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Mobile Fighter G Gundam Action Figure Noble Gundam

By Gary Peterson
12.10.2002

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Manufacturer: Bandai Height: 4.25 inches (10.5 cm) Points of Articulation: 18: shoulders, post-shoulder swivels, elbows, wrists, neck, waist, hips, double jointed knees, and ankles. Colors: Off-white, red, blue, green, yellow, grey, black, translucent pink. Availability: Though currently shipping, as of December 11th, 2002 it is not in the assortment most stores are stocking. It is available from certain online retailers, however. Other Notes: Other Notes: A recolor is also available, changing the off-white to pink, to represent the Berserker Mode appearance from the G Gundam TV show. Set Includes Noble Gundam figure, 1 short 'beam ribbon' with removable handle, 1 long 'beam ribbon' with removeable handle, 1 'Berserker Mode Control Vehicle', 3 extra hands, extra 'hair' piece and extra backpack piece for transformation to Berserker Mode. Suggested Retail Price: $5.99

The Noble Gundam Figure

Well, if you've looked at the photos, it's quite clear Noble Gundam has a rather unique design. Even among the general freak show that G Gundam is to start with, Noble Gundam is the only one that's made to look female. It has long "hair", which while it's immobile on the toy, it often did move like hair in the show. The skirt armor would be better described as mini-skirt armor, the feet are blatantly meant to be high heels, and overall, the figure is proportioned far smaller and thinner than any other in the G Gundam line.

Oh, and the theme of the design is a cross between Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus, which is to be expected, as G Gundam was made in 1994-1995, at the height of the popularity of the Sailor Moon cartoon in Japan.

Head: Except for the hair piece that's attached (and the two little bits of "hair" on either side of the faceplate), this is a very normal looking Gundam head. The head would be quite well articulated, if not for the hair, which covers the entire back and goes halfway down the legs. The hair is a single solid piece, so as long as it's attached, the head can barely turn. With or without the hair, it can't really look up or down at all. Additionally, the hair seems to fall off somewhat easily if you try to turn the head too far.

Arms and Torso: Well, while the torso fits proportionately with the rest of the figure, it seems really out of place next to other figures. It doesn't even look like it'd have room to accommodate a pilot. The waist can't articulate much, mostly thanks to the shape of the lower torso, but also partly because of the hair again. The arms are pretty avgerage, in terms of articulation. I wish they'd have made the elbows double jointed, though. Because of how small the arms are, it's not even possible to take the double elbows from another figure and replace Noble Gundam's elbows, and the elbows it does have made posing feel a bit restricted.

Legs: The "mini-skirt armor" is interesting. It's almost totally inflexible, but it's so short, that it doesn't hardly bother the articulation of the hips at all. The hips have good range of motion, and the knees are doubled. However, the feet are designed like high heel shoes, and make it more or less impossible to balance the figure on one foot, and this isn't helped at all by the nearly useless ankle articulation. The ankles are jointed with a restricted ball joint, which by way of the design of the feet, are reduced to simple swivels. Very bad, since better articulated ankles would have really helped posing. Oh, and the hair (again!) interferes somewhat with some leg poses.

Accessories

Hands: In the package, Noble Gundam has both fists attached. In addition, it comes with an open right hand to hold the beam ribbons, and two "karate chop" hands.

Beam Ribbons: There's two of these. The shorter one is wavy, and about two-thirds the height of the figure. Seems to be the attack ribbon. The second is much longer, and seems specifically meant to be used in a single pose, with the right arm pointing up, and the ribbon wrapping around the figure. Seems pretty odd, but I guess it was needed to pad out the package. The figure itself is so small they had to make up for it with accessories.

Berserker Mode Hair: The normal hair pops off easily, and you can replace it with this. The Berserker Hair makes the figure quite backheavy, and you've got to play with how it's posed to let it stand up. Once again the design of the feet is of absolutely no help here.

Backpack: This replaces the flat panel on the back for Berserker Mode. It doesn't signifigantly alter the balance of the figure, and is just for accuracy to the show. It holds securely in the back. Just be careful not to lose the regular back panel, since it's small and could easily be dropped and would be hard to find.

Berserker Mode Control Vehicle: Late in the G Gundam series, during the "Gundam Fight Finals," vehicles similar to this were used by most competitors, as mobile command stations during matches. This accessory represents Neo Sweden's specially modified vehicle, with the transmitter for the Berserker System behind the command console. There's no moving parts. Despite being assembled from several pieces, nothing is meant to move. Shame. Would have been nice to at least have an articulated arm to raise and lower the command deck.

Overall: If you're into strange novelties, this one is certainly worth having. Accepting that some of the problems are caused by the basic design the toy is based from, I still feel that the toy could have been made at least a little better. It's still pretty good, and for $5.99 is probably worth it for the bizarre factor alone. I'd give it a 7/10.

You can see pictures of the Noble Gundam in our Gallery! And don't forget to talk about this on the Message Boards!