Hobby Talk: Model Kit Review, MG MBF-PO2KAI Gundam Astray Red Frame Kai

Kit Details
Gundam: Gundam Astray Red Frame Kai
Code:  MBF-PO2KAI
Series: Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Astray
Pilot: Lowe Guele
Faction: Junk Guild
Weapons: Gerbera Straight and Tiger Pierce, Tactical Arms IIL
Release: February 2010
Box: D1
Runner: 28
Parts: 456
Price: 5000 yen

Build / Difficulty
(Score: +2)
Good: Very good build experience.  Lots of surface details to work on and excellent part separation.
Bad: Lots of small parts for a MG kit.  The build can be overwhelming, a bit too complicated for beginners.
Difficulty: High
Panel Line: Heavy.  Lots of panel line needed on armor and inner frames.
Decals: Quite a lot.  Stickers and dry transfers. But I ordered a 3rd party water transfer to boost the look.

Looks / Details
(Score: +1)
Good: Really complicated look.  Red frames are exposed at every opportunity to make this kit looks great.  And all the small parts makes for a great color separation.  No stickers needed to separate the colors.
Bad: A bit too busy.  You really need to work on your builder skills like panel lining and painting to bring the best out of the kit.

Accessories
(Score: +2)
You get: 2 chrome coated sword.  These are some of the most awesome weapons ever.  And a very complicated tactical arms that can transform into multiple forms.

Articulation / Pose ability
(Score: +2)
Good: Awesome range of movements.  Overall kit and joints are very solid.
Bad: Posing with the tactical arms can be a challenge, but the payoff is great if you get it right.

Shelf presence
(Score: +1)
Good: The Astray Red Frame looks awesome.  Bright red colors with great details looks great.  Posing with the 2 swords are a masterpiece.
Bad: This kit feels smaller than it should be.  Probably if this kit is half an inch taller, it would look a lot different.

Bonus
(Score: Neutral)
Being a seed kit, there are a lot of choice if you want to swap the back packs around.  But not sure if you want to do that cause the tactical arms looks good with his.

Summary and Rating
(Total Score: +8)
X Avoid
X Consider
O Shortlist
X Buy

I won't recommend you to buy this straight away due to the complexity of the build.  Recommended for season builders but beginners may find this too overwhelming.

Variants
Few variants of this kit that you can also consider.
1) Astray Blue Frame (2009) - Blue Frame version with different gimmicks.
2) Astray Blue Frame D (2014) - Souped up blue frame with thorns and strike backpack
3) Sengoku Astray (2014) - Shogun version with Oni shield.

Dalong's Review
Dalong's Score: 112

Up next: Unicorn Mega Size