MGCosmic Era

GAT-X105+P204QX Lightning Strike Gundam Ver.RM

The Strike Ver.RM body already earned its reputation, and the Lightning Striker just gives it more to carry and more to pose.

MechaGrade Score

4.2/5

+P204QX Lightning Strike Gundam Ver.RM · 1/100 · 2021

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2021

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is one of the best Striker Pack kits Bandai has put out, and it works because the Ver.RM Strike underneath it was already a great MG before anyone bolted a battery tank to its back.

I built it expecting the pack to just be dead weight strapped onto a good base kit, and instead the composite pods and the rail cannon actually add engineering, not just bulk. The catch is that this one is a Premium Bandai exclusive, so getting it at all takes patience or a reseller markup, and that colors how I'd recommend it.

Best for: Strike Gundam fans who already love the Ver.RM base kit and want the rare Striker Pack variant, not a first-MG buyer

The full review

What it is

This is the GAT-X105 Strike Gundam's Ver.RM body (the 2013-era remaster that cleaned up the original 1999 MG's proportions and frame) paired with the Lightning Striker backpack, a support-role pack built around twin composite pods and a big dorsal battery tank instead of wings or extra thrusters. The pitch in-universe is endurance, not firepower, and the kit leans into that with a 70-31 electromagnetic rail cannon that splits into two forearm-mounted parts when stowed. Building it felt like getting two kits in one, a genuinely strong base Strike and then a chunky, mechanically distinct striker pack that changes the silhouette completely once it's on.

The catch

The biggest catch has nothing to do with plastic. This was a Premium Bandai online-exclusive release, which means it never had a general retail run, so tracking one down now means secondary market pricing or an import order, and it costs meaningfully more than a standard MG. On the build side, the composite pods and battery tank add real heft to the back unit, and while the ball joints hold the pose, the added weight back there does test the waist and hip joints more than the vanilla Aile or Sword Strike packs do. Markings come as water slide decals rather than stickers, which look better once applied but take more patience and a steady hand to get on straight.

Who it's for

This is a kit for people who already have a soft spot for the Strike Gundam and want to see its rarer, support-focused loadout in plastic, or Ver.RM completionists filling out their striker pack collection. It rewards someone who doesn't mind decal work and is fine treating the price and hunt as part of the hobby. If you just want a good first MG or the most iconic Strike silhouette, buy the standard Aile Strike Ver.RM instead, it is cheaper, easier to find, and just as well engineered underneath. This is the deep cut for people who already know they want it.

What works

The Ver.RM Strike frame underneath is still one of the best-engineered older MG bodies, with strong double-jointed elbows and knees and a 360 degree waist
Composite pods connect on ball joints so the battery tank and side pods actually reposition instead of sitting as fixed blocks
Water slide decals for the Lightning Striker markings look sharper and more integrated than stickers would have
The rail cannon's split-and-stow design under the forearms is a clever bit of engineering that pays off in gimmick terms

Worth knowing

Premium Bandai exclusive release, so it is not available at general retail and now mostly turns up through resellers or imports at a markup
The added backpack weight puts more strain on the waist and hip joints than the standard Strike loadouts
Decals require real patience to apply cleanly, and there is no sticker fallback if you rush it

Sold? Grab it.

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The build story

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

The core Strike Ver.RM build is straightforward and satisfying, the kind of assembly where the parts click into a frame that already feels considered rather than fighting you. The Lightning Striker adds its own short but distinct build stage, the twin composite pods and the battery tank go together with their own runners and their own articulation points, so it never feels like an afterthought bolted onto the main kit.

The stand-out engineering here is the ball-jointed composite pod mounts and the collapsible rail cannon, which folds into two separate arm-mounted units when not in active use. Color separation on the main body holds up to the Ver.RM standard with molded color doing most of the work, and the decal sheet covers the striker-specific panel details that molding alone couldn't reach. Articulation on the base body remains excellent even with the extra pack weight, it just asks a little more of the waist joint to hold deeper poses.

Lore & trivia

01The Lightning Striker was originally designed by IDEX to extend the Strike Gundam's operational time by 150 percent for the Earth Alliance, but the project was shelved when the added battery weight demanded more thrusters, which generated more heat, which demanded more cooling, in a loop IDEX couldn't solve.
02Development was picked up later by the Orb Union manufacturer Morgenrote, who solved the weight and heat problems with a high capacity power pack and a miniaturized cooling system.
03In the anime, the Lightning Unit was assembled aboard the Izumo-class ship Kusanagi and equipped onto the Strike Gundam piloted by Mu La Flaga.
04The kit's primary weapon, the Type 70-31 electromagnetic rail cannon, is built for long range sniping and stores as two separate forearm-mounted parts when not deployed.