Phantom Pain's black Strike
Gundam SEED Stargazer is a short OVA that most people find late, and the Strike Noir is the reason they remember it. It takes the Strike frame everyone already knows, drops it into black and grey, and bolts on the Noir Striker pack with its wing-mounted beam blades and linear guns. Sven Cal Bayang flies it for Phantom Pain, and the whole design reads as a covert-operations version of a suit you have seen a hundred times.
This is the 2006 High Grade, and it is a good-looking kit that punches above its size on the shelf.
Build difficulty
A straightforward High Grade. Snap-fit, all parts moulded in colour, no glue or paint required. Low part count, no tricky sub-assemblies, and a comfortable evening's work. This is a fine kit for a first or second build, and the three manipulator options mean you can change the pose later without needing anything extra.
Technical highlights
Articulation is better than the 2006 date suggests. The waist turns a full 360 degrees, the hips are ball-jointed, the knees are double-jointed, and the ankles pivot forward and tilt sideways. The shoulder armour pivots out of the way so the arms are not fighting it, and the front and side skirt armour moves so the legs can actually travel. Three pairs of hands are included, so you can swap between holding weapons, a trigger-finger pose and open palms. A display base comes in the box.
What makes this kit special
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Noir Striker pack: the wing unit that defines the suit, carrying the beam blades and linear guns.
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Three pairs of hands: weapon-holding, trigger-fingers and open-palm manipulators all included.
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Twin "Shorty" Beam Rifles: a matched pair for a dual-wield pose.
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Double-jointed knees and 360-degree waist: genuinely useful articulation for a kit of this age.
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Display base included: no need to buy a stand separately to get it airborne.
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Moulded in colour: the black and grey scheme is in the plastic, so no painting needed.
What's in the box
- Strike Noir Gundam, parts moulded in colour
- Noir Striker pack
- Two "Shorty" Beam Rifles
- Two Beam Blades
- Two Twin Linear Guns
- Rocket Anchor
- Three pairs of manipulators: weapon-holding, trigger-fingers, open-palm
- Display base
- Marking stickers and instruction manual
Compatible accessories
A display base is included with this kit, so you do not need to buy one to stand it up. If you want a second stand so the Strike Noir and another 1/144 kit can share a scene, the Bandai Action Base 2 is the standard 1/144 display stand.
Build your Cosmic Era collection
If you are building the SEED shelf, the Bandai 1/144 HG ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom Gundam (Revive) is in stock and sits at the same scale.
For Cosmic Era in 1/100, the Bandai 1/100 MG Destiny Gundam and the Bandai 1/100 MG Force Impulse Gundam are both available.
Build specifications
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Series: Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E.73: Stargazer
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Grade: High Grade (HG)
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Scale: 1/144
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Mobile suit: GAT-X105E+AQM/E-X09S Strike Noir Gundam
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Pilot: Sven Cal Bayang
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Faction: Phantom Pain, Earth Alliance
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Manufacturer: Bandai, Japan
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Original release: June 2006
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Kit packaged weight: 360 g, retail box 31 x 19 x 7.7 cm
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Barcode (JAN): 4573102582690
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Skill level: 2
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Assembly: snap-fit, no glue required
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Paint required: no, parts are moulded in colour
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Display base: included
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Special features: Noir Striker wing pack, three manipulator pairs, 360-degree waist, double-jointed knees
Perfect for
- SEED fans who want something off the main cast list
- Builders after a black-and-grey kit to break up a shelf of primary colours
- First or second-time builders who want a good-looking result without a long build
- Anyone who likes dual-wielding poses and swappable hands
- Collectors building out the Strike variants
- Builders who want a display base in the box rather than as an extra purchase
Fast Australian shipping
Dispatched same day from Brisbane if ordered before 2pm AEST on weekdays. Free shipping Australia-wide on orders over $199. Packed securely in a sturdy outer box with water-soluble cornstarch void fill that dissolves cleanly in the sink.
What to watch for
The shoulders are the thing to know about. One builder discussion of this exact kit rates the overall articulation as decent for its age but calls out the shoulder joints as a genuine low point. That is consistent with how the kit is built, since the arms hang off double-sided ball-and-socket shoulder joints and the Noir Striker pack adds weight behind them. If your shoulders end up loose, that is the design rather than a fault in your box.
Beyond that, no repeated defect came up in what I could find. This is a 2006 High Grade and it builds like one, which mostly means a lower part count and simpler engineering than a modern HG rather than anything going wrong.
Builder tips: if a shoulder joint will not hold the weight of a raised arm, a thin coat of clear nail polish on the ball joint, left to dry fully before you reassemble, tightens it back up. Use the included base rather than fighting the balance, especially with both rifles out. Panel lining does a lot on a black kit, so go lighter than you think.
Build notes
No glue and no paint required. Nippers and a hobby knife are enough, with sanding sticks handy since nub marks show clearly on black plastic. Expect around an hour and a half to two hours. Recommended age 15 and over.
Last updated: 5 August 2026 (AEST)
