New Arrival - MG Strike Freedom

First thing I did this morning when I woke up was go to the Post Office because a package was waiting for me. The post lady comes back with this huge box with Japanese letters all over it. No wonder I paid an arm an a leg for shipping and handling, the thing was kind of heavy. I got home as soon as humanly possible and opened my box. Sorrounded by alot of Japanese newspaper were my 2 Mg Strike Freedom and 2 MG Strike Freedom Full Burst Mode.

Merry Christmas to me =)

Upon inspection of the kits I determined that packaging for both versions of the Strike Freedom were kind of big. The regular version of the MG Strike Freedom comes in a box of about the same size as the MG Nu Gundam which is not that big but its a little thicker than normal. The Full Burst Mode comes in a box the size of a Perfect Grade model, why Bandai chose this style of box is beyond anyones reasoning, the box is too big for the contents. However, the artwork on both versions is beautiful. The regular edition has the Strike Freedom striking a pose out in space. The Full Burts Mode shows the Strike Freedom glowing and ready to fire its guns, side cannons, and dragoons. The artwork is simply beautiful on the Full Burst Mode packaging.

MG Strike Freedom Full Burst Mode

The first thing that I wanted to examine was the gold plating on the Full Burst Mode since that is what the buzz has all been about. I had seen pictures of the gold plating on the net but you can't really see how bad it is until you see it in person. When I heard that it was going to be gold plated the first thing that came to mind was MG Hyaku Shiki gold plating, Strike Freedom's gold plating is not even shiny and not everything is gold plated. The other parts of the frame that are supposed to be golden are a dark yellowish brown.

MG Strike Freedom Regular Version

The regular release of the MG Strike Freedom comes with no gold plated parts. The parts are all that dark yellow brownish color. I dont remember the exact color of the gold parts on the 1/100 Strike Freedom but I don't recall them being this dark. Modelers such as myself who paint their kits will probably end up painting it with a different color. I'll use the same color I used on my 1/100 Strike Freedom which was Tamiya X-12 Gold Leaf.

A look inside the Full Burst Mode

Besides the gold plating, the Full Burst Mode comes with a poster, dragoon (funnels) effect parts, a GunplaA magazine, a Zeta Ver 2.0 looking manual, and a translucent blue stand. The stand is the same as the recently released Action Base. The dragoon effect parts consist of these thin plastic rods that bend and can be attached to the Action Base. The Action Base is great since is definetely the best stand out there for gunpla but the dragoon effect parts are terrible. The whole thing looks cheap when adding those effect parts. I recommend using a different method if you are going to pose your dragoons. (Am I the only one who hates the word dragoon? Why not use funnels?)

A look inside the regular version

As far as model goes the MG Strike Freedom looks great and is well designed. All of the proportions are right and the posability looks promising. The truth is that we really didn't need the Full Burst Mode version. Its a shameless attempt by Bandai to cash in on the popularity of the Strike Freedom. The gold plating was disappointing and the magazine is more of a Seed catalog. The magazine should have had at least modeling tips and what tools to use for amateur modelers. I mean without the gold plating everything else would have fit in the regular release box. We didn't even need that huge box!!!! It might have been better to just have a limited 1st run and charge the same. If you collect kits like me get the Full Burst Mode as it was released in limited quantities. I remember missing out on the 1/100 1st run of the Destiny with the stand, I got it later from Ebay but I paid dearly for it. If you are going to build a MG Strike Freedom go with the regular edition and save yourself 2000 JPY.