HGCosmic Era

ZGMF-X20A-LP Gundam Love Phantom

A Strike Freedom frame turned into a sickle-wielding phantom, and it is a genuinely fun weekend build.

MechaGrade Score

3.7/5

Strike Freedom Gundam · 1/144 · 2018

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2018

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a small, cheap kit that punches well above its price by handing you a completely reworked backpack and a real gimmick to play with.

I went in expecting a reskin and came out having actually enjoyed clicking it together. The Love Striker unit is the star of the show, and the rest of the frame rides on familiar, dependable Strike-lineage engineering. It is not a showpiece MG, but for an HG it earns its shelf spot.

Best for: HG builders who want a cheap, characterful side-project with a real backpack gimmick, not a second Strike Freedom

The full review

What it is

The Love Phantom takes the Strike Freedom frame, drops the Dragoon system entirely, and bolts on a brand new Noir Striker derived backpack built for a huge Beam Sickle and a pair of unfolding Striker Scythes. Bandai molded that backpack fresh for this release, and it shows, the range of motion on the shoulder mount and the scythe deployment is more thought out than I expected from a budget HG spinoff. Building it felt like getting a bonus accessory kit stapled to a suit I already know well. The heart-shaped forehead vent carries over from Strike Freedom and gives the head a distinct silhouette even at a glance across the shelf.

The catch

At this price point the frame is the same simplified HG Strike Freedom skeleton you have seen before, so do not expect inner-frame detail or heavy color separation, some of the two-tone areas rely on stickers rather than molded plastic. The bigger issue is the scythe itself, several builders report it will not hold its intended pose without a drop of glue or a friction fix, which is a letdown on a kit whose whole identity is that weapon. The wing-mounted scythes are thin and can feel fragile in hand, so this is not one to hand to a rough builder. Small parts on the backpack assembly do pop loose during test-fitting before they seat.

Who it's for

Grab this if you already like the Strike Freedom silhouette and want a cheap way to build something that looks meaningfully different on the shelf, or if you are hunting for an offbeat side-story kit with a real gimmick instead of a straight repaint. Skip it if you want crisp color separation without stickers, or if a loose weapon joint is going to bother you more than the novelty is worth. First-time builders will have no trouble with it, the frame underneath is proven and forgiving, just budget a minute for the scythe fit.

The build story

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

The build moves fast, no cement, no paint required, and gate placement on the frame runners is the same clean, low-stress cutting you get on any recent HG Strike derivative. The backpack runners are new tooling and the extra sprue is where most of the assembly time actually goes, fitting the scythe hinges and getting the shoulder mount seated takes a bit more care than the rest of the kit combined.

Articulation carries over the double-jointed elbows and knees and the pull-forward shoulder trick that lets the arms clear the backpack, so poses read as dynamic once it is together. The accessory loadout is the actual selling point here, a huge Beam Sickle plus two unfolding Striker Scythes give you more posing options than most HGs at this price, even though the sickle grip needs a firmer hand or a dab of glue to stay put through a display pose.

Lore & trivia

01Love Phantom is built and piloted by the character Magee within the Gundam Build Divers continuity, using a Strike Freedom Gundam base.
02Its backpack is a heavily customized Noir Striker, originally associated with Strike Noir Gundam, remolded specifically for this release with new articulation.
03The design deliberately removes Strike Freedom's Super Dragoons in favor of close-combat sickle weaponry, reflected in the kit's Beam Sickle and Striker Scythe accessories.
04The kit retains Strike Freedom's signature heart-shaped forehead vent as a design callback despite the otherwise reworked loadout.