Everyone knows that this is coming out in December. The purpose of this post isn't to inform you of the release but to talk about how awesome it's going to be. Those who frequent my Facebook page have had a preview of this already.
I believe personally that this is going to be the best PG ever. I had reserved that title for PG Strike but I believe that this will supplant it. The first PG designed by Katoki Hajime. And correct me if I'm wrong but I believe this is the first time he's even touched a MS from the Seed/Destiny line.
Katoki has NEVER let me down. As far as I'm concerned he's King Midas. And the fact the Strike Freedom is the successor to the Strike (and I use that term loosely) should hopefully indicate that the Strike Freedom should be a better model than the Strike considering how far modeling technology has come in just a few short years. 6 to be exact.
First let me say this outright. I'm not a big fan of the Strike Freedom. I think it's overpowered and unrealistic (if such a word can really be used when talking about 18 meter tall robots). I can't imagine any suit defeating it (in the Seed Universe) and it is, indeed, undefeated in battle.
There's just too much going on... I've never been a big fan of suits like that. I'm a grunt/mass production guy. But at the same time I recognize how popular (extremely in some cases) this suit is. It is quite majestic actually.
Combined that sense of glorious-ness , Katoki's design, new modeling tech (look no further than PG 00 if you want to know what I'm referring too) and all the possible additions for this kit (wings of light, display base for the dragoons, clear parts, plated parts, Oh God please let it have a gold plated frame!) and it has the potential to be something epic... Which I'm predicting it's going to be. Something the likes of which none of us have ever seen or will likely see in the near future because there are a scant number of kits that have this kind of potential. Actually I can think of only one and this is it.
There will no doubt be some extras for those who choose to pre-order and there may be some extra stuff in the box as well. Time will tell but I'm going on the record right now and saying that this will be a PG for the ages. Possibly one that sets a new standard, thus changing our definitions of what we think "Perfect" grade models are. This is going to be a best seller. Especially if they can keep the price reasonable (as in under 15000 yen). I, personally, am willing to go up to 20000 depending on how it looks and what it comes with.
I'm predicting big things for this model.
Watch. You'll see.
I totally agree with you with the fact that the SF as suit in the anime, is not a very good one in that its too overpowered. But I do agree that the design is good one. Peoples hatred for the anime makes them not try to even appreciate the design of the SF, and such people are really shallow for doing that. A bad execution in the anime does not make it an ugly suit.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I personally hope that it doesnt come gold plated. I think having a gold inner frame is really garish, so I hope it comes in the dull "gold" so I can repaint it to a gunmetal color when I do get it. Plus having it gold plated will just increase the price. I'm sure Bandai will do all it can to hike up the prices to exorbitant proportions
Man, if you were to say you cant wait for the PG SF on youtube, people go absolutely nuts lol.
ReplyDeleteBut yea, if i have the money, and if the price is reasonable, I'll have to get it...it'll be my first Perfect Grade =)
25000 yen for something that will probably re-use some strike parts does'nt seem like a great purchase.
ReplyDeleteI'll hold back my expectations since this is a popular gundam, Bandai can half-ass on it and it'll still sell. I'll reserve my final judgment until I see a prototype. Oh yea, 15000 might be completely wishful thinking since the MG The O is already 13000 ^^;. I expect this to be on the same level as 00 Raiser.
ReplyDeleteBased solely on design alone, I almost hate the SF. like you said, it has too much going on. It seems like they crammed everything into it just for the sake of it and so the others doesn't outshine it. It's sorta like a little kid's dream Gundam. The gold is just out of place compared to the rest of its color scheme and... I better stop rambling on haha. I think we can mutually agree on what is not right with its design ^^;.
I'm interested in it, but like Z, I'm waiting to see how the actual prototype looks. Also, price is a big thing... I can see it being 20,000 easy simply with the idea of the Dragoon system and whatever gimmicks they cram in.
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, I find the design fairly decent, although I'm not a big fan of Seed and Seed Destiny's torso design, in that I don't like how the cockpit area is jutting out.
Overall, to be honest with you, if I get the PG, I'm painting the frame. Never been a fan of the gold frame... to be honest, for some reason I don't recall the "gold" when watching the series, but it jumps out at me when looking at the plamo kits...
Guess it will come down to the prototype, which we'll see sometime next month.
Same boat as the others, the prototype+goodies included will play a big role in my getting this or not. The 00-Raiser didn't have enough to justify the price to me but with a suit like SF there's so much room for extras that they could easily make me overlook the price and the face that shipping is going to absolutely crush my wallet.
ReplyDeleteAs for the design, I've never even -seen- Gundam Seed/Seed Destiny so I'm just going by the design alone. I've heard plenty about the suit being overpowered and agree that it has a lot going on (hey backpacks heeeey), but given that Kaotki is working on it that gives me a good outlook on how this kit is going to turn out. I'm not a huge fan of the gold frame either but I'd definitely be painting this is a more toned-down colorscheme so it's hardly an issue. As cool as gold plated runners would be for the frame I know that it would jack the price up hardcore.
Z tells the truth.
ReplyDeleteBut to be frank Im vey F**ked up happy I havent bough any PG yet, cause I was really waiting for Bandai to finnaly hit the big red button(of seed destiny) for some time...
Gold plated frame, dream on, the 20000 yen price migh not justify the plating cost for each parts on the runner, buut the price aint official yet so it will depend on Bandai's markerting props
BB you predicted it, this will be the first PG that i will buy when i get a job.
ReplyDeletei watched this about 4 years ago, i loved this suit, this was my first MG, and it will be my first PG, and no please no gold plated parts it would be better to paint it with gold gunmetal for a better finish instead of the gold plated runners.
the bad thing about the suit? too much power, but that design is manly :P and i love it xD
While I too, am excited about the upcoming PG Strike Freedom holiday release, I must respectfully disagree about Hajime Katoki. True, he's a top-class mecha designer and he's been the creator of some of my all-time favorite mechs (SRW-related mecha, Endless Waltz Gundams, Virtual On, etc.), I find he's a bit lacking as an ENGINEER.
ReplyDeleteTake for example the MG Unicorn - this is his brainchild from start to finish, and it's a great design, but what annoys me is that he compromised a lot of the fundamentals just to get the damn thing to transform. And it's an ingenious transformation mechanic, to be sure, but a lot of the inherent problems the mech incurred as part of the design choice could have been avoided.
And his Wing Ver.Ka is a great design - I love it better than the original Wing design (though I still love the clean, classic look as well - I have both kits) but I find that something as simple as the upper leg joint to be VERY flimsy - a piece of it broke off AFTER I assembled the thing after one or two transformations. This design flaw is not in the 2010 Gundam Wing MG kit, as the leg joints are build sturdier (and they have the exact same range of movement).
And his Victory Ver,Ka - yeah, in his defense, it's not the easiest mecha to design into a workable model kit, and I feel for the guy because it has PLENTY of inherent engineering hurdles, but he did the best he could - and dropped the ball. The kit is loose on many parts, and the damn shield can't even stay upright. I've found the Zeta's transformation to be just as complex (some would argue even more so) than the Victory's and yet look at the Ver. 2.0 that came out a few years BEFORE Katoki's Victory kit - it's a pretty solid kit overall. Far better than it's first MG incarnation and a worthy display piece.
So, while Katoki's designs are awesome, I find that they're great from an aesthetic point, but when it comes to kits, he still has a bit to learn. So I'll withhold judgement on the PG Strike Freedom till the holidays. I was going to make the Red Frame Astray my very first PG, but I'm hoping that Katoki will change my mind, especially since the Strike Freedom is one of my favorites.
nice comment. thanks for that.
ReplyDeletei actually dont have any ver. ka kits at all so i can only comment on him from a design perspective.
Just like to make a point in regards to CKai Cydek comment about Katoki's lack of engineering in his MG kits, I must correct that much of the articulations and joints are not solely designed by him. There's alot more to that in terms of the production of an MG. much of the inner mechanics, if that's how'd you call it, are designed by Bandai's gunpla development team. he himself could not have designed every single detail all by himself. It involves dozens of staff to come up with all the details in an MG and the final call is based upon Bandai's gunpla development team, not Katoki himself. e.g. the transformation of the MG Unicorn's head, which Katoki initially wanted to have the mask hidden in a rotational mechanism, as rejected by bandai and has the current folding mechanism instead.
ReplyDeleteAs for the PG, I gotta say it turns out to be quite disastrous and dissapointing. Apart from the details, not only did bandai not follow Katoki's proportions, they changed the design so that it would fit onto the old PG Strike's frame, just like the Astray. So strickly speaking I would not consider this as a ver.ka level PG kit. Bandai's simply using Katoki's name to boost sales.
good points. but im not sure if i agree with you in the last section. granted it doesnt look 'quite' katoki enough for me... im still going to buy it i think. it may not be all we hope it to be but its the best we're going to get.
ReplyDelete