RG Aile Strike Gundam Review

The RG Aile Strike Gundam is a Real Grade model from the ninth Gundam series Mobile Suit Gundam Seed. This model is the 3rd model in the Real Grade series of Gundam Models and in my opinion one of the easiest models to build in the RG series.

RG Aile Strike Gundam	Model Grade	Scale
	Real Grade	1/144 Scale	Amazon Link

RG Aile Strike Gundam Out-of-the-Box

This is very reminiscent of the standard protagonist Gundam design with the classic red, blue and white color scheme. It was very fun to assemble and very straightforward with how to build it. The runners are well laid out and the instructions are very easy to follow even though you are not able to read Japanese.

The out-of-the-box this model can be displayed even without putting stickers or painting needed, it doesn’t look that bad but it looks generic. The basic design that the RG Aile Strike Gundam has can be improved by applying the stickers. There are minimal sprue gates visible in the final out-of-the-build.

The armor and other accessories of the Aile Strike are so well sculpted that even without inking the panel lines, you can still see the details in the model. 

Overall Looks and Colors

As I said before, the Aile Strike uses the classic red, blue, and white color scheme that can sometimes feel very boring when put next side by side with another Gundam with the same color scheme. 

Even though the design is well done, it can sometimes look very generic especially when you compare it to the OG Gundam, RX-78-2. Aile Strike’s Homage to the RX-78-2 can be detrimental to its cool factor in my opinion but good thing that the RG Aile Strike comes with many accessories that help make it pop against the slew of red, blue and white, protagonist gundams.

Even though I hate applying stickers to my builds, this kit is an exemption, you need to apply it to this one. Just apply the big ones, don’t bother with the minuscule stickers.

Accessories 

Even though I find the base Aile Strike Gundam is too boring when to start using all its accessories this thing shines. 

The accessories include:

• 2 knives
• A rifle
• A shield
• 2 beam sabers
• The Striker pack
• 2 close fist hands

The Striker back module is really the one that makes this model kit shine. The red and black motif greatly compliments the red, blue, and white of the Aile Strike. You really need a stand to make the Striker pack look better when doing aerial poses. The Aile Strike looks dopey when equipped with the Striker backpack but stands still in the ground.

The other accessories give you more posing options for this model kit.

Build and Articulation

Thanks to the RG internal frame, the RG Aile Strike Gundam can be adjusted to any pose you desire.

Articulation is excellent, the arms and legs have good movements. The shoulder can swivel, the limbs can bend and can twist. The hand, shoulders, feet, hips, and head are attached with a ball joint.

I can’t praise enough the flexibility that RG Aile Strike has(and almost every RG Gundam Seed model for that matter). It’s amazing poseability.

If I’m going to give one nitpick on this model kit, it’s the looseness of the model. I find it frustrating that out-of-the-box some of the ball joints can be loose. A little shake of the table or the display case could cause the arms and legs to move and you’ll need to readjust its pose. 

Over time some part of the kit would just droop down and this is not exclusive to the Aile Strike. Almost every RG Gundam Seed model kit that I built suffers from loose ball joints.

This model kit is very fragile, small pieces would fall off when I tried to change the poses of this model kit. It is frustrating at times.

Another good feature Aile Strike has is the moving armor panels. If you bend the arm or the legs of the Gundam, some of the armors would move and split apart giving it an effect when posing.

One underrated gimmick this kit has is that every accessory can be attached to the Gundam(except for the sword beams when not in use). The knives are hidden in the waist armors, the shield and rifle are attached to both arms and the beam saber handles can be attached to the striker backpack.

Conclusion and Recommendation

This kit is a 3.5 out of 5 for me. Out-of-the-box experience with this kit is average, I really like the freedom of posing that the RG frame gives the Aile Strike. The number of accessories is standard for this kind of kit and the backpack reminds me of an old-school mobile suit design but I find the design good.

You need to apply stickers to improve the aesthetic of the Aile Strike.

The base Gundam is very generic, the accessories are the one that makes this kit worthwhile. One thing that bums me out of this kit is that some ball joints can be loose and pieces of the armor can fall off for no reason, it will frustrate you. It is fixable but if you are looking for a good out-of-the-box experience, you will be disappointed

Can I recommend RG Aile Strike Gundam to a newbie to the hobby?

This is one of the easiest model kits in the Real Grade lineup. If you are new to Gunpla building or want to build Gunpla more complex than High Grade, this is one of the models you can start with. 

It is easy to build. you really don’t need to paint it just put a little sticker or just ink the panel lines and you’re done. It requires minimal cleaning because of the good placement of the sprues.

You can build this in an hour and a half if you aren’t meticulous with it.

Real Grade

1/144 Scale

Amazon Link

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