Head parts diagram

The internal frame and outer armor. Assembly and disassembly are relatively straightforward.
But, just like the Wing Zephyr, the hatches don't open at all. T_T

The camera eye section, just like several other PGs,
is dual-color injection molded using a system insert method.

Head front view

The way the head antenna parts fit together is a bit unusual.
The center pin of the yellow antenna passes through the white piece and plugs into the red one.

So the antennas are designed to be assembled together first before attaching them to the head.
With the old method of attaching them one by one into holes in the head, the antennas would often fall off,
but since they're all combined into one unit like this, they don't fall off individually. (Though I guess they'd fall off all at once then..?;;)

Head internal frame, front view

Head internal frame, rear view. The detail is quite complex.

You have to open up the back of the head and remove one internal frame piece to get the battery block out.

The battery block is secured with a screw — and it's the only place in the entire PG Strike that uses a screw;;
No screws are used anywhere on the joints or frame at all.

It uses a single CR1220 coin battery.

The LED block layout is as shown above — the LED is very short and the parts are small.
Compared to other PGs, it has the advantage of being simpler in construction and easier to assemble.

LED ON!
The top of the head and the eyes do light up, but I think it's a little dim.

Upper torso parts diagram

Lower torso parts diagram

Cockpit hatch open

The cockpit hatch-open mechanism is very systematic. Shown here in the stowed position inside the body.

When you open the blue cockpit cover on top and pull it forward, the cockpit slides out and down along with it.
At the same time, the monitor screen in front of the cockpit automatically rises up, allowing the pilot to get in and out.
Very PG-like — attention to detail in every little corner.

There's no separate hatch opening on the body itself, but the chest armor does slide forward and open up slightly.
Better than nothing, I suppose? ^^;

The shoulder joint moves freely forward, backward, up, and down. MGs can do this much too.

The sides are intentionally left open, giving you a peek at the internal cylinders.

The section on the side where the Armor Schneider is stored. Only the storage cover is molded in pure white runner plastic.

Rear bottom view

There are two separate openings on the rear of the backside.
The upper one is a slot for hanging weapons, but the lower one is...??
It looks like a port for plugging in an energy charging cable — so does that mean a launch pad with an energy cord is coming later?!?

There's a polycap slot built in for attaching future backpacks like the Aile pack.
It stays closed normally and only opens slightly when something is plugged in, so it stays hidden during regular display. Thoughtful!

Here's something unusual though — the entire rear cover is designed to open up.
It's not immediately obvious what it's for.

The detail on the inside of the rear cover is no joke either.
It looks like something is meant to be stored in there later — surely they're not planning to plug a gun barrel into the back like the Strike Dagger, right?;;
Or maybe it's for carrying the upcoming Sky Grasper on its back...
Either way, this is one very suspicious-looking hatch.

The waist can swivel slightly to the sides.

The waist also moves forward and backward, and the cylinder gimmick moves along with it.

The molding on the inside of the skirt is really excellent.

The front skirt is connected with a double-jointed polycap, giving it a wide range of motion.

The C-shaped part that connects the side armor isn't fixed in place — it moves freely up and down like that.

Looking from below you can see the movement more clearly,
the side armor and front skirt armor are both attached to the C-shaped part,
and that C-shaped mount is only connected to the body at the front.
Thanks to this unique structure, the skirt can move out of the way no matter how much the legs move,
which ultimately maximizes the legs' articulation significantly.

With all the outer armor stripped off

Below the shoulders, the side areas each have plated cylinders that move.

Clear parts are used in the chest duct area, but once it's all built up, you can barely see them

On top of the shoulder cylinder frame, there's an additional layer of internal frame to attach.

The mold on the mechanical frame below the shoulder. Seeing it in person, the level of detail is absolutely insane;;

The upper torso's internal frame is made up of a combination of multiple blocks.

The blocks for the arm and "lung" areas are attached to the torso core —
which is a shame because it ends up covering up the sleek mold on the sides of the torso core

The shoulder connection also uses a combination of both methods.

The hip area connecting the body to the legs uses a sturdy, heavy diecast part.

There are two ways to lock the diecast piece.
Normally it's fixed toward the rear as shown in the top photo, but you push the horizontal locking pin at the bottom backward,
and lower the pin that locks the diecast's position, and you can rotate the diecast 45 degrees forward.
After that, you lock the double pins back in reverse order.
By adjusting the leg connection this way, you can achieve poses like crouching more naturally.

Arm parts diagram

Shoulder parts diagram

Even just the shoulder on its own is quite a masterpiece.

The outer armor separates into roughly three pieces.

The internal frame. It feels a little rough around the edges.

The underside of the shoulder can also be lifted up when the hatch is opened.

The locking on the front and rear shoulder hatch panels is a bit weak.
Looks like the PG tradition of hatches that fall off easily lives on -_-;;
If you press them in firmly they won't fall off too easily, but you have to be gentle when opening the hatches.

There's a polycap hole on top of the shoulder that seems out of place. It's covered with a cap during normal display, but...
it's almost certainly there to secure the shoulder weapons for a PG Sword or Launcher version.

The arm section.

The combination of fragmented white and gray armor looks a little awkward at first, but it grows on you.
If anything, it actually makes the three-dimensional look stand out more...

Articulation-wise, it naturally bends all the way.

The internal frame and outer armor. The arms have no hatch opening. T_T

The internal frame. The detail is fairly refined.

There are no cylinders at all at the elbow joint. Probably because of the sliding armor, but it's a bit of a letdown.

Instead, there are two plated cylinders on the moving section of the forearm.

The forearm can also fold inward in a double-folding motion like that.

The mounting brackets on both sides of the forearm spread open to store the shield.
They'll likely be used for attaching weapons like the Sword Strike as well.

The forearm also rotates horizontally, and as it does, the triangular armor pieces twist slightly to follow along.
The triangular armor isn't fixed in place — one side is hooked on with a ring, and the two pieces are linked together with poly parts.
The range of movement is very narrow, but it's a great example of quite "human-like" articulation.

The back-of-hand armor is also split into two pieces, so it moves ever so slightly when you flex the fingers.
Honestly, it's a system where they've split up the armor on just about every conceivable spot and have each piece moving independently.

The wrist also moves forward and backward internally. (Seriously, is there ANY part that doesn't move?!)

The bicep armor slide mech.
The slide mech normally seen only on legs has been implemented on the arms as well.
When you bend the elbow, the rear bicep armor slides down,
and the front armor automatically pops forward slightly. (To give a little more room for movement)

Looking at the internal structure of the bicep armor.. that's how they're linked together.

One of the jaw-dropping highlights of the PG Strike Gundam — the ultra-multi-jointed one-piece fingers.
No less than 30gates make up this unprecedented one-piece part.

The back side has quite a few ejector pin marks from the mold..;;;

Cleaning them up after removing from the runner is a real grind...
And after you pull it off, the shape looks a bit weird, right?

First you bring the four fingers together.. then rotate the thumb 180 degrees,

Just slot it in like that and a complete hand shape is done.
It's impressive, but did they really need to go that far with such a complex one-piece part? Hmm...

Just like a human hand, there are moving parts on the inner side of the fingers too,
giving each finger a total of 4 joints. Incredible fingers..

Those fully articulated fingers are definitely one of the PG's biggest selling points!
The joints are stiff enough that they don't feel loose or pop out.

Leg parts too

Foot parts too

There are zero screws in the PG Strike Gundam's legs. The articulation is still plenty stiff though, and the reason for that is...

The hip joint connection. There's a polycap inside, and the pins that plug into the holes on both sides
have gear-tooth-shaped ridges that create friction, keeping things from going loose easily.

The knee joint connection. Also solid, using both polycap + gear-tooth friction at the same time.

Same goes for the ankle area. One side is secured with a polycap, and the gear-tooth ridges on the other side
are locked down firmly with a plastic part.

With about five or six key points all using this polycap + gear-tooth screw-style articulation system,
it strikes a clever balance — not overly stiff, yet holds position well.

Die-cast parts are used at the core of the legs.

The die-cast is placed inside the double-jointed knee section.
It's there to help with weight balance and to reinforce the areas that take the most stress during posing.

Internal Frame & External Armor

On either side of the knee area, there's yet another frame underneath the mechanical frame.
It's completely hidden once the mechanical frame is finished.. now that's craftsmanship.

Internal Frame Vs. Leg with armor on
(Contrast has been adjusted to make the frame's outline more visible)

Insane articulation.

The articulation limit in frame-only state. That's about as far as articulation can go.

Full articulation with armor on. The ankle bends ever so slightly less due to the armor panels, but everything else is the same.

On the internal frame, you can see small chrome cylinders on the thigh and heel areas.

There are also two small cylinders at the front of the ankle.

When the ankle bends side to side, the tendon-like(?) sections on either side of the calf move in sync.
It's a genuinely amazing articulation gimmick unlike anything I've seen in all my years of building Gunpla — though it doesn't quite come across well in photos.

Every time you bend the ankle forward or backward, the front and rear internal frame itself slides up and down.
The verniers at the back of the leg also move in a double-action,
and the small front and rear armor pieces covering the knee area move as well. (indicated by the blue arrows)
Move the ankle once and the mechanical frame itself dances naturally in all directions — front, back, and sides — just like muscles moving.

A look at the articulation with the armor on.
You can clearly see how the shin armor front and back moves through a wide range as the ankle moves.

The internal mechanism behind the front and rear articulation gimmick of the leg looks like this. Front and rear linked together.

The thigh slide might not seem that impressive since MG kits use it too, but
the PG Strike Gundam takes it a step further. It's not just the outer armor that moves — the entire internal mechanical frame
slides, with the front and rear armor panels sliding in opposite directions in a big offset motion.

The internal structure behind that thigh slide is explained by this double articulation gimmick.
Front and rear cross-sliding in opposite directions.

The thigh slide gimmick with armor on.
After sliding, you can clearly see the internal mechanical frame.

Superb knee articulation. It folds in 4 to 5 stages, splitting apart piece by piece.

The knee articulation on the mechanical frame. The knee itself automatically splits into 2 sections as it folds.

The ankle guards also move through a wide range. The ankle guard itself is pure white at the front and light gray at the fixed section —
different colors — and each part moves independently.

The ankle bends so aggressively that the knee guard nearly gets in the way.
You can really feel how much thought went into making sure the ankle guards don't eat into the articulation.

The upper and lower knee sections each rotate horizontally on their own, though only about 5 degrees.
Still, it does help the articulation a little.

The sole detail.

Hatch opening is only available on the sides of the knee.
Probably because of all the complex linked articulation gimmicks —
though it's a relief that at least that spot opens up.
The thruster at the back of the shin does open as well.

Along with the standard weapons — shield, beam rifle, and Armor Schneider — the big sword Grand Slam is also included.

Shield parts too

The panel lines are thicker and the detail is more refined.

The top white section being made to sit slightly raised is the same as the MG Aile.

The yellow tip of the shield has detail carried through to the inside as well.

The inner mold. Very detailed.

The handle section can move vertically up and down.

At the top inside of the shield, there's a clear visor like on the PG First Gundam.

Left is open, right is closed.

To mount it on the arm, you remove the mounting part and stand it up 90 degrees.
The lower handle may also be needed.

Open both clamps on the arm, then plug the shield's peg into the polycap hole on the arm.

Then close the arm clamps and it snaps in nice and secure.

In practice, connecting the shield from the back of the arm like that makes it wobble, so you need to hold the handle with the hand.

Alternatively, you can just rotate it and lock it in the direction of the clamp.
In other words, the shield can be mounted at a 90-degree angle, so just attach it however suits the pose.

Beam rifle parts too

The beam rifle itself is built up like a combination of several blocks.

The internal mechanical frame at the rear of the rifle. Great detail~

The internal mechanics at the front of the rifle.

Interestingly, the beam rifle's trigger is a separate moving part.
It doesn't move much, but still — a PG rifle with a working trigger!
Of course, the PG hand's grip strength isn't enough to actually pull the trigger, so you have to press it yourself.
Seems like it's just a fun little extra they threw in for us

The top scope uses a blue clear part, making it look even cooler.
The peg on the side of the barrel can be pulled out, and you can use it to hang the rifle on the hip.

The secondary handle is articulated via a polycap, so it moves firmly without any looseness.

Grand Slam parts.

Somewhat out of nowhere, the Grand Slam — an original weapon designed by the Gundam SEED character designer (not the mecha designer!) —
is included.

It measures 35.5cm. Ridiculously long~

Even the famously long big sword from the MG Perfect Zeong doesn't come close.

The blade has such a well-done chrome coating that it looks like a real knife. Feels like it could actually cut your hand..

The handle section

The handle section transforms in a weird way.
The blade part can rotate 180 degrees, and the elongated rod-like section can also slide up and down.

So it can be configured into two different handle shapes like this.

The Armor Schneider, which is essentially a dagger, oddly comes molded as a single solid piece.

The folding blade function is achieved by moving this single solid piece, but...
Was there really any reason to mold this as an expensive one-piece part??
It would've been better to split the parts and do the blade section in chrome or silver to match the design specs,
What was the point of designing it as a single solid piece while giving up on accurate color representation?