Special: Comparison with Non-Grade 1/100
Straight build + panel lining + decals
The 1/100 Non-Grade Aile Strike Gundam came out in December 2002, and then less than a year later in November 2003, the MG Aile Strike dropped as well. People saw it coming, but there was a lot of talk about whether it was too soon — the Non-Grade 1/100 was already pretty decent quality, so rushing out an MG felt a bit hasty. Anyway, it's only natural we'd want to compare the two, right?
Note
In all photos, the left is the Non-Grade 1/100, and
the right is the MG.
Just so you know!
Don't mix them up! ^^
1. Parts Comparison
Head parts. The details are different but there's not much else separating them.
Torso. The MG side is way more complex with its inner frame and cockpit hatch implementation.
Arms. Again, those inner frames...
The legs too — the MG's inner frame really stands out.
The weapons don't look all that different.
The Aile pack is where the biggest difference shows. The MG's precision, detail, and size are just overwhelming!
2. Section-by-Section Comparison Shots
Head section. The overall style isn't drastically different, but there are detail differences here and there.
The head antenna in particular gives the MG a sharper look.
The MG head is slightly smaller... and the MG's shoulders being smaller is really obvious.
If you look closely at the shoulder connection on the MG torso, you can see the shoulders are separated out to allow up/down and front/back movement.
Arms. The MG shoulders got a lot smaller, but the biceps got bigger ^^;
The overall shape is pretty similar, but the proportions and sizes have shifted here and there.
The Non-Grade has a solid one-piece hand, while the MG has poseable rock-paper-scissors fingers.
Leg comparison. The MG side came out looking a lot more slender~. The feet got smaller too.
The knee area on the MG got noticeably slimmer as well. The legs are slimmed down all around.
The foot size difference is especially striking... the MG feet almost feel too small.
And as a result, the ankle guards got smaller too.
Front torso comparison. Similar, yet subtly changed in ways that make them look completely different.
The MG chest has a more angled slope... and the cockpit hatch opens up.
The panel lining positions and details are different... the side skirts on the MG are thinner and longer.
And that black bit in the middle is noticeably bigger on the MG (-.-;;)
Rear torso comparison. The MG has great detail even in spots you can't easily see, and the overall slimmed-down feel is there too.
The sole detail is, as expected, superior on the MG.
3. Full Body Comparison Shots
Overall, the MG design is much slimmer compared to the Non-Grade. Almost to the point of looking a bit lean...?
Even though it's the same mobile suit, there's literally not a single part that's completely identical. The design concept changed quite a bit.
Joints bent to their maximum. The articulation difference is massive.
The MG Strike really does show off the best articulation in all of Gunpla..!!!
4. Aile Pack Comparison
The MG Aile pack's upper wings are enormous. It's almost embarrassing to compare them.. ^^; It's basically a full-on airplane~
The Non-Grade uses stickers for the red on the upper wings, but the MG uses separately molded red and
black parts combined together for a clean finish. (Well, it's MG, so that's only to be expected..!)
The MG side has a much larger overall volume.
The MG's lower wing section even has separate parts for the inside of the wing grooves. (the black areas)
The MG Aile pack has the upper and lower center sections as separate parts, so the top and bottom move independently.
The MG Aile pack's upper wings can also be folded down.
5. Weapons Comparison
Shield. The detail looks similar, but the decals make the MG side look a lot more impressive.
The internal molding is far more refined on the MG side.
Even looking at the top of the shield, you can feel that the MG's detail is just more refined.
The beam rifles are pretty similar... the MG is slightly larger and has decals applied, that's about it.
6. Fully Armed Aile Strike Comparison Shots
Those MG Aile pack wings are huge, as expected. Looks like it could actually fly, right? ^^;
Both are back-heavy, so you inevitably have to spread the legs back a bit...
Both shields are mounted on the arm the same way, but the shield height is quite different...
7. Overall Assessment
As you can see from the photos, the most noticeable thing about the MG Aile Strike compared to the Non-Grade 1/100 is that it's been made significantly slimmer and more slender overall. And along with that, pretty much every single detail across the whole kit has been tweaked. The MG Aile pack being massively bigger is immediately eye-catching. Especially when you're trying to fit it in a display case — it really gets in the way -.-;
That said, the MG is absolutely an MG — it's a top-tier kit that earns that title. The Non-Grade 1/100 is decent quality in its own right, but the gap between it and the MG is pretty significant. The Non-Grade is ¥2000 and the MG is ¥3800 — nearly double the price — but when you consider the MG's incredible articulation, inner frame, the larger and more refined Aile pack, improved detail, and the included launch pad, the price difference feels totally justified. And the decals included exclusively with the MG are really quite polished~.
B-but... the Non-Grade 1/100 is absolutely not lacking in proportions if you build it, add panel lining, or paint it up for display. In fact, sometimes the Non-Grade's chunkier, more solid look can actually look cooler than the MG, which — while refined — can come across as almost too slim and a bit frail. That's a matter of personal taste and feel, of course, but once you've built both and stand them side by side... it honestly gets hard to say which one is better. ^^; That just goes to show that the Non-Grade 1/100 is clearly a well-crafted kit in its own right, at least in terms of style.
After doing this detailed comparison, you might come away feeling like there are a lot of differences — and yet somehow they don't look all that different — and then when you look at the detail and quality the MG seems clearly superior — but then the style makes you go "hmm..." — and in the end, when you start factoring in value for money and all that, your head might just get even more confused about which one is actually better. (That's exactly how I feel -_-;)
Anyway, these two are the same mobile suit that came out around the same time, yet they're quite different. The final call is yours — take a good look at the photos and decide for yourself.