Gundam Standart Review

Last year, before Christmas, I found something in a Barnes and Noble that I thought would be an awesome stocking stuffer; a Gundam Standart figurine of the Quattro’s red Rick Dias. Because she is amazing, my wife managed to get it for me, and I was very excited to write a post about it. Then things got crazy in January and it fell through the cracks.

Fast forward to May. I recently decided that I needed to add a personal touch to my office space at work. A Standart figure would be a good, unique trinket to have around, but the red Rick Dias is one of my favorite mobile suits of all time. There’s no way I’d risk having it stolen while I was out of the office.

So I went out to get a second figure. Something more disposable (should it vanish), but still cool. I now proudly present to you …

… the Black Rick Dias! Yes, I know I’m unoriginal. In my defense, the only other figure at the store was the Zaku I, which is … interesting from a historical perspective I guess?

Anyway, I should probably get around to reviewing these things now.

I can’t find much on the history of or inspiration for the Standart line of figures. I know that they are releases in batches of four or five at a time. Each “series” of releases is usually a mix of famous, iconic Gundams, and other lesser known/mass produced mobile suits which are still pretty cool (or as I like to say, “the ones which you really wish they’d make a model kit out of, but which are lower on Bandai’s priority list than you’d like”). It’s a great way for Bandai to promote both the heavy hitters and the cult classics, without having to engineer a full model kit.

Figurine collection is one area of geekdom I’ve managed to avoid, but it is still something I occasionally read about, if for no other reason than to sate my curiosity. Over the years I’ve learned that a good quality statue is harder to manufacture than you’d think. Even expensive ones can still fall victim to tiny imperfections or small painting mistakes.

With this knowledge in hand, I understood that the Standart figures would not be perfect, and that this was OK. Sure enough, the final product is not perfect - but it really is OK.

The figures are about 3 and a half inches in height. They’re made out of a fairly soft, rubbery plastic. It isn’t nearly as high quality as the plastic used in a kit, but isn’t godawful either.

The first thing that catches my eye about these figures is the level of detail. Again, it isn’t as good as a full blown model kit, but these are hardly formless blobs of plastic. There’s lots of little marks and details on the armor, and small areas which have no right trying to use two tones of paint, but still do. There are also prepainted decals, which gives them a bit of flare that not even some High Grade kits opt for.

<%= image_caption “https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lIK4Ti5ABRE/VUaL0JSOXLI/AAAAAAAACO0/zgnI30_cccI/w1088-h610-no/standart3.jpeg", “https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lIK4Ti5ABRE/VUaL0JSOXLI/AAAAAAAACO0/zgnI30_cccI/w500/standart3.jpeg", “The space between the red and brown skirt armor is colored metallic silver. Then of course there’s the small grey tubing on the arm.” %>

Of course, attempting an intricate paint job on a small figure means there’s bound to be some mistakes, and I have indeed found some. But they’re hard to find unless you’re looking very close.

<%= image_caption “https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-r9WUArklRnM/VUaL0hYGSbI/AAAAAAAACOU/hNQYgWX9NVk/w507-h905-no/standart4.jpeg", “https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-r9WUArklRnM/VUaL0hYGSbI/AAAAAAAACOU/hNQYgWX9NVk/h500/standart4.jpeg", “A bit of scuffed paint in the upper leg” %>

Indeed, my only gripe with the paint job is that the red Rick Dias is supposed to be a bright, almost cherry red, but the figure is much darker than that, almost maroon in hue.

The figures also have a few minor imperfections, including some uneven areas where the plastic probably bled a bit out of the mold. Again, it isn’t easy to notice from a distance. The only thing that will look odd from a glance is the head. It’s a little bit uneven on both figures. They both look like they’re giving you the People’s Eyebrow.

So far, I think you’d agree that these are at least decent figurines. But there are two last features that really make them shine. The first is that they have minor articulation. The arms can move up and down at the shoulder, and can rotate at the wrist, elbow and shoulder. It isn’t much, but at the very least it allows you to change the way it holds its rifle.

The figures also have a few accessories. The fuel tanks and back-mounted cannons are both removable, and the figures come with an alternate left hand that makes it look like its firing the sticky trap that Quatro uses in Episode 1 of Zeta Gundam. I’m pretty sure this ability is never used again in the show; the fact that someone bothered to include it is both absurd and delightful.

Now we get to the most important aspect of these figures; the price. The Standart figures at B&N retail for ten bucks. Online, they’re sold for about that much, though some retailers only seem to sell them by the case.

Considering everything you get, I think that’s fair. People have spent far more than that on Amiibo, and a Lego set of similar size would be no cheaper. That being said, I realize it is still a bit of a slippery slope. If you were to spend 10-12 dollars more, you could buy a High Grade model kit. And if you were to spend ten bucks more than that, you could get a super sweet Real Grade kit. In each case, the extra cost seems more than offset by the increases in quality at each level.

Of course, there’s more to it than cost. The model kits have to be assembled, which costs both time and money (you’ll need at least some supplies after all). There’s also the fact that, as mentioned, the Standart line contains mobile suits which may not be easy to find in model kit form.

Bottom Line: These are better than I expected. Recommended if you come across any of your favorites.