HG 1/144 Gundam Astray Red Frame [Flight Unit]

This is the High Grade 1/144 Gundam Astray Red Frame [Flight Unit]. :) This mobile suit comes to us from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED MSV Astray, and has a variety of pilots throughout the OVA. The Gundam Astray Red Frame is a prototype mobile suits developed by Orb using stolen data from the Earth Alliance's G Project. Its original concept was to be a MS that could be piloted by Naturals, and it was eventually loaded with an incomplete Natural-use OS. Most of the technology from the G Project is successfully copied with the exception of Phase Shift armor. In its place, the Gundam Astrays' designers made the machines out of a lighter foam metal compound, with minimal armor over the frame. This made the mobile suit lighter and faster than its G Project counterparts.

I’ll be honest, I really dig the Gundam Astray Red Frame. 😄 The katana is just a really badass touch to it. Being a bit of an older HG kit, it has a moderate number of color correcting sticks, and requires a moderate amount of paint and panel lining to get looking how it does on the box. That being said, the articulation is surprisingly impressive for an older Gundam SEED kit. You can get a lot of really dynamic action poses with this kit. This kit also includes a removable flight unit.

As far as issues go, I don’t have a lot with this one. It’s actually a pretty decent kit for its age. One thing that I don’t like about it is that the side skirt piece that the katana sheath attaches to tends to pop off easily while posing the legs. Irritating, but not a major problem as it pops right back into place. My other problem is that I wish that the articulation on the ankles was a bit better. Overall, this is a very cool kit, and a lot of fun to customize and touch up. If you’re a fan of the Astray Red Frame, and you want a good kit of it without having to pay too much, I definitely recommend this one. 😄