Yes, It's been a long time, folks. I have to admit, for a time, I got
sick of Gundam - I was even contemplating ignoring Gundam for the
current MMS Busou Shinki toys (Think Evangelion girls with Gundam girl
armor systems).
However, I simply could not resist buying an MG Strike Noir. So, without
further ado, here we go:
*MG Strike Noir
*The Mg 1/100 Strike Noir can be described as the latest variant of the
MG Strike design - many of its features (and internals) are based on the
MG Strike, and its weapons and accessories are, of course, compatible
with the Strike itself. However, the "black" factor, and with its
weapons systems being slightly super-robot-ish, it has a more
"fantastic" design.
*Head*
It's head is primarily derived from the Strike - nothing new there.
However, it has one detail that stands out: the gun barrels for the head
guns are molded as a separate piece. The two barrels are connected to
each other inside the head. this makes it very much easier to paint for
emphasis. Also, with the different collar design, the head is shaped to
be more flexible to it, thus having no posability problems.
*Body*
The body follows the basic strike frame, but with the styling
differences at the chest area. one nitpick I have in construction,
however, is that there are two vent flaps (yellow) that are practically
just wedged into the chest vents. Also, for those who are used to seeing
the Paris Hilton proportions of the Noir in the series...you won;t find
it with the MG kit. This kit is solidly based on the Strike frame, so it
won't have that elongated look. It has swiveling shoulder joints, the
same as the MG Strike, Freedom, Strike Freedom and the OYW RX-78-2.
*Shoulders
*The shoulders are one of the major new design points of the Noir, but
in terms of construction, it's pretty much just new armor parts over the
Strike's shoulders. again, my point of contention here are the yellow
detail pieces - you either need small fingers or tweezers to put them
into place.
*Arms/Hands*
The major change here from the Strike design is in the lower arms: it
has an elbow plate that covers over the polycap input for shield
attachments, and it has a moving wrist base similar to the one found in
the HGUC GP02a. The cup for the wrist ball joint is itself held in a
swiveling plate, allowing it more flexibility for "quick-draw" poses
with the pistols that are stored on the side waist plates. However, is
you want to put a shield on the Noir, all you have to do is remove the
elbow cover plate, and then attach a shield mount.
Now, this kit comes with a LOT of hands: standard gripping MG hands,
outstretched hands (for use with that wire anchor system), gun grip
hands and saber grip hands (for the two wing swords). the two fixed-pose
gripping hands are very much the same in construction as the standard
1/100 Seed hands: two halves that you put together with the weapon in
the middle. the detail on these hands are quite good - it's similar to
the studded-knuckle details of the 1/100 Blitz and the Amatsu
gold-plated Astray/Blitz kit.
*Hip/Waist
*The waist joint is a standard ball joint, and the hips are
fixed-position stick-ball arrays. Most of the details here are basically
just style redesigns, with only the side waist plates and the back
central plate being of any significance: the side waist plates have a
central ABS part to which the pistols can be attached. THe back central
waist plate also has an open polycap slot, to which one can attach a
custom adaptor so that it can be displayed on the flight stand type that
comes with the MG Wing Zero Custom, the MG Strike+IWSP, the 1/100
Destiny or 1/100 Strike Freedom. It is also compatible with the new
Gundam Action Base stand.
*Legs/Feet
*There are no surprised with the leg design, as most of the changes are
to the armor plates - otherwise, we're looking at MG Strike legs. The
foot soles are new, with holes to accommodate the wire anchors.
*Weapons/Accessories
*Now, this is where the MG Strike Noir really shines.
/1) Backpack:/
The backpack is basically a pair of multi-mode wings that also serve as
the scabbards for the two wing swords. They also house two beam cannons.
there are some discrete mechanics, especially for the way the swords
lock into place. The connectors to the main backpack, however, are quite
complicated - it's a bunch of rotating, swinging parts that are, quite
frankly, a bit complicated to assemble. These mechanisms also make the
sholw backpack look bulkier - a far cry from the sleek animation design.
The main backpack, again, has slots for the wire anchor.
/2) Hand-held weapons/
The Strike Noir has 5 gun-type weapons that come with the kit:
- Duel Rifles
It has two Duel-style rifles, and both have drop-bomb type grenades
attached to the lower part of the barrel.
- Strike Rifle
It has one Strike-type rifle, standard for an MG Strike variant
- Hand guns
As has been mentioned, it has two pistol-type guns that are stored at
the side waist plates. There are some moving parts to assure proper
positioning on the waist plates.
- Swords
As has been mentioned, it has two swords that also act as part of the
wing arrays. the sword grips are rather thin, and look easily breakable.
There are also no locking detentes to fix the grips into place in sword
or wing mode. Parts to make the energy parts of the blade are included.
- wire anchor
these are the two wire-anchor type weapons that the Noir used to
dispatch of the Kerberos Bucues in the animation. The kit comes with two
of them, and can be attached to the open outstretched hand, the feet and
the backpack. I would venture a guess one can also attach them to the
closed fist.
*Conclusion:
*The MG Strike Noir looks very good as a kit, once you get past the
fact that it does not look as thin as it does in the anime. There are
some issues with construction, but overall, it is a very eye-catching
kit to have on your shelf. The fact that is it compatible with both the
IWSP and the Aile packs just makes it so much better.
