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.
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| Universal Unit figures are normally sold in boxes of 10, containing two of each figure plus a couple of duplicates. |
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| 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.
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| GP01 box variant A: BOWA Beam Rifle and Shield |
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| 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.
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| 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). |
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| 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.
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| GM Custom box variant A: 90mm GM Machinegun |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Barbatos Lupus box variation A: Two 20 cm machine guns mounted on the arms. |
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| 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...
