Special : MG Freedom Gundam vs. MG Aile Strike Gundam
The ultimate articulation king MG Aile Strike vs. the new MG Freedom — a head-to-head showdown!
Let's go!
Overall, the Freedom has more volume. That ridiculous Freedom open mode...
First off, both of them have arms and legs that fold com-plete-ly! Extreme articulation!
Kneeling pose~ The Freedom can get its knee all the way down to the floor. One step above the Aile Strike!
Feet flat on the ground, legs spread... Ankle articulation is about the same level on both.
Legs spread wide~ The Freedom can spread even further once you move the side weapons out of the way.
Shoulder articulation is pretty much identical.
One thing to note here. The MG Aile and MG Freedom use the same polycap parts for the backpack weapon connection points.
And the connection point on the rear end for attaching to a stand is also completely identical in structure...! So then?
The birth of the Aile Freedom Gundam. The Aile pack fits right into the Freedom just like that.
Actually looks pretty decent together...?
Obviously, the MG Aile's launch pad can be shared too. (There's no place to plug in the cord, though.)
Since you just set it on top, pretty much any MS of a similar size can use it...
Since the stand connection point on the rear end is the same, you can use the MG Aile's base stand directly with the MG Freedom.
The MG Aile can use the Freedom's base stand just the same!
But... here's where the MG Aile gets the short end of the stick...
The Aile pack can plug into the Freedom, but the Freedom's wings can't plug into the Strike. T_T
The holes themselves are compatible, but because of the curved shape of the Strike's back, the Freedom's wings just won't go in.
Universally recognized as top-tier Gunpla — the articulation kings, MG Aile and Freedom.
The MG Aile Strike earned a ton of praise for its top-class articulation, proportions, and detail, and following that, the second main unit, MG Freedom, has also been released with equally impressive quality.
First of all, these two share a similar concept in terms of style. Sleek proportions, inner frame, solid joints and top-tier articulation, and a more imposing weapons pack... Both have excellent articulation, but as you can see in the photos, the MG Freedom feels like it has a slightly wider range of motion in the leg area.
In particular, the MG Freedom is the only Gunpla where you can bend the ankles forward and kneel down with the knees actually touching the floor. Sure, even PGs can do a kneeling pose with the feet stretched back, but being able to fold the legs so the knees touch the floor while the feet are bent forward and planted on the ground — that's truly top-tier articulation. Amazing... And the legs on the MG Freedom also spread a little wider to the sides.
Most notably, the MG Aile has been widely criticized for its weak ankle armor and ankle joints, and the Freedom cleverly addresses that with a special ball joint design. That's why it's really hard to find any faults with the MG Freedom. Either way, the MG Freedom feels like it quietly fixed even the shortcomings of the highly praised MG Aile, making it feel just a notch more refined overall.
Purely personally, I do prefer the Strike's design over the Freedom's. Objectively, in terms of quality, the MG Freedom edges it out by a slim margin, but it's clear that both are truly excellent kits. The MG SEED series got a lot of flak when MG versions came out in the same scale so soon after the No Grade 1/100 releases, but it seems Bandai knew exactly how to silence those complaints. ^^