Maguanac Abdul Custom

Synopsis: Another member of the Maguanac Corps.  I guess the Maguanac Corps is the only grunt suits allied to the gundam pilots in the series. 

  When they had released these figures I had hopes that maybe a few of the Mobile suits they did not make initially would finally see a figure being made.  But whom am I kidding?  I had also hoped Zeta would come out in the summer and look what happened.  Oh well, with Gundam SEED figures due out at anytime I can at least be glad that the toy aisles will be filled with Gundam toys other then Superior Defender. 

The Figure:  It was nice of Bandai to release these figures.  New figures with Version 2 joints after a long drought of new releases was a nice welcome to the lag we had been experiencing.  But I digress.

  The head is nicely detailed and the paintjob is neat, no messy splotches.  The articulation of the head is hampered by the torso; a common problem with all the Maguanac MSiAs.  It can move about between 15-40 degrees.            

   The arms lack panel lining but it does not need it.  The shoulder armors feature a brown-yellow color scheme that makes up for the plain crème colored arms.  The shoulder armor is extremely large and can hinder the elbow despite the version 2 joints.  The hands connect to a ball joint giving nice motion.  The hands that come with the figure include 2 closed fists and two "gun" fists.

   The legs of all the Maguanac figures have the same leg molds except for Rashid's that has a different set of knees in that Knee armor has been added.  Leg movement and interference from the waist armor is evident.  Though most Gundam Wing designs suffer from that flaw the flexible skirt armor and hip armor on a ball joint try to a certain degree of success fix that flaw.  The rear skirt armor is not as rigid as Rashid and Auda's MSes.

   The torso is sparsely detailed though the color-scheme makes up for it from a displaying standpoint.  The torso is better painted.  The torso twisting is 360 degrees with a little work.  The backpack differs from Rashid's in that it does have a paintjob and two movable thruster nozzles.  The backpack is removable with a little work.

The Accessories:  While the Figure comes with a beam rifle and a shield you are kind of left with the feeling of wanting more.

Beam Rifle:  A nice detailed rifled with a blue energy pack that is removable.  A small swiveling "arm" on the rifle can fasten on the energy pack for looks (not for functionality).

Shield:  Well detailed and well painted this shield was one of the first MSiAs I saw to attach via an odd U-shaped brace that goes on the elbow without hampering elbow movement.  Because of the brace the shield can be fastened to the front or side of the figure.  Not a bad idea, just a really really big shield.

Play Value:  A good guy grunt suit for the Gundam Wing Universe is never a bad thing whether as fodder, backup, or an objective it is always good.  The solitary weapon can serve to hinder play value although the benefit is that it does not hinder flow of play.

Display Value:  Standing with your Gundam Wing MSiAs can allow these guys to standout to a point.  Gundam Wing Designs are all decorated and while this MSiA follows that line, Gundam designs can make these guys look sparsely designed.  The large weapons these figures have can a beneficial factor as well as grouping all three together.  Making them look more like a team then the five gundams themselves plus the version articulation helps out immensely. 

Dollar Value: Picked this figure at K-mart for $6.99.  If you want to pick up this figure you can still find them at places like Kmart.  It just does not feel like a deluxe figure even with the detailing and version 2.0 treatment.

Conclusion:  This is a nice figure, although it comes with 1 shield and 1 weapon.  They do try to have the figure compensate in terms quality and possibility.