MSiA ZGMF-X24S Chaos Gundam

Height: 10.5cm to top of head, 12cm to top of backpack in Mobile Suit Mode. 11cm to top of Mobile Armor Mode.

Articulation: 27 total points of articulation pertaining to MS Mode: Ball jointed neck; 6 points in each arm - double jointed shoulder, pre-elbow swivel, double jointed elbow, ball joint wrist; ball-jointed waist; ball-jointed main thruster on back; 6 points in each leg - ball jointed hip, triple-jointed knee, ball-jointed ankle, hinged toe. Various other joints and hinges associated with Mobile Armor mode.

Accessories: MGX-2235B "Callidus Kai" Multi-Phase Beam Rifle, MMI-RG30 Cruising Mobile Shield, MA-M942 "Vajra" Beam Sabers (with removeable blades) x2, EQFU-5X Mobile Weapons Pods x2, Extra hands x4.

Colors: Molded dark green, light green, white, dark gray, and translucent pink. Painted orange, yellow, green(cameras), dark gray, white, and black.

Release Data: Released December 21st in Japan at a price of ¥1500. This item is still in production as of this review (February 17th, 2005).

Gallery: 9 images.

Author: RAC

The Figure

Truthfully, I'm amazed anyone in the Cosmic Era bothers producing Gundam Mobile Suits. It's like leaving your car keys in the ignition in a bad, bad neighborhood- you're just begging to have it stolen. Still, ZAFT fares better in Gundam SEED Destiny than OMNI Enforcer did in the original SEED, managing to retain two prototype MS instead of only one. Chaos is one of the three stolen Gundams, and it's an interesting design, featuring a neat looking MA Mode and some interesting weaponry. However, it is a transforming figure, and I'm sure many MSiA collectors are familiar with the woes that can bring to a toy. So, how did Chaos turn out?

The Head

The head is a pretty standard Gundam head, with a "bent" V-fin design, and a helmet that is low enough in back to protect the neck pretty well. Because of this it has better tilt forward than back, though the collar is nicely shaped and doesn't obstruct the head at all- good thing, since it turns around backwards for MA mode.

The Arms

The arms are pretty standard. The shoulder hinges seem to have a bit better range than average, and the shoulder ball-joints swing upwards further than many MSiA I've reviewed lately. The elbows are all but perfect- they can't quite lay the forearms flat against the upper arms because of the shoulder armor. There's a hardpoint for attaching the shield on each forearm, meaning this figure can be completely ambidextrous- always a nice touch.

The Torso

Chaos' torso is pretty nice design-wise, and the shape and details are in keeping with what's expected of a Gundam torso. The waist tilts nicely, though not as well as the superb ZAKU Phantom's. The waist has a fair amount of swivel, quite a bit in fact, but the fact that the rear skirt plate is mounted on the torso, as with Zeta Gundam, makes it look odd if you turn the waist too far. It's not as restrictive as Zeta, but it is an odd design choice nonetheless.

The back is where the Mobile Armor parts begin to come into play. The backpack is comprised of a single large thruster cone and two green plates, one for the nose and one for the tail of MA Mode, which doubles as the rear skirt plate. Both are made from a lighter, harder plastic than the rest of the figure- a nice choice to help balance the figure. Because of it, though, the nose piece has a large, noticeable screw just above Chaos' head when in Mobile Suit mode. I have little against toys looking like toys, but truthfully it does detract from the look a bit- it's just so central and noticeable. The other issue with the nose is that the connection to the body was designed in such a way that it's far too easy to pop on and off. Two tiny bumps fit up into two tiny notches inside the nose. It's not a terribly secure connection, and I feel that a better method could have been found. As it is, you have to be kind of careful how you hold Chaos to make sure you're not putting pressure on its noseplate. There are also mounting points for the Mobile Weapons Pods on the back, but these mounts are held in by relatively small pegs. One of them is a bit wobbly, and considering that leverage is pretty much against them, I do wonder how long they'll stay in working order.

The front skirt is flexible, but could, I'm sure, fall prey to warping if you left Chaos in an extreme pose (or MA Mode) for extended periods. The side skirts are ball-jointed, and are very long. There are indentations in the top of each plate for Beam Saber storage, and mine stay in place pretty securely. They are sometimes knocked off, but this is a virtue of the location and not the connection. That is, I'd consider that a problem of the original design and not the toy. The rear plate, as I mentioned, is attached to the upper back, but is fairly long, and due to its shape and less complex movement, is hinged a bit more securely than the nose. The overall effect is of someone wearing a cloak or long coat. It's striking and obstructs the legs minimally.

The Legs and Feet

The hip joints have a good range of motion, and the thighs are very square. The knees are a mixed bag- the double hinges are good and stiff and will hold a pose very nicely. The problem is with the swivel-joint underneath- I'm reasonably sure it's a swivel and not the Destiny-standard ball-joint. Probably included because of the MA Mode, they're very loose and make the legs seem wobbly. Not helping with that overall impression are the ankles and feet- the ankle is a very loose single ball-joint and the figure will just keel over forward sometimes for no reason at all. Very frustrating, as it negates a lot of posing possibilities. If Chaos doesn't wear the Mobile Weapons Pods it presents less of a problem, but when you have a heavy backpack, balance is key. Chaos's legs aren't quite up to the challenge of the backpack, and again, I don't see any reason why they couldn't have been.

Mobile Armor Mode

Chaos' MA Mode is a kind of neat design- it's reminiscent of several previous designs, one of which is the of the "Gerwalk" or "Guardian" mode of the Valkyrie design from Macross/Robotech. The main similarity is the nose of the Mobile Armor coupled with the fact that Chaos retains the use of its arms in this mode. The legs, however, sweep forward and become large mean-looking claws. There's also a Beam Cannon hidden behind the main camera in this mode- there's a diamond-shaped piece that slides down into the nose.

The claws are unfortunately somewhat floppy- there are no stops in place to help you position them. Also, there's no real way to stand it up in MA Mode, and no stand included in the package. Which basically means it's a useless mode for display purposes unless you fashion or purchase yourself a stand. Another minor detail missing is that the claws are seen in the show and the 1/100-scale model kit to be Beam Claws, with beam blades that extend out of each claw. These aren't present here, though in a way it's just as well, as that could have caused more stuctural difficulties, I suppose.

Paint and Decoration

Chaos' paint is pretty clean all-around, with little sloppiness. The yellow areas and the white of the face seem a bit rough around the edges, but as always I can't say whether this is unique to my figure or a problem with the entire run. Otherwise, it's nicely decorated, though for the record, its panel-lines aren't inked, just like the rest of the Destiny line. I don't think it hurts the figure terribly much in this case, however.

Articulation gets 6/10

Mobile Armor Mode gets 6/10

Sculpt and Deco get 7/10

Accessories

-MGX-2235B "Callidus Kai" Multi-Phase Beam Rifle

A pretty big gun- not the biggest an MSiA ever came with, but massive all the same. A small aside here: why is it the midsized rifles like those of the ZAKU and Impulse Gundam have secondary handgrips for added stability, when monsters like these rarely do? It doesn't make a lot of sense.

At any rate, the rifle is long, but not broad, so it's not so heavy that Chaos has trouble holding it up in most cases. Mine was a touch warped, with the handle bending slightly to the side, but repeated attempts at straightening have helped this somewhat.

-MMI-RG30 Cruising Mobile Shield

As the name implies, the shield appears to have a pair of manuvering thrusters in the back. It also has a pair of CIWS* barrels in the front, so it would appear to have minor offensive capabilities as well. The connection peg is ball-jointed, and the handgrip is attached to a hinge on the side of the peg's mount. It fits well enough on either arm, though the shape of the handgrip would suggest a left-handed grip. Once you have both peg and grip in place, the shield still has a nice range of movement, and it stays on the arm securely.

*Short for Close-In Weapons System, which on Destiny MS usually takes the form of a small-caliber-by-MS-standards machinegun.

-MA-M942 "Vajra" Beam Sabers (with removeable blades)

Sounds pretty impressive, doesn't it? Near as I can tell, these are pretty standard Beam Sabers, looking pretty much the same as when the RX-78 first carried them in `79. In toy terms, they're standard for the Destiny line, which is to say they're the best Beam Sabers you can get for an MSiA. The blades are pale, hard plastic, and fit snugly into the handgrip. The plastic used for the handgrip is pretty firm, and the whole affair fits neatly into the appropriate hand. As I mentioned, my Chaos has no troubles with Saber storage, but I've heard some stories, and because the storage area is painted orange there may be some variance in how well they will hold. So, be warned.

-EQFU-5X Mobile Weapons Pods

These are Chaos' unique weapons, a pair of wireless remote pods similar to the Gunbarrels seen on the Mobius Zero in Gundam SEED. It would appear that the control system has been refined and/or automated, so that any pilot is now capable of using them. At any rate, they feature both a Beam gun, which is extended by use of a slide on the top of the pod, and a dozen missiles which are hidden under a hatch on the front. The thuster on the back is ball-jointed and has a good range, and each pod slides onto a mount on Chaos' back.

Like the MA mode itself, the question becomes: what do you do with them? They're designed to fly around and attack things, but unless you devise some way of mounting them for yourself, there's no way to simulate that. As part of Chaos' backpack in MS Mode, they look sharp, but they do contribute to the back-heaviness of the figure.

-Extra Hands

Not much to say here- they're the familiar socketed-hand and ball-wrist arrangement, they're a bit tough to get on but stay on the arm nicely, they're sculpted pretty well, and the open hands hold the appropriate accessories with little to no fear of dropping them. Again, Destiny standard, which is good.

Accessories get 7/10

Closing Remarks:

Chaos Gundam is a neat design- visually it's my favorite of the three stolen Gundams. I like the (visual, mind you) balance of the backpack and skirt, and the Mobile Armor mode is intriguing. As an action figure, it's hampered by weak legs, and the fact that it's a design that was meant to operate in space or the skies- Mean Ol' Mr. Gravity does this figure in, in several ways. Even so, I have to say I still like it. It does still have its good points.

I paid $18 for it, and for that, I do have to say I expect slightly better. If I were you, whoever you may be, I'd try for a bit less, if I could. But, whether or not you should get it at all depends on how much you like the design- and possibly whether or not you have a stand handy.

I'd like to say that Chaos is Good, because I'm fond of the design and it has more than a few good points. But the objective truth is that it Could Have Been Better, and probably could've gotten as high as Very Good with stronger ankles and a better connector for the backpack.

-RAC 2/17/2005