SD Gundam Full Color Stage 32

Time for another legacy figure set. SD FullColor Stage 32 sits in the middle of this legendary series and was released in April 2002, about five years since the first figures came out. The figures originally sold for ¥100 and they don't really cost a whole lot today either. Apart from all the Medeas I have been hoarding I picked up a complete set at Mandarake for a measly ¥350, half of their original price. This must be some sort of record...

These figures look like they have been opened and repackaged before being sold again. I don't think that the transparent action base was included with the Medea but with the Dom. Anyway, it is here...

Stage 32 basically consists of three mini-sets of figures that are paired up together - three in case of Mobile Fighter G Gundam as we shall see.
   

183 : GF13-017NJII God Gundam

First up we have the God Gundam in its first appearance for this series. Prior to this we saw its predecessor, the Shining Gundam, in Stage 20.

There is some really good colouring going on here, the figure looks very vibrant. The mobile suit comes in an action-oriented stand-off pose, ready to face off against the Master Gundam. Notice how its field emitters are folded away on this figure.

Here you can see the God Gundam next to its 2.0 and 2.5 versions as well as the larger figure from Gashapon Warrior DASH 01. I like how we get the mobile suit in this low power configuration, the only thing missing is the glowing Hyper Mode figure, which you could always repaint from the 2.0 figure.
   

184 : GF13-001NHII Master Gundam (Ver.2.0)

You can almost tell with certainty that the Master Gundam will make an appearance when the Shining Gundam or God Gundam stops by, and this is exactly what happens here. We saw the first version of this figure together with the Shining Gundam in Stage 20, and here we get a version two figure to go up against the God Gundam.

Just like the God Gundam's pose we see the Master Gundam figure striking a pose of its own, he's ready to duke it out!

Master Gundam v1.0 from Stage 20, v2.0 from Stage 32 and the heavily upgraded version from DASH 01.

Strangely I found the pose of the 1.0 and the 2.0 figures to be pretty similar. I would have preferred if one of them was spreading its wing binders and showing some nice red and yellow colour.

The two combatants are ready to have at it but wait, there's another figure in this set that we need to take a look at first...
   

185 : Fuunsaki

That's right... while Bandai usually feels content to show us a constellation of the Shining Gundam or God Gundam against the Master Gundam we sometimes also get to see perhaps the Devil Gundam or even the Nobel Gundam. While I am not really a fan of G Gundam I wouldn't mind seeing a couple of other combatants added to the mix, like the Gundam Spiegel or Dragon Gundam. Now here's a fresh face though... a horse face.

That's right, the mobile... horse. Take a good look because this is a design you won't see making it into figure form that often. Off the top of my head I can only think of a Banpresto keyring figure and the 1:400 scale figure from the Gundam Collection series.

The SD Gundam mobile horse is actually a pretty decent figure. It has excellent mobility with four differently moving legs and a neck that rotates 360 degrees as well. This will allow you to create some interesting poses but the figure has no support for an action base so you'll need to improvise or  use glue...

The second gimmick for this figure is of course that other mobile suits can ride atop it. The mobile horse is quite large compared to the average SD Gundam Full Color figure, so you can likely combine it with most of the mobile suits in the line. However, there is no particular feature to support or connect the figures you want on its back so you'll need to balance the rider perfectly for it to stay in position.

The Banpresto Flight Ops keyring figure is where you want to be if God Gundam on horseback is your thing...

   

186 : MS-09 Dom (Ver.5.0)

Leaving the G Gundam saga we head on over to the Universal Century line-up for a couple of figures from the origin of Mobile Suit Gundam. First up we have a Dom and a Medea from the 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam television series.

As the booklet informs us, this is the fifth time the MS-09 Dom pops up in this series. The designers have decided to send it into the sky this time around, so you'll need the standard SD Gundam action base or this figure won't be standing up at all. The way it is holding the heat saber is a little odd; it looks more like ceremoniously holding a candle than getting ready to strike a foe with fury.

Here the Dom poses with some of its colleagues (and relatives as we have a Dom Tropen and a Rick Dom in the photo as well). This version of the Dom is easily recognizable since it is the only one not standing on the ground.
   

187 : Medea

The Dom figure has interestingly enough been paired up with a Medea heavy lift transport craft. Before I really got into collecting the SD figures proper I had already taken a liking to odd figures such as this one and I am slowly forming a heavy lift squadron of my own.

I really love the clean and functional design of the Medea and even the super deformed version of the craft looks neat. If you want a medea figure of more realistic proportions there are couple of options open to you. First and foremost would be the cheap 1:550 plastic model kit from Bandai (number 55 in their evergreen model kit collection). You can also find it as a slightly larger action figure in the Bandai MSIA and M/V collections. A true 1:400 scale of the Medea from War in the Pocket is also available as a hopelessly rare B-Club model kit.

The cargo container is removable but it also features the only a peghole for an action base, so you will have to improvise if you want to use it with the unladen Medea.

The Dom and the Medea of course go together well in recreating the famous scene from the Black Tri-Stars episode from the original show. You'll want to stock up on extra action bases if possible of course.

   

188 : RX-78-02 Gundam (The Origin)

The last two figures in this set hail from the retold version of the original Mobile Suit Gundam saga, as told in the Origin storyline. We don't have all that many figures from this era and this was one of the first to be featured in the SD Gundam Full Color figure line.

The Origin version of the Gundam, the RX-78-02, can be a bit tricky to recognize for the untrained eye and it doesn't get easier in super deformed mode. The rifle is usually a good indicator as well as the shield which is normally held upside down (I forgot to flip it upside down for these photos since I normally do not equip it in that way).

Here is the Origin Gundam figure next to a random beam rifle equipped RX-78 from the original television series. As you can see they are pretty similar, it is only really the weapon that will give it away. And the same goes for the next figure we will look at.
   

189 : MS-06 Zaku II (The Origin)

The last figure in this set also hails from the Origin storyline and is a mass production Zaku ready to fight off the Gundam.

The booklet doesn't tell us specifically which version of the MS-06 we are dealing with here. I am not really familiar with the intricacies of the mobile suit designs of this era but I would guess that this figure most closely resembles the MS-06C-5. Notice the twin forearm machine guns on the left arm and belt fed machine gun, neither of which you will see on Zaku II's from the '79 television show.

SD Gundam Full Color featured a total of five different figures from the Origin era which is not half bad. If the series had been released today it would probably have included some of the more exotic and so far unseen mobile suits like the mobile workers or the MS-04 Bugu.
   

Conclusion

While Stage 32 might not be the most interesting set from the Full Color series it does feature four unique figures that you will not find anywhere else in this series. The figures are as competently designed and coloured as you might expect from this era and will be just as endearing to SD figure fans as any other set although there is probably little here for anyone else.

Gundam Converge #16

Converge volume sixteen is here and it follows the recent trend of eclectic mix-ups, although the Universal Century continues to dominate. We have the now common mix-up of redesigned figures as well as brand newmachines and this time the focus is on the latter type which is enough to get at least me excited.

I picked up a 10-box of these in Thailand and as usual you get two of each figure save for the colour swap versions, so you will only get one each of the two Den'an Zons, which of course makes perfect sense since they are mass-production type suits compared to the others that are unique. Well, at least you get two Goggs...

Volume 16 was released in late August 2019 and the figures have the standard recommended price of ¥500 per piece. I had to cough up 1740 Thai baht for my box which would be akin to about ¥6200 but I really did not wait for a set to pop up on Mandarake and then another month for it to get here... : )
   

212 : RX-0[N] Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee Norn (Destroy Mode)

First up we have the Banshee Norn from Unicorn, which is the final evolution of the Unicorn 02 Banshee in its destroy Mode form. It is not as common in figure form as you would think, as it often has to compete for attention with the basic 02 Banshee. I think the last time we saw it in Destroy Mode was in Senshi Forte back in January 2017 (or the colour swap reissue in July 2018 to be more exact). It seems unlikely to appear in Ensemble where we got the basic Unicorn 02 Banshee figure instead.

The Banshee Norn's most significant component is the Xeno Connect armor plating that is added to the backpack and adds a nice golden mane for the figure.

The Banshee Norn comes with its signature Beam Magnum rifle with the revolving Launcher add-on and a fully deployed Armed Armor DE shield. Still no Beam Tonfas or Beam Sabers for the Unicorns, will we ever get to see them? Since the Unicorn figures feature peg holes on both wrists (for use of multiple shields) it would be a fairly easy thing to replicate the Beam Tonfas actually.

Unicorn 02 Banshee (Destroy Mode) from Converge #12 next to the new Banshee Norn (Destroy Mode).

Converge Banshee Norn family; Unicorn Mode from Converge volume 10 (April 2013), first version Destroy Mode (CORE 006, January 2016) and the revised Banshee Norn from Converge #16.

We now have a family of updated Destroy Mode Unicorns but where are the Unicorn mode figures? I have my doubts about them ever being released.
   

213 : RX-99 (AFX-9000) Neo Gundam

F91 is the gift that keeps on giving. I thought we were well past the point where Bandai and FusionWorks would have stopped caring about it and begun pumping out new RX-78 variations but someone keeps the series up and running, and Converge is being gifted with three new mobile suits from this era. The first of them is the Neo Gundam, so obscure that it even has two different serial numbers.

The RX-99, or Anaheim Formula Experiment-9000, is one of the most advanced mobile suits in its era and two of them were manufactured and actually joined service with the esteemed Londo Bell unit. They failed to make much of a mark on history though as they seem to have been mixed up in the tired storyline of "oh noes, one of them is stolen by a bad guy and now they must duel each other". Megasnore...

The Neo Gundam's most iconic piece of equipment has unsurprisingly also been chosen as armament for the Converge figure. It's overly large Generative Beam Rifle or "G-Bird" as it is also nicknamed from its G-B.R.D. designation is a mobile beam weapon belonging to the family of weapons like the Mega Bazooka Launcher, Mega Rider and Burstliner. The multiple colours on this component make it look superb. The G-B.R.D. actually fits both into the mobile suit's hand and a peg on the right wrist making for a really sturdy attachment.

If I were to point any criticism towards the gear it would be to the fact that the Neo Gundam is one of all these F91/Crossbone era figures that have sparkling translucent beam shields yet (for apparent production cost reasons) we never get to see these deployed on any of the F91 figures. I'm sure I wouldn't be the only sucker to dive into a pricey CORE equipment pack to make these come true...

The Converge F91 family continues to grow, and I am delighted to report that we will see yet another variation of the F90 in Converge #17. Can't wait to line all these suckers up. For now, here are the F91 itself with the F90 and the Neo Gundam.
   

214 : NRX-0013 Gundam Virsago

Starting with Converge #15, Bandai began placing its eye on the After War Gundam X series. Up until that point we had seen a couple of the show's central Gundam figures but nothing else. In the previous set they were joined by the Bertigo and here we have the Gundam Virsago. While no further antagonist mobile suits have been revealed it stands to reason to believe that we will at least also see the Gundam Ashtaron eventually. Any hopes for the likes of Gundam Airmaster or Leopard, or grunt suits such as the Jenice seem more likely to crumble unfortunately, but who knows what's in store for 2020?

The Virsago is something as exotic as a red Gundam, which can easily turn into a garish plastic looking figure but i think FusionWorks have done a commendable job here. Even though it is a strong red colour it is also suitably toned down and paired with beautiful detail in metallic gray and yellow. Imagine if this figure would have been featured in FW's 1:220 STANDart line; it would have been gorgeous.

The Virsago comes armed with a single weapon, a translucent green beam saber. The hilt has been sculpted permanently into the hand so you won't be giving this beam saber to any other figure unless you are in the mood for some customization work.

Have you noticed how similar the overall Virsago design is to the Gundam Epyon from Wing?

Although it has not yet been revealed, I think it stands to reason that we could expect the Gundam Astharon to make its appearance in Converge before long. Perhaps it will be part of Converge #18 in early 2020 or maybe Bandai is plotting something devious like a Chest Break version CORE figure with some spare parts for the Virsago as well. We shall see...
   

215 : MSM-03 Gogg

The UC 0079 Converge revival continues with yet another Zeonic suit. Now that we have plowed through the three suits from the White Base as well as the Zaku, Gouf, Dom, Gelgoog and Z'Gok, Bandai are turning to the Gogg for the next entry. This trend has been going on since Converge #08 now and I'm curious to see if the GM will be coming up soon as well.

The new Gogg is looking quite the part. Just like the other revival figures of late it has been significantly updated and its detail sharpened, colours have been adjusted to be more like the original although the first generation Converge Gogg wasn't half bad to begin with. The new figure seems to suffer from warped legs however, a curse we have seen again and again among the new Converge figures.

No accessories for the Gogg of course, just the two arms that can rotate freely at the shoulder. The twist here is that there are two articulation points per arm, just like in the original figure, giving you quite a big range of posing choices.

The new Gogg figure also has a rotating monoeye. Since the head doesn't move on this figure it makes a little more sense for the eye to move, but frankly looking to the side looks a bit silly and the eye looks best facing forward anyway.

Side by side with the original Gogg from Converge volume 7 (released in May 2012) you can see the refinement in the new figure.
   

216 : XM-01 Den'an Zon

I was all the rave when Bandai published the line-up for Converge #16. I couldn't believe that we were to be treated with not one, but two grunt-type mobile suits from the Crossbone Vanguard. After all, we had the Den'an Geis taking up two precious slots as recently as in Converge #12. And the more, the merrier!

The Den'an Zon is a phenomenal design and the Converge figure really does it justice. Although it may seem very gray a closer look will reveal the different colour tones used on the suit, the effect is rather realistic and divine (much better than the Black version in my opinion).

Just like its big brother the XM-02, the Den'an Zon is very light in the equipment department. The suit itself is quite diminutive when placed next to say the Virsago and the Neo Gundam so the single Shot Lance equipment seems a bit meager. Again, here is where the beam shield accessory would have come in handy, adding some nice colour to the suit as well. And yes, I will continue to moan about this until Bandai decides to deliver... :)

The Den'an Gei next to its more capable successor, the Den'an Zon from Converge #12. This is so beautiful and it brings a tear to my eye. Can I secretly begin hoping for the XM-04 Berga Dalas and XM-05 Berga Giros too? Perhaps when Converge gets a second reboot in 2023...
   

217 : XM-01 Den'an Zon (Black Vanguard Squadron)

Up next is of course the colour variation of the Den'an Zon figure, here in the black livery of the ace Black Vanguard Squadron. You know it is going to look good even before you pull it out of the box...

One thing I noticed when taking out these Den'an Gei figures for the first time is how tiny their feet are. This wasn't really the case on the Gashapon versions of the figures that came before, but those are not exactly treated with the same care for proportions as the Converge figures are.

Accessory-wise we're as thin here as with the standard production model of the suit. Bring on those deployed beam shields already!

And here we have the Den'an Gei next to its bigger Den'an Zon successor. While I really like the updated look of the XM-02 the face on the XM-01 is still that much more evil looking.

The newly vitalized Converge Crossbone Vanguard Den'an Gei and Den'an Zon family.

Check out the old Den'an Gei figures from SD Gashapon Warrior NEXT volume 10. Notice something? How about those nice deployed beam shields? I suppose if I was really desperate I could steal them from the Gashapon figures and use them on the Converge figures but I don't really want to mess with those either...

"Remember when Berah Ronah started flying? The regulars kept an eye on her and now she leads the Black Vanguard herself!"

Speaking of Berah Ronah, I wonder if the Vigna Ghina will be allowed a Converge reboot appearance as well? Together with Harrison Madin's blue production model F91 it is the only F91 leftover that has not yet received a make-over in the Converge Reboot.
   

Conclusion

I feel like I could just copy/paste something in here from the previous Converge reviews. Converge #16 is yet another highly successful line-up in this ever expanding figure line. The fact that it introduces no less than four brand new mobile suits into the mix makes this an easy purchase for serious collectors. If you are more of a niche collector however I have a feeling that the hardcore U.C. fanatics may want to give this set a pass since it spreads the love deeply into the other timelines this time around.