-- Series-wide Notes ---------------------------------
The Gundam SEED 1/144 No Grade series ran from 2002 to 2004, with a total of 22 kits released, priced between ¥300 and ¥600 — these are entry-level Gunpla. They use system injection to achieve up to 5-color color separation, and to keep the parts count down, the elbows and knees are fixed in place. Six ball-type polycaps handle the remaining joints, so there is some movement, but there aren't really that many poses you can pull off. On the plus side, with fewer moving parts, joint strength is rarely an issue.
Given when these came out, the detail is a bit soft as you'd expect from a No Grade kit, but the proportions are on par with HG. The simple parts count means you can usually snap one together in about 10 minutes, and considering the price, the build experience and overall look are pretty decent. These are great starter Gunpla for anyone who just wants a quick, affordable build or needs something to practice painting on — just don't go in with sky-high expectations.
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<Kit-specific Notes>
This is kit No. 8 in the series — the 1/144 Sword Strike Gundam. It's essentially the previously released 1/144 Strike Gundam with the Sword Pack added, which means one extra light blue single-color runner and a sticker sheet are included. The added parts pushed the price up to ¥500, and unlike the earlier kits in the series where the manual was printed on the box itself, this one comes with a separately printed manual. Another new addition is an eye sticker, which wasn't included with the 1/144 Strike Gundam.
The Sword Pack comes with replacement claw parts and beam parts in addition to the standard pieces, and it's designed to be compatible with the HG Strike Gundam as well. However, the connection structure is different, so if you want to attach the No Grade Sword Pack to the HG Strike Gundam, you'll need to trim some of the internal locking parts — so think carefully before you go that route. Either way, since a Sword Strike Gundam was never released in HG, this No Grade kit has its own unique value. :-)
(For reference, a Sword Pack with new tooling was later included with the HG Perfect Strike Gundam.)
AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.
