Kimi The Builder

More awesome Gunpla news!

HELLO! We are back!

In today’s 570th edition of our Let’s Talk Gunpla segment, we’ll continue where we left off and discuss the other Retail Gunpla releases made at last Wednesday’s Bandai’s Hobby New Item Info event.

And, yes, there is still a lot to talk about here.

So, without further ado. Let us get into it, shall we?

EG 1/144 MBF-02 Strike Rouge Gundam (Entry Grade)

Release Date: January 2025

Estimated price: JPY 880 (MYR 26.22* / USD 6.07* / EUR 5.48*)

*The price is subject to change, depending on the situation

The Entry Grade Strike Rouge Gundam’s announcement is one of the Entry Grades we are not surprised to see. Seeing how well the Entry-Grade Strike Gundam sold, it was just a matter of time before we got the Strike Rouge version of the Strike Gundam.

But this is one of those announcements that we wrongfully predicted we might get as a P-Bandai release. So imagine our surprise when we saw that Bandai’s retail side announced the release of this kit.

But do we get anything new here with this release?

Unfortunately, no.

You get all the same things as the previously released EG Strike, albeit with a different color scheme. We aren’t expecting this to be any different than the standard version, which is good since the EG Strike is a pretty decent kit.

But it is a bit disappointing that they didn’t bundle this version with a new backpack unit,

Speaking of backpack units, the lack of one included with this release makes us wonder if we will get the IWSP and the OOTORI pack as an Option Part release instead. If this release would help facilitate that, we would be more than happy to support it.

Speaking of option parts.

1/144 Option Parts Set Gunpla 14 (Gunbarrel Striker)

Release Date: January 2025

Estimated price: JPY 1,320 (MYR 39.03* / USD 9.03* / EUR 8.16*)

*The price is subject to change, depending on the situation

Yes, the Cavalier Aifrid isn’t the only Option Part release announcement we got last Wednesday. We also get the Gunbarrel Striker announced as an Option Part release.

Yes, we are getting two iconic SEED Vehicles getting that ‘Option Part treatment’ from Bandai. If this sells well enough, we hope that Bandai will consider continuing to release more popular SEED vehicles and ships as an Option parts release. Hopefully, we can finally get the Archangel on a 1/144 scale.

But enough fangirling about the possibility of having to sleep on the floor due to the lack of space caused by the 1/144 scale Archangel taking all living space in our house. Let’s discuss our thoughts and opinions on this particular release. Shall we?

We are impressed by how good the Option Part version of the Gunbarrel Striker looked here. Knowing how good the color separation is with the Option Part Striker pack, we know that we can expect the same level of color separation on this kit, too.

It is also nice to know that Bandai included two different mounting points. You can use either point to mount the Option Part Gunbarrel Striker on any kit, albeit on any EG or Mainline HG kits.

But we are most impressed by the fact that you can detach the Gatling Cannon mounted on the nose of the Gunbarrel Striker and use it as a handheld weapon.

Admittedly, it does look kind of silly, but we do like a little bit of silliness in our lives.

We’re looking forward to getting this one for sure.

HG 1/144 ZGMF-MM07 Z’gok (SEED FREEDOM Ver.)(HGCE)

Release Date: February 2025

Estimated price: JPY 3,520 (MYR 104.09* / USD 24.08* / EUR 21.76*)

*The price is subject to change, depending on the situation

The more time we spend looking at this, the more impressed we become by Bandai’s work. They didn’t have to work so hard to design this version, but we are glad they did.

You might wonder, “What the heck are we talking about here?”.

Well, Bandai managed to design this to house only the main body of the HGCE Infinite Justice inside the HGCE Z’gok!

Yes, somehow, Bandai found a way to make it possible!

Granted, it might not be as impressive as Ray’s Studio’s version, but if Bandai did it as they did with their version, both the HGCE Z’gok and the HGCE Infinite Justice Type would cost as much as an MG kit. Not to mention redesigning the already released HGCE Infinite Justice Gundam Type II.

Plus, it doesn’t make sense for them to put in all the effort on an HG kit; we’d rather they do that on an RG or an MG instead.

Even with that said, it is a bit disappointing that we couldn’t fit the whole MS inside. But then again, this is an HG kit; what we get here is enough to make us all happy. Plus, having something that doesn’t break the bank is nice.

But Bandai didn’t stop at giving us the ability to place the main body of the HGCE Infinite Justice Gundam Type II inside the HGCE Z’gok; they even gave us a separate head (the battle-damaged head unit) unit to provide a little peek that there is a Gundam inside this Zgok.

Not to mention, the Z’gok also looks pretty badass. Despite the limbs looking quite stiff at some points, we were impressed by the amount of articulation this thing has.

This is by far one of the most exciting HGCE releases we’ve seen, and yes, like the MG Vidar and the HGUC Psycho Gundam Mk.II, it is definitely one of the kits that we are aiming for in 2025.

This concludes the 570th edition of the Let’s Talk Gunpla segment. Honestly, this is one of the best retail Gunpla release announcements we’ve seen in a long time. We are excited about all the kits that they announced here, and that is something that we didn’t expect.

Usually, there are one or two stinkers, but not this time, apparently.

Good Job, Bandai!

Anyhow.

We’ll return in the upcoming segment next Thursday (hopefully) with a new blog post! So do look forward to that!

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Hopefully, by sharing our love and passion for building and writing about gunplas or other plamos here, this post will inspire all of you to pick up the hobby—or, better yet, reignite your love and passion for the hobby.

We shall see all of you again soon, and we hope all of you here have a splendid day and week ahead! Oh, before we go, please have an excellent time building your awesome gunplas there and until next time.

Ciao!