PG MBF 02 Red Frame Astray Review

"The Red Giant"




Kewlness Factor:

I've always been fascinated with the Red Frame, especially since it's one of the few Gundams that sports a solid sword. I bought the NG Red Frame Astray after the Exia (which restarted my collection last year). Aside from being red, what attracted me first to the Red Frame was its box art and unconventional V-fin. Little did I know that I'll be getting its much bigger brother almost a year after I bought it.



Articulation:

As expected with "any" PG kit, the articulation on this one is superb. Its basic endoskeleton frame is the same as that as the PG Strike, so most of its runners are labeled "GATX105." The groin and knees have die cast metal cores, and have several points of articulation all throughout.





The back pack separates differently than its little brother's. The beam sabers remain at the shoulders when the back pack is down.



Weapons:

Forget the Huge GatX Shield and Beam Rifle. This monstrosity looks best with the Gerbera and the Tiger and NOTHING else. The Gerbera's red is the same as the outer armor, while the Tiger's is that of the frame.







Craftmanship:

Though highly detailed and articulated, I've a few bones to pick with this kit.

1. The Vfin, much like it's little brother's, comes loose rather easily.
You'd figure they'd fix that in a build such as this.

2. The articulation mechanism of the forearm also comes loose rather easily when attempting an extreme elbow bending.

3. The fingers/digits are fully articulated and comes pre assembled in its runner. The main reason for this is the knuckles are affixed with a VERY THIN strand of plastic that actually holds the knuckles in place. Rotating/twisting the knuckles for more than the recommended 90 degrees may break that strand (as I have done), making the knuckles a bit loose. It's also a bit difficult to bend the fingers as fast as you need/have to during pose changes.

All in all, a VERY expensive, but worthwhile kit to build.

Height comparison:



With its little brother...