SD Gundam Bind 03

In the Gundam world, we have a sliding scale which ranges from intended realism (as realistic as gigantic mobile suits could possibly be anyway) to cartoon action. At one end of the scale we see complex political conflict where the machines themselves are just one of the many tools available in the toolbox. We then start sliding down the scale passing super-heroes (Newtype abilities), gimmicky designs (Windmill Gundam...?), sentient machines and all the way down to mobile suits which are actually characters who fight mechanical dragons... Wait, what? Yeah, I don't know either, but what I do know is that SD Gundam Bind is at this far end of the scale.

Released some time in 2009, SD Gundam Bind volume 03 is the third of a total of seven figure sets in this short lived series. The whole series is build up around a central gimmick; that you can build a behemoth machine by combining parts from the others. However, SD Gundam Bind isn't quite as ambitious as the contemporary Bandai Minipla Shokugan series, as we shall see.

Each volume of Bind consists of ten figures, divided into two groups. The first five figures each depict a mobile suit or mobile armor from one of the different Gundam timelines. The figures very much resemble the SD Gundam Full Color and Full Color Custom series and are designed with likeness of the original machine in mind. The last five figures however, all come in a single color. In the case of volume 3 all the figures are dark purple, in volume 04 they are all brown etc. Each figure also has a single eye painted in green.

Now, you'd expect this to be something as simple as the first five figures being recycled and recoloured to create the last five, but Bind follows another route. While the last five figures are commonly also released in full colour versions (normally included in another volume), the sculpts are actually also modified. Each figure will receive a different bodypart somewhere, perhaps an arm with a new weapon, or wings and legs are tampered with, to create something new. These alternate parts are then used to build something completely different, more on that later. Let's begin by taking a look at the initial five figures of the set.


21 : RX-93 Nu Gundam

Things start fairly conservative here, with a Nu Gundam figure. You might expect it to be paired up with a Sazabi and while there is indeed a Sazabi in this set, it is only as one of the purple figures. The normal colour version of the Sazabi was released in Bind 02 however, together with an all-red version of the Nu.

The Bind figures are pretty tiny but they still feature a decent amount of details in their sculpts. The paintwork also tends to be a little bit simpler although there is reasonable detail on the Nu Gundam, complete with Amuro's logos on the shoulder and shield. Only one Fin Funnel set is included but the backpack has slots for two. The Fin Funnel component itself has pegs on both sides so if you happen to own two Nu Gundam figures you could add a second set to the backpack, pretty clever design there. The figure also features a rotating head and swivel-joint shoulders as well as a removable beam saber.


22 :  NRX-0013-CB Gundam Virsago Chest Break

Now, here is something you don't see every day. Gundam Virsago in figure form is a very unusual thing to behold. Except for its appearance in Bind I think it has only ever also been featured as a HG Gashapon figure in normal proportions (one that I don't own of course...). There appears to be no single colour version of it in Bind (at least as far as I can tell) but it isn't completely alone seeing as the Gundam Double X is present in Bind volume 2.

The Virsago Chest Break is the largest of the figures in this set and is approximately the same size as your average SD Gundam Full Color figure. It comes with a head that can rotate and arms that swivel at the shoulders. The exotic colour scheme means it stands out well in the collection which is something I really appreciate.


23 : GF13-017NJ Shining Gundam

Bandai continues to mix and match, next up is the Shining Gundam from the Mobile Suit G Gundam television series. I have also spotted the God Gundam in Bind 01 but the Master Gundam seems to be conspicuously absent here. The promotional images I have dug out from Bandai are so tiny though that it isn't always that easy to see what things are supposed to represent.

The Shining Gundam surprisingly comes with a pink beam saber. Here's an opportunity where they could have gone for something lazy like a green coloured hand but instead we got a functional accessory that can also benefit other figures in the line. Notice also how the shoulders have been fully painted on the backside, something I wouldn't have expected on a ¥100 figure (the feet aren't though, so there's that...). Articulation follows the two previous figures with moving arms and head.


24 : Apsalus III

While the Virsago is also a novel inclusion here's what really inspires me about this set; the Apsalus III mobile armor. How awesome is this? We also have the Apsalus II in the SD Gundam Full Color range (Stage 25) which goes just perfect together with this. The Apsalus III also appears as a single-color black figure in Bind 01 with a Gundam-type head!

As a figure it doesn't actually do much, but you can pull it apart into smaller pieces if you would like to play around with it. Isn't it strange by the way that the Apsalus II was never made in Gundam Converge form? Now that we have a whole group of 08th MS Team figures coming out in Mobile Suit Ensemble later this year perhaps a Converge or MS Ensemble version of this mobile armor isn't all that far away?

 
 
25 : RMS-099 Rick Dias

The Rick Dias is one of my trusted and always dependable favourites. If a figure series contains the Rick Dias (and for some reason they often do) you can be pretty sure it is going to be a solid and entertaining figure and this is no exception. The mobile suit also returns in Bind volume 05 as an all-blue variant with extremely odd organic-looking arms.

In Bind 03 form however it is still looking the part. Decked out with both a Clay Bazooka and one of its puny pea shooters it is the only figure in this set to sport dual weapons. Of course each weapon is an accessory in itself so you can spread the love to less fortunate mobile suits. Or... try to seek out another Rick Dias figure to let it dual wield its guns. I love little stunts like that. As for articulation you have to make do with swivel shoulders, the peculiar head form doesn't lend itself well to being a separate part unfortunately.

Before we proceed let's just take a moment to look at the Bind-format figure and how it scales to some other figure series. In the above photo you can see the Bind 03 Rick Dias next to a black early type Dias from SD Gundam Full Color Stage 47, the articulated Dias from Senshi Forte 02 and at the far right a Gundam Converge Rick Dias (whose clay bazooka looks really puny next to the others).


This far into the Bind 03 set we have pretty much covered the vital Mobile Suit Gundam components. What follows next requires an interest in the less orthodox side of Gundam lore. More specifically we are about to plunge into the deep end of that realism scale I mentioned earlier.

The second half of Bind 03 features five mobile suits in the same dark purple colour. Each is a bastardization of an existing mobile suit or mobile armor, and the represented designs aren't always that obvious. The last five machines are variations on:

26 : ZGMF-X42S Destiny Gundam (Wings of Light)
27 : GX-9901-DX Gundam Double X
28 : MSN-04 Sazabi
29 : ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice Gundam
30 : MA-04X Zakrello

As mentioned earlier, each figure has received one or two modifications to its sculpt. The exception here is the Sazabi which remains unmodified. Instead a large leg-component is included with this figure. Below you can see the figures laid out with the modified or included custom part below.

As you can see, in this manner the Destiny Gundam provides a head, the Double X a pair of wings and the Sazabi some nasty legs etc. The parts combine together like so:

And here we have it... whatever it is. A bird? A dragon? A mecha character? Is it something out of the SD Gundam lore or just a random custom build? You tell me, I haven't got a clue.

While the whole combine-spread out-parts-into-a-special-figure gimmick is certainly nothing new I guess there is some moderate level of entertainment to be had out of it. For about two minutes... Was it really necessary to create five alternate figures when all you really need from them is to take them apart to build this monster and then be left standing with five incomplete figures? Perhaps the sales team figured it was a good way to get people to spend more money in the Gashapon machines. Wouldn't just a traditional five coloured mobile suits with five transparent color versions set have done the job just as well?

As it stands, SD Gundam Bind is a bit of a failed concept (having only seven waves under its belt) but the traditional mobile suit figures themselves aren't bad at all and can be used to round out your SD figure collection quite well. Availability is pretty much nonexistent however. You really need to stumble on these in some dusty old secondhand shop these days. The figures also have a tendency to pop up randomly among other SD Gundam figures as many secondhand sellers wouldn't really be able to tell them apart.

The latest Gashapon news...

The Bandai Gashapon blog has some new tidbits on the latest set to be revealed in the Mobile Suit Ensemble line. Part 1.5 follows the concept started by 2.5 and 3.5 and see the first wave of figures (which are now very hard to come by, by the way) reappearing in new colour variations. The RX-78 gets a pretty unusual looking G-3 colour scheme and the G-Fighter is repainted to match it. The mass production Zaku II also gets a darker green finish with some additional numbers slapped on as an afterthough to turn it into a "marking plus ver." as they usually call it. The last figure of this set, the Destroy Mode Unicorn was not mentioned; perhaps it will come with a green Psycoframe this time. Part 1.5 is scheduled for release in May round about the same time that Mobile Suit Ensemble Part 09 is also planned to hit the shelves.

In other news, the latest batch of the irresistible little Senshi Forte figures are due for release on or around the 26th of January. Volume 08 continues to put the focus on SEED and sports the Freedom and Duel Gundam to go with the Strike and the Buster from volume 07 (why do the Aegis and Blitz always get the short end of the stick?).

The set is rounded out by the SD Command Gundam and what will again be the hardest to find figures; the two army builder GuAIZ-type mobile suits. These are of course also the ones that I find the coolest.

I am starting to get really fed up with the way Bandai are distributing the Senshi Forte figures. Basically if you wonder why there are so few Geara Dogas and GINNs available it is because figures are sold to retailers in packs of four, with the A-pack containing colour variation one and the B-pack containing colour variation two. This means that the army builder figures are pretty much half as common as the hero-type machines which is both frustrating and ridiculous. I guess this is one way Bandai can manage to keep the line rolling in spite of rising costs, luring people to buy more than they really want.

Anyway, today's announcement was pretty short but Kawa promised more Gashapon-related news to follow soon.

SD Gundam Full Color Stage 54

We are digging deeper into the Gashapon SD Gundam history with a figure set from the first era of full color super-deformed Gundam figurines. Prior to these there were also generations of rubbery single colour figures which are both insanely expensive today and of little interest to the Sergeant. Anyway, this particular set, Stage 54 is one of the later releases of the expansive 63 volume SD Gundam Full Color series and was released in January 2005. The figures sold for ¥100 back then. I picked this set up complete from a secondhand store for about ten USD which must be considered somewhat of a steal.

Being pure Gashapon figurines the SD Full Color figures are capsule toys and so come wrapped in plastic bags (typically of the bags in a bag variety) balled up with a wrinkled mini-booklet although these particular booklets have survived nicely.

Articulation in the SD Full Color range varies from mobile suit to mobile suit. Early figures are pretty much statues while later figures feature the occasional moving parts such as shoulders or heads.


346 : ZGMF-X56S/b Sword Impulse Gundam

The set opens with figure number 346 (yes, this series had been going for 8 years already) which together with the next two are collected from the Gundam SEED Destiny television series. While I was no big fan of the rather generic Impulse Gundam design the Sword Impulse mode is rather nice with its signature red colour and large double bladed sword. (I am also a fan of the rather similar looking Sword Calamity MSV design, here's hoping they will both be featured in Converge one day...)

The Sword Impulse has a static pose with both hands attached directly to the sword. You can wiggle the arms a little up and the head sits on a round page and so can rotate freely. There is some nice paint detail on the torso and head although the backs of these figures typically are much more Spartan.

This was the only Sword Calamity to come out of the Full Color line although a version with two separate swords later appeared in the SD Full Color Custom series in August 2006. The two complement each other rather nicely.


347 :  GAT-02L2 Dagger L

The Dagger L design replaced the GAT-01 Strike Dagger from Gundam SEED as the main Earth Alliance army builder mobile suit. It comes armed with a beam carbine rifle and this weird anti-ship penetrator armor which mainly looks like an oversized spear. The intended pose can be altered a bit since both arms sit on round pegs.

I really enjoy the army builder type of mobile suits, although action poses such as these tend to break immersion when you line up a couple of them. If you like the Dagger mobile suit family you can also find the Strike Dagger in SD Full Color Stage 45. There are also three figures in the Full Color Custom series; the Gunbarrel Dagger, the Dark Dagger L as well as a Jet Dagger L. Hard to find but fun to search out...


348 : ZGMF-1001/M Blaze ZAKU Phantom (Rey Za Burrel Custom)

Sticking a Zaku (oh sorry, a ZAKU) into SEED's Cosmic Era timeline is one of the aspects I like the least about this sad sequel to my favourite Gundam series. Still, the design turned out really badass and spawned a lot of outlandish and colourful variations, such as Rey Za Burrel's white Blaze ZAKU Phantom here. And SD Full Color Gundam does do it full justice... almost. Come on now, where is your rifle? Geeze, talking about skimping on the grunt suits even when they are piloted by named characters.

I'll have to assume it was too costly to include a tiny little black L-shaped gun now that we've got both a nicely detailed Phantom backpack and two spiked shields but I'm sure if you were the Freedom Gundam they'd have given you something nice to hold on to as well.

Rey's Blaze ZAKU Phantom compared to the new sculpt of Heine Westenfluss' armed version from SD Full Color Custom 04.

 All jokes aside, this is a killer figurine and there are quite a few of them to find and collect in the SD Full Color and Full Color Custom series and luckily many of them are properly armed. I'm not sure just what went wrong here.


349 : ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam

Ah yes, speaking about the Freedom, this mobile suit can also be found plastered all over the various SD Gundam figure series. To my knowledge this is the 6th version of it to pop up in the SD Gundam Full Color series and it was followed by a seventh as well as another three in the Full Color Custom range (not counting transparent figures). Then we have half a dozen of Strike Freedoms in there as well.

This particular version of the Freedom comes with semi-folded wings mainly pointed backwards and its two Lacerta-type beam sabers combined into the Ambidextrous Halberd mode which fits neatly in the suit's left hand. The right hand is balled up to form a clenched fist. The figure features arms on round pegs enabling a little bit of up and down movement and the head sits on the standard round peg. It is a fine version of the Freedom that I can definitely get in to.


350 : XXXG-01SR Gundam Sandrock

Having come this far we leave the Cosmic Era timeline for a dip into the After Colony era from Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. With Stage 54 serving up the Sandrock and the Shenlong you have of course already figured out that the more popular machines from the pretty boy mobile suit brigade were already released earlier. The Sandrock Custom did show up already back in SD Full Color Stage 24 in April 2001 though. But unless I am mistaken, this is the one and only appearance of the Shenlong in SD format. Nobody likes Wufei...

This Gundam Sandrock figure has the appearance from the original television series (the Endless Waltz version replaces the black and yellow colour scheme and it begins sporting a huge shawl for some reason) and comes with its two rather iconic Heat Shotel blades and a shield (which can only be fitted to the left arm). The figure also has more articulation than the other figures in this set; the head rotates and the arms can swivel both at the shoulder and elbows leaving some room for customization. Its main drawback is that the backside is all white.


351 : XXXG-01S Shenlong Gundam

The Shenlong Gundam figure also takes its appearance from the main television series. Its evolution, the Altron Gundam, can be found in its Endless Waltz variation in SD Full Color Stage 23. This figure also has a decent enough painted frontside while the the backside is aaaall white.

The most interesting aspect of this figure to me is that you can actually do some really different posing with it. While the Bandai promotional material shows the intended pose to be right arm forward (ready to release the Dragon Fang weapon onto some hapless combatant) you can also do a more static pose with the right arm to the side and the left arm holding the spear-like Beam Glaive like if on guard duty. A word of caution is in order; be gentle when putting the beam glaive into the figure's hand. Do not apply too much force but take your time and adjust it in small steps or you risk bending or twisting the soft plastic material.


352 : MBF-P02 Gundam Astray Red Frame

The last figure in this set is yet another Gundam, and now we have swerved back into Gundam SEED MSV territory again. The very popular Red Frame needs no special introduction and its transition into SD Full Color format has really succeeded in retaining its fearsome appearance. Just look at those eyes.

The figure comes armed with its signature blade and a sheath to go with it, although the sheath is of course not functional. Notice how this figure gets the love of colour application also on its backside unlike the two Wing designs we just looked at.

The Red Frame has a couple of appearances in SD Full Color and Full Color Custom (and the same goes for the Blue Frame and the Gold Frame as well). This was its first appearance and it was later followed by a blade and rifle wielding figure in Full Color Custom 02 and the Powered Red variant in Full Color Custom 12.

Overall I think that SD Full Color Stage 54 is reasonably successful. There are a bit too many Gundams in it for my personal taste but all the designs work nicely and the only glaring fault I can think of is that the Blaze ZAKU Phantom really deserved a gun. As with all the other SD Full Color figures the availability tends to be somewhat limited. I would say your best bet of finding these is to go on a prowl in dedicated secondhand Gashapon market (which is mainly a pipe dream for us not located in the Far East...). When purchasing secondhand figures, SD figures of all types often come with incorrect (or missing entirely) parts such as weapons, backpacks or the like. I've dragged home a lot of figures over the years only to discover later that... wait a minute, this isn't right. So remain vigilant out there and be prepared to hit a few duds every now and then.

SD Gashapon Warrior NEXT Forever-Enemy Series

It is time for another Gashapon Warrior NEXT figure set and this time it is one of the novelties. The Forever-Enemy Series is a special set outside of the regular figure waves and bands together four pairs of rivals from the Universal Century timeline. All the mobile suits in this set recycles earlier releases from the Gashapon NEXT figure line.

I am not completely sure about it, but I have a feeling that this might be an "Overseas Only"-type release out of the Bandai Asia division in Hong Kong. The set supposedly released in February 2015 but I do not have any information about the (then) sales price.

These figures were bought as a complete set from a secondhand shop and so they already came assembled. I didn't feel like taking them apart just for purposes of this review, but to give unfamiliar readers a general idea of the Gashapon Warrior NEXT anatomy I have lifted in this component shot of the Z Gundam from NEXT 02. Mobile suits in this line typically have articulation in their necks, waists, hips, shoulders and elbows.

Before we move on let's just also take a quick look at the comparative size of the Gashapon Warrior NEXT figures (far left and center left) as they compare to Gashapon Senshi Forte (center), FW SD Gundam NEO (center right) and Gundam Converge (far right).


1 : RX-78-2 Gundam

First out is the RX-78 out of the original Mobile Suit Gundam television show. Incidentally this figure was also the very first Gashapon Warrior NEXT figure to be released, back in December 2010 some five years earlier. Now that I think about it, I am little bit amazed that NEXT held out for five years before being replaced by DASH which only lasted for a little bit more than one year.

Notice the simple but still rather sharp paintwork that goes into select parts of the figure. The eyes have a crisp black border and the vents on the chest even come with detail that puts larger and more expensive figures to shame. Even the backside has some nice colour separation going on. Even the shield has a fully functional viewport, something often omitted on smaller figures.

This version of the RX-78 appears to be a simple reissue of the original release from NEXT Volume 01, at least as far as I can tell without owning the original. I will be revisiting older reviews and putting in comparison shots in the event that I successfully manage to expand the collection. The RX-78 was also released with a bazooka and shield in NEXT volume 11 and with a beam rifle and shield in NEXT volume 16.


2 : MS-06S Zaku II (Char's Custom)

To little surprise, the Gundam dancing partner is Char's old Commander Type Zaku II. This figure was also originally released in NEXT volume 01 and so was paired up with the Gundam already back then. Again, this appears to be a simple reissue of the original figure. For some reason, early NEXT volumes are pretty hard to come by these days and I have found secondhand shops to be a much better source than going online.

Char's Zaku II comes armed with a nice heat hawk although it feels a little cheap that it couldn't get a yellow blade effect when they managed to get so much other detail in place. Still it should be a pretty simple customization job for those so inclined.

The head has a fully functional monoeye which you can easily reposition. It is a neat gimmick even if I rarely think repositioning the eye looks very good compared to just leaving it staring directly ahead.

There is also a third version of this figure released as a colour variation in the "NEXT 35th Real Type" set. This version comes with the same heat hawk but the colour scheme is a bit toned down for a more realistic effect. You can also seek out the green mass production type Zaku II to find a Zaku machine gun.


3 : RX-93 Nu Gundam

The set continues chronologically to Universal Century 0093 and the dreadful movie Char's Counterattack. Still, CCA produced some really neat mobile suit designs and the RX-93 used to be a real staple although these days it doesn't seem to be just as popular.

Amuro Ray traded in his RX-78 for this monster which comes decked out with a curved beam saber and shield, as well as a complete pair of fin funnel packs. We are used to seeing the Nu Gundam coming with only the left Fin Funnel assembly but here we get both from the get go. They look a bit drab in all white, the effort was spent on getting Amuro's red markings on the shoulder and shield right instead and the result is nice as long as you view the figure from the front.

The Nu Gundam first showed up in Gashapon Warrior NEXT 03 back in July 2011. It appears to feature the exact same gear loadout as well. No other versions of the Nu Gundam exist in the NEXT series although both the Hi-Nu and the mass production type RX-94 are also available.


4 : MSN-04 Sazabi

You can't say Nu Gundam without thinking Sazabi and sure enough, here it comes hot on the Nu's heels. It was originally reissued as a companion to the Nu in NEXT volume 03 and also retains the same gear choices. Specifically, the large sword-shaped beam saber and the marked shield.

The paint job on the Sazabi again looks neat from the front but a little bit bland from other directions. it is just the way things go with these figures. As a NEXT figure, the Sazabi was never released with its beam rifle which is kind of sad.


5 : RX-0 Full Armor Unicorn Gundam

The third fighting pair hails from U.C. 0096 and sees one of the many iterations of the Unicorn in one corner of the arena. This time around it appears to be the Full Armor Unicorn Gundam, at least based on what its counterpart in Gundam Converge would be labelled as... We get a figure decked out with two shields and sporting one of its cool bazookas with attached missile launchers.

The Full Armor Unicorn was first released in April 2014 as part of NEXT volume 19. That figure was pretty special though. Although it came with the same gear as this figure, volume 19 also included a separate Type 89 Base Jabber spacecraft. That figure came with a second bazooka, three beam gatling guns, a Unicorn Mode shield and the giant beam javelin weapon-thingy for the Unicorn to use. This is why the Forever-Enemy Unicorn has this oversized backpack with several hardpoints just screaming to be used.

It seems a bit strange that they didn't pick one of the traditional red psycho frame Unicorns for this set, of which there are several in Gashapon NEXT. You can also find it armed with a beam rifle (NEXT volume 01 and reissued in NEXT 12), with a beam gatling and beam saber (NEXT 03), in Unicorn Mode (NEXT 12) as well as in some colour variations.


6 : MSN-06S Sinanju

The Full Armor Unicorn gets to go up against a Sinanju featuring some really nice golden detail on its chest, sleeves and shield. The backside looks less impressive though, just bland red all across. Not even the fuel tanks are done in white. This feels rather poor but I guess the money was spent on those gold trimmings. Fair enough I guess...

This Sinanju figure has been lifted from NEXT volume 07 (where it was originally paired up agains the Banshee). There is also a version of the Sinanju that comes armed with its trademark rifle if you are lucky enough to find it in NEXT volume 03.


7 : MSZ-006 Z Gundam (clear blue version)

The Forever-Enemy Series also contains two "mystery figures", which aren't that mysterious at all as their silhouettes are given away in the booklet. The surprise instead comes in them being presented as transparent colour versions. We now travel back in time to the Zeta Gundam timeline where we first stumble on the Z Gundam itself, now in minty toothpaste blue

I guess there isn't a whole lot to say about this figure. It is a transparent makeover of the Z Gundam from NEXT volume 02. I guess either you like these creations or you don't. I always feel that the detail gets completely lost in figures like these but they seem to be popular as collector items.

Here is a side-by-side with the Z Gundam from NEXT volume 02 that this figure is based upon. I know which of the two I prefer...


8 : AMX-004 Qubeley (clear white version)

While the Z Gundam has a large number of rivals here it gets to go up against Haman Karn's Qubeley. I suppose they could have made this figure in transparent purple and red as well and we would have a little Qubeley family but thankfully Bandai Asia abstained.

If anything, the transparent white colour is even less successful at bringing out the detail than the blue colour was. The Qubeley's bulky shape doesn't help either; the figure mainly resembles a lump of goo.

The transparent Quebeley is also based on a figure from the NEXT volume 02 set, and boy does that Qubeley look like a masterpiece in comparison.

Overall the Forever-Enemy Series figure set contains a lot of well known faces and it reissued some out of production figures for a second chance. The NEXT series was pretty much dead already at its time of release, so I guess you can think of it as a nice send-off for the series. I'd say this set is mainly interesting to completists as all the basic figures are reissues however in this day and age you do not stumble on any of these NEXT series releases that easily. So, if you come across this set first, you may find it a good way to flesh out your collection.