| HGGS 1/144 MBF-P02 Gundam Astray Red Frame
Series: High Grade Gundam SEED (HGGS) 1/144 Title: MBF-P02 Gundam Astray Red Frame Release Date: 01/2003 Suggested Price: ¥ 1200 No. of Parts: > 3 full runners of parts + 1 metallic-coated runner for the sword and 1 small runner for the sheath + red polycaps + stickers + decals Plastic colors: black, red, gray, white, metallic silver, translucent pink Gimmicks: metallic samurai sword with sheath, improved shoulder joints, optional decals, and movable backpack, included modeling tips booklet made specifically for this model
Contributor: Million Knives Date: January 20, 2004 This model of the Astray "Red Frame" far exceeded what I thought it would be like. I thought that for the price it cost it would have the same construction type as a high grade RGM. However, this proved to be one of the better high grade Gundam SEED models. Its construction was a little different than that of other models, seeing as how you would have to clip a piece from one of the runners of pieces then cut a few notches off the inside of the piece, where it was connected to the runner. But it is worth it for this model, which is actually a model of the Astray Red Frame from the nGundam SEED side story manga Astray.
The head is very nice. Its construction has you put two eye stickers on a red piece that goes inside the back half of the two sides of the head before the two halves are connected. After the head is connected you will notice that it has an evil kind of glare look on it, reminiscent of the Gouf from the original Mobile Suit Gundam.
The torso looks pretty good as it has a lot of detail. For example, you can see the red vents peeking through the black armor piece on the chest, which you can see actually look like vents if you look at it closely. This adds to the coolness factor of this model. The torso also has the improved shoulder joints mounted on it. The backpack for this model is pretty unique. It can stay on the back or can be moved on a joint to the back of the waist. If you move the backpack to the waist, the beam saber holders still remain on the back of the torso as they are attached to it.
The arms are anything but ordinary. First off, there are improved shoulder joints connected to the torso that not only move forward and backward, but also move up. The arms go together very well if you cut the notches out of the inside of the arms halves before you connect them. This model also includes 3 hands, which are designed to hold the weapons securely. 2 'box hands' that are used to hold the beam sabers and the sword, and one gun hand that holds the beam rifle with the index finger in front of the trigger. These hands hold the weapons very well. Also, the back of each arm has a little slot in it to hold the shield.
The legs are attached to the waist via the basic ball joint but offer some extra movement because the hole that the ball goes into to connect to the polycap is made a noticeable bit wider than other high grade kits to allow this extra freedom. The feet also feature extra joints on them to allow even more dynamic poses. But unlike the other high grade 1/144 SEED models, this one doesn't feature the double-jointed knee that allowed most of them to be able to kneel without looking goofy.
The weapons for this model include beam sabers with completely redesigned translucent pink beams. Also included with this model are a samurai-like sword and a sheath to hold it. The sword is metallic silver. The hand holds this sword very securely and with the shoulder joints on the model you can pose it like it's unsheathing the sword with the right hand without having to move the waist all the way over to the left side of it. The accessory it includes is the shield, which can be mounted on the side or back of the arm by a peg joint piece. The handle of the shield cannot be held because it is attached to it and not a separate piece, but that also allows the arm holding it to have a free hand. The last weapon included is the standard Astray beam rifle. This beam rifle includes a hand that securely holds the rifle with the index finger in front of the trigger.
Overall I think this is a very nicely made high grade 1/144 SEED model. It lacks one feature that almost all the others had (the jointed knee) but don't let that deter you from it! This is a very good model. I would recommend this model to intermediate or expert builders, since it has those notches on the pieces that you have to cut off. I say buy this model! It is very much worth more than what you pay for it! Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars <<back to Gundam |
