Release Date: 07/2007
Suggested Price: ¥ 2000
No. of Parts: 10+
Plastic colors: black, red, light orange yellow,
INTRODUCTION:
the GAT-X105E Strike Noir is a modified Strike Gundam (E for "Enhanced") developed by Actaeon Industries. some of the remarkable improvements of this variant is the implementation of the "Variable Phase Shift" armor - similar to the ZGMF-X56 Impulse, enhanced power system, additional rocket anchors on its hands and feet and the replacement of the usual armor schneiders with a pair of "shorty" beam rifes.
its striker pack, AQM/E-X09S "Noir Striker" holds a variety of weapons - a pair of linear guns, two "Fragarach" beam blades and an additional rocket anchor. with all these armaments and improvements and add the fact that its piloted by Phantom Pain's Sven Cal Bayang , the Strike Noir is truly a formidable mobile suit to take on.
the Strike Noir participated in various missions for the under the service of the Phantom Pain unit. in its last mission to capture the DSSD's (Deep Space Survey and Development Organization) GSX-401FW Stargazer. With the end result of it critically damaged and stranded in Venus, its remaining energy was used to recharge the Stargazer and abandoned there.
HEAD
the head is excellent in terms of articulation and has a wide range of movement perfect for a lot of poses. there are two things that i find somewhat disappointing: QC issues and the visibility of the neck joint. the head has a tolerance to have bent antennas and paint smudges (i had to choose the best and most decent out of four stocks available) and the neck joint although well articulated is just too visible.
TORSO
the torso has a solid feel and has an articulation in the mid-section joint. details are also great in this section. the front and rear skirts are flexible to give allowance for the legs to be posed without any hindrance in while the side skirts are ball jointed.
ARMS
the shoulder armor is quite remarkable - like the emsia freedom and justice you can raise them to allow extra clearance for those "gun-fu" poses - as how it is portrayed in the animation, the game (alliance vs. zaft II plus), and model kits (hggs and MG). despite the detail and articulation the arms have, i've noticed that most stocks suffer from paint bleeds from the panel lines around the forearms. as usual, the arms have double jointed elbows and the hands come in 4 sets (closed, sword handling (fragarach), gun handling and open palm) - which is considerably good. i would also like to note that the arm to shoulder connection is a lot stiffer compared to the emsia freedom and justice - which is definitely a good thing.
LEGS
design wise, the lower legs is shorter like HGGS version which i find somewhat disappointing - i really prefer the longer version of the MG. the knees are double jointed and the ankle joints have a new approach in engineering design that makes them "flex" sideways to an extended angle.
also this is one part of the emsia that doesnt suffer much from QC issues. like the arms, the connection from knee joint to lower leg is a lot stiffer compared to the freedom and justice.
BACKPACK - NOIR STRIKER SYSTEM:
the noir striker's wings is composed of ABS plastic except for the upper wings (which turn to vertical fins in flight mode) which is composed of soft PVC (mine is slightly bent but its hardly noticable and its nothing a hot water treatment cant fix). the connecting link between the striker pack to torso is a peg that its well so it wont get loose and fall down. the articulation of the wings itself is same as the MG and HGGS kit so you can mimic the the poses from the game and animation. very lovely, i'll say.
WEAPONS:
M8F-SB1 "Shorty" beam rifle - small yet intricately designed, these beam rifles fit well on the hand sets for them. perfect for "gun-fu" poses!
MAU-M3E42 linked linear gun - mounted on the noir striker, the joints allows you to pose them just like the MG/HGGS kits. i've noticed also that it has some sort of locking tabs to secure it to the wing when not used, but it doesnt seem to fit well (not an issue since the joints themselves arent loose anyway).
MR-Q10 "Fragarach" 3 beam blade - made from stiff PVC, the swords are a lot thicker compared to its other kit intcarnations and the beam blades fit quite well. when stored in the noir striker, they have a locking mechanism so they wont fall off that easily. the handle that swivel for use and non-use modes arent loose so they wont "flop" around plus they fit well onto the handsets - perfect for those owners who are pose-hungry.
Despite the "basic" weapons loadout this emsia had, bandai didnt include the beam rifle + grenade launcher used by the duel gundam (which was shown in the animation and was packaged along with the MG) and the rocket anchor gimmicks. this is quite disappointing since EMSiAs are supposed to have complete weapons and accessories.
CONCLUSION:
although this EMSiA lacked weapons to make it truly "complete" and had its fair dose of QC issues (i had to choose the best one out of four stocks available), the solidness and posability redeemed it. add along the the superb detailng and implementation of firmer joints - which made really made a lot of difference if you're an owner of the emsia freedom and justice.
if you're a fan of the "gun-fu" tootin' strike noir and want something that wont break easily (of course, within tolerable limits), then this is its perfect incarnation for you!
