I am sad to report that it appears that Target’s dalliance with selling Gunpla may be coming to an end. While there are still items on the shelves of all my local stores, they haven’t had new inventory in a very long time - not since the fall/winter, when they stocked Battlelogue kits. Furthermore, at least one store marked down all Gundam related merch as part of a storewide deep clearance/purge of their toy inventory.
Still, I’ve checked inventory every time I’m in a Target, just in case something new and interesting does pop up. That hasn’t been the case, but knowing that this may be the end for Gundam in Target, I caved in and grabbed something I was previously lukewarm about. Specifically, the GFrame Efreet Custom:
Choosing a GFrame
GFrame figures are released in different “Series”, with each series containing (I think?) four different figures. This particular Target actually had the entire series, with the other three figures being:
The Blitz Gundam was a nonstarter for me, since I’m not a huge fan of Gundam SEED’s mobile suit designs. I’m also cold on the Blue Destiny - though if I did want it, I could have picked up the High Grade model kit at my local hobby store when I saw it last month.
However, I was this close to getting the Space Command, as part of my quest to get all of the GM variants from War in the Pocket (It’s the only one I don’t have). However, I know there is a High Grade model kit of it, and while it hasn’t been in stock in a long time, I know it will be sooner or later. I figured it’d be better to wait for that, then to get a GFrame version that will be smaller and out of place next to my other High Grade models from War in the Pocket.
So that left the Efreet Custom. I saw it at the store a while ago, but I passed on it. There’s something about the red shoulders on the blue body that I didn’t like. However, I saw this image on the Gundam Wiki, where it has a bunch of white trim, and I thought that made it look a lot better:
Furthermore, unlike the other three mobile suits in this GFrame series, the model kit situation for the Efreet Custom is not ideal. Bandai has made two High Grades - one of them was exclusive to Premium Bandai, and the other exclusive to The Gundam Base in Japan, (and also Premium Bandai).
There’s also a Reborn 100 version, but I don’t like the Efreet Custom nearly enough to have one at 1⁄100 scale. Basically, if I’m going to have it in my collection, the GFrame is the ideal way to go.
About the Efreet
The MS-08TX Efreet is a fairly obscure Zeon mobile suit that originally debuted in an old Super Famicom game. As it’s model number implies, it was developed after the MS-07 Gouf, and before the MS-09 Dom.
Considering that the Gouf and Dom are very famous Zeon suits - and further considering that the MS-06 is one of the most famous - you’d think the MS-08 would also be a big deal. But that’s never really been the case. The original Efreet - along with it’s many variants - have mostly been relegated to video games and side story manga.
And there’s a reason for that - the Efreet is basically just a souped up Gouf. Both suits are intended for close range combat, but the Efreet is faster (faster than even the Gelgoog), and by exclusively using handheld weapons, is arguably more versatile (the original Gouf mainly relies on its Heat Rod and machine guns, both of which are built into its hands).
But like many Zeon designs, the Efreet had maintenance and performance issues, and according to the Gundam Wiki, it was also the victim of bad timing. By the time it rolled out, Zeon realized that the war on Earth was largely over, and that they needed to focus on defending outer space. Throwing resources at an Earth-specific suit like the Efreet would have been a waste, so in the end only eight of them were ever made.
The Efreet has three “main” weapons:
- Head mounted Vulcan Cannons
- A special Heat Sword (“special” meaning it isn’t the same one used by the Gouf)
- A shotgun (specifically the same one used by the Kampfer)
About the Efreet Custom
One of the eight Efreets was eventually converted into the Efreet Custom. It’s sole purpose was to be the original testbed for the EXAM system.
In terms of weapons, the Efreet Custom loses the head-mounted vulcans, in order to make room for the EXAM’s computer systems. It’s pilot also chose to use dual Heat Swords, as well as leg mounted missile pods.
Assembly
If you’ve read my posts about my other two GFrame figures, nothing here should be surprising. You get two inner frames, a whole bunch of armor, and some weapons. Most of the armor starts off being attached to the rigid inner frame, so you have to (or at least should) remove it all onto the better, articulated frame.
The process is not hard, but it does feel a bit like a puzzle trying to figure out things like:
- How many parts a given section is actually made of
- How to take them off without breaking anything
- How to properly attach them to the articulated frame. The arms, for instance, have a front and a backside, and you can mess things up if they aren’t oriented properly when you attach the armor
It was quite an enjoyable way to let off some steam after work.
(For what it’s worth, I feel like this assembly was slightly more complicated than the previous two, on account of the Efreet having extra layers of armor on its limbs).
Finished?
In regards to “out of the box” quality, my previous two GFrames were on opposite ends of the spectrum. The first one looked great out of the box - any painting or detailing was done for funsies. The second one, however, needed a lot of work to make it look like something more than a hunk of plastic. And even then, there was only so much I could do, considering the back halves of its fin funnels are literally missing.
I’d say the Efreet Custom falls somewhere in the middle. Nothing has been cut in half or is otherwise missing, and it has a ton of surface detail, but it is also far from color accurate:
If I want this thing to look halfway decent, I’ve got a lot of work to do. The good news, though, is that if I put in the effort, this should come out looking stellar.
But that will be for another day. I’m going to take my time with this one, and I’ll report back once I have it looking satisfactory.
Other Thoughts
I originally argued that GFrames were more like fancy action figures than model kits, but I’m starting to change my mind. There are two things about this one that are very distinctly like a model kit-esque:
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You can adjust the position of the monoeye, using the same mechanism that's used on modern Gunpla:
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There are very obvious nub marks on many of the pieces. You can see one here, on the back of the antenna fin:
Maybe they’re not fancy action figures so much as smaller model kits where some of the work’s been done for you.