MGEX Mighty Strike Freedom: ¥26,400, US Preorders at $280

March 2027 in Japan, ¥26,400 with tax: that is Bandai's date and price for the MGEX Mighty Strike Freedom, the third MGEX kit. US shops already take preorders at about $280, so the call for a US builder is whether to commit now for a kit that lands in spring 2027. Bandai's English site still has no page for it.

Key Takeaways

• Kit as listed: MGEX 1/100 マイティーストライクフリーダムガンダム on the Bandai Hobby Site (Japan), age 15+. Official images
• Japan: March 2027, ¥26,400 with tax. No day yet.
• US preorders, Oct 17: $280.95 at Gundam Planet ("May 2027 Arrival"), $279.99 at USA Gundam Store ("Est. arrival Q2 2027").
• Price jump: ¥9,350 more than the 2022 MGEX Strike Freedom in Japan.
• English page: Bandai's English item page returned a 404 page the same day.

What Happened

Bandai revealed the kit in its "最新！ガンプラ情報局 [第1回]" broadcast on the official Gundam channel on August 25, 2026. Bandai's MGEX site gives August 2026 for the start of web preorders in Japan, and Dengeki Hobby reported them open from August 26.

Video: ガンダムチャンネル (GUNDAM channel) on YouTube (official), embedded. The full broadcast runs 1 hour 13 minutes.

Bandai's Japanese item page sets the theme as 光彩表現, light and sparkle (our translation). The page says the kit:

• uses mechanical core plating on colored plastic, which it calls a first in Gunpla history;
• builds on the frame of the MGEX 1/100 Strike Freedom Gundam, with some parts newly molded;
• reworks the gold parts with several gold platings, Extra Finish and Real Metallic Gloss Injection;
• recreates the Disruptor by swapping parts;
• has a cockpit that can seat Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne figures, and adds a standing Lacus to place on the chest.

Diagram: PlamoDesk. Source: Bandai Hobby Site (Japan) item 01_7378 (our translation).

Why It Matters

The price moved more than the name. In Japan the Mighty costs ¥26,400 with tax, against ¥17,050 for the 2022 MGEX Strike Freedom it builds on: 55% more. At Gundam Planet the gap was $96 that day, $280.95 against $184.95.

Diagram: PlamoDesk. Source: Bandai Hobby Site (Japan) item pages, read Oct 17.

Desk note: Of the three regular-release MGEX kits, the Mighty is the dearest today, but not for long. Bandai's reissue notice for January to March 2027 moves the MGEX Unicorn Gundam Ver.Ka from ¥25,300 to ¥27,940 with tax (our transcription of its price tables), ¥1,540 above the Mighty. The other four MGEX items on our copy of Bandai's list are Premium Bandai, Gundam Base or event editions.

The US windows differ by shop. Gundam Planet names a month, May 2027, two months after Japan, and says the date is the North American distributor's estimate. USA Gundam Store gives a quarter. Terms differ too: Gundam Planet will not ship any order "until ALL ITEMS become available", and USA Gundam Store charges at checkout, with a full refund for cancellations within 7 days. Our guide to where to buy Gunpla in the US compares the shops' preorder rules.

Diagram: PlamoDesk. Sources: Bandai item page 01_7378 (Japanese and English), both shops' product pages, read Oct 17.

For the 2024 HG Mighty Strike Freedom ($32.95 at Gundam Planet that day) and the new SEED FREEDOM ZERO kits, see our SEED FREEDOM ZERO Gunpla guide. For what MGEX means next to MG and Ver.Ka, see Gunpla Ver.Ka explained and the MGEX section of our Gunpla grades guide.

What builders say

No one has reviewed the Mighty yet; Gundam Planet's page had no reviews on Oct 17. Reviewers of the 2022 MGEX Strike Freedom, the kit it builds on, wrote this on the same shop's page:

• trueandreal (December 2023): "At around 160 dollars, it is quite overpriced. What you get is not worth almost three master grades. But overall, I am impressed with this model."
• dean00 (October 2024): "You are paying for 3--4x normal MG prices and either close to or more than cheaper PGs for the special coatings, decals and moldings."

One was impressed, one called it not his favorite, and both pointed at the price. The Mighty asks $96 more.

Our take

Pick the Mighty only if you want this suit: the 2022 MGEX Strike Freedom is $96 cheaper at Gundam Planet. At $280.95, you pay for the plating and the figures, not a new frame. If it is the one, choose the shop by its terms, not the price: the two listings were 96 cents apart. We check Bandai's English site again when its March 2027 schedule goes up.

What we don't know yet

There is no day in March 2027 and no English item page, so no English-language price or US MSRP from Bandai. We didn't check Premium Bandai USA. Our Gunpla release schedule guide explains how the English schedule catches up.

How we checked this

On Oct 17 we reread Bandai's Japanese item page for the kit (with a cache-busting query), the English item page (404), the March 2027 Japanese schedule and the English January and March 2027 schedules ("The requested content does not exist"). We read the Japanese item page of the 2022 MGEX Strike Freedom and Bandai's MGEX site. US prices and terms come from Gundam Planet's and USA Gundam Store's product pages and searches with sold-out items shown, read that morning. The reveal date comes from the official broadcast; the Japanese preorder start from Bandai's MGEX site and Dengeki Hobby.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the MGEX Mighty Strike Freedom come out? Bandai's Japanese item page lists it for March 2027, with no day. US shops expect it later: Gundam Planet's preorder page says May 2027 Arrival, and USA Gundam Store estimates Q2 2027. Bandai's English site had no page for the kit on Oct 17, so there is no English release date yet.

How much is the MGEX Mighty Strike Freedom? ¥26,400 with Japan's 10% tax on Bandai's Japanese item page. In the US it was a $280.95 preorder at Gundam Planet and a $279.99 preorder at USA Gundam Store on Oct 17. That is ¥9,350 more in Japan than the 2022 MGEX Strike Freedom, listed at ¥17,050 with tax.

Is the MGEX Mighty Strike Freedom a new kit or a recolor of the MGEX Strike Freedom? Partly new. Bandai's page says the kit uses the frame of the MGEX 1/100 Strike Freedom Gundam as a base and recreates some parts with new molds (our translation). It adds mechanical core plating on colored plastic, which Bandai calls a first in Gunpla history, plus Kira and Lacus figures.

Where can I preorder the MGEX Mighty Strike Freedom in the US? Gundam Planet and USA Gundam Store both had preorders open on Oct 17, at $280.95 and $279.99. Gundam Planet holds a whole order until every item in it arrives. USA Gundam Store charges at checkout and refunds a preorder in full if cancelled within 7 days.

What comes in the MGEX Mighty Strike Freedom box? Bandai's Japanese page lists the Futsunomitama anti-ship sword, a Type 35 Kai railgun set, deployed Disruptor parts, two beam rifles, two beam sabers, a forearm beam shield effect part, character figures, hand parts, a display base and a sticker set (our translation).

References

• Bandai Hobby Site (Japan): MGEX 1/100 Mighty Strike Freedom Gundam (01_7378), MGEX 1/100 Strike Freedom Gundam (01_4230), March 2027 schedule, MGEX site, reissue price notice
• Bandai Hobby Site (English): item 01_7378 (404 on Oct 17), MGEX Unicorn Gundam Ver.Ka
• Gundam Planet: MGEX Mighty Strike Freedom Gundam, MGEX Strike Freedom Gundam
• USA Gundam Store: MGEX 1/100 Mighty Strike Freedom Gundam
• Dengeki Hobby Web: preorder start, August 26, 2026
• ガンダムチャンネル: 最新！ガンプラ情報局 [第1回]