Wednesday, August 18, 2010

HG 1/144 Strike Freedom Gundam

*Life rant...
From 1999.co.jp


Well, with the midterm season already over, I thought it's about time to fix the backlog of overdue reviews ('^^) I promised a second review two weeks ago, but a lot of tasks and preparations had to be done first...


*End Life Rant...




Anyways, time to tackle one of the most criticized, yet highly potent Mobile Suits ever released for this decade: the infamous Strike Freedom from Gundam SEED Destiny (Quite a freaking long name for a 50-episode series, eh? XD)


Purchased a month after Wing Zero, My expectations for this suit was quite reasonable for its age. For starters would be the redesigned PC Parts, which in this model was colored (ehrm...) 'goooooold...' Second was the slightly-improved articulation over the '90s-era model kits thanks to advancements in design. And lastly, I'm a sucker for immense firepower: Twin hip-mounted Railguns, Twin Rifles that can fuse to create one long cannon, and 8 wing-mounted Fin Funnel-like weapons mounted on the wings.


















Constructing this beauty was not much of an issue as the parts were reasonably-sized (save for the red parts on the V-fin and the arm gauntlets, although the former had not yet become loose). Bandai also were kind enough to supply some beam effect parts for (4 of) its DRAGOON (*CoughStarcraftCough*) funnels. Could have had some more for its famous "Full Burst" pose... and maybe an action base...


















Now onto the quirks: this model lacks additional detail, especially on the beam rifles (which were just two halves of parts). The wing section also had problems, not just in detail but also articulation and stability. Proof of this: This suit already fell from atop my cabinet and broke both pegs that connect the wings to the central booster (which I had to quick-fix with spliced plastic from runners and a few drops of superglue).


















In the end though, I'm not complaining much about this kit. Even when it is just standing there, it still looks absolutely awesome with the daunting, but constrained proportions, the good stances I could pull off with it (which I could not do with Zero), and the fact that it tear through the latter part of SEED Destiny's storyline unscratched... Despite the fact that I hated its pilot for being an absolute douchebag...


Well two down, five to go...

4 comments:

  1. I saw my friend's HG Strike Freedom, IMO he looks a bit... how to say... "stumpy" (if you see according to width:height ratio, that is).

    Even the HG Strike Noir has better articulations (and proportionate).

    And the pilot... most folks would call him as Kira "Je5us" Yamato (hint: how many times he should have died but didn't?).

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  2. Haven't tried the Strike Noir yet, but will consider buying... maybe along with the Strike Rouge + IWSP...

    And as for 'Jebus' Yamato... well, at least he's not more of a douchebag than his so-called emo-headed timeline successor 'Lame S***' Asuka... XD

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  3. I agree with bd about the proportions of this SF. The model just looks... chubby. However, it is still better looking than its NG 1/100 counterpart is which has, by far, the most horrible proportion out of any 1/100 I've seen to date.

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  4. @ Z...

    The closest thing to seeing the NG 1/100 SF was through Dalong, and as afar as I see it, the only thing that annoys me was the removable ball joints in its crotch area...

    Still, I don't plan on moving up the scale... yet, so I'll have to settle with 1/144's.

    P.S. I'm quite honored by both your presence and insights. Many thanks... ^^

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