Sword/Launcher Strike Gundam

GAT-X105+AQM/E-X02/3 Sword/Launcher Strike Gundam 

Originally the GAT-X105 Strike Gundam was designed to be used in conjunction with 3 striker packs, the Aile Striker (reviewed last week), the Sword striker and the Launcher striker. The FX550-Skygrasper (unbuilt cause I care little for it) was designed to transport these packs while in the midst of battle, giving the Strike no need to come back to the ship to recharge battery or switch out packs.

GAT-X105+AQM/E-X02 Sword Strike Gundam 

The Sword Strike first appeared in episode 2 to fend off a GINN using D-equipment. this pack is regarded as being an unlucky pack and was never used again after Kira killed a certain pilot with it.

For more info on the unit itself visit:
Gundam Wiki: Sword Strike

Whether lucky or not, the Sword Strike pack is in my opinion the most bad ass of the 3. That Schwert Gewehr measures to almost 16 meters in length and it cuts trough ships o.o

The kit itself is gorgeous, the strike's poseability allows for this Striker pack to be displayed beautifully, the only complaint I have thus far, is that the hands that come with the swords striker can't really pull very dynamic poses since they tend to come apart. That being said, everything about this add-on is amazing, the colors are very well done, there's 2 different shades of blue and some black, the stickers really make the details pop.

*spoiler* This was the last thing Nicol saw

This certain pose took me about 30 min to figure out, so it won't be leaving the shelves for a while.... lies I just thought about another pose, so I might take more pics later.

Wish the sword would've been a tad longer

Prepare yourself for a plethora of stickers... I thought that since this was an add-on and not the kit itself, the weapons wouldn't have as many decals as the actual Skygrasper... boy was I wrong.


 


Onto its counterpart...


GAT-X105+AQM/E-X03 Launcher Strike Gundam

The Launcher Strike first appeared in episode 2 where it was used to tear a whole trough a colony (though not on purpose). At the sight of the immense power of the Agni cannon, Le Creuset thought to himself "what were they thinking, giving this much firepower to a mobile suit".


For more info on the unit itself visit:
Gundam Wiki: Launcher Strike

Another million frigging stickers, but the Agni cannon looks splendid, I wish the cannon itself would've had more details, but instead the shiny specs of it are added by silver and golden stickers, the body of the cannon is one color of green, with some yellow and red details.

Wasn't really too creative posing this one, all I could think about was the blowing up Le Creuset's GINN scene, anyway it looks badass just standing there in all of its glory :D

 

My thoughts:

As you can see, I wanted to display all three so I bought me 3 RG strikes + 1 Skygrasper, not recommended unless you really feel the need to.

They all have obviously the same articulation, but the packs with the most poseability are the sword strike and the Aile strike, I think the sword strike looks more impressive, but beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.

To be honest, if I had just bought one Aile Strike, I would've probably displayed them as the perfect strike, there's so much you can do with this set of kits, too many options and combinations, so I just decided to make life easier for me and displayed them all at once :D

I mentioned before that the Aile strike is a must buy, the Skygrasper pack however is completely optional, since it really does not come with a new unit and its costs the same as any other real grade (unlike its MG counterpart which brings the strike Gundam and the launcher/sword packs).

If you do decide to purchase this kit but no additional aile strikes, you can either display the perfect strike (since it's now canon) or choose one of the three while the skygrasper holds the other pack, entirely up to you.

I would recommend buying it, just cause of the sheer amusement of putting them together, the packs allow for so much versatility that you can spend hours posing it how you want.

RG Strike Gundam + Aile Striker Pack

GAT-X105+AQM/E-X01 Aile Strike Gundam

Got this kit when it came out in April 2011, and was very exited about it, since I had just finished watching gundam SEED.

The Famous Strike gundam made its first appearance in the first episode of Gundam SEED and it became the first mobile suit piloted by Kira Yamato.
The AQM/E-X01 Aile Striker is the most commonly equipped Striker pack during the series, as it provides the greatest versatility.

For more info on the unit itself visit:
Gundam Wiki: Aile Strike

This wasn't my first RG but it was the first RG I could really relate to, as I hadn't watched anything but G-Gundam, Gundam wing and SEED at the time of its release, I was aware of what the RX-78 was but I hadn't yet become a Char fan, so the Char Zaku was sitting on my shelf while I built some of the cooler looking 00 high grades.

That poseability

Them stickers <3

Being a Kira fan, I was ecstatic when I hear that this was to be the upcoming RG and I put some money aside and pre-ordered it in like January. I was completely satisfied by how this kit came out, it is a gorgeous model and it's one of my favorites still. The detail that the decals add to the mobile suit is amazing, it really feels like a mix of a miniature PG with the decals of a version KA model.
In hindsight, most of the RGs have 100+ stickers, very much like the Katoki gundams.

Everything in this kit is of the right color and barely needs any panel lining or painting over, as a matter of fact I decided to not do any lining on most of my RGs. The mobility of the joints is pretty crazy, I will be showing some cool poses with the Launcher and the Sword pack later on, as this one I have it in its signature pose and to be honest, I am too lazy to move it around.

 

If you're a Cosmic Era fan, this Gundam is a MUST, the sleek design and the great poseability of the kit is incredible, the striker pack is a bit back heavy but nothing that will make it too hard to stand on its own.

2nd Xmas Shipping

After 12 years of waiting... it is finally here!
1/100 MG Nu gundam Ka.

To commemorate its release (and to make use of the 20% shipping by HLJ) I also got:

1/100 MG Hi-Nu gundam
1/100 MG X1 Full Cloth
1/100 MG Rx-78 V.2

Inventory post coming up...
been busy so havent worked on Zeta 3 >.>
Happy end of the world!

First xmas shipping

 

This here contains:

1/100 MG Strike Noir  

1/100 MG Launcher/Sword Strike

1/100 MG X-1 ver. Ka

10 Clear Action Bases

1/144 RG Zeta Gundam

Myth Cloth EX Phoenix

Myth Cloth EX Virgo

Still waiting on one more shipping, should be here in a few days <3

MG Zeta

MSZ-006-3A Zeta Gundam 3A Type 

The artwork is stunning

Got this 2007 LIMITED edition kit rather cheap off of ebay a few weeks ago, about $150 (seen it go for 300, so i decided to snatch it at that price)

This iconic suit is a variant of the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam and initially appears in the 2001 short CGI film  Gundam Neo Experience 0087: Green Divers and later in the series of short anime films Gundam Evolve. It is presumed to be piloted by Amuro Ray.

All the info you may want about this unit here:
Zeta Gundam 3A 

Concentrate on the Gundam, not the mess >.>

So finally I got around to finishing this bad boy, the MS mode looks terrific, it's not JUST another zeta. I thought I was gonna have a hard time with the pink decals but they blend in and line up pretty nicely ( if one is careful enough).
I wish the beam sabers would have been a bit more impressive, but I guess they work just fine, the decals are very simple, and most of the detail is made up by the hints of pink and yellow throughout the suit, I like the subtlety of this kit, I went ahead and gave it a heavy panel lining just to make it pop a bit more, but it looks as impressive with a little less ink as well.

I had a little bit of trouble standing him up because the bottom of the foot is divided into 2 different pieces and they weren't lining up perfectly, didn't give it much thought since I already knew I was gonna be using the stand to display him.

Waverider mode <3

As if this gundam wasn't impressive enough, it looks so good while in it's waverider mode, all the decals line up perfectly and the legs bend right where the white is most dominant, hiding said part and giving the waverider a more aesthetically pleasing color combination.

The Stand is always a plus, and while it might be a bit bulky and take off a lot of space, it looks really nice and it serves it's purpose pretty well.

If you can still find this kit and you are an Amuro/Zeta fan, I highly recommend it.