Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining

Size comparison with a cigarette pack — the universal standard reference size.

1/100 Aile Strike Gundam - For a kit carrying such a big pack on its back, it stands surprisingly steady without tipping over

For a kit carrying such a big pack on its back, it stands surprisingly steady without tipping over.

Articulation is about average. Nothing to complain about.

The Aile pack. The red sections on the upper wings are applied with seals.

Impressive shoulder articulation. The arm pulls out and swings forward about 90 degrees.

Action pose

Because the shoulder pulls out so far, you can pose it holding the rifle with both hands like that.

Beam saber action pose

Strike body

1/100 Aile Strike Gundam - The Armor Schneider storage on the side of the waist is recreated, but the Armor Schneider inside

The Armor Schneider storage on the side of the waist is recreated, but...
The Armor Schneider inside stays in its folded form — it doesn't unfold.

1/100 Aile Strike Gundam - Armor Schneider action pose. Rather than pulling it out from the waist and unfolding it, a separat

Armor Schneider action pose.
Rather than pulling it out from the waist and unfolding it, a separate pre-extended Armor Schneider is included in the box.

Included 1/20 Kira Yamato figure

The first kit to kick off the Gundam SEED series — which set 2003 on fire — is naturally the main unit, the Strike Gundam. And it was released in the Aile pack configuration, the primary weapon pack of the bunch, as the Aile Strike Gundam.

As you probably know, the Gundam SEED 1/100 series is ungraded — not classified as HG. But looking at the quality, it absolutely holds its own against older HG kits. Bandai's design and engineering technology has come so far that even without a formal grade, the quality clears the bar with room to spare.

The molded colors are an almost perfect match to the design specs. The red sections on the Aile pack's upper wings can be handled with seals, and the overall molded color quality is excellent. Articulation-wise, the arms and legs move 90 degrees or more as a baseline, and the shoulder articulation in particular is outstanding — the inner joint swings forward and out, giving over 90 degrees of forward reach. It's a level of articulation you'd hardly expect from an ungraded 1/100 kit. The joints are a touch on the loose side, though not so loose that they're floppy. I do wish they were just a bit stiffer to make posing a little easier, though.

In fact, the MG Aile came out less than a year after this ungraded 1/100 Aile. The MG Aile was praised to the heavens for its best-ever articulation and detail. It's pretty rare for two kits of the same scale but different grades to come out within about a year of each other — having them so close together really makes the choice tough. The MG Aile is undoubtedly the premium option, but that doesn't mean you should write off this ungraded 1/100, which came out only about ten months before the MG. It carries over the engineering know-how accumulated through MG and HGUC development, giving it a quality level well above what older 1/100 kits offered.

In particular, the MG Aile drew a lot of disappointment for its overly slender proportions, so depending on your taste, this chunkier ungraded 1/100 might actually look better. On top of that, the price difference — ¥2,000 vs. ¥3,800 — is hard to ignore. (Though it's worth noting that the ungraded kit doesn't come with the elaborate seals and decals of an MG, so it can look a bit plain.)

Either way, as befits a brand-new Gundam series after a long hiatus, there's no question this kit is a step above the older TV series 1/100 kits. Reasonable price, solid articulation, clean and nearly perfect molded colors, spot-on proportions — it's a great kit that delivers real bang for your buck. ^^

1/100 Aile Strike Gundam | 2002.12 | ¥2,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.