HG 1/144 Gundam Astraea Type F Review - Part 2

This is a continuation of part 1 here.

After a good long wait, here is the next part of this review! Finally! XP
I've been quite busy as I got so many things to do lately especially since the finals are next week. However, I feel guilty for not finishing this review so I decided to post it up today (don't worry I've been studying). :P

This part of the review is done from time to time photo-shoots so the photos may look a little different from one another especially when I used the black backdrop (which I'm using to make a 4Koma for Z's giveaway - still in progress). Anyways, enjoy the shots but I feel that you may get poisoned by the Astraea's armaments. There is so many poses you can do (although the pose-ability is limited)!

Part 1: Comparisons

Standard HG height there. BTW, this chewing gum is quite minty! :O

Part X1: That's a LOT of Armaments

If you built all the armaments of the Astraea plus the excess Exia parts, you'll have a heck lot of weapons and two shields! You might need to get a polycap from another model if you want to build both the shields though (the Exia's shield is pointless to build however).

Part 2: Up, Left, Down, Right!
As per recent releases of HGs, the part separation of the Astraea is pretty decent except for the reused parts from the 2007 released Exia. I really like the shield, I wished they did that before. I don't really care if the underside of the shield ain't gray/brown since that is a very negligible detail for me. It is better for the more noticeable side of the shield to be at least dual colored and not depend on a huge piece of sticker IMHO. ^^

Even though I said the part separation is pretty decent the color separation seems very half-arsed. I think I stressed on this quite a lot in the first part so I needn't say more. However, I really wish that Bandai would separate the vents and caps better as after further inspections this will be bothersome to the normal Astraea as well which is supposed to WHITE. :/

Part X: Comparison with Exia

I don't really need to say anything here do I?

Note: There is no articulation section as the articulation of the HG Astraea Type F is exactly the same as the HG Exia so there is no need for me to show you. ^^;
The weapon gimmicks should have been obvious from the previous part but if you are confused or my photos/explanations are unclear you may ask via comments.

Part 3: Action!

*PEW**PEW**PEW*

Full swords equip!

:3

Gundam GN Hammer!

BFGs?

Astraea looks very nice IMHO with dual pistols. *.*

How fast does Astraea Type F moves when it goes Trans-AM? XP

Part 4: Full Arms! War Machine!

New set of photos after this. ^^

I did my best to stick as many stuff onto the Astraea Type F... which are;

• Proto GN Sword
• GN Sword
• GN Short Blade
• GN Long Blade
  
• GN Beam Rifle
• GN Launcher
• GN Hammer
  
• NGN Bazooka
• GN Hand Missile
• GN Beam Pistol (2)
• GN Beam Saber (2)

Its not easy to pose it around with all those on though (similar to my 0012S/2G) but it is possible to pose a bit. XP

Part 5: HG VS NG (1/144 VS 1/100)

Though not so obvious, the NG has a slight orange tone to it while the HG has a more accurate red color.
Note: I used Exia's V-Fin for the NG.

As you can clearly see, both the HG and NG has some inaccurate colors. However, the NG is more accurate and the inaccurate colors are at less noticeable (such as neck and hands). If you're a person who paints their kits, this may not be a problem to you but for casual collectors and builders (like me), it is quite annoying. It is ignorable but it is problematic to those who like their kits to be as color accurate as possible.

A different way to hide seams (note the shoulders). The HG does it better here. ^^

Stickers are given for the NG whereas the HG doesn't get any (the green thrusters). However, paint do seem to look better here. :D

The NG obviously has the better articulation here but it can be argued that the HG is more stable. Then again, it would be great if Bandai releases a MG Astraea Type F (it is only a matter of time) with a weapon set like this HG *hint**hint*. C:

Beam sabers FTW!

Part 6: Additional Weapons for All
Part 6.1: Dynames's Pistols

Even though the pistols are meant for Dynames, the connection for the pistols holsters are not compatible. If you do intend to stick them on, you'll have to do some minor modding. Otherwise, you can just let the Dynames wield them normally.

Part 6.2: Kyrios's Hand Missiles

Is it me or does the Kyrios looks amazingly awesome with that additional weapon? Too bad there is only one...

Part 6.3: GUNDAM HAMMER!!!
Even though the GN Hammer is made for the Astraea Type F, it does look better with the 0. XD

Part 6.4: I So Forgot the AHEAD/GN-X
Sorry folks, forgot to pose them with the NGN Bazooka. Now, just imagine the AHEAD holding one and Astraea Type F ripping it off of him. :O

Hm, maybe I'll do that in the special Part 3.

Part 7: Conclusion
Pros

• Crazy amount of armaments
• Able to build either Type F or F2

Cons

• Same articulation range as the 2007 HG Exia
• Colors are inaccurate for the vents and "condenser caps"

In terms of whether to get or not is very subjective for this one. It doesn't incorporate the new HG 00 Season 2 polycaps and still uses the old mechanics of the 1st season since it is just a variation. It is not bad per say but could have been better is Bandai would re-engineer the kit (although that is an impossible wish). Nonetheless, this kit is great for those who loves to have lots of weapons or want the "missing weapons" of the other season 1 Gundams or maybe you just like the Astraea Type F like me. The price is reasonable for the amount of stuff you're getting so you needn't think much about the price.

If you want the white/original Astraea, Bandai will release that one soon enough (forgot when though). Yay, more variation milking (my wallet is a victim and I am a sort of happy person since I just like the design too much)!

Okay, that's all for now. Sorry if I forgot anything since I delayed this post too much. ^^;
Until the next post. :)