SD Gashapon Senshi Forte EX 05 : Full Armor Knight Gundam & Monster Black Dragon

Yeah I know... our Senshi Forte reviews are all over the place at this point. Eventually we're gonna catch up to all of them but today we are going to look at a release from last November. It is a Premium Bandai release with a price tag of ¥3980. I ended up paying ¥5000 for what is basically two vending machine toys with a couple of extra gimmicks. Job well done...

Although they are not everyone's favourites, The Gasapon Senshi Forte series continues to have a soft spot for the SD Gaiden and Sengokuden and what-have-you comic book style fantasy adventures where the mobile suits take on personalities of their own and fight monsters and historical enemies alike. Even now Bandai are doing a new SD Gundam World series where the mobile suits cross paths with Chinese Warrior King history, motorbikes and corporate culture...

The box is filled up with half a dozen parts bags and a simple instruction leaflet. The figures are your basic Senshi Forte size and shape although they also come with a couple of extra accessories.

Knight Gundam parts above and Black Dragon parts below...

If you like the SD style warrior figures Senshi Forte is really one of the best places for you to collect them unless you want to go up in size and hit the various model kit lines.
 

Full Armor Knight Gundam

As far as I understand things, the Full Armor Knight Gundam is apparently the regular Knight Gundam with some extra legendary armor applied. So it would be the same character as the Knight Gundam, a character we have also seen in the Senshi Forte line, as a regular figure.

At the first sight, the components look a little daunting in their complexity but the fiddly parts come together easily through assistance of the instruction leaflet. First up we see the figure in its "Centaur Mode" in which it goes full cosplay with angelic-style wings and a Centaur-esque body.

That's right, mobile suits with horse legs because why not...  This is a feature that the Knight Gundam retains from its origin as Musha Gundam Mk-III where it was also seen. For some reason I have yet to see the regular Knight Gundam in Centaur Mode so I don't really know if this is supposed to be exclusive to the Full Armor design. I'm not so sure the designers know themselves...

The Centaur legs and horse tail are articulated to allow for some extra goofy poses although you can also retract the hind legs forward and upwards to fold them into something resembling a typical mobile suit backpack. This is quite neat and looks eons better than the four legged version I think.

If you still think the legs on the back are silly they can be easily removed. You can also remove the wing binders and place a nice red cloak at the back instead. These accessories are mutually exclusive, so you'll have to go with one or the other.

While I think the figure looks much better with its red cape it at the same time looks more similar to the basic Knight Gundam figure. For that reason it would probably make more sense to keep it in Centaur Mode but so far the red cape is winning out.

Above you can see the Full Armor Knight Gundam next to the Senshi Forte Knight Gundam (released in volume 04, September 2017) and below next to the old Gundam Converge Full Armor Knight Gundam (EX 06, released May 2015).

Notice how the Senshi Forte FA Knight Gundam is missing the large lance accessory, even though it was included with the base Knight Gundam figure. This would be my only complaint against this figure. I can understand that it would be messy to introduce a third backpack option just to let it hang somewhere but it could at least have been added as a simple hand held weapon choice.
  

Monster Black Dragon

Every time I look at the Monster Black Dragon figure my brain thinks Satan Gundam and for good reason. The lore regarding this character is quite perplexing. The way it goes is that the Knight Gundam and the Satan Gundam are both manifestations of the Musha Gundam Mk-III's good and evil traits. The Mk-III is somehow split in half and enters into an existential battle between its two sides and ultimately the Knight Gundam kills Satan Gundam. Just how that would work metaphysically is not something I am going to dwell on.

Well, someone must have figured that this design was too badass to kill off so the story does not end there. While the body of Satan Gundam falls into a volcano (ouch) its spirit instead somehow manages to merge with a baby dragon and a legendary sword in another world and reappear as Neo Black Dragon. I am going to assume that box cover name Monster Black Dragon is that very same thing.

This whole dragon-resurrection thing would explain why the Satan Gundam design now has two more horns on its head, teeth style design on its armor and even a little point dragon tail.

Above you can see the Monster Black Dragon next to the regular Senshi Forte Satan Gundam figure (released in volume 07, October 2018). Notice the subtle differences between the two designs. However, the major feature of the Monster Black Dragon figure is that now the cape has turned into major dragon wings...

This upgrade is sooooo beautiful. The new version of this figure is great, although it seems odd that its hands are now navy blue instead of gray. The same problem is apparent in its wooden staff which has also lost its brown colour application (which the retail Satan Gundam figure was lucky enough to get). As for weapon choices I don't know if the figure is supposed to have some kind of magic sword or not, he did fuse with a legendary blade after all. Still, this figure looks imposing enough that it wouldn't really be needed anyway.

The Musha Gundam Mk-III (which is a Gashapon Warrior NEXT series Premium Bandai release) was cursed and split into the Knight Gundam and Satan Gundam, both of which got evolutions in the form of Full Armor Knight Gundam and Monster Black Dragon. The two of them will later combine again into Superior Dragon, a figure not yet released in this figure line.

If you enjoy the Sengokuden saga figures that have been spamming into the various Gashapon SD figure lines this set would be a real must have for the Monster Black Dragon figure alone. Even though I am not a huge fan of these storylines I absolutely adore the many detailed figures that have been released up to this point.

However, Senshi Forte volume 09 will be the first retail wave of figures without an SD character which is a little bit disheartening. And with the entire SF figure line in danger of extinction the Command Gundam out of Senshi Forte volume 08 may well turn out to become the last entry in this charming line of figures. I keep my fingers crossed that we will see at least also a Superior Dragon in this line to complete the lore surrounding the Musha Mk-III.

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).