Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining + Decals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Detail shots (1/4)

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

Rear view with wings removed

The sole detail is relatively plain compared to the rest.

Outer armor removal shot

Internal frame

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Frame close-up shots. Compared to the intricate exterior detail, the frame feels relatively plain

Frame detail shots.
Compared to the intricate exterior detail, the frame feels relatively plain.

Surprisingly, the arms have no inner frame, so they can't be disassembled.

The shins and front of the thighs have the mechanical frame depicted in two layers.

Mold detail on the inside of the front/rear skirts

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - There's mold detail on the inside of the leg armor. This is something you rarely see on recent MG

There's mold detail on the inside of the leg armor.
This is something you rarely see on recent MGs, which goes to show just how much effort went into the MG Freedom Ver.2.0...

The frame's articulation is absolutely top-tier.

There's a joint that lets the ankle bend sideways.

A new hip joint structure has been introduced,
where the hip pins extend outward in two stages.

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - The hip pins themselves can also rotate downward, allowing for an amazingly free range of hip pos

The hip pins themselves can also rotate downward,
allowing for an amazingly free range of hip positioning.

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - The shoulder joints have also taken a step forward — not only can the shoulders swing forward, bu

The shoulder joints have also taken a step forward —
not only can the shoulders swing forward, but the entire shoulder joint and armor can slide forward as well.

A nice, stable kneeling pose.

Even that squat pose that not just anyone can pull off looks totally natural..

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Either way, the frame articulation is absolutely top-tier. (1/3)

Either way, the frame articulation is absolutely top-tier.

Cockpit hatch open

The wings can be deployed naturally in 5 stages.

Compared to the 1.0, the range of motion on each wing feels much wider.

A new gimmick has been added where the wing joint covers open up.

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - New gimmicks have also been added to the cannons inside the wings — the top and bottom covers ope

New gimmicks have also been added to the cannons inside the wings —
the top and bottom covers open up, and the barrel tip extends outward.

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - The railgun deployment gimmick isn't much different from the 1.0, but the detail has been upgrade

The railgun deployment gimmick isn't much different from the 1.0,
but the detail has been upgraded significantly.

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Using the holes in the beam sabers, they can be stored and secured firmly in the hands and side s

Using the holes in the beam sabers, they can be stored and secured firmly in the hands and side skirts.

The beam rifle grip moves in various directions.

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - The clear parts for the scope on top of the beam rifle tend to fall off easily. If possible, glui

The clear parts for the scope on top of the beam rifle tend to fall off easily.
If possible, gluing them in place would be better for your sanity..

The beam rifle can be stored by plugging it into the rear skirt.

The detail on the inside of the shield is also nicely done.

The hands are done with swappable fingers.

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - The ball joint connection at the wrist tends to be a bit loose, so it's best to push the hand in

The ball joint connection at the wrist tends to be a bit loose, so it's best to push the hand in as far as it'll go to keep it secure.

The stand that came with the MG Wing Zero Custom is included.

The stand works by resting the backpack on top of it, which gives it an excellent hold.

Joint parts are also included so you can mount it on a separately sold Action Base.

Pilot Kira Yamato figure.

The articulation is, as expected, absolutely top-tier.

The two-stage hip joint works well too.

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Since the hip joint can be pulled out sideways or downward, you can even raise the thigh up betwe

Since the hip joint can be pulled out sideways or downward,
you can even raise the thigh up between the front skirt and side skirt.

The thighs have sliding armor panels.

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - The ankle range of motion on the frame was quite impressive.. but once you put the armor on, the

The ankle range of motion on the frame was quite impressive.. but once you put the armor on, the ankle guards limit it to something pretty average. T_T

The chest armor slides forward.

The shoulder range of motion seems to be top-class in every way.

The rear skirt moves quite widely too, so it doesn't get in the way of posing at all.

The waist range of motion seems to be top-class as well.

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Oh no... The hip joint pins aren't very durable, and they can snap like this during posing.. Be c

Oh no...
The hip joint pins aren't very durable, and they can snap like this during posing..
Be careful when rotating the hip joints.. T_T

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Dynamic dual beam saber action pose (1/3)

Dynamic dual beam saber action pose

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Beam saber aerial pose (1/3)

Beam saber aerial pose

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Double beam saber action (1/4)

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Double beam saber action (2/4)

Double beam saber action

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Beam saber action pose with wings deployed (1/4)

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Beam saber action pose with wings deployed (2/4)

Beam saber action pose with wings deployed

Pose with two beam sabers combined

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Beam rifle aerial firing pose (1/3)

Beam rifle aerial firing pose

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Beam rifle two-handed firing pose (1/4)

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Beam rifle two-handed firing pose (2/4)

Beam rifle two-handed firing pose

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Charging pose with cannons and railguns deployed (1/6)

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Charging pose with cannons and railguns deployed (2/6)

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Charging pose with cannons and railguns deployed (3/6)

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Charging pose with cannons and railguns deployed (4/6)

Charging pose with cannons and railguns deployed

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Freedom's signature full weapons discharge pose. (1/6)

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Freedom's signature full weapons discharge pose. (2/6)

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Freedom's signature full weapons discharge pose. (3/6)

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Freedom's signature full weapons discharge pose. (4/6)

Freedom's signature full weapons discharge pose.

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 - Together with the MG Freedom 1.0. The 1.0 was once the top-tier kit everyone loved, but standing

Together with the MG Freedom 1.0.
The 1.0 was once the top-tier kit everyone loved, but standing next to the 2.0, it gets completely outclassed in an instant..

Together with the MG Aile Strike Gundam RM.

Straight build

Alongside the eternal protagonist First Gundam and the Zaku, Freedom Gundam is one of those kits you simply can't leave off any list of the most popular MGs ever. It held the top spot in MG sales for quite a while and was a real cash cow for Gunpla — and now, after 12 long years, it's finally been upgraded to Ver.2.0.

The MG Freedom Gundam 1.0, released back in 2004, was a massive hit for a number of reasons — it offered revolutionary articulation for its time, a spectacular wing deployment, and a just plain cool design. It also played a big role as something you could recommend without hesitation to beginners who didn't know much about Gundam — just as a flat-out "awesome-looking thing."

Since the original MG Freedom was already a high-quality bestseller with a stellar reputation, you can really feel that Bandai put more care into this Ver.2.0 upgrade than almost any other kit. As a result, it's packed with all sorts of new gimmicks, and a ton of effort has gone into the detail, articulation, joint strength, and feature recreation.

First off, in terms of exterior detail, it feels like the molding is more than three times as intricate as the 1.0 — so even the already-great MG Freedom 1.0 looks plain and bare standing next to the 2.0.. That means there's a massive amount of panel lining to do, but the payoff after you're done is equally impressive. The detail and molding are so dense it might even seem a bit excessive, but it's all done in a refined and premium way, so you can absolutely give it full marks for looking fantastic.

In terms of articulation, since the original 1.0 already showed such incredible quality, the Ver.2.0 doesn't necessarily feel like it has a dramatically wider range of motion. Instead, the fresh two-stage hip joint gimmick and the shoulder mechanism that moves the entire half of the torso forward give it a noticeably more premium feel to the joint structure. Thanks to that, the hips and shoulders at least definitely feel like a clear "upgrade" over the 1.0.

When it comes to joint strength, the verdict is a bit mixed. First of all, this kit uses no polycaps whatsoever — the joints are made entirely of plastic parts. This kind of polycap-free joint structure has been attempted several times before without particularly satisfying results, but the MG Freedom Ver.2.0 does feel a bit more stable than previous attempts, and joint stability during posing is very satisfying.

That said, it doesn't have the smooth feel of polycap joints — instead, it moves with a stiff, creaky feel, almost like handling a Kotobukiya kit. It doesn't move exactly as much as you intend, and there's a slight resistance to the joints that makes posing a bit awkward. For example, if you apply force to bend a leg to a 60-degree angle, the moment you let go, the resistance springs it back about 10 degrees — so you sometimes have to make fine adjustments to the plastic joints to get the pose you want.

Even if the joints are a bit stiff to work with, that's acceptable if the hold is solid — but the real issue is the durability of the joint parts. The reason Bandai keeps trying plastic joints as a replacement for polycaps is to minimize the loosening that comes from soft polycap material stretching over time. The trade-off, however, is that the strong friction can cause certain joints to break, and on this kit, the hip joints in particular are a concern.

As you can see from the review photos above, I ended up rotating the legs back and forth so many times during the shoot that at some point I heard a snap... and the hip joint broke T_T. In over 20 years of building countless MGs, this has never happened to me (well, except once with the MG Dunbine), so having it happen on a brand-new, top-of-the-line MG was genuinely shocking. The hip joint pin is a bit thinner than on other MGs due to the special hip joint gimmick, but I never expected it to actually snap like that. So quite a few of the review photos were taken while painstakingly holding the broken hip joint together with double-sided tape... Please be careful, folks T_T.

Also, the wrist ball joints are weirdly loose — way more than they should be. You have to push the wrists in really deep just to get them to stay, which is a stark contrast to all the other solid joints on the kit. Feels like a design oversight to me. The beam rifle's clear scope part also doesn't hold well and tends to fall off easily, so I'd recommend gluing it in place if you can.

There are also some newly added gimmicks on the wings — the wing deployment has been nicely upgraded to look more dramatic and impressive, and a new gimmick has been added where the center covers on the front and back of the wings open up. The cannon inside the wing also gets new functionality, with top and bottom covers that deploy and a barrel tip that extends. In this regard, the wings alone are upgraded to a level that's incomparable to the 1.0, and the action poses with the wings deployed look absolutely killer... ^^

To sum it up, this is clearly a kit that Bandai put serious effort into upgrading, befitting the most popular MG kit of all time. The proportions and detail have improved to an almost unrecognizable degree, and the new shoulder, hip, and wing gimmicks feel genuinely fresh. With polycaps gone, the overall joint stability is also much better than the 1.0, giving it excellent pose-holding ability. So MG Freedom Ver.2.0 looks set to join the bestseller ranks as well — but since the hip joint pin is thin and can break, anyone building this needs to be extra careful during posing. Don't just yank the legs around; hold both the hip joint and the crotch area with both hands and rotate slowly and gently. (...)

Metal replacement hip joint pins might come out as a separate purchase, or a revised version with an improved hip joint could appear down the line — but either way, it's a fatal flaw that can shatter the kit's otherwise fantastic image in an instant. As long as you're careful with the hip joint durability, there's really not much else to complain about, and it's clearly a top-tier kit that any Gunpla fan should build at least once :-)

MG ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★★	Seam lines? What are those?? Those disappeared a long time ago...
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★★	The 1.0 was great, but the 2.0 is naturally excellent too.
Proportions	★★★★★	True to being a Ver.2.0, the proportions hold up even just standing on the ground.
Articulation	★★★★★★	Universally recognized as among the best MGs out there.
Joint Strength	★★★★☆	Joint stability is solid without polycaps, but the hip joint issue keeps it from a perfect score.
Internal Frame	★★★★☆	No inner frame in the arms — the frame is a bit simple compared to the exterior.
Detail	★★★★★★★	Incomparably refined detail. Top-tier even among MGs.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★★★	Bonus points for the many new gimmicks implemented.
Parts Count / Price	★★★★★★	353 parts total. 78.4 parts per ¥1,000. Feels like great quality for the price.
Uniqueness	★★★★★★★★	They clearly set out to make it sell well — and they pulled it off.
Dalong's Point : 114 pts.

* The scoring system used only for MG has been carried over from First 1.0 twenty years ago,
so applying it uniformly even to the latest kits — whose quality has leveled up across the board — is honestly a bit ambiguous.
Since it's just my personal take and can't clearly capture the differences in kit quality over the years,
please don't read too much into it and just use it as a loose reference.
(For kits scoring above 100, take it to mean the quality is much better than kits of the past.)

MG Freedom Gundam Ver.2.0 | 2016. 4 | ¥4,900

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.