Final Approach Gashapon Set

Product Information/Specifications

Introduction

When I saw this gashapon set for the first time, I immediately wanted to get it.  Why?  Because it has classroom stuff and I'm a sucker for that.  This Final Approach gashapon set is part of Bandai's Moe A La Mode series.  This set has four figurines, each with some classroom equipment. 

Some of the pictures aren't clear & good.  If I have time, I'll redo the bad ones & repost them.

The Review

Final Approach Figure Paper

For ¥300 a piece, you would except some sort of higher quality than the standard ¥200 gashapons that mostly appears in the gashapon market.  However, the ¥300 price is actually for the extra classroom equipment you get from each figurine.  This makes up for the SD design, which Bandai usually sells them at ¥100 a piece.  Examples of these are the SD Gundams & SD Gundam characters.

Class is now in session!

As previously mention, there are four figurines in this set: Mizuhara Akane, Mutsu Emiho, Moriya Miki & Masuda Shizuka.  Each comes with their own classroom equipment as you can see from their pics.  Very minor assembly required.  Just putting their heads to their bodies & putting the bodies on the clear stand.  You need to use the stands or else they will fall.  The minor accessories, such as the bento box & school bag, are loose & can be placed any way you like.  If you feel dressing them up, you can switch their heads around & put them on different bodies.

Comment about the chairs is that you may need to bend the legs back into shape.  Since they come in capsules, they will bend out of shape for sure.  Let's look at some paint details of these figurines.

The paint job isn't as bad as I excepted.  Of course, there is some paint bleeding at some places, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of it.  I didn't take a pic of the P.E. uniform since it was didn't have any design on it really.  Although paint job isn't bad, I should mention about Shizuka's original body.  It doesn't stand by itself as you would see in any pictures on the web.  I had to use the chair in order for it to kneel properly.

The paint job on the eyes isn't too bad as I thought it would be.  As you can see, the paint seems a bit thick, but still good nevertheless.  The facial details are good too.  Not too heavy in colour; meaning good colour tones.  I really like the facial expressions of all the girls, except for Emiho's.  It looks really weird & I don't recall her having that kind of face in the anime series.  It might be in the game instead.  Also, her eyes like uneven for some reason.  Emiko has a extra hair piece where you can change that frontal hair part you see in the pic to one with her bangs hooking out to the sides.  Shizuka's bangs need to be assembled to her front hair piece.  They can also be adjusted to your liking.

Overall Conclusion

This Final Approach gashapon set is actually a good set to own.  Personally, I think the price should be ¥200 instead.  Currently, my set is still being display since the day I assembled them in a display case.

On a scale of ten, I give this Final Approach Moe A La Mode set a nine.  The high score is based on the workmanship quality done with excellent details.  Very little paint problems. Also, you get to customize them without making them look funny.  The lost point is from Shizuka's body not kneeling properly & the small pieces which can be lost easily.  So far, I haven't lost any of the pieces.

Although this set seems a little pricey due to the size of the figurines & the limited amount of accessory it comes with, this isn't a bad set to get.  I believe this gashapon set is still available in a lot of stores & isn't selling very well.  If you are lucky, you might be able to get this set at a price lower than the suggested retail price.

Photos were taken using Sony DSC-F828 digital still camera & HP scanjet 4470c scanner.

Last updated on February 19, 2008