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MGSD ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam - A Review

This is a kit review that’s been a long time coming. This was Technically started all the way back in the June of 2023. Not unlike the previous Master Grade – the MG Astray Blue Frame D – this was started and stopped and moved all over the place around my room. Its box taking up a fair amount of space where ever it landed. Smash cut to a few nights ago. I’m buried under art supplies and old empty boxes. And while I’m moving things around… I come across this old chestnut.

Without further ado, here’s my review of the MGSD Freedom Gundam.

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If you follow me elsewhere or have seen my other posts or just look at the kits in the pic at the top of this very post, you might know that I’ve become a fan of the SD Cross Silhouette line of Gundam kits. When I heard about what’s effectively the Master Grade version of their SD kits, I was confused but happy. I figured the SDCS line was the “Master Grade” version of their SD kits. After seeing the gimmicks and seeing how it’s more of a build up than the kits I dig, I knew I had to try for one.

I get it in May of 2023. I polish off my long standing MG Astray build. Instead of doing the Smart thing of doing a smaller and/or less involved kit from my backlog, I crack this one open and start it. I shortly pack it all back up and set it aside because my shoulder was on fire from working on it. The “Fun” of a lifetime of drawing and a good couple of decades of not properly taking care of myself is things like my arm hurting after a night’s worth of work - be it hobby stuff or Art stuff.

Months go by and so do other builds. This one just kept moving from place to place with a promise that I’d get to it “Someday”.

That Someday finally came a few night’s ago. I needed the room and it needed to be finished ‘cause, apparently, the Finished Kit is Smaller than The Box it Come In.

Enough yappin! Here’s the Build!

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This was a bit of an interesting build. The kit itself snaps up very well but everything was Tight. The lenses for the eyes? Awesome but Tight. The tiny opening cockpit? An incredible detail for such a small and different shaped kit… that’s Tight. The little separate feather-type bits on the backpack? You get the idea.

There were times where I had to bust out my pliers and wrap the jaws in a cloth to help force parts together in that last little millimeter to get them together without putting marks on it. Although this was a pain (and almost wished they’d have chosen to use polycaps on some of the movable parts), this isn’t a bad thing now that it’s built.

The Freedom is a plastic on plastic build. With how tight the joints are, I don’t think I’ll have to worry about it coming loose any time soon. If anything, I’ll have to worry about the joints bonding over time and the thing locking up or some parts possibly flexing themselves into breakage. The backpack is nearly as heavy as the Freedom itself making it want to lean back on its wings when not supported by a stand.

That said, this little guy is every bit a Master Grade as its 1/100th scale counterparts. I Love that it had a metric ton of hidden details no one will ever see once it was built. There’s detailing on the inside of the armor pieces, there’s details on parts of the frame that you’d never seen if unless you just keep everything separate. I know folks like to talk up the reflector bits in the wings but the eyes? The detailing on the eyes is next level. You can make out the camera bits in them without the need for lighting (Which I Wish this could’ve had all the same).

The other fantastic thing that this little kit has that’s directly attributable to the Absolute Tightness of the bits is it can take and hold a pose like no one’s business. It takes a minute to find the sweet spot for balancing it but, when you do, it looks so cool doing it. That’s thanks mostly to the scale. With everything either squished or exaggerated in some way, all the details are accentuated. It uses the MG style ball jointed poseable hands. But of course, it does. It is still a Master Grade, after all.

Some of the selling points for MGs are the extra bits and details color separation that you don’t see in the standard HGs with an added size. This MGSD is much the same way. There’s a ton of nice color separation and moving gimmicks. It’s also almost as tall as an HG. Kinda’ funny considering it’s Technically part of the Super Deformed lineup. A line famous for its small cute size.

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Ultimately, I really enjoyed this kit. Sure it was a bit of a pain at times to build and actively hurt me (Seriously. Kids, take care of your arms and shoulders Before issues arise.) but I can’t complain about the outcome.

I Can complain about the absolute Mountain of [Forbidden Sprinkles] it leaves behind, though. I’m going to be cleaning those little plastic bit out of my gear for weeks.

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