RGCosmic Era

MBF-02 Strike Rouge Grand Slam Equipped Type

The already-great RG Strike Rouge, now hauling a chrome anti-ship sword bigger than she is.

MechaGrade Score

4.1/5

Strike Rouge Grand Slam Equipped Type · 1/144 · 2021

GradeRG

Scale1/144

Released2021

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a proven RG chassis with a genuinely fun new toy bolted onto it, and that combination works.

The base Strike Rouge engineering was already one of the better early-generation RG jobs, and the Grand Slam sword adds real shelf drama without wrecking the balance of the kit. I'd call it a clear step up from the plain Aile Strike Rouge release for anyone who can find one at a sane price.

Best for: RG collectors who already like Strike Rouge and want the oversized Grand Slam sword as the centerpiece of the display

The full review

What it is

This is the standard RG 1/144 MBF-02 Strike Rouge with its Aile Striker pack, plus the Grand Slam, a huge two-handed anti-ship sword with a chrome-plated blade that folds down into a compact storage mode for the backpack. The base kit is the same well-regarded RG Cagalli rides in SEED, so you get the phase-shift red color scheme molded in plastic rather than relying on paint, double-jointed elbows and knees, a shield, beam rifle, and beam sabers alongside the sword. Building it feels like assembling a small, dense action figure. The inner frame goes together first and every outer panel clicks over real joints, so by the time the shoulders and hips are on you can already feel how far this thing is going to move.

The catch

It is still an RG, which means small parts, tight tolerances, and a runner layout that rewards patience during gate cleanup, especially around the vents and thruster details on the backpack and skirts. The front and side skirt armor can droop or pop loose during aggressive leg poses, a known quirk of this mold going back to the plain Strike Rouge release. The Grand Slam is a big commitment for a 1/144 kit, it dwarfs the figure and needs a stand or careful balance to display without tipping the model backward. This was also a Gundam Base exclusive at original release, so secondhand pricing runs well above a standard RG.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already appreciate the RG Strike Rouge and want the version with a genuine centerpiece weapon instead of just the standard loadout, or if the Grand Slam's oversized chrome blade is the whole appeal for your shelf. Skip it if you are newer to RG kits in general, the small parts and skirt-armor fiddliness are more forgiving on a first HG or even MG build. Skip it too if you just want the plain Strike Rouge, the standard non-Grand Slam RG release is cheaper and easier to find without losing any of the core articulation or color separation this mold is known for.

What works

Chrome-plated Grand Slam sword folds into a storage mode and gives the kit a genuine centerpiece accessory beyond the usual rifle and sabers
Molded-color phase-shift red plastic with strong articulation, including double-jointed elbows/knees and a 360 degree waist, so the base engineering holds up
Poseable front, side, and rear skirt armor keeps hip and leg articulation from getting blocked

Worth knowing

Skirt armor pieces are prone to popping loose or drooping during wider leg poses, a recurring note on this mold
The Grand Slam is large and heavy relative to the 1/144 figure, making balance and display awkward without a stand
Gundam Base exclusive origin means secondhand prices run noticeably above a standard RG release

Sold? Grab it.

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The build story

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

The build follows typical RG structure, inner frame runners first, then outer armor clipped over real joints rather than glued shells. Nub placement is mostly on the inside of parts where it won't show, though the Grand Slam's chrome blade needs careful handling since chrome plating scratches and shows fingerprints more readily than standard plastic, and any cut marks on it are much harder to hide than on matte parts.

Where this kit earns its keep is articulation and color payoff. The phase-shift red is molded in, not painted, so panel lines and the vents on the chest and skirts read cleanly out of the box, and a set of decals fills in the finer SEED-era markings. The elbows and knees use double joints for a genuinely wide range of motion, the waist spins fully around, and with the skirt armor able to swing out of the way the legs can hit dynamic wide stances that a lot of same-era RG kits couldn't manage. Weapon loadout covers beam rifle, shield, twin beam sabers, and the folding Grand Slam, which is a strong accessory count for a 1/144 release.

Lore & trivia

01The Strike Rouge was assembled from spare GAT-X105 Strike Gundam parts recovered after Orb's neutral engineers repaired the original suit, which is why the two machines share nearly identical base specs.
02Cagalli Yula Athha's Strike Rouge adds an AI-assisted operating system and a power extender for longer sortie time, and that same support system is credited in-universe for shifting the phase-shift armor color from Strike's blue-white scheme to red.
03The Grand Slam is a large anti-ship sword that debuted as new equipment for Strike Rouge, and this RG version was a Gundam Base exclusive release in February 2021, giving the standard RG Strike Rouge mold a dedicated big-weapon variant.