EGCosmic Era

GAT-X105 Strike Gundam

A snap-fit kit that hands you real Gunpla joy for the price of lunch.

MechaGrade Score

4.1/5

Strike Gundam · 1/144 · 2022

GradeEG

Scale1/144

Released2022

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the kit I hand someone when they ask if Gunpla is worth trying.

It builds in under an hour with no nippers and no stickers, and it still comes out looking like a real Strike Gundam, not a toy version of one. For 770 yen it has no business being this good. The only reason it does not go higher is that a couple of joints need babying if you want it to last.

Best for: first-time builders and anyone who wants a genuinely posable Strike Gundam without touching a nipper or a sticker sheet

The full review

What it is

The EG Strike is Bandai's proof that Entry Grade was never a watered-down line. It is 79 parts, snap-fit, hand-removable from the runners, and fully color-separated in molded plastic, so there is no painting and no stickers standing between you and a finished Strike Gundam that actually looks like the one from the show. I went from sprue to shield-and-rifle in well under an hour, and the parts division is smart enough that even the visor and vents read correctly without paint. It felt less like assembling a toy and more like a compressed, friendly version of a real build, and that is exactly what an entry kit should feel like.

The catch

Two things will bite you if you are not gentle. The white cover plates on the backs of the hands are held on by a shallow friction fit and pop off if you handle the hands much, especially the right one. And the hip ball joints are softer plastic than I would like, some builders report the socket starting to shear after repeated re-posing, so aggressive leg articulation over time is a real risk rather than a rumor. It also ships bare, just the beam rifle and shield, no Strike Pack, so if you want the Aile, Sword, or Launcher loadout you are buying separately.

Who it's for

If you have never built a Gunpla kit, or you are buying one for a kid or a curious friend, this is close to the ideal starting point: cheap, fast, tool-free, and it looks right sitting on a shelf when you are done. If you already own MG or RG kits and want the most detailed Strike money can buy, this is not that kit, go look at the higher grades instead. And if you plan to pose it hard and often, treat the hips carefully or consider it a display piece more than a play toy.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

Gate placement is genuinely designed for hand-removal, not just marketed that way. I never reached for a nipper, and cleanup was minimal since the nubs are small and tucked into seams rather than dead center on visible panels. Part fit is snug without being a fight, and the whole thing goes together in a logical head-to-toe order that never had me second-guessing which piece went where.

The engineering payoff is in the color separation, the chest vents, groin armor, and visor are all correct straight out of the box in molded plastic, which most kits at this price point fake with stickers. Articulation is the other surprise: shoulders, elbows, and knees all have real range, and the simple friction joints hold a pose with the beam rifle raised rather than drooping. For 79 parts and a snap-fit build, that is a strong return.

Lore & trivia

01The Strike Gundam was one of five G Project prototype suits secretly built by the Earth Alliance at the space colony Heliopolis in the Cosmic Era timeline.
02It was the only one of the five G Project suits ZAFT failed to steal during the Battle of Heliopolis, the others became the Duel, Buster, Blitz, and Aegis.
03The Strike uses the Phase Shift armor system and a modular Striker Pack setup, letting it swap between the Aile (mobility), Sword (melee), and Launcher (long-range) configurations seen across Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.
04This EG kit released in January 2022 as part of Bandai's push to bring Entry Grade color separation and articulation to Gundam SEED's cast, not just the Universal Century line.