YMS-16M Xamel & Artillery Unit

Synopsis: This has been a figure I've been waiting for a long time. Although it had only a limited amount of screen time in 0083 Stardust Memories its presence always leaves an impression.

As big as the Xamel is I was skeptical if this design was ever to be made into a MSiA figure since more probable units like the Hygogg and Zaku IIF2 have yet to see a MSiA rendition. So you can understand how surprised I was to hear about plans for a release of Xamel and given its design in 0083 I was skeptical at how well made this figure would turn out but thankfully my misgivings are misplaced.

Given the size and bulky nature of Xamel packaging for this figure seemed like a hurdle this figure would be forever stalled by. Following the Figure & vehicle releases of the ReGZ & BWS and Gundam & G-Armor Bandai had the platform to release it with one problem: what vehicle would it include? Their answer was to split the artillery platform from the rest of the figure to create the "artillery unit", a rather unnecessary feature however it fortunately doesn't interfere with the rest of the figure.

The Figure: Xamel without the artillery unit attached is surprisingly a well articulated. It stands a good head and shoulders taller then the Zaku 2^nd version. The head is fused with the rest of the body and the area for the mono-eye is a little sloppy in terms of the paintjob.

The arms are well articulated. The shoulder armor doesn't hamper arm movement at all given its free movement independent of the arm. Shoulder movement is slightly hampered by the joint preventing the figure from showing it's full arm span. The elbow joint has a decent range of motion except that the joint can not bend all the way down given some obstruction of the elbow. The hands sit on a ball joint and have a good deal of motion though the loose posing of the hands provides no firm grip for other MSiA weapons.

The legs as big as they were were fitted with some decent joints. This figure could possibly move its legs forward if it weren't for the skirt armor permitting next to no forward movement. Any other range of motion at the hip is perfectly well until the artillery unit is placed and then the legs are boxed in but the Xamel was meant to hover above the ground not run so not a big gripe. The knees actually bend pretty well; it may not be a ver2.0 but still no complaints. The ankle has the movement range of the Dom but again it was more then I expected.

The torso follows the design of the series and has very limited torso movement. This torso twisting isn't too advisable because when twisting it seems to put quite a strain on the joint. On the hip a hole is present to connect some sort of stabilizer fin (I don't know what to call it.) that doesn't interfere with the rest of the figure. On the right backside the rocket launcher can fold back with little problem. The artillery unit fits on a rectangular peg on the back of the pelvic area.

The Accessories:

The Artillery Unit: This section makes the Xamel what it is but if you must separate them here are some of its features to look at. The slot where the Xamel hooks up to the artillery unit is found on a box like structure that can fold down to help support this section up by itself. A small pole in the middle of the box structure can connect with the rest of the unit for increased support as well. Folding and unfolding can be a problem at times but it isn't much to worry about.

The 680mm cannon: is well detailed and can be folded near the base of the barrel when not in use like the series. When the barrel is folded a folding guard on the artillery section of Xamel can secure it in much the same way as the series version. Please be warned that this cannon's barrel can be warped and mine came that way though my brother's seems fine so be careful with yours.

Play Value: Though articulation is somewhat sacrificed for the accuracy of the figure that main gun can always serve as a draw to keep this figure of interest to play with.

Display Value: This is a very unique design even for a Zeon unit. Its dominating look accented with the threatening presence of that 680mm Cannon is bound to almost always draw attention! This figure shines well in this category.

Dollar Value: Although this figure doesn't come with several weapons this figure is still definitely a deluxe edition and paying $10.99 for this set is well worth it especially if you're a big UC or Zeon fan or if you're just a big fan of Huge Guns!

Conclusion: articulation shortcomings are overshadowed by accuracy to its animated counterpart and wellthe 680mm cannonJ !!!! Though on the subject of articulation shortcomings these are small compared to what was expected.