I did the comparison between Strike and Strike Noir once, but the comparison this time is a bit different. Not only because the two Freedoms are from different series featuring different MS technology, there's a two year gap between the MGs, so the main objective of this review is not about which model is more worthwhile to buy, but rather the advancement of Bandai in their MG technology.
For a start, this is my MG Freedom ^^
MG Freedom is one of the three MGs I got from KL in my vacation there two years back.
Strike Freedom starts a little taller than Freedom. As you can see, Freedom's features a one-piece rear skirt armor; while it's separated for that of Strike Freedom.
The body of Strike Freedom is shorter as compared to Freedom's. The main difference between the two's height is the length of their legs actually ^^
Freedom's shoulder articulation comes from the clearly visible joints of its body. This is the technology directly inherited from Aile Strike. Strike Freedom on the other hand, features shoulder articulation which are concealed within armpit.
Two features of Strike Freedom's arm which are not available for Freedom's: bendable palm and hands with fingers which can be separated individually.
Freedom uses ball type joint for the pelvis - not sturdy enough to support the heavy upper body; Strike Freedom uses two joints for the pelvis, a design for the PG line - not only do they provide stronger support for the whole model, they allow the legs to perform a wider range of action.
Apart from being more complex, Strike Freedom also have sliding thigh armors. The knee articulation and mechanism between the two are almost completely identical though.
The same action pose is possible for both models.
Strike Freedom can kneel better as compared to Freedom due to the difference between the two's pelvis joints. Notice that there's no trouble of bending the waist rail cannons to the back for Freedom though.
Between the two rail cannons, Freedom's is cooler (for me), but then again, the waist armor/beam rifle combo ability is not available on Freedom.
Both the beam rifles have their own 'inner frame', but for Freedom, its beam rifle is hard to pose, as it lack the little lock on the handle (and its palm) to allow the model to hold it firmly. As a matter of fact, Freedom's beam rifle will keep on dropping due its weight on the front portion.
I like Freedom' shield better. Apart from the details, it's OK to let the shield touches the shoulders, and even the wings in some action poses. For Strike Freedom however, the beam shield is not supposed to touch any part of the model, as that would mean it's cutting its own body - something extra to consider for action poses.
Freedom features one extra pair of wings as compared to Strike Freedom, and it doesn't have the combinational-movement of its wing units (there's no need for such complexity anyway XD).
Strike Freedom's wings/Super Dragoons are symmetrical both horizontally and vertically.
Freedom's display stand is shorter, and it doesn't have the adjustable joints.
Here are the links to the other three reviews I did on Strike Freedom:
- Part 1: Pre-assembly
- Part 2: Assembly
- Part 3: Action poses
Also, I've just finished all the pre-assembly work of my MG Char's Zaku II Ver. 2.0 this afternoon. ^^ I'm hoping to build this MG next week, and write up the reviews for it as well. If you're interested in it, please stay tuned ^^
