The arrival of the G.M.G. figure range was easily the biggest Gundam-themed happening for me in 2021. While the series availability is somewhat limited on the secondary market they have certainly been worth the wait. After two basic infantry-themed sets, one for the Zeon and one for the EFF we are now going into space for a Zeonic mobile suit pilot team. We also see the first appearance of a named character and who could it possibly be, besides Char Aznable?
While the figures also appear to be sold as singles I came across this box set containing the entire wave, presumably a collector set of some kind but there were no additional components or bonuses otherwise. I seem to recall that the figures were planned to be released in September but I didn't see these available online until November and I think that the code "20211021" on the box might be the actual final release date.
The white box is just a basic container for the three basic figure boxes contained inside. Boxes that are incredibly oversized for what they are, with elaborate compartmentalized inserts that mostly exist to waste space and resources. Marketing 101 in action.
The individual figure numbering is maintained per faction and the upcoming E.F.S.F. pilot team (led by Sayla Mass no less) will also be numbered 04-06 which is perhaps a bit unnecessarily confusing.
The Zeon suit team is a rather eccentric bunch. I can well imagine this veteran pilot has fought on a number of fronts and somewhere during the campaign it cost him an eye. Considering the challenging 720 degree awareness required for a space battle this will be a serious disadvantage. A Gelgoog-type suit should even the odds a bit but overall it is looking really grim.
I won't go into too much detail about the overall figure constitution in this review, since the technology is the same as with the previous waves. Basically there are a lot of ball joints (often rather loose or too tight) providing movement although these are also aided by both single and double-swiveling joints. The figure composition can be extremely delicate and you should handle the figures carefully until you get a feel for how the joints work because they are really fragile in places.
Our pilot has three different face options of which two are helmeted with or without visor. I have said before that I really would have enjoyed one or two alternate faces in the box, as this would encourage building a larger squad. Looking at the many accessories in the box I think it would be fair to trade the weapons for an additional helmet and a new personality. It really doesn't make much sense for a mobile suit pilot to carry heavy weapons after all. The lower image shows the different pegs used to attach the face section to the inside of the helmet of an EFSF soldier to the left and the suit pilot on the right. As you can hopefully see, these pegs are not compatible and so would require permanent modification if you wanted to mix things up by creating additional pilots.
Stickers once again make their return and are used here to add some front covers to the box contained in the neat carry case as well as some sort of futuristic Windows 3.0 variant running on the little laptop. Both of these accessories can be folded which is neat but the large hinge prevents the bag from being placed upright on the floor unless you lean it against something. The illustration also shows how you attach the straps that allow our pilot to carry one of the different types of backpacks released in the series so far, including his own life-support system. Unfortunately I had a really bad experience trying to pull this figure's arms out of their sockets that I decided not to mess with it for fear of breaking the ball joints.
While some go into battle hampered by scars of past, others choose to frivolously put themselves at a disadvantage. I would imagine that the Zeonic helmets have polarizing visors of some sort and so sporting a pair of really dark sunglasses underneath seems suitable only if you are perhaps a fashionista. Our pilot also likes to keep her long black hair flowing freely, not sure how comfy it gets inside that helmet.
They really gave our pilots a lot of heavy weapons in this set, gone however are the various belt or bandolier-style accessories which at least make some sense. We also get a large carry case useful for storing various supplies (or small figure accessories) such as a generous set of various battle rations and a very finicky looking hook-line accessory that I can't be bothered to try out. Again, considering the eccentricity of our pilots I would really have liked a couple of rank and file-looking faces to build a larger pilot team.
The female pilot follows the typically slender GMG build and so her combat belt and straps are sculpted to fit that figure. I had no problems disassembling the head and torso to attach it on this particular figure but it doesn't really sit right with me having to pull apart a delicate figure just to be able to attach an accessory.
We have the same three head options for this pilot. All figures so far have similar ball joint neck attachments so you can go for some mixing and matching as I have done here, but individual heads may not always be a good fit, our long haired Zeonic lady here for example have some issues with her long hair getting caught on the back of the ground soldier. Still, you should be able to get some additional options out of this modularity.
On the topic of accessories here is a little comparison of some similar gear from the lady soldier with the Zeonic ground team. The flight pack is clearly the same (albeit slightly differently coloured) while their submachine guns are interestingly enough two completely different weapons.
The combat rations look really good straight out of the box but you also get stickers to match their various types. I found that the stickers are in general slightly oversized and so will either wrap around surfaces or need some cutting if you are a perfectionist. The large carry bag has a rigid strap which makes carrying it really difficult for your figures and they also get really back-heavy. But it is cool for what it is and I tend to like this type of accessory more than weapons since they are great for creating dioramas.
Coming up last is of course the big new thing for G.M.G. - the addition of a named character. It will shock absolutely no-one that the honour fell upon the shoulders of ace pilot Char Aznable. It shows the tremendous potential of this figure series and I hope that it will be allowed to run long enough that we can build up a reasonable character gallery. One can always dream, right?
Char comes in his well known parade-style uniform with that funky horned-helmet of his. While I can appreciate the decision I still think MegaHouse chickened out here; the figure in this set should have been Char in his piloting uniform instead (while you could convert a basic pilot the body types don't match at all). I imagine this was considered an unnecessary financial risk and the tea banked on selling a more well known design. Again, the decisions make absolutely no sense. Since when do we see Char running around with assault rifles and ladders? It may have been more prudent to include his drawn blade. Perhaps they are saving it for a possible release together with Amuro? (Yeah I know, one can dream right?)
Up until now the basic style of each GMG figure has been pretty much the same. This sculpt takes it to a whole other level. I can't find anything to fault here, the proportions, painting and above all the likeness is great.
We get three head options for Mr. Aznable. I was never a fan of his weird face mask without helmet but that smiling face became an instant favourite.
As ridiculous as these accessories are on their own, each wave of GMG figures tends to have a theme centered around it. If you combine the accessories of the three figures in this wave we get an infiltration style gear for snooping around Side 7 and setting explosive charges but you will have to be rather patient to try to set up a complex scene like that.
Conclusion
As I have mentioned in the previous G.M.G. reviews this product line is without a single doubt my favourite to have come out of 2021. The figures certainly are not without their frustrating issues (fragile joints, no support for action bases, high prices to name a few) they always manage to put a wide smile on my face when I take them out for a photo shoot. The line becomes exponentially better with each new set as the accessories coming out of each set present many new options and I hope that the line will be allowed to persist on the market for a while.
