Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

HG Strike Noir Gundam - Detail shots (1/4)

HG Strike Noir Gundam - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

HG Strike Noir Gundam - There are 3 sets of hands included in total... but stingily, only 2 sets of hand armor are provided,

There are 3 sets of hands included in total...
But stingily, only 2 sets of hand armor are provided, so you'll have to swap them in and out.

Articulation is a bit on the better side.

All of the gimmicks from the design specs are well reproduced on the wing unit.

HG Strike Noir Gundam - Linear gun firing pose (1/3)

Linear gun firing pose

HG Strike Noir Gundam - Beam rifle shorty action (1/4)

HG Strike Noir Gundam - Beam rifle shorty action (2/4)

Beam rifle shorty action

Beam rifle shorty action 2

HG Strike Noir Gundam - Beam blade action (1/3)

Beam blade action

Beam blade action 2

An anchor launcher made with a wire is included.

HG Strike Noir Gundam - The anchor launcher can be attached in 3 places: the back, the soles of the feet, and the palms. (1/3

The anchor launcher can be attached in 3 places: the back, the soles of the feet, and the palms.

HG Strike Noir Gundam - Anchor launcher action (1/4)

HG Strike Noir Gundam - Anchor launcher action (2/4)

Anchor launcher action

Together with the HG Oowashi Akatsuki Gundam.

The Strike Noir Gundam, one of the coolest-looking suits in the SEED MSV lineup, has arrived in HG form. The highlight of the Strike Noir is of course the versatile wings — the Noir Striker — and all of the gimmicks from the design specs have been faithfully reproduced here.

First off, the beam blade attachment/detachment and the linear gun articulation are both cleanly reproduced, and the wing joints are well designed so you can get them into pretty much any pose you want. The beam rifle shorty is also included as standard, though the beam rifle itself is not. And as a bonus, an anchor launcher — complete with a wire part — is included, and can be plugged into the back, palms, or soles of the feet.

So aside from the beam rifle, this kit comes with pretty much every option and full articulation across the board. The articulation is solid and the wings are dynamic, making it a kit where cool poses just flow naturally. The color separation and stickers on the wing section in particular are well done, so it looks clean even in a straight straight build.

There are a few downsides though — while the wing unit's range of motion is good, the joints are stiff, which makes it genuinely tricky to get them into smooth, precise angles. The linear gun connection joints also feel uncomfortably stiff, almost like they might snap, and overall the wing gimmicks are great in concept but the excessive tightness is a bit of a letdown.

That said, the Strike Noir is a great-looking kit and it's been reproduced quite faithfully for an HG — definitely worth a high score. Since there's no 1/100 No Grade release outside of the MG, it seems like Bandai put their full effort into making the HG version as good as possible. If you've had your eye on the Strike Noir, this is a solid kit that won't disappoint. :-)

HG Strike Noir Gundam | 2006. 3 | ¥1,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.