Gundam Converge CORE 034 : Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Trans-Am Set

2023 is the Bandai year of the Trans-Am re-releases. While Celestial Being mobile suits in Trans-Am mode has been around for quite some time in the Mobile Suit Ensemble range (the 00 Gundam popped up with a colour swap already in 2017) it has only hit Converge this year. While Ensemble has been busy pumping out trans-Am colour swaps for its Exia, Dynames, Kyrios, Virtue and Nadleeh between February and June the Converge range seems content with doing a premium box set in this hard to read pinkish red colour. The set delivered to its pre-order customers in May of 2023 and carried a price of about ¥5900 which makes it premium indeed.


As with many of the Bandai premium releases in general (and Converge CORE releases in particular) the box art is dull and uninspiring. The concept behind the release is also a direct carry-over from the original premium 00 Anniversary box set from February 2018. That set has had a nasty price development on the secondary market and is up from the initial ¥4000 to currently selling for about ¥14000 over at Mandarake. Now that tradeable card games are such a hard niche to get into maybe the Youtube speculator bros can start hoarding Converge next (Bandai sure wouldn't mind and would quickly adapt its offensive P-Bandai price strategy). Anyhow, let's see what is under the hood...


While the accessory count remains the same as in the Anniversary set the figures are now packaged differently. The original release featured four plastic bags, one per each figure, with the Exia, Dynames and Kyrios having its new Anniversary components wrapped inside a second plastic bag stored inside the primary bag (original review found here).


As the parts swapping is on the mild side here Bandai didn't think it necessary to include an instruction leaflet but you can still grab it in pdf-form from the Shokugan portal site. I usually download these as useful reference material in the event that the website will unexpectedly fold or move (or perhaps get locked for those irrelevant overseas customers).



GN-001 Gundam Exia (Trans-Am ver.)


So, we can immediately see the main gimmick associated with the Trans-Am figures. In keeping with the Mobile Suit Gundam 00 lore the suits have a Deus Ex Machina-type nitrous oxide boost inside their GN Drives which boosts suit performance and as a side effect makes the GN particles surrounding it light up in a pinkish/reddish glow. As with many Gundam figures the exact colour tends to vary from figure set to figure set, here we are going with a nice metallic two-colour pinkish theme, almost bordering on apricot. The result is spectacular and I always do like mobile suits with unique colour schemes a bit extra. The gimmicky special markings introduced in the 00 Anniversary set return here and are sometimes colour swapped. The Celestial being crest on the shield for example has gone from blue to gold here.


Among the figures in this set, the Exia figure has the most parts conversion options. Its main GN Sword can be extended or stowed and you also get option parts in the form of two attractive beam sabers and a pair of GN Short and Long blades that can either be held in hand or stowed on the side skirt armour. We've seen all of these before in the Anniversary set. The Exia's beam sabers are as usual highly useful as optional armament for many other Converge figures with compatible hands.


Each figure in this set has been released twice before in the Converge #Sharp line. From left to right we see the original Gundam Exia figure (one of the first #Sharp releases it appeared in Converge #02 back in April 2016), the premium 00 Anniversary box set release from February 2018 and lastly the new Trans-Am version.






GN-002 Gundam Dynames (Trans-Am ver.)


Next up we have the green Dynames getting the same colour-swap treatment. Green turns pink, gray turns purple and yellow becomes orange. The special white markings introduces on the Anniversary figure return here although a new GN logo has also appeared on the figure's left knee, a brand new detail for this version. I'd be curious what led up to this further refinement of the design.


If you happened to read the original 00 Anniversary review you may recall that I had a real issue with the new GN Pistol accessories for the Dynames. The peg sizes of the option hands were too small and the hand would simply fall out of its socket the minute a bit of gravity would be applied to it. When I ordered the Trans-Am set this was the foremost thought in my head, "gee I wonder if they sorted out the rotten design of the Dynames". Well, as you can see... no prize will be awarded. However, there is a twist to this story. My Anniversary Dynames figure managed to hold on to its left GN Pistol but not the right. For the Trans-Am figure the situation is the opposite, this time around the connecting peg on the left hand is too small for its socket while the right one fits. There must be something seriously wrong in the manufacturing process here though for the life of me I cannot understand why this figure is so specifically challenged. Embarrassing...


The original Dynames figure came with sniper rifle only and released in Converge #04 in October 2016. Notice the different green colour on the Anniversary figure and how neither of the two lack the GN logo on the left knee.






GN-003 Gundam Kyrios (Trans-Am ver.)


Kyrios already starts out with orange as its primary accent colour and the Trans-Am figure comes out looking like a muted version of that, kind of like when the U.S. navy started to paint their aircraft a dull gray. The gunmetal gray parts now shimmer in violet and are some of the most eye-catching components. The special markings are carried over from the Anniversary figure but some of orange ones almost disappear against the pink backdrop giving the figure a bit of a low contrast style.


The Anniversary figure introduced two GN Hand Missile units and these return here, happily without any of the issues plaguing the Dynames GN Pistols. Perhaps not the most exciting of accessories but nevertheless appreciated.


The Kyrios was the last of the retail 00 trio, appearing in Converge #05 in January 2017. From then on there would be no Celestial Being suits released until the Anniversary set in 2018 which also saw the release of the Virtue. Notice how the special markings on the Anniversary figure are pretty much invisible on the Trans-Am counterpart.






GN-005 Gundam Virtue (Trans-Am ver.)


The existing two Virtue figures are very similar so this one stands out nicely among them. The Anniversary figure features a couple of striped markings on the over-the-shoulder mounted GN Beam Cannons and these have been carried over also to the Trans-Am version. The new figure however colour swaps the shoulder markings from black to gold and introduces a new GN emblem on its right knee, similar to what was done on the Trans-Am Dynames.


The Virtue is the only figure in this set that does not feature any bonus accessories. So far there has been no sign of a GN-004 Nadleeh which is a bit disappointing since it will no doubt miss any Trans-Am treatment in the unlikely event that it will pop up further down the line.






Conclusion

While I do feel that I have had my Trans-Am fill by now with the concurrent releases in Converge and Ensemble this is still a neat and original looking figure set. I don't think it acts as a replacement for the now very pricey 00 Anniversary Set, and I suspect that not everyone will be interested in getting Trans-Am variants if they already have the basic colour figures, but it fills a nice niche out there for collectors like yours truly.

SD Gundam Full Color Stage 49 "The Return of Char"

Today we are doing some more archive material, another classic SD Full Color set. Stage 49 was released in May 2004 and is subtitled The Return of Char, a peculiar choice since there are no suits in this set for him to pilot.


The later SD Full Color era-figures are becoming more and more modular and feature a lot more parts swapping options. As such, you also have to be more careful when purchasing figures second hand, as it is not uncommon to end up with figures missing fins, backpacks or gear. The figures on display here are not fully dismantled, but in the state they appeared when taking them out of their original plastic wrapping.



305 : MSZ-006 Z Gundam (Ver.6.0)


Perhaps to no surprise the Zeta is one of the more commonly seen faces in the SD line, arriving here in its sixth incarnation. With many of its forms already explored Bandai went for a flying variant this time, armed with its BOWA Beam Rifle with the Beam Saber Emitter activated. Due to the way the arms are extended below the body the figure will look a bit quirky without the flying base. The figure loses some points for not equipping its attractive red and black shield, it looks a little drab without it.


There are quite a few Zetas in the SD Full Color series and their colours and proportions vary wildly as you can see from the combatants on display here.

Top row: Stage 12 (December 1999), Stage 60 with a Hyper Mega Launcher and curiously upside down colour scheme on its shield (October 2005), flying with beam Emitter from Stage 49 (May 2004), a bulky sabre-wielder from Stage 44 (October 2003) and in Waverider form entering atmosphere (Stage 63, February 2006).

Bottom row: A Waverider with Hyper Mega Launcher released together with the Stage 12 figure (the weapons are interchangeable), a Karaba-colours Zeta Plus (Stage 33, May 2002), a very pale-looking dual wielder (Full Color Custom 15, January 2008), Saber-boy from this set and the first ever full color Zeta from Stage 8 (April 1999).






306 : GAT-X370 Raider Gundam (MA Mode) (Ver.2.0)


The Raider is my favourite OMNI antagonist suit with its menacing bird-like appearance and black and red colour scheme. However, its proportions are meant to be sleek and elegant, and this is a tall order for a super deformed figure. Bandai are doing the best they can here but it just comes off as rather silly. On a detail level you can find a lot of the Raider's features in this figure but I don't think the whole works that well. Pay extra attention when shopping for this figure on the secondary market as it has lots of components that can easily go missing.


The Raider was rereleased in the Full Color Custom series in 2007 as a fully transformable figure. It looks like a pancake and is mostly black, that figure works better in its mobile suit form but hey, at least it is a playable gimmick. The mobile armor mode Raider just can't win in SD form I'm afraid...


Forbidden, Calamity and Raider in their ferry mode with the Calamity catching a ride on top of the Raider. This gimmick works well as intended.






307 : GAT-X252 Forbidden Gundam (MA Mode) (Ver.2.0)


The Forbidden Gundam also returns to SD Full Color in MA form together with the Raider (the Calamity of course doesn't have a Mobile Armor mode given that it is based on the X100 family). While in MA mode, the backpack flips forward over the head and extends forward a pair of vicious railguns and spreading out its anti-beam capable Geschmeidig Panzer shield system. This is a compact but pretty accurate depiction of the suit that works well in SD form.


The Forbidden, Raider and Calamity trio first appeared in SD Full Color Stage 42 in July 2003. While technically the MA mode head should be much larger the two figures display nicely together.






308 : LM314V23 Victory 2 Buster Gundam


Next up we have a League Militaire power house machine from the late U.C. era, this set is really all over the place. The Victory and the Victory 2 appeared in SD form in 2001 and were followed by the Victory 2 Assault form in Stage 48 and the Buster form here in Stage 49. The Buster type features a large Mega Beam Cannon and a short range Missile Pod on its backpack and add quite the punch to the suit. Notice the (supposed) beam cannon targeting system in the figure's left eye. At first I thought I may have got a damaged figure missing a coat of paint but once I got my hands on multiple units I could confirm that this is indeed an intended effect.


Side by side of the base Victory 2 from Stage 29 (released November 2001), the Buster from Stage 49 and the Assault form (Stage 48 from April 2004). The Assault and Buster forms can (of course) parts combine to form the LM314V23/24 V2 Assault-Buster Gundam. Basically I just replaced the backpack on the Assault Gundam with the one from the Buster Gundam.






309 : RMS-106 Hizack (Ver.3.0)


Swinging back to Zeta again, we have a pair of antagonists for the Z Gundam to engage. A third instalment of the Hizack looks really good and features both a combat shield and a beam machine gun. it also features a couple of interesting articulation points in the arms to combine with the Mega Launcher accessory. This is in my opinion the best Hizack to come out of the SD figure line (still waiting for one in the larger Senshi Forte size mind you...).


Comparison shot with the O.G. Hizack from Stage 6 released December 1998 (left) and the Heat Hawk-wielding version 2.0 from Stage 45 (November 2003). The Hizack never made it into any of the more recent SD figure series unfortunately.






310 : Mega Launcher


The Hizack is ill-equipped to handle beam weapons due to its low generator output. While it can overcome this deficiency to some degree using e-pacs to power a beam rifle special measures were required to equip a Mega Particle Cannon. It takes the power of two Hizacks to power up this Mega Launcher and is only good enough for a single shot (not sure why the weapon doesn't feature two or three slave suits but whatever...). You only get the launcher itself in this capsule which also features a power cable to attach to the backpack of a secondary Hizack unit.


You can of course combine figures 309+310 to have a Hizack equip the Mega Launcher. You will need a second Hizack figure to hook it up to a power cable, so it can be quite tricky to build this figure set completely, as the figures in this set are quite difficult to find these days. Due to the size and shape of the power cable it will be tricky to hook up all three figures and have them stand together on a flat surface.






311 : XM-X3 Crossbone Gundam X-3


Why not round this stage off with a random Crossbone Gundam for good measure? We already saw the X-1 and X-2 in Stage 46 and 48 respectively, so now the turn comes to the X-3. The figure has a meaty beam sword (sadly without effect parts) which it holds in a firm grip that will extend below its feet if you attempt to make it point forward. The X-shaped Core Fighter is also extending just below the figure's feet.


Lining up the Crossbone Gundams X-1 through X-3 with the Vigna Ghina thrown in for good measure. The various Crossbone Gundams to have quite a few appearances in the larger NEXT and DASH figure series, including some of the mass production type Crossbone Vanguard suits but the armory is sparse in the SD Full Color series.




Conclusion

Overall, Stage 49 contains a great line-up of unusual mobile suit types and solid sculpts. This far into the SD Full Color saga the line must have started its decline (as far as sales figures go) because they can be quite hard to find.