Kit Review

Straight build + partial painting + panel lining

Size comparison with a cigarette pack — the universal standard reference size.

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - The center of gravity is way too far back, so you have to pull the legs back and ca

The center of gravity is way too far back, so you have to pull the legs back and carefully balance it just to get it to stand.

The backpack gear can also be spread out like wings.

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - Folding the wing-shaped sections forward does help with balance, but it does mess u

Folding the wing-shaped sections forward does help with balance, but it does mess up the look a bit.

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - The articulation shares the same structure as the original Astray Red Frame, so it'

The articulation shares the same structure as the original Astray Red Frame, so it's pretty good overall —
but the extra armor added to the shoulders and ankles does limit the range of motion a bit more.

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - Drawing-the-sword-from-the-side pose. The sword is just too small to look cool thou

Drawing-the-sword-from-the-side pose. The sword is just too small to look cool though-

Armor Schneider action pose.

A small blade also pops out from the tip of the foot.

The rear section of the shoulder can move up and down.

~ Partial Painting Points ~

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - I painted the undersides of the shoulders and the front/rear shoulder armor in blue

I painted the undersides of the shoulders and the front/rear shoulder armor in blue to match the official color scheme.
Matching the exact same blue as the molded color was really tough, so I just mixed something close — the color doesn't quite match, honestly. (T_T)

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - The orange sections on the sides of the head and the blue section on the chest also

The orange sections on the sides of the head and the blue section on the chest also need partial painting..

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - The decorative piece(?) on the rear skirt got black and orange partial painting, an

The decorative piece(?) on the rear skirt got black and orange partial painting, and there's a small blue section on the ankle too..
(Again, the colors don't quite match up.. T.T)

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - Painting the first and second knuckles of the fingers white is the same deal as the

Painting the first and second knuckles of the fingers white is the same deal as the Red Frame..
Looking at the manual, there are more areas that need partial painting to match the official colors, but I'm stopping here and calling it good- ^^;

The Tactical Arms backpack on the back, lowered down.

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - First up.. to transform it into weapon mode, you extend the handle section out stra

First up.. to transform it into weapon mode, you extend the handle section out straight and push it inward to lock it in place.

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - Rotate the side of the handle 90 degrees, then fold the wing-shaped section down 90

Rotate the side of the handle 90 degrees, then fold the wing-shaped section down 90 degrees to form the support stand.

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - Plug the weapon section that was on the rear skirt in from top and bottom, and the

Plug the weapon section that was on the rear skirt in from top and bottom, and the Gatling is complete.

Dakka dakka dakka... (sounds about right)

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - Truth be told.. getting this pose to work is really not easy. T.T (see the review s

Truth be told.. getting this pose to work is really not easy. T.T (see the review summary)

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - In sword mode, if you extend the stand all the way out, you can pull off the Gatlin

In sword mode, if you extend the stand all the way out, you can pull off the Gatling action while standing. Way easier to pose..

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - Now let's make the giant sword! Spread the wing-shaped sections wide open and they

Now let's make the giant sword! Spread the wing-shaped sections wide open and they fan out like a pair of claws.

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - Bring them together and snap them in place — sword complete. Here it is compared to

Bring them together and snap them in place — sword complete. Here it is compared to the Red Frame's Gerbera Straight and
the MG Perfect Gundam's giant sword. The sword comes in at about 26cm long.

Hmm.. this look reminds me of something I've seen before!

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - If you're into manga, one look at this sword and you'll probably think of Guts from

If you're into manga, one look at this sword and you'll probably think of Guts from Berserk.
I'm a Berserk fan myself, so I tried to recreate Guts' pose — though it came out a little rough. ^_^;

Heave-ho...

The fact that it can even stand while holding that thing is pretty impressive.

It really does capture that Berserk vibe..

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - What if you're using it as a sword and then in a pinch you split it open and fire t

What if you're using it as a sword and then in a pinch you split it open and fire the machine gun..?
Or maybe grab the enemy with those claws and go dakka dakka.. (-_-)

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - You might wonder if it could actually fight with this sword, but it sure looks awes

You might wonder if it could actually fight with this sword, but it sure looks awesome.

A shot together with the Astray Red Frame.

Both of them are all about the sword life..

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L - This kit includes not just the pilot Gai Murakumo, but also a Lowe Gule figure — tw

This kit includes not just the pilot Gai Murakumo, but also a Lowe Gule figure — two figures in total.

Straight build photo (front)

Straight build photo (rear)

Once the Astray Red Frame came out in 1/100, it was pretty obvious a 1/100 Blue Frame would follow sooner or later — but surprisingly, it ended up being released as the Second L version. The Astray line has a wide variety of MSVs with all kinds of different weapon configurations, and the Second L is an heavily armed variant with a lot of additions and changes over the base Astray. In fact, more than half the runners are changed or newly added compared to the original Red Frame, making this a surprisingly well-crafted kit for a variation.

The basic body structure is the same as the Red Frame, but the head, shoulders, and feet have been significantly redesigned, with additional armor added at the ankles. Just like the Red Frame had excellent articulation, the Second L moves pretty well too — but the added shoulder and ankle armor does limit the range of motion somewhat. Still, the articulation is quite impressive overall. That said, even though balancing is crucial given the massive load on its back, the feet are actually a bit smaller than the Red Frame's, which is a bit of a head-scratcher. - -.-;

The Red Frame is already a pretty stylish piece, but the Blue Frame Second L takes it to a whole new level — this thing lives and breathes style. As you can probably tell just by looking at it, the sheer volume of gear on its back makes it really tough to keep standing upright... You basically have to angle the legs back quite a bit just to get it to stand. Nail the balance just right and it looks amazing, but get it wrong and this thing is going face-first into the floor.

Both the Red Frame and Blue Frame have joints that aren't exactly super tight, but with the Red Frame it didn't really matter since there's no heavy backpack to deal with. With the Second L, though, the loose joints become a real problem. Stiffer joints would've made a huge difference for posing... As it stands, getting the Second L into a pose or just keeping it upright is a genuine struggle. T_T

It's nowhere near as notoriously loose as the MG Zeta, and without the heavy backpack the joints would be perfectly fine for moving around — but that heavy backpack is exactly the problem.

On top of that, parts pop off all over the place the moment you try to move it, and the Armor Schneider on the side is the worst offender. Move it a little — pop. Move it a bit more — pop again. You'd want to just glue it in place, but the Armor Schneider actually needs to move along with the articulation for poses to work, so you can't even do that. Then there's the hand armor, the white parts on the forearms, the side head armor, the shoulder joints — every time you move something, pieces are raining down everywhere. A good number of them really need to be glued down before this kit becomes manageable. The flip side of all that flashy, loaded-up detail is dealing with all of this.

Especially that crouching gatling pose... I had to struggle for about 20 minutes just to get those few shots. Joints that aren't stiff enough, parts popping off left and right, the body tipping over because it can't hold its balance... After a fierce battle with all of that, I barely managed to get the pose and snap the photos. (Did I really need to bother...? ^^;)

Despite all those hurdles, once you get it into a gatling pose or sword configuration and it's actually holding the pose... the style and sheer coolness of it is absolutely killer. The massive sword in particular — which really brings Berserk to mind — has a great design, but it's the sheer size of the thing that just radiates an incredible sense of presence. You could almost say this kit is worth owning for the sword alone. The transformation mechanism for the weapons is also really nicely put together.

Just like the Astray Red Frame, the Blue Frame has a lot of tricky color combinations by design, so there are plenty of spots that need touch-up painting. I did some touch-up work here and there, but skipped a few spots because it got tedious (like the orange parts on the sword, for example). Panel lining alone takes 2–3 times longer than on other kits — this is definitely a high-maintenance build in a lot of ways, but the end result is undeniably cool.

The somewhat weak joints are a real sticking point, but one thing's for sure — this kit has style in spades. The Astray line has built up a huge fanbase with its flashy, over-the-top look, so it seems like Bandai is putting serious investment into it (meaning it sells well). Here's hoping we'll see more MSVs from the line down the road — like the Amatsu or the Gold Frame (the non-event version, please!)~

1/100 Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L | 2004.7 | ¥2,500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.