Series: Master Grade (MG) 1/100
Title: ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam
Release Date: 07/2004
Suggested Price: ¥ 3800
No. of Parts: 266 + polycaps
Plastic colors: blue, red, white, black, gray
Gimmicks: HiMAT wing binders, superb poseability and stability, internal mechanisms, display stand

Introduction

Contributor: Erwin Husin
Photography: infested_ysy
Date: February 5, 2005

Although Gundam SEED did lose to Fullmetal Alchemist in the anime charts, the series was incredibly successful. Combining incredible animation, great action, an incredibly catchy soundtrack and a lot of drama and pretty young boys & girls, the show was a hit.

As is traditional for Bandai, the merchandise doesn’t stop when the series ends. In fact, the cooler stuff is released at the end or after the series: think about the hordes of MG kits for the UC universe, the PG Wing Zero Custom, or more recently the MG Aile Strike. Now, Bandai releases the star of Gundam SEED: the Freedom, in MG format.

The ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam was created by ZAFT after reverse engineering the captured Earth Alliance mobile suits. Incorporating all of Earth’s finest warfare technologies like Phase Shift armor, ZAFT was determined to get the upper hand in mobile suit combat. A deadly new addition was the N-Jammer Canceler, which allowed Freedom and its stable mate, the ZGMF-X09A Justice to run on a nuclear fission reactor. This ensured almost infinite longevity and much greater firepower, but if the suit’s design were to fall into the wrong hands, this would ensure catastrophe.

Freedom combines the mobility and versatility of Duel with the firepower of Buster. It has two rail cannons, 2 plasma cannons, 1 beam rifle and dual beam sabers that can be merged as a single blade. The suit is piloted by Kira Yamato, who captured it and used it as his personal machine. It is usually pitted against the Earth Alliance’s three new mobile suits: the Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider Gundam. In the end, Kira fights against Rau Le Creuset’s insanely powerful Providence Gundam.

Bandai’s MG Freedom was announced some time before its release, and I must say, I was really looking forward to it. I had purchased the MG Aile Strike before, and was utterly impressed of that kit’s design and engineering. If the MG Freedom would have the same level of poseability of the Aile Strike, combined with great Katoki-ish design, this kit would be a sure winner.

Box art- The same size as the MG Aile Strike. So, it is HUGE. Freedom is depicted as it is protecting the Archangel and fully deployed with all guns. Sweet.

Head

Lovely sharp detailing, 8 piece construction with polycap. The good thing is that the ruby jewel in the middle of the V-fin clips on to the head, locking the V-fin in place. Neck articulation is great: the Gundam usually looks the way you want it to look in poses.

Torso

The cockpit design is relatively simple, but accurate to the anime: access is from the top and you can see the small 1/100 pilot model sitting there. The shoulder joint is adapted from the MG Aile Strike, as this was a brilliant piece of engineering that didn’t need to be improved anyway. The screw has been omitted though, and instead the plastic peg is lengthened. I have noticed no decrease in stability or poseability.

The waist is ball jointed. I was very happy to see the following crucial improvement: the back skirt has a short stub that goes between this joint. This prevents the model to arch back because of the weight of the backpack. This was an issue the MG Aile Strike had. Although the stub might be prone to damage, it shows that Bandai is concerned over previous engineering flaws and it takes steps to make improvements. Bravo.

Arms

The arms have great articulation, as is usual in this grade of kit. Also thanks to the shoulder design, Freedom can hold the beam gun with both hands. Because of Freedom’s design, it is more difficult to reveal internal gimmick, but it is there. Nice if you want to depict Freedom damaged, under construction or being repaired.

The hands are the same as the MG Aile Strike: 5 piece construction with an opposable thumb and independent index finger. It holds the beam sabers and the beam rifle pretty well.

Legs

The legs are equally impressive: they allow Freedom to crouch. As the knee joint further bends, the front knee armor “shifts” upward, revealing internal gimmick. The knee bends a full 180 degrees: I started giggling frantically when I tried out the mechanism. It is so damn sweet and impressive.

And it doesn’t end there: the foot is separated in two, so you can perform crouching/dashing poses. *Teehee, teeheehee* The oversized side skirt can deploy into the twin rail cannons and they also house the two beam sabers.

Weapons and Accessories

HiMAT (High Mobility Aerial Tactics) wing binders- Recycled from the GX-9901 Gundam Double X (the entire Freedom design, actually), these wing binders sure look cool. Each wing is a complex 23 piece construction. It can be broken down to 3 major parts: the front wing binder, the rear, the middle, and the plasma cannon. The front wing binder usually hides the plasma gun. The wing is connected to vernier thrusters block via an ABS joint: this approach allows greater stability, of course, as long the ABS isn’t worn down. The ABS peg is pretty sturdy, so you’d have to really punish it to break it. The vernier block is plugged into the back of the torso via a polycap.

The plasma cannons have an additional hinge that allows you to deploy the cannons while spreading out the wing binders. This was not possible in the 1/100 HG. The wings are pretty heavy, but the stabilized waist joint and the good ankle design prevent the model to fall over.

Beam rifle- The same as the Aile Strike gun, but with a white-blue armor. The blue aspect can be added via a sticker, but paint it if you can. Trust me, applying that long fragile sticker is a world of pain.

Beam saber- Two beam sabers stored on top of the side skirts. They can be clipped together to make an immensely cool twin blade saber. Darth Maul, who?

Twin rail cannons- the huge side skirts can fold out in 3 pieces and create two immense rail cannons, which are in size comparable to Wing Zero Custom’s twin buster rifle. The rail cannons come with a handy foldout handle which the hands can grip.

Display base- Just like the MG Aile Strike, this bad boy comes with a display stand. It is not the same impressive launch pad, but a stationary 2 piece construction. The parts are pretty thick and tough and can easily carry the (relatively large) weight of the model, even with wing binders fully deployed.

But wait, there’s more. The thing I silently hoped came true: yes, cooler than cool and joy to the world: Freedom is compatible with MG Aile Strike’s launch pad! The hole in the crotch area is exactly the same as Aile Strike’s. Now you can pose Freedom in those great standby and launch poses and recreate that heavenly sweet launch part from the 3rd and 4th opening of the anime. Unfortunately, the cable doesn’t fit, but actually, that’s logical: Freedom is powered by its own nuclear reactor so it doesn’t need a stationary energy feed. Or, Bandai has made the hole in the rear skirt, normally used to store the beam rifle, too small. Oh well.

Conclusion

This kit is everything I hoped it would be. Impressive engineering adapted from the MG Aile Strike model (but improved), superb stability, accurate and clean styling. And it looks like one damn cool mean mother, too. You can recreate almost all poses you’ve seen in the incredibly cool action scenes in the anime and go wild. Things like the compatibility with MG Aile Strike’s launch pad and the knee flexibility make this kit a class act. Three simple words: get it…now.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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