MG 1/100 Launcher/Sword Strike Gundam Review and...

Image courtesy of Dalong.net.

If you read my previous posts, you should know that I've bought this fine piece of plastic last month(February)(or was it late January? @_@). I'm pretty satisfied with it, but not with the price I payed for it(since I COULD had gotten it for cheaper from a certain place). HOWEVER, looking at the current Yen to Ringgit exchange rates currently, it was really not as bad as I thought, since the one I saw at a cheaper price was at old stock prices(which already ran out by the time I checked).

This Gunpla happens to be my first MG(Master Grade). I bought it due to have read some forum posts on a Gundam related forum about it being an easy MG for beginners, which I am then(now, maybe a little better... =P). Other than that, I "fell in love" with the simplistic design of the Strike when I was watching Gundam SEED in January this year. ^^;

The GAT-X105-Strike is the main Gundam used by the main protagonist, Kira Yamato, throughout the first season of Gundam SEED. The Strike is a special mobile suit as is has a "phase-shift" armor which practically makes it invincible to solid rounds and small attacks(all "Gundams" in SEED use this armor). Though, because it uses a limited power supply, once it runs out, the "phase-shift" armor will stop functioning and the Strike's main body becomes gray in color and can get easily shot down(since at that point the Strike can barely move also). The Strike has three "extension packs"(Striker Packs) which are the Aile Striker(do not have), Sword Striker and the Launcher Striker. Each pack has its range of uses and weaknesses in usage. Though, the Aile Striker is mostly used by Kira as it is the most versatile of the three packs.

The box is HUGE, well, being priced at 5000 Yen, of course it's gonna be huge. If you ever bought normal 1/100 NG Gunplas, put two boxes together, you'll get the gist of the size of this box. Though the box is huge, it uses almost ALL the space within to stuff the runners, stickers, decals and instruction booklet in it. Decals? Yes, decals. I did not apply them since I feel like I might paint the Strike in the near future(well, far future exactly).

BTW, you can see some pictures of the box and the contents from this link. You can see the review for this model through that link as well as other models too. But of course, I'm still going to continue my review on my experience with this model.

It took me while to build this model as it had more parts than a regular 1/100 NG. I knew that before I built it and decided to build the main body of the Strike plus its regular weapons first. The Sword Striker and Launcher Striker packs comes later.

Early note: I didn't take many pics for the Strike since I took them earlier on and currently lazy to take more piccies. Of course, I think I should take some more later on, which I might put up in a later post, or add on here.

EDIT(9/3/09): Some new pictures and descriptions ahoy(I took the pictures last night before I slept right under the fluorescent light)! You can tell there are newer pics due to the white crumpled paper background and the lack of ankle armor plates. For some odd reason, I really like the lighting. If anyone wonders why the pictures aren't so clear, that's because I used my phone's 2.0MP camera since I felt that if I used my real camera, the file size will be huge and will kill a lot of bandwidth to those who go to this blog(and takes a hell of a time to upload them all). XP

Front view of the GAT-X105-Strike. Note this is a newer picture, therefore the ankle armor plates have been taken off. All newer pictures taken comes with this similar lighting.

Side view.

Rear view. See the gray part on the back in the middle? There's a hole there which enables the Strike to "put on" the Striker packs.

Close up.

Cockpit open! I did not put the mini 1/100 scale Kira inside because it would move about in the cockpit causing unnecessary noise during posing. I have to say, the cockpit is frickin' annoying to open until I have to use something thin to "poke" it out(the lower door hatch).

You notice the "pockets" on the sides of the Strike? Well, that's where the Armor Schneiders are kept, folded.

The Strike currently holding the Armor Schneiders(the daggers) . I wish they made the white part of the daggers gray by the least though. White made no sense. I need to get some silver markers...

Close up view.

Different angle, same pose.

Newer pciture.

Watch out! The Strike is gonna plunge its armor piercing daggers right through you!~ Oh too late...

The following pics will show you how the hand/palm connectors work.

Opened up.

Three fingers are connected together. If you're skilled enough or daring enough(not me though DX) you can split them apart to make them more dynamic for hand related poses(holding weapons mostly).

Closed up, a nice fist.

Next up, the Strike's beam rifle and shield. The shield shape and design is pretty common for most of the mobile suits/Gundams in the SEED series FYI. I have to say that the Strike's hands are bit clumsy and can't really hold the rifle straight easily, but you can make it straight, just needs a "bit" of time to configure it. >>;

Strike's "main weapon and shield". Actually this beam rifle and shield are only used by the Strike when it uses the Aile Striker pack, which I do not have currently. The Aile Striker pack has been shown in the anime to be fast and versatile, making it the main choice of usage by the main character, Kira Yamato. The Aile Striker pack also have a beam saber(or two, not sure) which can be used for short range combat.

Front view. Note that I did not put the handle of the shield which can be connected in different ways(I didn't really like it though). It can be used to connect to the Strike's left hand.

Left side close up.

Right side close up.

Older picture. Just felt it's a waste to delete since I alreeady uploaded it.

*pew**pew**pew*

...and 00 blocks it with one sword. =P

This is the provided stand. Very basic looking, but it works. It's my first stand and ONLY stand currently... ^^;

See this connector here?

It connects to the back, the ass, of the Strike here, the hole. Note, this hole is also used as a connector in the anime for the Strike to charge up(hook up to many wires), I think.

This is Aile Strike's box art pose. I just dunno why I like it so much.

Close up. Currently my phone's wallpaper. ^^;

The basic Strike is pretty fun to play with, but I later realize something annoying... the damn ankle armor on the right leg broke! I was like WTF? But luckily I can "stick" them together for a short while to do some poses. I later opt to take the off though, evident in some later pictures.

The shield can be "folded back" as seen with the "Aile Strike pose". Err, yeah.

The next day, I decided to build the Sword Striker pack. Easy and fast to assemble as it mostly had big parts.

The Sword Striker is mostly used for short range combat and anti-ship combat. The big sword is an anti-ship sword, which is its name frankly. personally, I like this Striker pack the most, but not something that is practical to use most of the times as the big sword can be quite slow for cutting(evident in Battle Assault 3, doh).

Front view. Yes, it's also a newer picture. The thing on Strike's left shoulder is the beam boomerang, the Mydas-Messer, which is used as well, a boomerang. Probably the only long-range weapon available to the pilot when using this pack. Yes, the Sword Striker is mostly limited to short range.

Side view.

Rear view. Can you see the "claw" on the left arm? Yes, its caled the Panser-Eisen. Pretty much to grab/grapple and claw enemies up.

Reaching out for the anit-ship sword.

Close up, err, don't cha' think the pose looks familiar? <<;

I just love this pose! ...>.>;;;

Close up.

Posing with a cool huge sword in front of the camera. ^o^

The Mydas Messer, activated! Sorry, I didn't try to make a throwing picture for it, since it's kinda impossible...

The Panzer-Eisen, clawing enemies since 2002.

Big sword, is big sword. I love characters/mechs with big swords... >_>

I just love this angle, I used it as my handphone's wallpaper for a while last month. Yeah, this is an older picture and there's a newer one up, but I like this one. >>

Get ready to slash with teh big ass sword!

Flying/Cruising around with a big sword...

Though, there is one annoying thing about the Strike holding the sword, the sword can easily fall out the hands because Bandai did not opt to give a proper connector to hold the weapons firmly like some other newer MGs(Turn A has a connector on the palm which enabled it to hold the weapons firmly).

Next up, the Launcher Striker pack. I build this much later on since I'm not such a big fan of huge guns. Boy am I wrong, the Launcher Strike is actually quite amazing, especially that it can keep its distance far away from the enemies(in Battle Assault 3 >>) as well as caused a huge gapping hole to the colony in one of the earlier episode of SEED.

Front view. The launcher is pretty big and the Strike may fall down when trying to pose with it, if not posed properly. The thing on Strike's right shoulder has some kind of solid round machine gun and missiles. Really useful when you're low on energy to use the energy sucking launcher(read a bit further for slightly better details). XP But I think the solid rounds will be quite ineffective against phase-shift using Gundams. >_>;

EDIT(11/3/09): The launcher is 320mm Hyper-impulse gun named "Agni" and the shoulder thing is a 120mm Anti-vessel multi-barrel gun & 350mm Gun-launcher combo unit(according to manual).

Right side view. I wonder if the shield can be fully utilized, if it is a shield that is, since its kinda small to me and one sided.

Rear view, heavy launcher, is heavy. There is a "connector" for the launcher which helps Strike to hold the launcher easily as well as holster it at the back during stand-by.

Left side view.

A bazooka in your face!

Eat this flying nuisances!

"Aim to the top! Nerai utsu-ne!"

Big gun is a big gun. Lotsa fun you can do with a big gun. The connector from the launcher to the back of the Strike, which connects to the launcher "backpack". Probably so that a huge amount of energy can be transfered.

"Time for some explosions! ^_^"

The only complaint you can say for the Launcher Strike is that the launcher can make the Strike very unstable and fall down easily. Plus it is not that easy to pose using the launcher with two hands(pretty limited posing for that). To be perfectly clear, the instability is not really the fault of the launcher but more to the design of the Strike's feet which is a bit on the loose side. Then again, the slight extra shift of weight to the left of the Strike makes it more likely to topple down. >.>;

Next up, combining the Sword Striker and the Launcher Striker.

Can you feel the pwnage it can reek with these babies(maybe not XP)?

The rear, I used the Launcher Striker "backpack" instead of the Sword Striker's so that the launcher can be held easily with one arm.

Just another pose...

*PEW**PEW**PEW*

*STAB*

Big note about putting them together, the Striker packs I mean, the Strike becomes slightly unstable and may fall down...(since it is already kinda unstable with the launcher XP)

Also, there is another problem with the Strike, but not too major if you're not going to pose it much with the included stand. The rear skirt can come off from the Strike, causing it to to fall down. I decided to glue that part to the Strike in the end. XP

Now, the moment you've been waiting for(maybe)! Some random bad taste in humor shots!

Strike decided to take on the Turn A to see who is the more superior main character Gundam. They decided to fight bare-handed, so that it's more "manly". XP

Fight-OH!

The fight was tough, they were evenly match? Nah, of course not.
In the end... the winner is...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Wait for it...

WINNER!
Turn A. XD

Of course they made up later, and since they are mechs, they do not have specific genders, even though the situation isn't like that. 00 who unluckily passes by saw this and well...(picture scenario by my sister and random story by me XD)

"This is MY new weapons!" Err, yes, it can hold the launcher with one hand, but you need to bend it so that it can hold it better.

1/100 brothers, together now! "CHEESE!" ..."GUNDAM!"

Overall, the MG 1/100 Launcher/Sword Strike Gundam is pretty much a good buy, especially for beginners as I've read somewhere that it has less parts as compared to other Gunplas, which I think is pretty true. Comparing building the main bodies of the Strike and Turn A, Turn A took a while longer...

If you want to get this model kit, and can find it for below RM200 currently, you should definately buy it as long as you are into Gunpla and want to start out building an MG. But I guess buying the MG 1/100 Aile Strike Gundam is a better choice since it only costs 3800 Yen(roughly less than RM150 currently). Then you buy this one as long as you have the money and interest in the Strike Gundam. XP

Oh yeah, the SPM results are coming out soon, 12th March to be exact. I don't really know how to react currently, but I guess I will know when the results are in front of my face later on... err yeah.

Yes, that's all for today and probably this week. Public holiday tomorrow! Yeah! ^^