This is one of my favorite models in the shelf – 1-144 Astray Red Frame – the Gundam with the Samurai Sword.I finished this quite a while ago actually; I guess it must be December last year. Since then, I’ve playing around with it quite often, like posing it with the Samurai Sword in different action sets, rifle action, sword with shield etc. The design of the model enables a great range of action, which was used in both the smaller scale version – this one, and the bigger 1-100 scale version. If you have the 1-100 scale version, you can see that the major joints – shoulders, arms, knee, and the ankle and the feet are just magnification of the 1-144 scale model. So, other than the matter of size and color details, there is not much difference between the two. Rumors had it that Bandai is going to release the MG interpretation of Astray Red Frame, but I haven’t got any update on that for sure.
The good thing about Astray is the great sense of mechanical design, especially of its legs. There are many interior mechanism poking out from its armor (another way of saying this is the amount of armor being insufficient to cover all the endoskeleton), so if you put bright color onto those interiors, the whole model will look great. If you use gold as the color, the model will look splendid, yet gives it a different feel than, say Akatsuki or Hyaku-Shiki as those two models involve golden armor all over the body, in Astray’s case, there are still an elaborate amount of while armor remaining on the model.
That strength can also becomes a weakness for the model, because the foot, shoes you might call them, seem to be too flat and small (as compared to Strike, Freedom, Providence etc), and the red interior looks a bit goofy. Depends on your opinion, because there are praises as well as critique for every single model.
The trademark of the model is of course the sword. The whole sword comes in silver, which sounds cool, but it also means you have to paint some of the details, like the handle of the sword, plus the scabbard as well for all the strange-looking red lines.
In conclusion, I think this is a neat model for such a small size. Tones of action and moves. Definitely looking forward to assembling the 1-100 scale version.
