future use. By the way, I still don't appreciate the way Bandai places the QR code on top of the artwork; that is what the box backside is for. :)
274 : GNT-0000 00 Qan[T] ELS
The concept behind the Converge Selection series is based on a survey where customers got to vote for which figures they would like to see next in Converge, as well as which they would like to have reissued. I'm not sure if any U.N. observers were present at the tallying up of votes but the little crowns you see on the boxes of these figures supposedly mirror these results. This translates to the ELS being the 6th most requested mobile suit among the choices available. I know that 00 is a popular era but I find this particular design rather lackluster even though a great deal of work appears to have gone into it. My figure has some issues with the right hand wanting to creep out of its socket. The plastic is very soft and so I haven't dared messing with it just yet, because I have accidentally torn off hands from Converge figures before.
Converge figures usually do not come on sprues but in this case you will have to follow the build instructions carefully to get the respective component into its proper slot. Another thing you have to deal with is a plethora of ugly nub marks when cutting out the pieces from the supporting frame.
The ELS Qanta is significantly taller than its older family members in the Converge line-up, seen here with its various predecessors of 00 Gundam/Raiser and base Qan[T] variants. Due to it being very back-heavy I was not able to pose it without the shackle attached to its left foot but at least the rest of the base wasn't needed.
275 : MSA-005 Methuss
I found it very suspicious that the Methuss would show up as number two in the poll but being a Zeta-fan myself this was an unexpected treat. The peculiar design of this transforming mobile suit meant it would be tricky to convert its proportions into Converge format, especially the Methuss being released as a basic retail figure. Bandai could choose between dwarfing its proportions (kind of how the Asshimar was emasculated...) or follow the recent trend set by figures such as the Zudah and Barbatos that each sports very large components, breaking the otherwise compact profile of the traditional Converge figure. The result speaks for itself. While I do think it would have been possible to tone down the size of the MA mode fuselage a bit the Methuss is a very sleek design and even this sculpt looks rather bulky so I think the right decision was made here. The soft PVC used here of course means that your chance of getting a straight figure remains rather slim, so have fun with that.
The Methuss figure comes with two optional Beam Guns that can either be displayed in stowed or deployed mode. You can see an example of each in the photos above. Personally I would have preferred its beam saber but that was probably way beyond the production budget. I am currently considering picking up a second figure and equip it with a spare saber.
The Methuss' head sits roughly at the same height as that of the average mobile suit and so the figure slots in nicely among the other Zeta-era suits although its tall fuselage will stick out like a sore thumb. I expect opinions on this to be varied.
I think you can easily incorporate this Converge figure into your Mobile Suit Ensemble display to add its strength to that A.E.U.G. line-up as well.
276 : XM-05 Berga Giros
When the Berga Giros was announced seventh most popular I had to rub my eyes and re-read it. The Gundam F91 movie is... uhm, a bit of a mess, but what they did get right is the mobile suit design. Jegans and Heavyguns on one side, duking it out with (or rather gettng slaughtered by) the might of the Crossbone Vanguard invaders. I never thought the Vanguard was popular enough to be featured in Converge yet here we are with a third entry into their ranks already.
The XM-05 is an incremental upgrade of the XM-04 Berga Dalas, seen here during the opening stage of the Frontier IV colony assault. The Vanguard fields half a dozen cool designs but I doubt we will see more of them in the Converge line-up by now.
The Berga Giros is primarily armed with a shot lance weapon designed for close quarters fighting inside space colonies. As with all the machines from this era it would be cool if their beam shields were available in deployed form but here we come back to the budget question again.
Converge Vanguard line-up from left to right: XM-01 Den'an Zon (Converge #16, released August 2019), XM-02 Den'an Gei (interestingly release before the XM-01 in volume 12 in October 2018), the XM-05 and the old XM-07 Vigna Ghina from the original Converge volume 12 line-up, released in October 2013.
277 : XM-05 Berga Giros (Black Vanguard Squadron)
Bandai continues to spoil us with colour-swapped Vanguard machines deploying with the elite Black Vanguard Squadron. While the all-black colour scheme hides a lot of the figure's detail the patches of metallic violet are a nice contrast and the overall impression is pretty striking. I'm surprised there aren't more black mobile suits because the results are usually great.
The two Berga figures feature the same primary weapon. A bit of a missed opportunity perhaps, but I couldn't really fault Bandai for this.
Comparison of the two Bergas from this wave. I haven't managed to spot any differences in the sculpts, well except for the leg of the black figure being slightly more warped than the other figure - but that is Converge QC for you...
The Black Vanguard has the same line-up as the regular army with the exception of the Vigna Ghina of course, seen here in a custom Berah Ronah livery.
172' : MS-06F Zaku II (Revive ver.)
The Converge Selection series also features figures deemed ready for reissue as part of a separate voting category. This category was limited to machines from the Converge Sharp line, meaning no sculpt updates of older figures narrowing the selection of retail figures to 2016 and onwards. Winning the gold medal in this category we have the good ol' Zaku II, which got its Converge facelift in 2018 as part of Converge #09. I recall buying a full box of 10 figures getting only one copy of the Zaku II, the other slot being taken up by Char's red commander unit. If this holds true for all boxes it would have made a mass production type mobile suit much rarer than the other figures in the line, a trap that Mobile Suit Ensemble also falls into from time to time. Anyway, after an initial shortage the figure has been readily available on the secondary market for quite some time now.
The revive figure is actually an upgrade of the existing figure in that we now also get the Heat Hawk close combat weapon in the box. Ironically, the older figure with only two weapon options (seen at the bottom here, notice the different box and release number) commands a higher price on the secondary market. Such is the way of collectors...
I purchased two units of the Revive figure to be able to pose Zakus with all weapon options. Notice how the center figure from Converge #09 has a slightly brighter green tone. Another disturbing difference is that there seems to be something off with the head sculpts of the new figures; they just don't line up the way they should. My figures were ordered from completely different shops and I wonder if this was a general problem with the new Revive version.
144' : RX-93-v2 Hi-Nu Gundam (Revive ver.)
The second revive figure comes in at the Jumbo slot of the 6th lucky mobile suits to fly again, crushed even by its own inferior RX-93 Gundam version. I can't for the life of me understand why people keep voting for the RX-93 which always seems to be in production somewhere but to be fair it has been almost two years since it was released in Converge so I guess it was overdue at this point... Stay tuned for a new appearance in Mobile Suit Ensemble in the near future as well...
Just like the Zaku II we have a new accessory with the revived Hi-Nu, a rather nicely painted up Hyper Bazooka. The gray colour on the weapons is a bit lighter than the one used on the figure's hands which will either stand out in a quirky or interesting way depending on your preference.
Here the bazooka-wielding Revive figure poses with the original release figure from Converge #05 on the far left and the metallic colour CORE reissue from March 2020. The Revive figure is the only one to sport the bazooka option at least until the next limited metallic colour figure enters the chat...
278 : XVX-016 Gundam Aerial
With the advent of the new Witch from Mercury television series the development team just couldn't stop themselves from pushing in a completely new figure into the set, breaking the 4+2 Selection line-up symmetry in the process by adding a seventh figure. Now, this figure appears to have been exceedingly in demand because its price jumped immediately to ¥2800 over at Mandarake and I kept getting it cancelled from several orders I placed. It is in fact this very figure that has held up the review for so long.
At first glance the Aerial seems like your basic Converge figure but if you have been paying attention you noticed all those little peg holes on its arms and hips. This is where those online build instructions come in handy to allow you to convert the figure into the "Bit on Form"-mode that we already examined on the similarly equipped Ensemble figure in January.
After having discarded the empty frame of the shield the bit components are now spread out on the figure's arms, hips and back skirt. There is one additional gimmick here that I didn't feel like doing, but you can remove the two gray components from the wings on the back skirt and attach them to the barrel of the beam rifle to turn it into its long barrel mode. The snug fit of Converge components can quickly wear out and so as usual I don't recommend excessive playing around with features such as these.
Speaking of the recent Mobile Suit Ensemble figure, here is a comparison of the two. As usual the Converge figure has better paint detail an also a slightly muted colour scheme compared to the more vibrant Ensemble figure.
I like both modes of the Aerial figure and so had to chase down not just one figure but two, which dragged on forever. In recent days the supply appears to have stabilized somewhat but the price remains high. I saw on a recent Bandai developer's post that Bandai are actually mulling reissuing the Aerial already as part of Converge #23 which is scheduled for release this summer so you may wnt to wait for that announcement if you are still searching for this figure.
Conclusion
All in all I have really enjoyed the three Selection sets of 2022, even if it meant Bandai putting the rest of Converge on a hiatus. Nowadays it is mainly Premium Bandai fodder that is draining the loyal customer's budgets and I really long for a simple, readily available retail wave of figures that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, let's see if that ship has sailed for good or not this summer.
