So having played around with this kit for a few days now, here are my thoughts. Despite the Astray itself is a pretty old kit, I do like that it has a pretty nice ab crunch, but it doesn’t have the leg lowering gimmick that allows the extra range of motion for the legs. My biggest gripe with the kit are the wrists, they just don’t flex down enough to be able to get those nice pointing lines with the katana.
The flight pack is pretty well designed with articulated wings has options for you to store the rifle and shield on it. The ability for it to transform and have the ARF hang on it is a nice addition but in reality a very frustrating experience. Getting the handle to stay in the hand was more effort than it was worth and even then I couldn’t find a pose I liked without getting collision issues.
Once you put the flight pack on the ARF it predictably becomes very back heavy. It’s still able to stand with the right adjustments to the legs, but because of the polycap/ball joint for the waist it can cause the torso to sag backwards, especially if you are utilizing the ab crunch. Still I like this particular version of the ARF the best.
Painting
Using the same concept as my previous Astray Noir build, the frame is painted using 2 different metallic tones, and a matte red for some parts to provide some contrast to the frame and prevent all the parts from blending into each other.
White – Mr Color 306 Grey FS (100%) base coat, Mr Color GX White used to create highlight effect
Black – Mr Color GX Ueno Black base coat, added Propeller Color + white for highlights
Dark Grey – Gaianotes Neutral Grey V base coat, followed by Neutral Grey III for highlight
Frame Red 1 – Mr Color GX Metal Red, followed by Mr Color Clear Red
Frame Red 2 – Mr Color GX Metal Red
Frame Red Matte – Tamiya Red Oxide primer, Starter White technique (using a very light orange), coat of Shine Red + Red Madder, followed by light coat of clear red
Gold – Gaianotes EX Black base coat, followed by Starbright Gold
Gallery
Action Pose
Fantastic work as usual! Always enjoued your built. I bought a HG version of your kit, wish me luck.