Mobile Suit Ensemble EX 31 : ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom Gundam

The latter half of 2021 saw Bandai releasing a slew of SEED-themed premium EX figures and the retail sets also had some guest appearances in volumes 18 and 19 including the impossibly hard to find ZAKU Warrior and frustratingly rare Astray Red Frame. The availability of the EX figures on the secondary market hasn't been much better. The Strike Freedom Gundam figure for example, was delivered to customers in September and it is only now that I have managed to get my hands on one.


Truth be told I hesitated a bit on actually going ahead with the purchase. The latest EX figures are obscenely expensive for what they are, and I already decided to skip the ridiculous Astray Red Frame Power Loader. Not only is the figure very expensive but its excessive size also takes a toll on my available space. The Strike Freedom isn't much better in the financial department but at least it is manageable in size. :)


The Strike Freedom figure originally sold for about ¥5000 and is currently sitting around ¥8000 on the secondhand market. As you can see from this image you don't necessarily get a whole lot of stuff for that money so you better be sure you make an informed purchasing decision.


Sure, it looks like a lot of parts when you lay everything out but as you can see about half of it is spent on effect parts or basing. Well let's put this sucker together and take it through the paces.


There really is no excuse but sometimes I find myself not being able to quickly distinguish between the Freedom and the Strike Freedom. Bandai makes the task easier with the gold-coloured inner frame components which add a bit of personality to the figure. The paint job is pretty similar to a regular retail figure, perhaps with the odd extra painted detail here and there, such as the red tips on the railguns or the blue vents on the sides of the shoulders. I have to admit the multitude of colours on this thing look great.


The Ensemble Strike Freedom ships with half a dozen weapon choices as laid out here. We have a pair of attractively painted MA-M21KF High Energy Beam Rifles as well as a combination piece where the two rifles are combined into a Long Range Rifle. We also have two MA-M02G Beam Sabers which can also be combined into a dual blade as used also on the base Freedom Gundam (or the Infinite Justice for that matter). The sabers are all tragically of clear plastic retail standard. Bandai you were doing such a good job on the rifles; couldn't the sabers have been molded in translucent blue color too? Especially when you consider the fact that we even have translucent blue effect parts in this very box. Massive points deduction here.


The two hand held Beam Rifles almost disappear in the colourful array of the mobile suit itself. You may have noticed that the handles are rectangular but still fit the standard sized Ensemble hands. This is due to a storage gimmick where the weapons can be attached to the skirt armor as we shall see below.


The two MMI-M15E Xiphias type Railguns are mounted directly onto the sides of the skirt armor. the two halves hang down like a gunslinger's pistols when not in use and each half can be rotated 90 degrees to deploy the weapons, much less finicky than the similar gear on the older Freedom Gundam design.


Here the two Beam Rifles are combined into a Long Beam Rifle which does wonders for the figure's stability when not using an action base. The large wings are quite heavy and while you can rotate them backwards 90 degrees that is going to make a support mandatory.


The Beam Sabers are pretty much like your average toothpicks found in the retail equipment sets. I imagine you can paint them with a very thinly mixed paint to get a translucent style yourself but that is way beyond my skill level. I don't understand why Bandai has to be so stingy on coloured beam sabers they love wasting resources on useless translucent effect parts (the enormous triangle for the Assault-Buster Gundam comes to mind...).


The combined beam saber consists of two parts that are pegged together. This makes it easy to equip. While the selection of accessories is good I do wish the figure would also have included a pair of open expressive hands, seeing as how they are not the same colour as your average Ensemble hands.


I mentioned it briefly before and here you can see the two Beam Rifles attached to the side skirts with the two Rail Guns stowed on the back. The skirt itself has four rectangular pegs that are compatible with both types of weapons so you can customize it to your preference. Neat!


The two MX2200 Beam Shields that are attached to the forearms are similar to those we see on the League Militaire suits and can be displayed in either active or inactive mode. Just like the wings they sure don't make it easy to pose the figure without pieces constantly falling off. By the way notice ow they are molded in translucent blue? Just saying...


If you are familiar with this page you know that I rarely bother with the Mobile Suit Ensemble bases because I usually find them quite hideous and the Strike Freedom has the same features. The base is enormous and rigid, and only supports the figure in the most basic way. The bases have been the Achilles heel of the Ensemble series since the beginning and I have harped about it enough by now I think...


Much like the Newtype-controlled Bits, and Funnels in the Universal century, SEED also features remote-controlled weapons mounted on some of the most intimidating machines. The Strike Freedom features eight EQFU-3X Super DRAGOON Mobile Weapon Wings, each armed with a powerful Beam Assault Cannon. While these things fly around freely in-universe the Ensemble versions can be detached from the wings and attached to (wait for it...) translucent blue effect parts that feature nice little flames shooting out of them as they zap at the enemy. Two types of effect parts are provided, as seen above. These can be placed in a pattern of your choice using the many holes on the action bases but just like the mobile suit itself they are stuck at a horizontal angle which shows the limitations of the base once more.


Here we have the Strike Freedom up on the base with all the Super DRAGOONS out and about. The Gundam is only resting casually on top of the base. The action base fit is very snug and the risk of breaking the peg much too large for me wanting to risk attaching the figure fully. I won't be using this base after the review anyway, as I think the DRAGOONS look better on the wings (though I have to admit the blue electric effect they went for here does look pretty cool).


The Strike Freedom figure is also compatible with the Ensemble EX14B METEOR System originally developed for the Freedom Gundam. While I do have one in my collection I don't want to fiddle with Freedom already attached to it, so here is an excerpt from the build instructions showing how you can stow the Strike Freedom's wings on top of the METEOR and then attach the figure to the METEOR system. Notice how the already large action base of the Strike Freedom is intended to slot inside the base of the METEOR. Completely crazy if you ask me, but props to the designers for coming up with the solution.


Lastly I also want to point out that I have no idea why we got two spare sets of inner frame components (hand and leg joints) as well as duplicate skirt armor but they are accounted for in the inventory list so it is not a mistake. I suppose the frame components may have been added as backups in case you would need to replace a lost or damaged component.


Side by side comparison of the Ensemble ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam (here in the GCP color variant) and ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom. Ensemble figures are normally the same height so this difference really stands out. It was actually the Freedom Gundam figure that pioneered the revised inner frame design in use here on the Strike Freedom. The other day I also just received my first wave 20 figures and noticed that they have kept parts of this revised frame design as well. Now I am really curious to see if the latest figures are indeed taller across the board.



Conclusion

Overall I think that if you like the Strike Freedom Gundam you will be really pleased with this figure. However its current price is really way more than I feel comfortable paying for it (and you can field three platoons of Jegans for the same price). I should also point out the Wings of Light effect parts set which is also available and features shiny translucent components for the Strike Freedom and Destiny Gundam figures which will eat away further on your budget if you wish to go all-in. Personally I think if you already own the Freedom Gundam figure your money can be put into better use elsewhere.

SD Gundam Full Color Stage 27

I wonder just how many million SD figures have been manufactured to this day; the numbers must be absolutely staggering. The series' bigger brother - the Gashapon HG range - featuring fully-proportioned figures in roughly 1:285 scale has a jubilee box-set with the slogan "Over 100 Million Memorial Edition" and that came out already in 2001, when the HG series had been going for about five years and produced around 100 different figure types. I wish one day someone will write a proper history book about the Bandai Gundam figure-era (and for someone to translate it...).


Today we are looking at one of the Full Color range's releases that came out in the middle of its lifetime. Stage 27 was released in August 2001 in what appears to me to be the most popular eras since figures from the Stages around 20-30 are usually fairly easy to find. Having said that, I would classify this particular set as a little bit more elusive. This particular review set comes from - you guessed it - Mandarake and carried a price tag of ¥800 when I picked it up last year.


A rather straightforward set here as you can see. The most critical component is of course the clear base with its dual ball joint peg.




148 : RX-78-2 Gundam (Ver.10.0)


We have reached the tenth official version of the RX-78 and this time we have a figure holding both hands on the handle of a nice translucent beam saber. The figure has no shield (or support for one) and the backpack has only one beam saber attached to it. The pose is designed for a duel with the Zaku II from this set.


Here we have some of the saber-rattlers from the Gundam family. Top row: Beam Javelin-wielder from Stage 34, a slasher from Stage 36 and a dual-wield from Stage 39. Bottom row: Left hand wave from Stage 3 (or Stage 17 reissue), black hands from Stage 31 and pointy here from Stage 27.




149 : MS-06 Zaku II (Ver.6.0)


Here we have our first flying Zaku II. It sits on the standardized round clear base but the peg has a small ball joint at the tip instead of the more common cylindrical type we see used on most mobile armors. This gives the Zaku II a couple more posing choices at the expense of being less compatible with bases from other SD figures, something to keep in mind when you are shopping second hand.






150 : RX-178 Gundam Mk-II (A.E.U.G.) (Ver.3.0)


The Mk-II is back as well, in its third iteration officially (guess it depends on how you are counting them). It has the traditional beam rifle and shield. As the big holes in its shoulders reveal however, this variant figure is compatible with the G-Defenser mobile armor.


Mk-II gang from left to right - top row: AEUG Bazooka from Stage 7, AEUG Saber dude from Stage 20, the tiny one from Stage 27 and a Titans Unit 03 from Stage 45. Bottom row: Another AEUG Saber rattler from Stage 48 the Super Gundam from Stage 12 and a chunky Titans machine from Stage 6.




151 : FXA-05D G-Defenser


We've seen the little G-Defenser time and again in Gashapon and Shokugan form but this is its only appearance in the SD line-up. It returns again in the Gashapon Warrior NEXT range in 2014 and most recently in Senshi Forte in 2017. Apart from combining with the RX-178 figure it is also compatible with the traditional SD Full Color action base although no such item is supplied with it. As always I advocate finding duplicate SD figures that come on bases just to get access to a couple extra because you will always find yourself running short.


This version of the RX-178+FXA-05D Super Gundam is super-easy to convert. You build it by attaching the landing gear to the RX-178's shoulders, swap the backpack for the fuselage and replace the beam rifle with the larger long beam rifle. Most G-Defenser conversions tend to be very fiddly or come apart easily so this is a huge plus.


Comparison of the Super Gundam found as a complete figure in Stage 12 and the combo built from the two figures in Stage 27.






152 : F91 Gundam F91


Here is something new then, the first visitors from the F91-era. The figure has the signature red F on the right shoulder and the designers cleverly raised its left arm to cover the shoulder so they didn't have to write "91" in that section... at least the translucent shield looks nice although I think the figure is a bit white overall.


The F91 returned in Stage 60 as a translucent variant armed with an equally translucent Beam Launcher. I would much have preferred a solid coloured weapon there but at least this gives you some options to play around with.




153 : XM-07 Vigna Ghina


The Vigna Ghina doesn't seem to be very popular but I really dig its silver and purple theme and this SD figure looks great. It is a shame we didn't get any other Crossbone Vanguard suits in the SD line but at least they join in later with the NEXT and DASH crowds.


The entire F91 line-up in SD Full Color form is a bit meager. Besides the two figures in this set and the previously mentioned clear F91 we also have a tiny Rafflesia mobile armor in Stage 60 as well as a weird character-style F91 from one of the Extra Stages.




154 : RX-79BD-1 Blue Destiny Unit 1


Another new face, and - unfortunately - the single representative from the Blue Destiny Side Story Gundam line. Unit 1 is a modified Ground Type Gundam with a really unique colour scheme. I would love for Bandai to work their way through the signature figures of this series, right now your best bet is the 1:400 collection which has a line-up of all the three Gundams including Nimbus' repurposed Unit 02 and the EXAM-rocking Efreet Custom.


Unit 01 sparring with the dual-wielding Efreet Custom. The Efreet-family of mobile suits are some of the more impressive Zeonic designs in my opinion and I don't understand why they aren't more popular in figure form.




Conclusion

While Stage 27 is a little heavy on recycling mobile suits we've already seen before it is still a competent and useful line-up for those still building their collections. The main attraction here seems to be the Super Gundam duo and it is vital for F91 fans.