METAL BUILD Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom Gundam
Initially I was going to give this a miss, thankfully my colleague talked me into getting it before it sold out and I couldn’t be happier that I did!
Background:
The ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam, or Freedom for short is a nuclear powered mobile suit made by the ZAFT forces of the space colonies which appears in the anime series “Mobile Suit Gundam SEED” and “Mobile Suit Gundam SEED destiny”. The Freedom is piloted by Kira Yamato, a powerful and skilled first generation Co-ordinator (genetically altered humans who live in space).
The Freedom Gundam is designed primarily for ranged combat. It is heavily armed with a number of long range weapons however it still possesses exceptional speed which rivals and exceeds other more advanced mobile suits.
Name: Freedom Gundam
Manufacturer: Bandai
Line: METAL BUILD
Sculptor: Yoichi Sakamoto
Designer: Satoshi Shigeta
Scale: 1/100
Material: PVC, ABS Die-cast
Release: Mar 2012
Original Price: ¥15,750 (approx. $195AUD / $202USD)
Height: 190mm / 7.48inches
Packaging:
The packaging is very attractive, slim and compact with nice quality foil lettering. The front of the box features a glossy print of the actual toy, on the back there are a few more photos showing some features and detailed info about the toy and the design. Inside the box, there is a foam tray with the main figure and all the accessories sandwiched safely within. Very collector friendly, and slim enough for easy storage!
Accessories:
Freedom Gundam comes with all of it’s weapons as seen in the anime, as well as hands to weld them. It comes with it’s wings which houses the plasma beam cannons, a beam rifle, a shield and a pair of beam sabers that can be joint together Darth Maul style! Lastly, included is an ingeniously designed display stand but more on that later.
Form/Sculpt:
The first thing I noticed when I picked up the figure was how solid and substantial it felt as it is full of die-cast parts. In terms of proportion though I do think the waist, legs and arms are just a tad too skinny for my liking. Without the wing unit attached, the Freedom Gundam is very easy to balance however once the wings are on you have to lean the stance of the figure forwards to prevent it from falling on it’s back. All the molding on the toy are super sharp and clean and the whole thing feels very well put together. There is obviously a good level of quality control involved with the production of this toy.
Articulation/Action:
Once you start posing this guy, the skinniness of the toy is hidden and you start to appreciate it for it’s engineering brilliance. This is one super articulated Gundam. The only thing I found to be a little bit worrying was the tightness of some of the metal joints, I’m afraid if I push too hard I may break some of the plastic parts but this hasn’t happened yet I’m happy to report. The display stand adds a whole new dimension to the way you can pose this toy, and it works wonderfully.
Paint/Print:
You may have noticed that my photos of the Freedom Gundam looks a little dark that’s because the main body colour is actually a light grey, rather than straight white. The paint app on the rest of the figure is amazing, very clean and full of life. It hasn’t been plastered with decals but there are nice print details throughout the body. The blue and the pink painted areas have a pearl effect which really pops under the right lighting.
Detail/Features:
There are quite a few well engineered features worth noting with this set. Firstly the display stand can tilt and extend with locking mechanisms to safely display the toy at a variety of angles.
The shoulder armour has been cleverly designed in 3 sections to move out of the way when posing the arms.
There is a pegging point on the back apron armour to either store the beam rifle or to be used as a display stand connection point, adaptor included of course.
There is a secondary display stand connection point concealed in the backpack, to use it you have to pull up the thruster part and swing it upwards, again the adaptor is included.
On each side of Freedom’s hips is a folding beam cannon which unfolds to give extra firepower!
The front apron armour parts can expand and provide extra clearance when posing the legs forwards.
On the back of the each leg, there are small thrusters which can swing open. Best part about this is the thrusters are die-cast!
Lastly a few comparison photos to show the size of the Metal Build Freedom Gundam. It looks great next to the MMM Strike Gundam, actually it puts the Strike to shame! Sizing up next to a GFFN Strike and RD Strike Gundam, 1/100 scale is obviously bigger. Yes, I like Strike Gundam that’s why I don’t have other Freedom Gundams for comparison XD
Overall:
Overall I am thoroughly impressed with the Metal Build Freedom Gundam in all aspects, from the design, paint app to the playability of this toy. This is a great piece to have on display and will surely maintain its value over time. Every time I walk past this guy at home, I have to pick it up and have a play, that’s how much I like it! By no means is this a cheap toy, but for the price I think it is well worth it especially considering how much metal content it has!
Thanks for reading:)
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Filed under: Featured, Reviews, 1/100, Anime, Bandai, Gokin, Gundam, Japanese
