SD Gashapon Senshi Forte EX 03 : NZ-000 Queen Mansa

Ahhh, the good ol' Queen Mansa... If you also happen to feel a sense of Déjà vu it is most likely due to the fact that a similar figure was released in Gundam Converge in January, only a month before the Senshi Forte counterpart. This is the second EX figure pulled straight from the recent Converge line-up and it doesn't help that the MSN-04II Nightingale is planned as Senshi Forte EX04. I dare say I feel a certain lack of imagination at Bandai Gashapon HQ.

The Senshi Forte Queen Mansa is a Premium Bandai item only, released in February 2018 at a price of ¥3500 which makes it not only 1000 yen pricier than the previous EX figure, the Psyco Gundam, but it also manages to outprice the Converge Queen Mansa by 200 yen which is no small feat for a Gashapon. So let's take a closer look at this expensive little thing, with a price tag equivalent of 7 standard Converge figures or a whopping 11 regular Senshi Forte figures.

The box might be small but it is loaded to the brim with bags of components. A considerable amount of these parts are attached to sprues like model kits, so there is a little bit of assembly required but nothing too complicated. It is however a bit fiddly to assemble these tiny figures and it can be hard to apply enough force when the pieces are sometimes hard to grasp. Building several of these miniatures in a row is asking for aching fingers...

Unlike the Penelope and Psyco Gundam that preceded the Queen Mansa in the EX series this figure does not transform and so only has one straightforward build. Although it resembles a regular Senshi Forte figure at first glance it has a lot of minor anatomical differences.

The most obvious differences are the shoulder joints which are specialized to hold both the arms and the majestic wing binders. The feet are also attached on ball joints using the same type of design as you can find in the larger Mobile Suit Gundam Ensemble figure line. Bandai now has so many Gundam Gashapon and Shokugan toys under its belt that the newer figures often becomes an amalgamation of things we have seen in the past.

The design is quite advances in especially the shoulders and it and a lot of thought has clearly got into creating articulated wing binders. These were stiff on the larger Converge figure but here they allow for tilting of arms and binders more or less independently

The only optional accessories for the Queen Mansa are two pairs of hands, one open type (which has very unsightly holes all over its palms) and one clenched fist type which also serves as weapon hands for the two beam sabers that come with the figure. The saber hilts can be stored one under each wing binder when not in use.

A transparent action base shaped like a Zeonic emblem is also included with this figure which gives it some more posing options and allows it to become a bit more intimidating. The base is attached with a simple plug and does not allow for any interesting leaning movements or poses.

If you read the review of the Senshi Forte Psyco Gundam you might recall that I moaned about no action base being included with the figure, which especially hurt its Mobile Armor flying mode. While the Psyco Gundam does contain an attachment point for a base though, it is much too tiny for the larger stand that comes with the Queen Mansa. I can't believe they messed this up.

Size comparison between the Xi Gundam (a standard Senshi Forte figure), the Senshi Forte EX02 Psyco Gundam and the EX03 Queen Mansa.

The Senshi Forte Queen Mansa next to its Gundam Converge counterpart.

When comparing the Senshi Forte and Converge Queen Mansas you can clearly see that they do not have very much in common. While the Converge figure is more of a statue with focus on subdued and attractive painting and sculpting, the Senshi Forte figure focuses on articulation and playability. They are both fine figures and liven up each respective figure series. The only major drawbacks with the Senshi Forte figure are its high price and expected difficulty in finding it down the line.

Gundam Build Divers introduces new Shokugan and Gashapon figure lines

The latest Gundam television show Gundam Build Divers builds on the momentum of the various popular Gundam Build Fighters outings that preceeded it. These series are all about heavily customized mobile suits pitted against each others in arenas. Somewhat surprisingly, these suits haven't featured much or at all in the Shokugan and Gashapon figure lines. We had a couple of the Gundams in Assault Kingdom and a handful in Converge but that was pretty much it.

With the introduction of Build Divers Bandai have now decided to go all-in and introduces new Shokugan and Gashapon figure lines as well as the usual model kit ranges.

The new Shokugan MiniPla series will release in July and will feature five super deformed mobile suits which can be parts-combined into the Super Shock Gundam monstrosity, kind of same concept as we saw in the old SD Gundam Bind figures but more thematic this time around. The first set releases in July and the figures will have a price of 480 each. The mobile suits featured are mainly a rather overused lot if you ask me.

Notice how the figures have expressive eyes like the old SD television figures, I guess this could be a signum of the series. Considering the name MiniPla I would guess that these figures will be miniature model kits made of hard plastic similar to the Universal Unit range as opposed to your usual soft and bendy Shokugan toys from Converge and the like.

The Gashapon series, GashaPla SD Gundam is a similar super deformed series with figures that can supposedly also parts-combine with components from regular 1/144 scale HG model kits. I'd be a bit surprised if people who like to collect and build model kits will also want to go into Gashapons and vice versa, I guess we will soon find out.

Banpresto Ichiban Kuji Figure Collection : Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt - RB-79 Ball

It is time to revisit the Banpresto Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt figure line made for the Ichiban Kuji lottery. I've been picking up some of these figures here and there and today's item is a prize item of class E, which is just above the two F-class items we've looked at previously, the Gattle and the Saberfish. The figures in this set are all a bit compact and deformed not entirely unlike the Converge figures.

The E.F.S.F. Ball type improvised mobile armor stands out from the other figures in this line by coming in a much smaller box. As you can see on the photo below the other Thunderbolt items in this line typically come in quite large boxes since they also contain a huge part of a Space Colony cylinder.

I find it a bit confusing that a figure of class E would be smaller than a class F item not that it really matters. Inside the box you'll find a plastic bag with a couple of compartments similar to a Converge figure. There is also a common assembly instruction which describes assembly of all the figures in this set.

While not containing a section of the Space Colony diorama we instead get a little mascot style item intended for a keychain; what looks like an old transistor radio with a Zeonic emblem on it. There is actually a different version of this box set where the radio mascot is replaced by something that looks like a walkie-talkie, although I have only seen pictures of the thing on the web and not actually for sale somewhere yet.

There's not a whole lot of complexity to this figure, there are only four parts out of which two are the stand. The stand is similar to the ones used by the Gattle and the Saberfish although the stand for the ball is only of half height compared to those. This is a also a somewhat unexpected decision since those stands featured a total of three pieces and I don't see why this figure couldn't have used a similar one.

Anyway, the Thunderbolt version of the Ball looks quite different to the classic style Ball from Mobile Suit Gundam. I don't know the exact reason for this and also haven't seen any of the anime but the Banpresto figure appears to be quite faithful if perhaps a bit heavy on the colour saturation.

The figure doesn't have much in the way of articulation. You can rotate the top-mounted cannon and you can use the figure with or without the stand (it is also compatible with the stands used by the Gattle and Saberfish spacecrafts). There's not a whole lot to say about this figure, it mainly works as a display item.

The Ball figure is actually quite detailed compared to the other two spaceships of this line, containing many more coloured parts and paint applications. Still, the three look great together and I mean to pick up a couple of extras since they aren't particularly expensive although they are somewhat tricky to find.

Unlike the Gattle and the Saberfish I don't think this Ball poses very well with the Converge figures, it is just a bit too large for that purpose. Still, it is a really nice item and as far as I know this is the only figure representation of it.

Gundam Converge EX 20 : NZ-000 Queen Mansa

In the recent Senshi Forte Psyco Gundam review we discussed the "coincidence" of the Psyco Gundam popping up in both the Gundam Converge and Senshi Forte timelines merely a month apart from each other. And both of them also had an ancestor in the Assault Kingdom two years earlier. With the Queen Mansa, Bandai are once again repeating this pattern.

The Gundam Converge Queen Mansa is a retail figure and released on Janaury 29 at a suggested price of ¥3300. It is followed by the Gashapon Senshi Forte Queen Mansa which released on February 24 as a Premium Bandai item costing ¥3500. And again we saw the Queen Mansa as a gigantic Assault Kingdom figure two years earlier. Bandai appear to be trying to squeeze as much money out of these designs as possible.

Inside the box we find about a dozen or so parts, some of which also break down into more components.

Notice how we are not getting any action base or support that clips around the ankles. This is normally par for the course even when the figures have no trouble standing upright by their own accord, this may have been something as simple as a cost cutting maneuver but at least it is not needed here.

The Converge Queen Mansa is a really chunky design with several nice colour applications, often in places where they might not be immediately apparent. There is something very Kshatriya about this design but I think the Queen Mansa is a much better looking machine.

I had to widen the hole inside the right shoulder with a knife to be able to attach the arm. This is not something we are used to in Converge.

Most of the figure is molded in the same hard plastic type as we saw on the Neo Zeong and the Shamblo, which makes for crisp detail and avoids bent antennae and the like but you definitely do not want to drop this thing on the floor.

The one and only gimmick for the Queen Mansa is its two optional beam sabers. The hilts are held in place on the underside of each wing binder when not in use. To equip either beam saber you attach the nice translucent blade and then remove the top of the hilt to allow the optional hand to hold on to it. This is a firm and secure grip, I was almost afraid that the paint would come off the handle.

Due to the limited articulation of the Queen Mansa you don't really want to move the arms around too much, as it will make the wing binders swing with them. The hands also cannot swivel in their wrist sockets so the beam sabers will be pointing straight forward which I think personally looks a bit silly when using both.

The Queen Mansa figure stands approximately 10,5 centimeters tall which is roughly similar to other recent EX figures such as the Psyco Gundam and the Devil Gundam. This is a size that I think works well for extra large figures - imposing and chunky but without causing too much of a storage problem.

Conclusion

All in all the Queen Mansa is a solid entry into the Converge EX series and it fits in nicely with the other figures. While perhaps not an essential purchase due to its high price I still think it is one of the better EX figures out there.

SD Gashapon Senshi Forte EX 02 : MRX-009 Psyco Gundam

In November last year we reviewed the Gundam Converge Psyco Gundam here on the blog so it comes as little surprise to me that we now see (yet) another incarnation of this black mobile suit in Gashapon format. And it is only two years ago since a gigantic one appeared in the Assault Kingdom assortment too.

Although I don't know just exactly how much information swapping is going on between the different development teams (this is something I am really curious to know) my best guess would be that they start out with similar blueprints. Otherwise we would have a much more widespread plethora of mobile suits in the different figure series rather than the same ol' suits popping up again and again.

The Gashapon Senshi Forte variation of the Psyco Gundam is a short and stubby figure which mainly resembles an upscaled standard Senshi Forte figure. The parts count and part types are quite similar to the average Senshi Forte figure, even including the same skeletal structure.

The figure was released in October 2017 (just a month after the Converge counterpart) as a Bandai exclusive and comes with a Premium Bandai price of ¥2500 (the Converge figure had a suggested retail price of ¥2800). Since the mobile suit can transform between mobile suit and mobile armor modes I decided to pick up two copies of this figure to be able to display it in both. I purchased mine from Mandarake where I also had to pay ¥2500 for each one of them.

Mobile Suit Mode

This is the main mode of the figure and you can clearly see its Gashapon Senshi Forte kinship here. Basically it is an upsized SF figure retaining the very same proportions.

The articulation also remains exactly the same as for a regular SF figure. The head and feet sit on ball joints, the shoulders on double ball joints and the arms on bending swivels. The waist and skirts can twist independently of each other as well although the stumpy character design makes articulation a bit limited overall.

The Psyco Gundam comes with no real accessories. Apart from the parts needed to swap it into MA mode and a DODAI Kai atmospheric craft for other mobile suits to use the only other extra is a pair of optional hands.

I moaned about it in the Converge Psyco Gundam review and I will moan about it again here, why no effect parts for the hand or chest beam cannons? It is a nice figure but not EX grade as far as I am concerned.

"Now what!?"

The size and dimensions of the Psyco Gundam feels just right when paired up with the smaller Senshi Forte figures, they go together very well.

Here the Senshi Forte Psyco Gundam poses with its Gundam Converge counterpart. As you can see the two figures don't really have that much in common, as the art direction has taken different routes both regarding colours and sculpting choices. Still, the black and red colours appear to be nearly the same.

Mobile Armor Mode

In its infamous flying tank mode, the Psyco Gundam retracts its head, arms and legs and grows a pair of stubby wings for no particular reason. Clearly this suit has mastered the concept of anti-gravity...

The actual parts conversion involves removing the hands, heads and legs and then replacing the head and leg pieces. Slap on the stumpy wings and you are done:

Interestingly the Psyco Gundam features the same action base peg hole on its groin as the smaller Senshi Forte figures but no stand or action base is included with this figure. This is simply pathetic since a mobile armor is supposed to be flying around. You can try using a stand that comes with a regular Senshi Forte figure but as you can see it is too short for the mobile armor to even lift above the ground.

Attempting to fly using a borrowed stand from a regular Senshi Forte figure is no success...

Again we have to make a comparison with the Gundam Converge mobile armor mode of the Psyco Gundam. See that nice transparent base? It is pretty unforgivable not putting something similar in the Senshi Forte box.

The art direction and sculpting choices actually differ a bit between the Converge and Senshi Forte figures. Especially noteworthy is the very different head types.

DODAI Kai

The box also includes one extra cool accessory from the Zeta Gundam show, the DODAI Kai. This is another of those mysterious craft that defies gravity but with the Psyco Gundam mobile armor zipping around you, I kind of wonder why the other mobile suits need flying help...

The DODAI Kai comes fully assembled and painted and is ready to go out of the box. It also features the Senshi Forte standard peg hole to allow for it to utilize the standard action bases that come with all common SF figures but it is still lazy of Bandai not to include a base in this box. They good for example have made a multi-part base that would have allowed us to tilt the aspect of the flying DODAI Kai, this was standard in the SD Gundam Warrior NEXT and DASH figure series for years.

The DODAI Kai is a neat accessory for the Psyco Gundam as it allows your SF figures to come face to face with it. I wish there were more of these kinds of accessories readily available as stand alone figures so you could use them for army building purposes.

Conclusion

All in all the Senshi Forte Psyco Gundam has a few shortcomings but it is a really solid Senshi Forte design. if you love the other figures in this series this feels like a no-brainer to add to your collection. While it is a bit pricey it is still not crazy expensive as say the Mobile Suit Ensemble figures although availability will likely become a problem over time.