Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining + Seals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Full body shot (1/7)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Full body shot (2/7)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Full body shot (3/7)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Full body shot (4/7)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Full body shot (5/7)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Full body shot (6/7)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Full body shot (7/7)

Full body view

Upper body

That handsome head

Legs

The gorgeous wing unit.

Dragoons detached

Body only, with wings and dragoons removed

Back and rear legs.
Hard to see unless you remove the wings.

Wings open!

Dragoon system deployed.

Seeing it in person, it's dazzling in true PG fashion.. @_@

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - The stand attaches to the underside of the backpack. The backpack-to-body connection is solid, so

The stand attaches to the underside of the backpack.
The backpack-to-body connection is solid, so stability doesn't seem to be an issue.

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - That said, the stand isn't super tall, so out of the three locking angles available, only the midd

That said, the stand isn't super tall,
so out of the three locking angles available, only the middle position seems to work properly.
Meaning it's pretty tough to display it at any other angle..

Wings fully open with all dragoons removed.
Even the inner frame looks spectacular..

Cockpit hatch open

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - The gimmick of rotating the railguns to the back and mounting the beam rifles on either side is fa

The gimmick of rotating the railguns to the back and mounting the beam rifles on either side is faithfully reproduced.

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - The beam rifles lock into the palms via a peg system, and what's interesting is that the peg is po

The beam rifles lock into the palms via a peg system,
and what's interesting is that the peg is positioned toward the back of the palm.
Fortunately the hold is decent enough, so carrying a single beam rifle doesn't seem to be a problem.
However, after combining the two beam rifles in Strike Freedom's signature configuration, it's just too heavy to hold in one hand and gets a bit tricky to keep in place.

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - There are actually three peg holes in the palm — that's because the peg sits toward the back of th

There are actually three peg holes in the palm — that's because the peg sits toward the back of the hand.
The top hole is used when mounting to the railgun, and the bottom holes are for the left and right hands respectively.

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - 1/60 Kira Yamato figure. Maybe it's the larger scale, but it's noticeably more detailed than the 1

1/60 Kira Yamato figure.
Maybe it's the larger scale, but it's noticeably more detailed than the 1/100 version.

Outer armor removed

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Half the armor removed. (1/4)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Half the armor removed. (2/4)

Half the armor removed.

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Full golden inner frame shots. The entire frame is realized perfectly as you'd expect from a PG, a

Full golden inner frame shots.
The entire frame is realized perfectly as you'd expect from a PG,
and even the side railguns have their own frame.

Upper body.

Head

Arms and shoulders.
The plated parts scattered throughout really add some nice accents.

Back and backpack

Back frame with the backpack removed

Thighs and knees where the plated parts really shine

It's actually a pleasant surprise that they put a frame inside the railguns too!

Leg frame with some great sculpting.

Articulation on the bare frame is PG-grade as expected.
Though the arms don't fold completely..

As explained in detail in the partial review,
the hip joints move independently on each side.

Personally, I really like the waist joint that locks in at set intervals.

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Action Poses (1/5)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Action Poses (2/5)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Action Poses (3/5)

Action pose

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - The kneeling pose is doable, but.. even if you lower the hip joints down, you won't get that kind

The kneeling pose is doable, but..
even if you lower the hip joints down, you won't get that kind of pose unless you spread the legs wide apart.

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Kneeling pose. Again, since the thighs catch on the skirt frame and can't come all the way up, pos

Kneeling pose.
Again, since the thighs catch on the skirt frame and can't come all the way up,
posing is a bit of a struggle..

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Articulation. The thigh slide gimmick has a pretty impressive range of motion and is fun to watch,

Articulation.
The thigh slide gimmick has a pretty impressive range of motion and is fun to watch,
but it's still a little disappointing that the arms don't fold all the way.

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Beam rifle firing pose after deploying the Dragoons (1/5)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Beam rifle firing pose after deploying the Dragoons (2/5)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Beam rifle firing pose after deploying the Dragoons (3/5)

Beam rifle firing pose after deploying the Dragoons

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Full barrage pose with double beam rifles + double railguns after deploying the Dragoons. (1/5)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Full barrage pose with double beam rifles + double railguns after deploying the Dragoons. (2/5)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Full barrage pose with double beam rifles + double railguns after deploying the Dragoons. (3/5)

Full barrage pose with double beam rifles + double railguns after deploying the Dragoons.

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Hong Kong noir-style pose.. (1/4)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Hong Kong noir-style pose.. (2/4)

Hong Kong noir-style pose..

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Pose with the two beam rifles combined (1/5)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Pose with the two beam rifles combined (2/5)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Pose with the two beam rifles combined (3/5)

Pose with the two beam rifles combined

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Double beam saber pose (1/6)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Double beam saber pose (2/6)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Double beam saber pose (3/6)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Double beam saber pose (4/6)

Double beam saber pose

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Beam saber + beam shield action pose (1/4)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Beam saber + beam shield action pose (2/4)

Beam saber + beam shield action pose

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Double beam saber pose with the Dragoons not fully opened (1/5)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Double beam saber pose with the Dragoons not fully opened (2/5)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Double beam saber pose with the Dragoons not fully opened (3/5)

Double beam saber pose with the Dragoons not fully opened

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - A pretty cool kneeling pose (1/4)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - A pretty cool kneeling pose (2/4)

A pretty cool kneeling pose

The wings are so huge that they take up an enormous amount of display space..

The same pose with the eye LED parts lit up

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Together with the 1/60 Lightning Edition Freedom. It feels just like comparing a No Grade to an MG

Together with the 1/60 Lightning Edition Freedom.
It feels just like comparing a No Grade to an MG.
The PG is noticeably larger overall, and looks much more slender and finely detailed.

The wings too are just overwhelmingly bigger and wider on the PG side.

PG Strike Freedom Gundam - Together with the MG Freedom. The style and proportions look very similar.

Together with the MG Strike Freedom.
The style and proportions look very similar.

Together with its predecessor, the PG 00 Gundam.

Hey, are they planning to give us a PG as a year-end gift every year now? Following last year, this December we got another brand-new mold — the Strike Freedom (or "Streedom" for short) gets the PG treatment. Honestly, picking the right kit was probably more of a headache than the actual development for the PG lineup, but the mobile suit itself seems like a reasonably solid choice in terms of marketability and commercial appeal.

To sum up the overall feel of the kit first... it definitely shows the clean quality you'd expect from a new PG release, but it feels more like a really well-made giant MG than an actual PG. The molds are densely packed but a bit shallow, so the three-dimensional feel of the inner frame feels slightly lacking compared to older PGs (more like an MG feel, to be precise...). There's no hatch-open gimmick aside from the cockpit, and the proportions feel almost identical to the MG Freedom.

Of course, the sheer number of parts, the satisfying build experience you get from a large-scale precision kit — both the sweeping grandeur and the intricate detail — and the full-body golden frame made up of three different color tones definitely give it a feel that's a notch above MG. That said, overall it's a bit of a departure from the classic definition of PG — in some ways it feels like a modernized take on the PG grade...? My personal impression is that it sits somewhere right between PG and MG in terms of feel.That's how it comes across.

● Notable Features & Strengths

When you think PG, the first thing that comes to mind is: as the top-tier grade, there should be something you just can't find in an MG!

First off, by combining the signature golden frame in three different color tones, they've given it a different level of class compared to MG — even though it's the same full-body frame concept. With the MG, they released a special Full Burst Mode version with some partially coated joints, but the PG takes it a step further with two different types of plated parts, making it feel even more premium.

There's also a unique design applied to the wings and the Dragoon mounting sections, and structurally this feels like the core highlight of the PG Strike Freedom. Unlike the MG Freedom where you just pop them in and out, springs are used to allow two-stage locking, and the Dragoon mounting sections are elaborately detailed, giving it quite a spectacular visual display effect.

Compared to the MG, the most noticeable improvement is definitely the joint strength. The MG Freedom, despite being smaller than the PG, had ankle and waist joints that couldn't hold up the wings properly, making it a real pain to keep standing. The PG has much larger and heavier wings, but extra care has been put into the joints throughout the body — waist, hip joints, knees, ankles — so as long as you shift the center of gravity slightly forward, it can stand up straight without much trouble. It also seems more convenient and holds better than the double clutch system used in the PG 00 Gundam.

Honestly, the joint strength needed to support that massive body and wing structure was what I was most worried about, but with the polycap + soft plastic combination (also used in the Mega Size Gundam) and gear joints applied throughout, the joint strength turned out to be pretty ideal. The only thing is there's a locking pin on the back to control the forward/backward waist movement, but it doesn't really seem to do its job all that well, so you'll have to accept a bit of a belly-forward lean in standing mode. That said, the forward/backward range of motion was set narrow from the start (probably intentional), so it's not bad enough to look unsightly. Either way, I'd say the joint strength is the biggest achievement of the PG Strike Freedom.

Beyond that, LED eyes are basically standard for PG so that's a given, but other smaller highlights include the inner frame built into the rail gun section, and the combined beam rifle gimmick being far more refined than the MG version.

● Wing Breakage Warning!

Regardless of grade, almost every problem with the Strike Freedom seems to come from the wings (-_-). With the MG, the weak ankles and large wings made just keeping it standing a considerable challenge, and as mentioned above, the PG Strike Freedom does show some improvement there. I can totally understand having to lean it forward a bit for the center of gravity... but the durability issues with the wing assembly that existed in the MG are showing up in the PG as well. T_T

Just like the MG, the PG Strike Freedom has a linked gimmick where rotating the rear wings upward naturally spreads the front and rear Dragoon sections — the structure and mechanism are identical. As long as you read the manual carefully and build slowly, it's not too difficult, but the problem is that this linked gimmick doesn't always work properly and risks putting stress on the parts. (See photos below)

So if you force it when things feel stiff during the wing-opening process, there's a real chance something will break — please be careful. But an even bigger issue is the wing-to-backpack connector part pointed out by the arrow in the photo below.

Right from the start, complaints about snapping that critical part have been popping up online. It's really unfortunate that a PG costing nearly ¥30,000 has this kind of durability issue. It seems like the part breaks because it takes excessive stress while supporting the massive wings and moving through the multi-stage gear joints. In my case, it looked sketchy from the start so I handled it very carefully and thankfully didn't break it — but when moving the wings, it seems like you need to hold both the backpack and the wings together and move them slowly.

As you can see, if that part breaks it's a real nightmare... There are already various fixes floating around online, so if you've unfortunately broken yours, please try the different repair methods out there. Honestly, for a PG... you'd think a part that takes that much stress should've been diecast. (Come on, don't be so cheap...)

● The Confusing Dragoon Gimmick

One of the key features of the PG Strike Freedom is the spring-loaded Dragoon launch gimmick... and it's also a bit of a headache;; If you look at most photos online, you'll probably notice the Dragoons are slightly popped out from the wings... build it yourself and you'll understand why. T_T

Here's a video of the spring action in motion.

As you can see, when you trigger the gimmicks they pop out with a satisfying *boing~*, but the problem is they pop out a little too well... ㅡ_ㅡ

In the normal state, the Dragoons should be flush against the wings, but when fully seated, the springs are compressed to their maximum, putting them under considerable tension. On top of that, the locking mechanism in the closed position is a bit iffy... The end result is that no matter how carefully you seat them, even the slightest vibration — even a sneeze in front of it; — will send them springing out on their own. And when one pops out, the others get "startled" (-_-) and all come flying out together, so while it might be easy to lock one in place, keeping all 8 Dragoons fully seated at the same time is no easy feat.

Of course, they don't pop out far enough to fall off completely — the connection between the wing's inner frame and the Dragoons is solid enough that they won't go flying off. It just means they won't stay flush against the wing and end up in a slightly open, popped-out state.

"Who cares, just display them with the Dragoons open so you can see the inner frame." You might say that... but if you prefer a clean standing pose — especially in my case where I need to photograph the default state for a review — it's a genuinely annoying problem. I ended up wrestling with it for hours before giving up and taping the inside to force them in place for the photos. After a while, those Dragoons that kept springing out at the slightest touch started to look really, really irritating... T_T;;

And even when you barely manage to get them seated, as you can see in the photos there's a slight gap that makes it look a bit sloppy — that seems to be an unavoidable issue as well... When displaying your PG Strike Freedom, I'd recommend just "The Dragoons are supposed to stick out a bit — that's what makes it look cool.".. — hypnotize yourself into believing that and display it accordingly. ㅡ.,ㅡ

● But a PG is Still a PG

It feels like I ended up writing more about complaints than strengths or highlights... but the conclusion is still "a PG is a PG!" In other words, in every sense of the word, this is the definitive version of the Strike Freedom — delivering a quality, sheer presence, and parts composition that the MG simply can't match.

That said, as I mentioned at the very beginning — don't go in expecting the revolutionary feel of the early PGs, the fresh gimmicks, the clever ideas, the craftsman's spirit of the developers. Just don't. If you can accept this PG for what it is — a large, well-engineered, precision kit — and especially if you have a soft spot for the Strike Freedom itself, I think it's a kit that'll leave you feeling very satisfied, even if the price is a bit steep.

And this isn't really a flaw per se, but something you absolutely have to be prepared for is the display space issue. Given the nature of the Strike Freedom, it looks best with the wings fully spread and the Dragoons extended to a mid-launch position... but it takes up more space than any other PG in history. It's hard to appreciate just how much volume this thing has until you see it in person — you'll want about 70cm of clearance in every direction — side to side, front to back, top to bottom — to display it comfortably.

Because of this, shooting photos with my usual setup was basically impossible, and the review shoot took a ton of extra effort. But when you actually spread everything out and strike a pose, it really is more spectacular and impressive than just about any other kit out there. You can't help but feel that duality — amazed by the sheer volume of it all, while at the same time worrying about where on earth you're going to put it.

Anyway, this new PG was born out of a reasonable compromise between market demand and development costs — but for Gunpla fans who've been starving for a large, detailed kit, it feels like a long-awaited rain after a drought. There's that nagging feeling that the PG development concept has clearly shifted since the PG Astray and 00, but mixed in with that is a genuine sense of gratitude that we at least get to get our hands on a new PG-class kit at all. That's the PG of 2010 for you. :-)

PG Strike Freedom Gundam | 2010.12 | ¥26,500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.