Gundam Converge CORE : RX-80PR Pale Rider (HADES System Activated)

This review continues the Converge Pale Rider experience. FusionWorks and Bandai have been kind enough to provide us with two versions of this figure, one as a standard retail figure (EX26 which we looked at here) and one as a Premium Bandai limited release which is the subject of this particular review. Both figures were released in March 2019 and both the MSRP for the retail figure and the limited figure were set to ¥2600. At the time of this review, the retail figure is currently trading around ¥2000 while the CORE figure is instead selling for around ¥3500.

The CORE figure comes in a small one figure-box barley larger than the average Converge retail figure but it is chock full with parts loaded into two bags.

I absolutely love Converge figures with many parts options and the Pale Rider really excels here. It joins the ranks with other notables such as the Sinanju, Unicorn and Perfect Strike Gundam.

Below you can see the two parts bags included with each Pale Rider figure and how similar they are to each other. Basically there are no accessory changes between the two figures, only the base mobile suit components are different.

The main gimmick of CORE Pale Rider figure is that its HADES mode is now activated. Of course a cool name such as this is also a contrived acronym with a questionable explanation. Hyper Animosity Detect Estimate System ranks right up there with Generation Unsubdued Nuclear Drive Assault Mode...

The HADES Mode components are simple colour variations of the standard Pale Rider figure. The visor and helmet camera turn red and several vents on the arms, legs and torso switch from grey to yellow. I mentioned it also in the previous review but I find that the HADES version of this figure is much more attractive.
 

HFW-GMG·MG79-90mm Bullpup Machine Gun

The Pale Rider figure comes with an instruction sheet on how to build four standardized equipment loadouts. I am not going to dwell on these too much as they are exactly the same as for the standard figure. Let's just blaze quickly through them.

 

180mm Cannon

 

XBR-M-79H-2 Hyper Beam Rifle

  

Giant Gatling Gun

 

I only have two minor complaints regarding the equipment choices for the Pale Rider. The minor one is that there is no beam saber accessory option. I ended up stealing one from a surplus Exia figure; you can never have too many of those. The other more problematic issue is that the left hand is only available in clenched fist mode and so cannot wield any weapons. This figure deserved a left hand designed for holding gear and it would have worked really well as an option part here. I can probably find a suitable replacement hand on another figure though.

Above: Converge EX26 Pale Rider and Converge CORE Pale Rider. Below: The Converge figure next to the Pale Rider from Senshi Forte volume 04.

Look at that Senshi Forte Pale Rider dual wielding a pair of machine guns. I sure would have wanted to do something similar for the Converge figure as well.

Overall I think the CORE version Pale Rider figure is the better of the two Converge figures. If you are only planning to get one you may still want to go for the cheaper retail figure but I think the vibrant colours of the HADES mode version is worth that extra money. Never mind the fact that I am planning to get four or five of these units just to display all weapon combinations...

Gundam Converge EX 26 : RX-80PR Pale Rider

2019 has seen a lot of great Converge releases but out of all of them, this is the one I was looking forward to the most. The Pale Rider is a beautiful and unusual mobile suit choice which rarely gets the attention I think it deserves. Now FusionWorks and Bandai are giving it a lot of love with a dual release where the standard mode is being released as a retail figure and with its HADES mode activated as a CORE Premium Bandai release.

In this review we will look at the standard retail version of the figure; we'll do a little bit more comparison in the CORE figure review which will follow shortly. Bandai put the recommended price for both figures at ¥2600 although the CORE figure seems to fetch a bit more on the secondary market. I ended up paying ¥2000 for my figure on its very release date while the CORE version had already climbed to ¥3500.

The Pale Rider figure comes in a small box almost the size of a regular Converge figure and with two bags of components, an instruction sheet and the classic gum the box is stuffed to the brim.

The Pale Rider figure comes with a lot of equipment options. You will find five weapon choices, two different shields as well as some body parts to be swapped to support the various weapon systems.
  

HFW-GMG·MG79-90mm Bullpup Machine Gun

Let's start things off with the very basic machine gun, a real mainstay seen with several GM type mobile suits across a number of series. It is a simple handheld submachine gun which fits into the figure's right hand. Sadly the left hand is molded as a tight fist effectively robbing you of the fun to dual wield...

Also visible in this mode is the large 180mm Cannon stowed, folded (actually parts detached) and hung over the right shoulder as well as the Spike Shield attached to the right arm. You will recognize this style of shield from the Ground Type Gundam. The shields for this figure can be attached to both arms so you can mess around with them as you choose, too bad we didn't get this option also for the hands.
   

180mm Cannon

When the 90 mm bullet isn't good enough it is time to bring out the big gun. Tossing away the machine gun (there is no storage option on the figure) the 180 mm Cannon gets reassembled and then held in the right hand. Notice how the gun handle sits on the top placing the cannon beneath the arm instead of above.

Notice the beautiful two colour paintjob on the cannon, the paint applications are really on point for this figure. I am not as impressed by the soft antenna on the top of the head. This type of detail would usually be a removable component on a Converge figure but here it is made of a soft and flexible material giving it a rather odd shape. I had this problem on both of my Pale Rider figures.
   

XBR-M-79H-2 Hyper Beam Rifle

Next up is an energy weapon option for the Pale Rider. The XBR Beam Rifle will look very familiar since it is a development of the rifle originally wielded by the RX-78. However, there are several other parts swaps present in this picture. We have replaced the Spike Shield with a traditional Earth Federation shield and on each leg you can now see a 3-pod missile launcher. We have also replaced the shoulder components with the thinner versions and replaced the backpack weapon rack to accommodate the Giant Gatling.

Notice the fins attached to this version of the weapon rack. The Gatling Cannon is stowed in a similar way as the 180mm Cannon but it is also connected to an ammo drum with a tightly strung ammunition belt. The belt piece is slightly flexible and is very easy to attach to the figure, unlike frustrating and loose attachments that we have seen in the past on figures such as the S-Gundam and the FAZZ.
   

Giant Gatling Gun

The last weapon option is the massive Gatling Gun. Again you toss the beam rifle away and then place the Gatling in the figure's right hand. You then replace the ammo belt component with a longer piece which fits with the other components very elegantly. The modeling in this figure is truly superb.

The four loadouts you have seen here are the four suggested in the instruction sheet. You can easily modify these to fit your own tastes. As mentioned above, it is such a pity that the left hand is taken out of the equation, as this would have allowed for more crazy builds. The five weapons included are all very nice although I kind of wish a beam saber would also have been included. Presumably, this was skipped since the sabers are molded directly onto the hips. Still, you can always steal one from another Converge figure. Hint: The red sabers from the Converge Exia figure will do just fine... :)

If you think ¥2600 is a bit rich for a Converge figure you can also look into the Gashapon Senshi Forte Pale Rider figure which is also really great. It comes with both a machine gun and the 180mm Cannon as well as an option part for the visor with the HADES System activated shining brightly red.

We will compare the retail Pale Rider with its P-Bandai CORE sibling in a separate review.

Overall, the Converge Pale Rider has a few minor niggles. I mentioned the weird looking antenna on the head as well as the lack of a functioning left hand already. Both of my figures also have bent right legs or feet that don't fit exactly as intended into the action bases which is something we see quite often in the new Converge figures. However all these faults are pretty minor, I fell for this figure the moment I saw it and the actual product does not disappoint.

Custom gear choices stolen from a Converge Exia and a Universal Unit Ground Type Gundam.

With all the great gear choices available I have now realized that the two figures I purchased feel so limiting that I have decided to go into the market for a couple more. If one figure is enough for you though, I would recommend the CORE version of this figure for its more striking colour scheme (the components are otherwise exactly the same).

Mobile Suit Ensemble : F91 Expansion Set

The F91 Expansion Set is the second MS Ensemble parts expansion set for an existing figure. We first saw the Fin Funnel set for the Nu Gundam in February last year and now Bandai have turned their eyes to the recently released Gundam F91. The base figure was released as a standard retail item in Ensemble Part 08 in December and it was followed by both this expansion set and a Gundam F90D/H variant figure this March. Bandai put the price of this item at ¥2700 but it has already climbed to ¥4000 on Mandarake and appears to be quite popular.

While technically not a parts-only set, the fact that it contains a fully translucent yellow F91 figure feels a bit of a gimmick more than anything. I wasn't really sure what to expect from this set but after having studied it in some more detail I have warmed up to it a bit.

This box is absolutely jam-packed with gear but unless you are an F91 fan you probably won't see the potential of all the detail crammed in here by the designers.

I ended up having to read up a bit on the F91 to figure out just what I was supposed to be doing with all the parts. The included assembly leaflet is clear about it for the most part although there were a couple question marks that it didn't really straighten out for me. Basically, the expansion set includes the following:
   

• MEPE Afterimage Color representation of the F91 mobile suit itself
• Afterimage Color versions of the parts for the F91 from the MS Ensemble 08 equipment set
• Brand new Beam Buzz Saw effect parts for the F91's Beam Sabers.
• New Beam Shield accessory
• New Heat Radiation Fin and leg vent effect parts.
• New Twin VSBR backpack
• New Action base with 5 bug mass destruction weapons

Before this expansion set was released I had already taken the opportunity to purchase a second base F91 figure (and now I think I could do with one or two more...) because I don't enjoy messing too much with parts replacement. If you enjoy the F91 and plan on getting this set you may want to do the same.

The figures that appear here have been slightly modified with simple paint applications to bring out more detail.

Above you can see the base Ensemble Part 08 Gundam F91 figure next to one decked out with most of the new features found in this box. I must apologize for not having covered Ensemble Part 08 earlier as it would make it more clear exactly what the new features are. The reason is those damned Gundam TR-6 figures causing the delay. I built both the F91 and the Heavygun a long time ago but continue to dread the day I have to sit down and learn all the gimmicks of the RX-124 Hyzenthlay II and its Fiver II sidekick. I'm not even sure how many of each figure I should stock up on for purposes of review... :)

Let's do a quick walk around the Twin VSBR upgraded figure and I'll point out the new components:

On the shoulders and lower legs you can see the new Heat Radiation Fins deployed as an extra means to vent heat from the increased output caused whenever a Newtype pilot begins to strain the machine to its full potential. These are made available both as regular colour components and in their yellow afterimage versions (you also get the regular leg components for the yellow figure so you can choose to skip these on that figure).

On the right elbow we see the Beam Shield in activated mode. The shield is present on the standard figure but not deployed which makes it rather unspectacular. This is one of my favourite components in this box set and should in my opinion have made it into the equipment set of part 08 but I realize it was a simple cost consideration. There is only one beam shield in standard colours available.

The most important accessory is of course the new backpack which has attachment points for four Variable Speed Beam Rifles instead of two. This is the premier accessory of the set in my opinion and everything else is more or less filler. If you love the F91 you'll probably want this set for that gear option alone. The backpack is again only available in standard colours (this explains why you see it on the back of the yellow figure on the box art which in my opinion looks rather horrible).

There is also a new accessory component for the hands not present in these pictures; you'll see it once the figure is up on its new stand later. It is two new optional hand components and massive green effect parts for the beam sabers. The beam sabers used by the F91 have enhanced functionalities including its beam blade generation being alterable to a certain extent. When the hand holding the beam saber is rotated 360 degrees rapidly, a makeshift Beam Buzz Saw is created. I think this is a pretty ludicrous accessory. A pair of translucent beam sabers would have been much nicer and useful across your entire Ensemble collection.

Multiple Construction Armor (MCA) Metal Peel-off Effect (MEPE)

If you are not familiar with the F91 I'll just quote the GundamWiki here rather than trying to explain why the mobile suit is suddenly yellow. Hint: It actually isn't...

This special feature of the Gundam F91 is a byproduct of its MCA. In addition to its radiators and cooling ducts, the F91 can also dissipate excess heat by shedding the outer layers of its armor. This process creates afterimages of the mobile suit made up of metallic particles, which can deceive not only the eyes of enemy pilots, but also radar and other sensors. This feature is activated when the suit is in the full operating mode, and only present in the prototype version of the Gundam F91.

So basically, the majority of this set is spent on recreating an illusion caused by the F91's armor, not really sure how to feel about it. Oh well, it adds one more "calamari" translucent figure into the collection. For me personally I just tucked it back into the box after the review.

Notice that the MEPE Afterimage Color figure above has a lot of bells and whistles just for the heck of it. I have placed the two VSBR:s of the original figure in forward deployed mode and attached the Beam Launcher weapon to the mobile suit's back skirt. The Beam Launcher is also available in regular black colour (which is a shame since it should have a lot of white in it) in the equipment set for MS Ensemble Part 08.

The new display base included with the figure allows you to put the F91 (or any other standard MS Ensemble figure) in the center of attention of a quartet of Bug mass destruction weapons. There are actually five Bugs included with the figure, presumably because there was one in included in the MS Ensemble Part 08 Equipment Set. While it is nice to have a large number of bugs to play around with (this was a complaint I had regarding the option parts set for the Converge Rafflesia figure which only included one) they look pretty dull in that black/gray plastic. It would have been nice if they were molded in purple as it would have been a lesser effort to put some black detail on them than attempting to convert them into purple.

Birgit Pirjo's last sortie...

The pegs on the action base have a couple of optional peg holes so you can reposition the figure a bit but chances are you wouldn't really use this set unless you wanted to recreate the bug attack scene.


Conclusion

Overall the F91 Expansion Set is a bit of a mixed bag. You have to be really in to the F91, translucent colour figures or just suffering from some type of OCD to spend this much money on a figure set which really doesn't add a whole lot. Modders might find a lot of nice parts to play around with here but the retail equipment sets will also serve you well unless you are looking for something specific. While I certainly enjoy the accessories that go on the base F91 figure I couldn't really recommend anyone to spend ¥2700 on this set or much less the ¥4000 which it is currently selling for right now.

The latest MS Ensemble news...

The preordering has opened for the latest MS Ensemble figure pair so if you like After War Gundam X get ready to give your wallet a nice airing. Ensemble EX12 will be a set of the previously announced Virsago Chest Break together with the Astharon Hermit Crab. The pair will come with some team-up gimmicks making it possible to create a number of interesting poses. EX12 is released through the Premium Bandai program and is scheduled for delivery in September. It will cost 6000 yen plus tax.

The previously also hinted at Gundam X itself has also been confirmed to be appearing in Ensemble Part 11. This is the only mobile suit announced for Part 11 thus far and it remains to see if the X will lead the set or if there is perhaps another Gundam to be featured as well. Bandai typically releases three mobile suits in a set, the fourth figure is a support unit for one of them and the fifth box will be an equipment set. The X-Divider accessory for the Gundam X for example will possibly be part of this equipment set.