ガンプラ命- Z's Gundam Model Review

This is the most expensive MG model (~$40) of the Strike Gundam out of all its other variation. It’s the latest of the pack even though it should’ve been one of the first to be released since it was part of the original three striker weapon system. Why the hell did Bandai took FIVE years to release this? -_-;

I absolutely hate Bandai’s way of milking color variations. The only other Strike I have is the MG Strike Rouge and I wasn’t too fond of that model. The only reason why I bought this model is because I love huge swords. Although the included Striker packs are brand new, the Gundam itself is the exact strike released five years ago and its age began to show as I noticed some slight flashes on some parts.

Package

This is the most uninspiring boxart I’ve ever seen on a recent (within the last 3 years) MG model. Really, Bandai? You can’t slap both packs on one Strike to make it look impractically cool? Anyway… If I counted right, this model has 18 runners of parts…  or 16 if you don’t want to count the beam parts and display base. That’s quite impressive for something as basic as the Strike but you can probably guess that about half of those runners belong to the two Striker packs (pic below).

Construction

There’s not much to this Gundam that is difficult or confusing. Everything is very easy and straightforward. Building the Strike itself should probably only take 3-4 hours even if you take your time detailing and all. I remember I completed my Strike Rouge in one day.

Body

Basic MG construction here; You build the inner frame then you add on the outer armor. Fairly simple. Two screws are included for the shoulders but I can tell you that they’re useless so you can omit them if you don’t want to waste the time screwing them in.

Head

There is something about Strike’s head I do not like. I don’t know if it’s the design or if it’s the proportion but my eyes don’t like it. I think it looks ugly honestly. The V-fin is so wide that it always cast a shallow over the eyes.

Arms and Shoulders

No gimmicks here. Just a solid and simple construction. Put together and go. I hate the hands on this model because it’s not very good at posing since it is more/less similar to the old HG 1/100 hands from the GW and GX models.

Lower Body

Repeat what I said about the arms. It applies here as well. The only thing I hate about the legs are the ankle armor plates. They can break very easily (and they did later on just like Strike Rouge’s) and can become very loose because they are not connected to the ankle by PC parts but just plastic on plastic. Very weak connection too as it can easily be rubbed off the ankle. Ugh.

The waist has two slots for connecting to the display base. The bottom is for Strike Rouge’s (and Aile Strike’s) display base while the slot on the rear is used by its own action base. I painted the Armor Schneider’s blade silver because white = lame.

Launcher Striker Pack

Amazing… simply Amazing… before I opened this model’s box, I thought the launcher would be built similar to that of your generic Gundam Bazooka- snap two halves together and slot in all the little details. I was very wrong on that. The whole Launcher system comes in a massive amount of tiny little pieces that took quite some time to cut off and clean up. It was giving me Ex-S Gundam vibes O_O. Sad to say, there are quite a lot of nub marks after assembly. The parts are also very detailed after a thorough panel line ink job. The “Agni” launcher alone took me more time to put together than any part of Strike itself. The most awesome part is that the Launcher isn’t even as heavy as it looks!

Display Base

The display base is the exact same one for the MG Wing Zero Custom but an adapter is included so you literally plug it into Strike’s rear end. I like this base more than the overly large display base from the Aile Strike and Strike Rouge because of its simple design. The only problem is that it will fall over if you put the arm in the lower tilt position since the base can’t handle Strike’s weight. (Note: I also didn’t bother with building this and just use WZC’s for the photoshoot ^^;)

Sword Striker Pack

After assembling the Launcher pack, the remainder of parts are for the Sword pack. Its part count wasn’t as numerous as the Launcher pack but it still took a lot of time to complete.

Simply gorgeous… I don’t ever remember the Zankantou “Schwert-Gewehr” looking so awesome in the anime. Although this Striker pack wasn’t as time-consuming as the Launcher pack, it has its own fair share of panel line details. The biggest quirk I have here is that the “Sword Striker” decal on the shoulder part is too big so I had to wrap the decal a little to the front. Although the transfer had cracks here and there, I’m still glad that it came out alright and not broken. As opposed to the Launcher, the Sword (itself) hide its nub marks perfectly.

The beam rifle and shield were also included but I didn’t bother with them because they would go right back into the box anyway!

GAT-X105 Strike Gundam

The Strike in its plainest form here. I had to be sure to add plenty of marking stickers and decals otherwise this Gundam would be really vanilla. The proportions look good as a whole but I think it could look just a bit more sleeker and less round. Its appearance just isn’t as… *ahem* striking as a MG could be.

I have to admit… although I might not be impressed with the Strike itself, it does have a nicely stylized set of decals. They do a good job at offsetting the Strike’s bland looks.

Comparison with my MG Strike Rouge that I built years ago.

Lovin’ this shadowy shot!

For a five year old model, articulation was as good as it gets back then. The Strike was praised for how well it can mimic its anime counterpart in actions poses (the glorified knee and foot bending). I can’t give it too much credit though since its leg range is a bit restricted due to its ankle. To me, this Gundam also have a hard time trying to look good standing straight (linear pose); the legs just feel awkward.

Aile Strike… Rouge >_>

The only good thing that comes from all these Strike variations is that you get to swap the different striker packs between each other… but that’s only if you actually bought the other variations >_>. This model doesn’t deserve to have the Noir Striker attached to it.

Curiosity…

On the top of Strike’s shoulders is a slot where the new Striker weapon systems conveniently plug into. This slot has been on the Strike since the first model (it’s on the Strike Rouge too) but it didn’t serve any purpose. I also don’t think this slot is part of the original Strike design (like the slots for the action base).  I was thinking… maybe Bandai planned for these two Striker packs all along 5 years ago? hmm…

Launcher Strike Gundam

In this iteration, Strike’s articulation is limited on one side because the Agni cannon is oh so large.  Fortunately, it’s also light enough for Strike to actually hold it in place. Amazing. It’s also surprising that Strike doesn’t have any back-heavy issues with the Agni behind it.

Although it might not seem like much is going on with this weapon pack, one needs to assemble the Launcher Striker pack to fully appreciate its elaborate design. You can really see that Bandai spent some time on designing this set. There’s a machine cannon, a missle launcher, and a beam gun. What more do you need for ground assault?

Thanks to the way the cannon is connected to the backpack, movement is obstructed and there’s really not many directions I can point the Agni in. Also, getting the right hand to hold the other handle is also diffuculty because the shoulders doesn’t really bend forward as much. I felt like there could be potentially many more dynamic poses if Strike’s articulation isn’t so outdated.

Sword Strike Gundam

Strike’s Anti-Ship Sword is gorgeously long and slender similar to that of the MG Impulse. This proportion seems to clash a bit with Strike’s more conversative round looks. You can tell the newness from the old =.=

Beside the Sword, the beam boomerang and shield is not very… spectacular. Not much to look compared to the Launcher. Bandai skimped on the “Panzer-Eisen” rocket anchor since they only included a rather short 2″ cable for it -_-

As with the Launcher, I feel there’s so much potential for awesome poses with the Sword but the Strike just can’t seem to pull them off. I blame it on the hands since they aren’t designed well enough to grip the handles. I guess it’s nice enough that it could at least hold the sword with one hand without issues. There’s really not much to complain about the pack itself since everything is clipped on; all the problems lie within the Gundam.

Strike Gundam with Striker Weapon System

You probably saw this coming…

Talk about impracticality… After fitting all three striker pack on the Gundam, I finally realize why this combo just wouldn’t work- everything is obstructed! The Agni is obstructed by the shield and the lower thrusters from the Aile pack and the same goes for the Sword. This greatly decreases mobility (articulation) and ruins most of the weight balance, making action poses almost impossible xD. This also explains why you have the weapon on one arm and mounts on the opposite shoulder.

I can’t help but to hate Bandai for releasing yet another variation of a 5-year old model that probably should’ve been released years sooner. After building this, I now see the justification for the high price: The two striker packs combined have more runners and parts than most HG 1/144 model and could possibly be sold as a standalone kit by itself. For a starter MG, the Strike is probably one of the best choices since it is VERY SIMPLE. There’s also a lot more going on here than the MG Aile; I think these two packs has more interesting weapons than the Aile with just a beam rifle. Unless you’re a diehard Strike fan or want a Strike model, this isn’t exactly a “must-have” or even a “nice to have” (unless you found a way to just grab the Striker packs…) but it’s still a good model nonetheless.

OTHERS’ REVIEW:

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