Sentinel Gundam makes a grand appearance in Candy Toys once again!
It has been 3 months since my last Ensemble review while the time gap is significant, at least it is not as lengthy compared to the gap between 11th and 12th. MS Ensemble 13 bring another major milestone with the lineup once again though it goes slightly overkill this time. In any case Ensemble 13 brings out some nice MSV treats for Universal Century Fans.
Gundam Ensemble 13 is another pure Universal Century series of the lineup featuring Sentinel Gundam as the Crown Jewel of this volume with Xeku Eins and Unicorn Banshee joining at the side. The 13th Volume is notably for rather Bulky Mobile suits joining the roster and Bandai definitely put up quite an effort for this one.
MSA-0011 S Gundam
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| Comparison with SD Gundam Next |
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| S Gundam with Zetaplus Escort |
The undisputable Posterboy for Ensemble 13 and S Gundam no doubt proves its worth. For a 500 Yen Gundam Candy Toys, S Gundam is easily the best value for money and it still reigns at the Ensemble throne until now. Being one of the iconic Gundam design by Katoki, S Gundam has plenty of SD figure made for it but Ensemble easily a top contender for the Value. Obviously Bandai probably realize that they went over limit with S Gundam for Ensemble lineup thus learned their lesson and made ZZ Gundam essentially a 1000 Yen Gundam candy toys. My only gripe with Ensemble version of S Gundam is that there are not much ways to articulate the Smart Rifle due to the bulk which doesn't mesh well with Ensemble series
MSA-0011 [Bst]
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| MS Ensemble Support Vehicle |
The booster unit of S Gundam which is originally a limb replacement parts but with Ensemble series, it got support vehicle treatment. The design is not as sophisticated as HWS pack but still looks convincing enough.
MSA-0011 S Gundam Bst
When equipped with Bst Unit, S Gundam gains additional boost of Firepower and Mobility which enable it to deep strike into enemy territory with sufficient firepower to complete objectives without much support. While S Gundam Bst is not the strongest version of the variant, it is powerful enough to take down many Mobile suits with extra firepower from the back Beam Cannons and powered up smart rifle.
Speaking of final form, EX-S Gundam also happened to be available in Ensemble version as well but cost more or equal with a 10 pack of Gundam Ensemble. So 1000 Yen of S Gundam Bst has its own merit as well.
RMS-141 Xeku Eins
The elite grunt escort of Gundam Mk V and for me Xeku Eins is the MVP of the Gundam Ensemble 13. For some reason bulky Mobile suits tend to look really good in Gundam Ensemble and the rule applies with Xeku Eins as well. S Gundam might be the best value for Gundam Ensemble but Xeku Eins comes with sheer customization option. Ensemble 13 provides 3 equipment loadout for Xeku Eins from Close Combat loadout to artillery support and even a Sniper variant. Compared to Converge version for Xeku Eins, Ensemble wins by allowing you creating your own loadout by mix and match its loadout to suit your preference.
RX-0 Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee
Gundam Candy Toys with Ensemble being no exception often suffer the curse of having one of its roster occupied with Zeon Grunts or Gundam Unicorn MS, for Ensemble 13 the cursed slot is given to Unicorn Banshee which is not too bad of a deal even if i am not big fan of the series. I think the value of Unicorn Banshee will improve once i got it team up with Stark Jegan and Rezel.
Gundam Ensemble 13 is another great Ensemble series with S Gundam and Xeku Eins carrying the show as Bandai went all out and make the set worth more than the usual. With Vol 13 Review done, i am free to move on with Vol 14 and 15 which still stay in the backlog but hopefully doesn't stuck on it for too long.
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