Gundam Converge #11

Converge #11 arrived in the end of June and consists of a killer selection of mobile suits, at least if you are a big fan of New Mobile Report Gundam Wing (or as one reviewer so aptly put it, pretty boys with problems). This set contains four never before seen mobile suit choices for Converge and two upgrades of previous figures. The figures retail for about ¥500 and I picked up a full set for ¥3000 which was a bit higher than I would have expected.

Notice that both the Guntank and the Döven Wolf come with pieces on runners, something you do not see very often in Converge.

A really nice display of mobile suits here, although the Döven Wolf looks out of scale with the others, a fate that was bestowed on the Geymalk and the Gazus only recently as well. It seems Neo Zeon is our new Titans team, which also contained several shorter figures.

182 : XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero (EW)

The first figure of the set however, is larger than ever before. Someone at FusionWorks really has a soft spot for the Wing Gundam - this is the third iteration of it released in the past year or so. And as much as I was underwhelmed by its announcement I must confess that it looks pretty striking.

The Wing has indeed been allowed to grow taller. Why is it that the meaty Neo Zeon mobile suits aren't designed to be this tall? Madness...

The Wing Gundam is the only figure in this set that comes with an optional left hand. While the right hand is an open hand into which one of its twin Buster Rifles can be attached, the left hand is instead a clenched fist. Instead we get an optional left hand onto which the left hand as been permanently attached.

It seems odd that Bandai designed different carrying methods for each arm but they both although a tightly clenched right first would have been a welcome accessory as well (for every Converge figure in fact...). Alright, let's move on to some Wing Gundam comparisons for there are now many...

The Wing Gundam Zero (EW) was first released in Converge vol. 10 (April 2013). A brighter colour version appeared in the Converge Selection set in May 2017 and the new sculpt also reuses those brighter colours.

The Converge reboot has now seen three of the four Wing Gundam versions released, only the original version 01W Wing is missing. From left to right: Wing Gundam (EW), Wing Gundam Zero and Wing Gundam Zero (EW).

The full Converge Wing Gundam family also includes the original 01W Wing Gundam figure in two colour variations.

As much as I like to harp on the Wing Gundam being a boring mobile suit choice the figure sure is one of the best versions of it released so far. Will Converge return to Wing and also do the fourth and last version of the Wing Gundam? Somehow I doubt it, as it is pretty similar to its Wing Gundam Zero predecessor.

183 : XXXG-01S2 Altron Gundam (EW)

Finally another ally for the Wing, we hadn't seen one since Converge #07 and I wondered if the Deathscythe and the Heavyarms were going to be everything, but we now can look forward to completing the Endless Waltz Gundam line-up once the Sandrock Kai arrives in Converge #12 which is scheduled for October.

Here we are looking at the Altron Gundam though, with its odd retractable dragon claws and large fancy trident. Altron/Nataku/Shenlong may be the least interesting of the Gundams in Wing but I really dig the colour scheme on this figure. It has a very unique green and lime green over white, with spiffy yellow and red highlights. A real feast for the eye, and I can temporarily forget about the annoying character that pilots it. It also looks a million times better than the Altron featured in the original television series.

The Converge Altron Gundam comes with a two-piece Beam Trident, each attaches to the right hand giving the illusion of a long staff. The trident cannot be attached to the left hand which is completely solid, so any ideas of doing a dual wield sai-pose like your average Hollywood Ninja is unfortunately not possible. The two extendable Dragon Fang weapons are of course also not deployable.

I will refrain from doing a Wing Gundam team line-up and save that for volume twelve, because it is hot and I am lazy to dig the figures out...

184 : RX-75 Guntank

Another familiar face and the last of the Project V machines to get a facelift since the Converge reboot is the Guntank. This sad excuse for a weapon keeps getting a lot of figure love although I cannot fathom exactly why. I'd rather see the beautiful Core Fighter that they shipped with the White Base in its place...

I must say though, the new Guntank is looking pretty on the money. It looks more like a vehicle and less like a mascot in this release. On the other hand we are now losing all the markings that Bandai and FusionWorks have slowly been adding to it with each iteration, a clear step back to entry level which is disappointing but something to be expected.

The Guntank figure is the first of the new Converge figures to come on a base without a peg, meaning it is not attached to it like all the other figures. This is takes some getting used to every time I pick it up only for the base to remain on the table. I would there were issues with drilling a hole through the tracks since it would go through both a black and a blue plastic later perhaps. Notice also that the antennas come on a runner from which they should be carefully removed.

Here we compare the original Guntank (volume one, released November 2010) with the Converge #11 version.

Converge Guntank inventory. To the far left we have the Early Type Guntank from Converge vol. 19 (released June 2015) and from there on we see the evolution of the basic figure as it went through four different iterations before we got the reoot version (far right). First we have the basic Guntank from volume 01, followed by the metallic painted figure from the Operation Jaburo boxset. Next up is the Guntank form the 7-Eleven "Selection V" set (October 2014) with RX-75 emblem on the chest and lastly the Guntank from the CORE003 multipack which introduces some additional stripes on the chest. Only the Operation Jaburo figure features metallic grey paint. Not pictured here is the second CORE Guntank from the White Base package.

The sculpt of the new Guntank is a nice improvement over the old figure and I have a bad feeling that we will be seeing new CORE versions with additional markings in the future...

185 : AMX-014 Döven Wolf

This is the figure I was most interested in this round since it is a really spectacular and one of a kind design. The Converge version mostly does it justice although I can't help but feel that it is a little tiny. The Döven Wolf stands 22 meters tall so I think we could have got a little more height on it.

As you can see on the images the sculpt is really detailed and full of interesting twists and turns. The head and eye also looks suitably menacing although I am less impressed by its beam rifle which looks much too wimpy. This weapon should be huuuge and stick out just as much as the rifles for some of the other figures in this set. Mass-produced mobile suits aren't getting much love here it seems.

The tiny little pieces that come with this figure means you should consider gluing them permanently to the head. The antennas do seem to stay in their sockets so far but I will most likely end up gluing them. And speaking of tiny pieces, that beam rifle is a disgrace, it even looks more formidable on the box cover. : )

186 : OZ-13MSX1 Vayeate

Back in the old days of Converge we would have a sixth figure in each set coming with a hidden secret variant. Bandai and FW have now thankfully moved away from that practice so we can get the Vayeate and the Mercurius easily without hustling for secret stuff. I really like variants of the same mobile suit and in my opinion Bandai should do this more often, adding two similar suits at the end of the set, maximizing the use of the molds and the drawings.

The Vayeate is an OZ experimental mobile suit designed to be an assault unit focusing its strengths entirely into the attacker role, whereas its companion Mercurius was geared to specialize in defense. A pretty dumb design concept but it makes for fun figures to collect I guess...

The Vayeate comes with a tiny little antenna that keeps falling out of its intended hole constantly so I had to glue it in place before it decided to sneak away permanently. The other main accessory of the figure is the heavy Beam Cannon and its associated power source which clip nicely into two holes on the figures shoulders.

On closer inspection you will find that the Beam Cannon can be removed from its storage rack and inserted into the figure's hand. The handle is a separate piece so as to allow the rifle to sit in the figure's right hand.

Looking pretty intimidating there, Sir. Why couldn't the Döven Wolf get something amazing like this? The Vayeate figure looks awesome in both its configurations but I think I prefer the weapon stowed on the back, it simply stands out among all the Converge figures holding their rifles permanently in their hands.

187 : OZ-13MSX2 Mercurius

Last of the lot is of course the Vayeate tandem player, the Mercurius. This mobile suit is loaded up with five "Planet Defensors" stored on each shoulder as well as the "Crash Shield", which is just a larger disc. The Defensors can scatter and form an energy barrier while the larger shield had a beam saber of its own. The mobile suit also has a Beam Gun for close-up defense.

I really like the design of both the Vayeate and the Mercurius, and they have been well converted into Converge mode. The Mercurius in particular is absolutely loaded with fun stuff so I will not chastise the developers for not including a beam saber effect part for the crash shield. This however would be a suitable thing for customization.

There are a couple of peculiar design choices for this figure. First the Crash Shield has been molded directly onto the right hand. As a consequence, FusionWorks decided to put the Beam Gun in the figure's left hand. I can't remember exactly how it appeared in the anime (Noooo... I do not want to watch it again) but I am really happy that we got both of these accessories.

The Oz family of mobile suits is growing slowly but at least now we have four members of the team. Not holding my breath for the mass-produced suits appearing anytime soon.

Vayeate and Mercurius are very rare figures. The only other representations I know of are a pair in the Robot Spirits series as well as these two released in SD Warrior DASH 07 in 2016.

Now that we have several of the main Oz mobile suits one can only hope that Gundam Wing will continue to be represented in Converge once the Sandrock figure has been out. It is strange how spread out they are. The Leo and the Taurus have been released as a 1/400 figures, the Virgo only as a super deformed Gashapon and the Aries has not been released at all.

Conclusion

Overall, Converge #11 is another great set of figures for your collection. This set seems to focus mainly on expanding various factions which probably means it is more interesting for completist collectors than casual Gundam fans. Apart from some minor paint app issues here and there and the occasional part needing glue this set is just as awesome as we have come to expect Converge to be. Definitely recommended.

Random Post: How the Gryps Conflict really started...

"You Feddie scum get out of here! I ain't afraid of no EFF losers and I'll take down any of you lot in this bar just you wait and see!"

Gundam Converge CORE 015 : RX-78GP03 Dendrobium

The second CORE reissue to appear in May 2018 is the unique silhouette of the overly complicated Dendrobium mobile armor unit of Stardust Memory fame. And just to get the all the names in; the RX-78GP03 Dendrobium is actually the amalgamation of the mobile suit RX-78GP03S Dendrobium Stamen when combined with the Orchis Armed Base. The writing on the Converge box also informs us that this is a "Foothold Defensive Mobile Armor" which is a new way to describe it.

The original Converge GP03 Dendrobium figure first appeared in December 2015 as EX07, quite a few numbers down the EX-series which stands to release its 23rd entry in August. I have to say the old Dendrobium figure is not spotted that often on the second-hand market so it seems to have been doing quite well for itself. The old figure had a retail price of ¥3200 and the new CORE version, which is a Premium Bandai exclusive, sold for ¥3700 on the P-Bandai website.

Opening up the package we find the usual range of component bags, and there are no major surprises here. The new Dendrobium figure is a repainted version of the original.

The parts count is perhaps a bit lesser than you would imagine for such a complex figure. The FusionWorks engineers have done a great job designing this figure which is really easy to assemble and reassemble to change between the display options. My only complaint here is that the four extra components that were sold in the Stardust Memory Last Decisive Battle Option Set (review here) were not included as an extra with this figure.

Let's begin by taking a look at the base mobile suit, the RX-78GP03S Gundam GP03S Dendrobium Stamen... yeah, you know the name makes perfect sense.

Looking pretty good there, Stamen. The colour scheme has been subdued a bit and grey parts are now metallic to give it less of a toy look and more of a "I'm a real world representation" thing going for it.

The Stamen comes with a Beam Rifle and Shield configuration as well as two optional Folding Bazookas, each sculpted specifically for left and right hand use. The figure comes with two trigger finger hands so unless you equip a bazooka in the left hand it will look a bit odd but I do prefer functional hands to closed ones any day.

A side by side display of the two Stamens from the EX 07 and the CORE 015 sets reveal that the changes are really minute. Save for the slightly toned down colours and metallic grays there is not anything interesting going on here. Again, I thought CORE figures were supposed to be detailed up and feature more paint apps and decals but not so here.

There are however major changes compared to the old retail Stamen from volume 13 (released December 2013). Notice that the old figure has the traditional closed fist, however it was molded as part of the left arm otherwise we may well have ended up getting it as an accessory.

Right... so let's move on to the Dendrobium mobile armor mode. We'll begin by a closer look at the changes done to the "Orchis" Armed Base. This is where you will clearly see that we are talking about a CORE detail-up version when compared to the old figure. I think the pictures speak for themselves:

The Orchis has gained a lot of custom markings and even though they are perhaps not that original (like placing "Danger" decals all over your figure until it looks like a checkerboard) the extra detail and the subdued colour scheme really transform the appearance of this figure.

The Orchis can be built in two different modes, allowing the Stamen mobile suit to either stand atop the base or climb into it for some foothold defensive action....

When not in the deployed mode, the mobile suit clips onto the Orchis by means of a transparent clip which attaches at the lower legs. You can choose to remove this piece if you like but the base is not very stable for the figure so some balancing maneuvers will be needed.

When the Dendrobium is deployed the mobile suit will creep into the armed base which was challenge for the FW engineers to overcome, since the Converge Orchis is so tiny compared to the mobile suit itself. There is however enough room for the figure to lie down easily within the structure. As part of this transformation you must switch out the neckpiece on the Stamen for a separate piece which has the head looking upward to give the impression that the mobile suit is now lying down.

The Stamen fits snugly inside the mobile armor without any cheap tricks like on the Neo Zeong and the Deep Striker where there is only half a mobile suit inside.

The Armed Base Orchis comes with several weapons compartments. The front hatches can be left closed or open individually and will display an alarming array of weapons inside. The actual deployment of said weapons is less impressive though; only one weapon pod on each side of the mobile armor can be extended and this still works as lousy as on the original figure. You have to balance the inserted weapon at the mouth of its hatch, and since the compartment is not that tight the weapon will droop down at an angle and fall off as soon as you touch the mobile armor. It simply looks better with these weapons stowed.

Borrowing an extra Beam Saber and an extra Demolition Chain from the older figures.

The retail EX07 Dendrobium can be decked out with extended sub-arms and an extra beam saber.

Other weapon options include a Demolition Chain, which is a 500 meter long cable laden with explosives. The Converge option is more like five centimeters long so a bit less impressive. The figure also includes a nice translucent red beam saber which can be held by either of the two sub-arms. In the pictures above you can also see I have added a second Demolition Chain and Beam Saber from the old Final Battle Option Set which are not included with this figure. It is a bit comical that none of the three beam sabers included with the three figures are of the same red colour however.

All in all, the new Dendrobium mobile armor figure is a huge aesthetical improvement over the old retail figure. Their overall appearances are like night and day, like the prototype and the finished product. The retail figure still has the upper hand when it comes to extra accessories however, and it seems doubtful that the new figure will get them (unless Bandai first decide to do a CORE Neue Ziel...). If you haven't picked up the old Dendrobium figure this is a great opportunity to add it to your Converge collection and if you are a fan of the design you may well want to upgrade the old figure if you have it.

The latest Gashapon news...

Today Bandai's development head Kawa posted some new updates on the Gashapon blog. Here are some news for the Mobile Suit Ensemble and Gashapon Senshi Forte figure series.

On the Mobile Suit Ensemble side the Gundam F91 has been revealed as well as the next EX figure, which will be the Sazabi together with a Re-GZ B.W.S. flight system. This reminds me of the premium Sazabi pack they made for the Assault Kingdom line back in the day, which also bundled the Sazabi with some accessories for the Nu Gundam and the Re-GZ. The Re-GZ itself is set for inclusion in the next regular figure set, Mobile Suit Ensemble Vol. 07.

The Sazabi and B.W.S. set is already up on the P-Bandai website. The price is ¥4200 and it is expected to ship in November 2018. Apparently it will also be available in a bundle with the new Senshi Forte EX05 figure.

And as for Senshi Forte, Kawa reports that the latest regular set (volume 06) has performed very well and is nearly sold out. The prototypes for Volume 07 are being revealed at the C3 hobby show and will consist of four SEED mobile suits and the eyebrow-raisingly named Satan Gundam.

sf07: Aile Strike Gundam, Buster Gundam, Miguel Ayman's Custom GINN, a mass production GINN and the SD Gaiden Satan Gundam. Not sure if there will be more figures in the set, typically six figures would be expected. In the background some of the sf1.5 reissue figures can be seen together with the Mobile Suit Ensemble Re-GZ, Geara Doga and RX-178.

Finally a new EX figure is also being announced for Senshi Forte. The EX05 two-pack featuring the Full Armor Knight Gundam vs. the Monster Black Dragon, another pair of SD characters celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the SD mythos. The set is up on the P-Bandai website selling for ¥3980 and is also expected to ship in November.

Lots of nice stuff to look forward to as far as I am concerned. :)