1. Introduction
The long-awaited 2004 brought us the 9th PG — the Strike Gundam. When word got out that the Strike was going to be released, plenty of people were probably fuming with a "Why that one of all things!" reaction, but from a market standpoint, the Strike was really the most obvious choice. Right before the SEED fever died down, and just as the new series Destiny was kicking off... the timing was actually spot-on.
Before release, there was a lot of debate over what direction the PG Strike would take. Like the MG, it seemed likely to focus on articulation, and the smart money was on it being closer in concept to the PG Wing Zero Custom than the PG RX-78. And since the PG Wing Zero Custom had already stirred up quite a bit of controversy over its quality, people weren't exactly looking at the PG Strike with the warmest eyes. Would it go the PG RX-78 route with flashy hatch-open gimmicks, spring suspension, and a solid back-to-basics approach? Or would it go the Wing Zero Custom route — hatches locked shut, loaded up with screws and die-cast, all-in on articulation?
Well, once you pop the lid, it turns out to be a clever blend of both. You get a decent hatch-open feature, some die-cast parts thrown in, and the whole thing is tuned for maximum articulation. The biggest highlight of the PG Strike is its "incredibly human-like" linked joints and range of motion. And the results of that experiment produced something truly remarkable!
2. Proportions / Styling
First off, the proportions follow the exact same concept we saw when going from the 1/100 No Grade to the MG — slim and lean, built to push articulation to the limit. One interesting thing is that almost none of the outer armor panels are large pieces; nearly everything is broken up into tiny fragments, which gives the kit a very distinctive look. (The key thing, of course, is that each of those little fragments moves on its own..) The proportions — with all those meticulously detailed little armor bits layered over a slender frame — give off way more presence and charisma than you'd expect.
With something like the PG First Gundam or PG Wing Zero Custom, a quick glance at a photo might leave you unsure of the grade. But the PG Strike has that certain something that makes you go "yep, that's definitely a PG!" the moment you see it. The biggest hallmark of a PG is that solid, imposing presence — that strong sense of "existence" — and the PG Strike has this incredibly intricate detail that you just know couldn't be pulled off at anything below PG grade. The PG Strike's proportions are truly unique — sleek yet massive, with a powerful sense of precision. It's kind of like looking at a sculpture by Michelangelo or Leonardo da Vinci.
The molded colors are divided up very cleanly, as you'd expect from a PG — but the Armor Schneider, which unnecessarily comes as a single solid piece, has blade colors that feel a bit off. Interestingly, the white outer armor comes in two shades — gray and pure white — but they actually work together surprisingly well, and somehow even enhance the sense of depth. The surface has almost no sink marks and the molding quality is good, though unfortunately the outer armor panels don't use undergates... (Oddly enough, the PG MkII is the only one with undergates — strange, isn't it?)
3. Articulation
With the release of the MG Strike, Gunpla fans started to feel like the PG Wing Zero Custom's articulation — which had once been impressive — wasn't really all that special anymore. The MG Strike's articulation was so outstanding that it basically rewrote the rulebook, and a lot of people probably figured the PG Strike wouldn't be able to top it. That's partly why expectations for the PG Strike weren't all that high. I'd imagine that put quite a bit of pressure on the PG Strike development team.
After watching the pre-release articulation video for the PG Strike, I did get the feeling it would be better than the MG — but after actually building it, my conclusion was... "The MG Strike looks embarrassingly outclassed." As you can see in the photos, the articulation is genuinely jaw-dropping.
There's a good reason why the outer armor is broken up into so many small pieces. Each fragment has its own range of motion, and as the body moves, they shift and flex like tendons in a human body. The ankle section in particular is breathtaking — the armor and frame interlock in a physically faithful way no matter which direction you move it. Rotate the leg around the ankle and the surrounding parts each dance into exactly the right position in sequence. It's almost unsettling how well it works...
The sliding armor on the thighs is a given at this point, but it's a step above what you get on the PG Wing Zero Custom or MG Strike. It's not just the outer armor panels that slide — the inner mechanical frame itself slides too, and the front and back move in opposite directions, which really amps up the dynamic feel. The knee joint folds up in roughly 4 stages and collapses completely, which is impressive in its own right. The sliding armor isn't limited to the legs either — it's also applied to the bicep area of the arms, with a unique setup where the back of the bicep slides and the front moves forward and backward. And the fingers, which are molded as a single solid piece, feel almost arrogantly over-engineered — like the kit is showing off just how capable it is. (See Arm review photos)
By comparison, the waist's forward/backward and side-to-side movement isn't dramatically different from other PGs. The shoulder's up/down and forward/backward range is also similar to the MG. That said, the PG Strike has another unique articulation trick in the die-cast part that connects the upper and lower body to the legs. You can selectively lock the leg connection point in either a rear or forward position. (See Body review photos) This is mainly for pulling off high-difficulty poses like squatting — moving the connection point forward gives you a much more natural crouching pose. Great for sitting on the toilet, smoking a cigarette, and so on...;;
The skirt section on the lower body is also cleverly done — rather than simply attaching skirt armor panels to the four sides of the lower body, the mounting points themselves are connected via special C-shaped parts. (See Body review photos) As a result, every time the legs move, the skirts get pushed and pulled around, dodging out of the way to avoid interfering with the legs' range of motion as much as possible. This is yet another genuinely fresh approach.
The hands also use an unprecedented single-piece construction, with the entire hand molded as one part. On top of articulation at every finger joint, there's an extra joint segment built in, which is unusual. In practice, once you put the hand armor on, that extra joint barely moves — but I still want to give them credit for the attempt to get closer to the actual structure of a human hand.
Anyway, thanks to the inner frame and all those small armor pieces being structured so much closer to the human body, the PG Strike's articulation delivers a sense of wonder that's several levels above what you felt when the MG Strike first came out. Even if you're the type who just displays your kits and thinks articulation doesn't really matter — once you actually get your hands on the PG Strike, you won't be able to help but be amazed by how incredible it feels to pose.
4. Joint Strength
Unlike other PGs, the PG Strike uses absolutely no screws for frame assembly or securing. The one screw that is included is just for holding the mercury battery in the head... (and even that isn't strictly necessary;;) I was a bit worried about the lack of screws given the kit's size, but after finishing the build, it doesn't seem to be a problem at all.
The PG Wing used tightening screws to adjust joint strength, which sounds great on paper since you can dial in the tension yourself. In practice though, the screws would gradually loosen with repeated posing and needed constant readjustment, and they tended to end up either way too stiff or way too loose — there wasn't much middle ground.
Instead of screws, the PG Strike uses a unique dual-structure for most of its major joints. One pin on each side of the joint goes into a tight poly-cap, while the other pin has a ratchet-style friction section that plugs into a plastic part. The result is a joint that combines smooth-but-firm poly-cap movement with click-style plastic movement at the same time. Joint strength is excellent overall — not too stiff, not too loose, with a great feel for both posing and holding position. Handle it in person and the joint strength is genuinely impressive; action poses lock in solidly. You can tell a lot of care went into the joints, as you'd expect from a kit with top-tier articulation. No other PG at this size has stood this upright and steady in standard display mode.
One of the long-standing weak points of PGs — floppy ankles — has also been cleanly resolved here by boldly dropping the ankle spring suspension system. PGs like the Wing and Zaku, which don't have ankle spring suspension, have solid ankles, while the kits that do use springs tended to feel wobbly and unsecured at the ankle. The PG Strike ditches the springs in favor of a multi-directional ankle-leg joint system that works in all directions, and it feels far better than any spring suspension. Most importantly, it holds firm and steady.^^
5. Hatch Open
A lot of people probably feel that hatch-open features are the real highlight of any PG. That's likely why some folks couldn't get into the PG Wing Zero Custom at all — no hatch-open, no interest. The PG Strike was designed with extreme articulation in mind, similar to the PG Wing, but hatch-open features have been cleverly worked in here and there throughout the kit. The actual number of areas that open isn't huge, but it blends naturally with the Strike's characteristic design of having a lot of inner frame exposed on the outside, giving it a very distinctive look. The hatches only cover the shoulders, a bit of the chest, and a bit of the legs — but when you throw everything open and stand it up in full hatch-open mode, the impact is considerably more impressive than you'd expect.
6. Inner Frame
The inner frame detail on the PG Strike is hands-down the best of any PG to date. Every nook and cranny is packed with detail, even in areas you'd never see, layered two and three times over — and the quality of each detail is remarkably fine and dense. The craftsman-level dedication to adding crisp detail even in areas that will never be visible is enough to make you feel like you're actually building a real piece of machinery.
The fact that every single piece of outer armor can be removed is another great feature, and it's also genuinely easy to take off. You might think armor that comes off easily would be loose and fall off on its own — but these panels won't budge no matter what action pose you put the kit in during normal use, yet pull on them with the right amount of force in the right spot and they pop right off. It's a great example of having it both ways.
7. Weapons
The weapons include the standard rifle, shield, and Armor Schneider, plus a new weapon called the Grand Slam. The rifle has two outer armor panels that can be removed, and the rifle itself has quite impressive inner mechanical frame detail. The shield gets more complex panel lines for added refinement, and features like the sliding window structure are faithfully implemented at the level you'd expect from a PG.
The Grand Slam — a massive sword that was somewhat unexpectedly added to the PG — was actually designed not by a mechanical designer, but by Hirai Hisashi, the character designer for Gundam SEED. That said, Hirai had previously designed some pretty cool mecha like Dancouga, so it makes sense that he was tapped for this. The Grand Slam is about 36cm long, which is impressively large, and the chrome coating is excellent — at a glance it genuinely looks like a real, sharp blade. The style is solid and it's a pretty cool weapon overall. There's also the added bonus that the blade section and the shaft section are articulated, letting you configure the sword into two different forms. There are even custom builds out there that combine two Grand Slams to create a massive sword reminiscent of the Astray Blue Frame Second L's giant blade — but it's not as simple as just having two of them; some modification is required. (Unless you just want to glue them together, I suppose;;)
The Armor Schneider is molded as a single solid piece — and again, whether that was really necessary is a bit questionable. The detail level isn't dramatically different from the MG version.
8. Minor Gripes
The PG Strike isn't without its flaws. It's certainly the most polished PG released so far, but if you pick through the nitpicks, here's what you'll find.
▷ Lower body connection die-cast part
The die-cast torso-to-leg connector can be repositioned about 45 degrees forward or backward, which greatly improves the range of articulation — but it does come with a problem. When locked in the rear position, the double-lock mechanism holds it quite firmly, but after shifting it forward for crouching poses and the like, it just won't stay locked. Since the force acts in the same direction as the two locking points below, there's basically no way to keep it secured. (See photos) It would've been nice if they'd put just a little more thought into making it lock properly in both positions.
Die-cast locked in the rear position.
The direction the die-cast wants to move is perpendicular to the locking part's range of motion,
and there's an additional locking pin below — so it holds nice and firm.
Die-cast locked in the forward position.
Since the direction the die-cast wants to move and the direction of all the locking parts are perfectly aligned,
there's nothing to brace against and it simply won't stay locked.
▷ Shoulder Armor
Carrying on the PG "tradition" (?)... the large front and rear hatches on the shoulders fall off pretty easily. The structure does look like it'd be tricky to keep them on, and sure enough, when you try to open the hatches, the hinge part and the white hatch piece separate way too easily. Gluing them down means you'll have trouble detaching them later, but leaving them as-is means you have to be careful every time you open the hatches... yeah. Thankfully they almost never fall off when just left closed, but there's really no need to keep this "tradition" going;;;
On the flip side, the leg hatches don't fall off at all. The opening direction and the locking point are set at a 90-degree angle, so they absolutely won't pop out. It'd be really great if all the hatches were secured this way...
▷ Weapon Grip
Another PG "tradition" (;;;) — the finger grip strength isn't bad, but the connection between the palm peg and the rifle is weak. The slightest movement and it just pops right out, so you have to handle it veeeery carefully. It's actually worse than the 1/60 RD Strike in this regard. The shield attachment is a bit iffy too — when you bend it 90 degrees and connect it to the arm, the shield wobbles around too much. You do have to hold the lower grip with the hand as well, but either way it feels pretty shaky compared to the tight fit of the rest of the body. The Grand Slam is also awkward to hold, making dramatic action poses pretty much impossible — it's more like just barely resting it in the hand. Given the large scale and weight, it's not an easy problem to solve, but hopefully they'll pay more attention to this in future kits.
▷ Arm Popping Off
There's one spot that tends to pop off noticeably more than others during posing — the arms. (See photos below) They have a built-in joint that bends in two stages, but bend it a little too far and it pops off fairly often. It's fine if you bend it carefully, but it came loose on me enough times that I had to keep reattaching it. A bit of a bummer when everything else feels so solid...
▷ Torso-to-Leg Connection
The die-cast torso-to-leg connection feels stiff at first, but after twisting it around repeatedly for various action poses, it's loosened up a bit. I pulled the legs off to check, and found that the polycap had been ground down by the serrated teeth on the die-cast leg pin (which are there to increase friction), leaving powder residue inside. Standing it up on its own without any backpack is absolutely no problem, but when it's carrying something big like the Aile pack, there's a slight chance it could end up doing the "belly flop" (;;). I do wish it had stayed a bit stiffer, but looking at the PG Strike as it is right now, it's not really a problem area. Just me being overly cautious.
▷ Weak LED
The single LED used for the eyes is pretty dim. Probably the weakest light output of any PG kit. It might not be the most important thing, but it's something that stuck with me.
▷ Knee Joint
When you bend the knee sharply, something like a cylinder pin gets pulled out from inside, and I found that it pops out unexpectedly fairly often while bending the leg. It's fine if you bend it slowly and carefully, but it came out on me enough times that I had to push it back in. A minor annoyance...
▷ Armor Schneider Color Separation
Seriously, why on earth did they make the Armor Schneider as a single solid piece?? It doesn't even look particularly good as a solid piece, and on top of that, coming out as one solid chunk of black plastic means the color separation is completely off. The blade part really should've been done in silver-gray or chrome. Totally baffling.
▷ Iffy Foot Contact
The PG Strike has a much slimmer and sleeker build compared to other PG kits, and the feet are correspondingly small. Small feet do tend to make standing and action poses feel a little unstable, but in practice it doesn't seem to actually be a problem "because the feet are small." The bigger issue is that the foot contact with the ground feels a bit off. The sole is divided into two sections — the front and the rear heel — and it just doesn't feel like they sit perfectly level. In other words, when you stand it up, it doesn't feel like the feet are firmly planted on the ground; it's more like the soles aren't quite flat and there's a slight gap. Of course, it's never going to topple over because of this, but there's just something vaguely unsatisfying about it when you're trying to stand it up.
9. The highest quality kit in Gunpla history.
Just as the title says — this is the most precise, detailed kit with the best articulation gimmicks and sturdiest joints ever made. In terms of overall kit quality, it's the pinnacle of all Gunpla currently in existence. It sits at the very top of Bandai's ever-advancing engineering skills, which have been pushing the limits more and more over the past few years. Especially from the perspective of the "feel" that modelers experience while building, this kit is genuinely thrilling. The perfectly fitting parts and intricate articulation gimmicks are something you simply can't fully appreciate just by looking at photos like these.
Of course it's not absolutely perfect, and the minor flaws I listed above are there — but it's clearly the most perfect kit even among PG kits, which are already considered close to perfect. If you're not a fan of the non-Universal Century setting, this mech might not appeal to you much, but purely in terms of kit quality, it's something I'd recommend to anyone at least once. The one downside, though, is that after building the PG Strike, other kits might start looking a little lacking by comparison.
Anyway, this was a PG I personally didn't have huge expectations for, but once I actually built it, it turned out to be a masterpiece that exceeded my expectations. ^^ I really hope future Universal Century kits continue to come out at this level of quality.
Bonus
: 1/60 RD Strike Weapon System vs. PG Strike Comparison
PG Strike Gundam | 2004.11 | ¥14,000
AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.
