Hey guys! It's Gundam Guy's first ever Build Gunpla post and this time I am featuring the ever so cute SDEX (Super Deformed Extreme) Strike Freedom Gundam! SDEX are kits that are chibi or cute. Usually like a caricature of a Gundam, small body with a large head! It's actually fun, cute and awesome! Let's get to it!
I got this kit at a good price of Php 349.75 or about $7.00. It is actually a kit that I have been longing to get for quite some time, just that I have been really focused on HG and RG kits and I thought something out of the ordinary was in order. A little information about the Gundam is that it is the star or main protagonist Gundam in Gundam Seed Destiny. It is an upgraded version of the Freedom Gundam and takes its name from the Strike and Freedom Gundam, both of which were piloted by Kira Yamato, the protagonist of the series.
This Gundam features 2 beam rifles that can be combined to form a weapon - it's sort of a bazooka, 2 rail guns on its hips, 2 beam sabers that can be attached together to form a weapon that looks like a staff (something like Darth Maul's weapon), 8 dragoons on it's wings that have their own beam rifles and a hyper cannon on it's belly. Oh, and a shield on its arms as well.
This Gundam definitely comes with a punch and is ready to do some major damage!
Out of the box this is what we get:
The kit doesn't have lots of runners which is good for its price but baaaad for color accuracy. I actually had to spend a bit of time painting this kit and making sure it looked nice and well. I think the most noticeable ones were the v-fin on its head and the hands that were supposed to be gold.
Assembly was as expected, simple and fun! SDEX is definitely perfect for beginners and for people just wanting to have a good time putting gunpla together. The overall look of an SDEX is also perfect for some kit combination and overall has a pretty solid feel to it!
Now the only downside of this kit are the stickers that would have to suffice for the lack of color accuracy for the kit. While they aren't bad, they aren't the one's you would also really want to have. As shown here, the hip actually depends on stickers to get the color right.
As mentioned, the build was simple and fun, fast and never a boring moment was felt! This will definitely not be my last SDEX kit! Probably gonna go for Rx-78-2, the famous LOLO! Oh and since I did mention that this was a quick and fun build, here is the finished Gunpla!
The cool thing is I actually have the HG version of this kit too and so I've decided to take it with me to our office and show off! Hahaha, I recently influenced my friends to start getting into gunpla as well!
Aside from the obvious differences of the size, articulation, color accuracy and everything else, there are definitely pros and cons to the 2 kits. For one the SDEX feels more solid compared to the HG. Chicks actually dig the SDEX compared to the HG and got extra points in the office on that day! Chicks and gunpla... What can go wrong? Hahaha!
All in all I will definitely recommend this kit to people who are fans of Gundam Seed destiny, SDEX, beginning builders and anyone who just wants a cute friend by their side! Gunpla is freedom!