Gunpla Build - SD Astray Red Frame

23 Oct 23 01:02 UTC

As of this writing, I am currently away from home, for what is a very emotionally heavy trip.

I learned back during the COVID lockdowns that building Gunpla really helped me when it felt like my world was falling apart, so I thought maybe it could help again in my current moment of need. I discovered there was a hobby store not far off the beaten path, and found myself a little something to tinker with in the hotel room:

About the Mobile Suit

I’ve built the Gundam Astray Red Frame before - or at least a palette swapped version of it. Check out that build if you want more information on the mobile suit.

About SD Gundams

This is not the first time I’ve build an SD Gundam - far from it. But I’ve never really thought too much about the different SD Gundam product lines.

And after doing a bit of research, I’m starting to realize that maybe that was for the better. It’s a bit confusing.

Or maybe it’s not! Here’s how it all (possibly?) breaks down:

  • There is a line called SD Gundam BB Senshi. As far as I can tell, this is the closest thing to a “main” line for SD’s. It started in 1987, and was “discontinued” in 2018, but has continued on since with a handful of limited/special releases.
    • Two of my kits - the SD Build Burning and the SD Command Gundam- both come from the BB Senshi line
  • Outside of BB Senshi, Bandai seems to make other lines of SDs whenever they want or need to introduce some sort of special gimmick. One such line is EX Standard. I’ve purchased two kits in this line for my kids, including the Nu Gundam and Wing Zero. It’s also the line that this Astray Red Frame hails from.

    According to the Gundam Wiki, this line’s gimmick is that some (all?) of the accessories can be combined into weird hybrid weapons that can be used both with the SDs themselves, as well as with High Grade Gunpla.

    This line went from 2015-2017, but then was brought back in 2020. The most recent EX Standard kit was of Gundam Aerial in 2022, and allegedly another one is coming out in 2024 to promote the new Gundam SEED film.

  • Another modern line is called SD Gundam Cross Silhouette. This started in 2018 and is still ongoing. The gimmick here is that you can buy an optional inner frame that makes each kit taller than a regular SD.

    This line went from 2018 to 2020, then came back for a few kits in 2023, with at least one more planned for 2024.

    There are three Cross Silhouette kits in my house, though they’re not really mine, as my kids have claimed ownership of them all. They include the SD Gundam Unicorn, and the two SD Hello Kitty Zakus.

  • Last but not least, there’s the SD Gundam World Heroes line. This doesn’t exist to push any sort of gimmick. Rather, it’s the brand under which they sell kits that hail from the SD Gundam World Heroes TV Show. I’ve got one kit built from this line, and another on the backlog.

SD Gundam Eyes

Most SD Gundams have big, cute anime eyes, but some SD lines - for instance the Cross Silhouette line - allow you to swap them out for pupil-less eyes that look tougher and cooler:

The EX Standard line, however, doesn’t give you a choice. You only get the pupil-less eyes.

The Parts

As is typical of an SD Gundam, there isn’t a ton of parts. But what I’m more interested in is the decal sheet. All three of the EX Standard SD Gundams I’ve built have had massive decal sheets. It seems to be inherent to the entire line.

Consider the following. Here’s the Cross Silhouette version of the SD Gundam Unicorn:

Notice all the red bits of the Psychoframe. That’s all clear plastic.

Now look at the EX Standard version of the SD Gundam Unicorn:

Those same bits of Psychoframe are all made out of decals.

I’m assuming this is a cost cutting measure, as I believe that EX Standard kits are cheaper than Cross Silhouette kits by a couple bucks or more. But that doesn’t make me feel any better when I’ve got an EX Standard kit to build and I want it to look halfway decent.

The bad news is that, even if you do use all the color correcting decals, any given EX Standard gunpla is still not going to be color accurate. The The good news is that, compared to the other two EX-S kits I’ve built, the Astray Red Frame still looks pretty good.

Sword

The sheath is giving me flashbacks to the Red Frame Inversion. This kid uses the exact same kinds of decals, applied in the exact same places.

As or the sword, we actually get two metallic decals to cover blade, something you don’t get with High Grade kits like the Red Frame Inversion. I applied them for now while I’m out of town, but when I get home I intend to take them off and touch up the entire sword using paints and markers.

Shield

This is a single grey piece with white and red decals:

The white decals don’t look great, but I’ll use them if it means not having to bust out white paint.

Technically speaking, I think this is the least color accurate part of the body:

Most of the backside is supposed to be red, as seen here in the manual:

I feel like this could have been easily solved with one measly extra part, but what do I know?

In any case, I don’t think it’s worth doing a full color correction. It still looks fine the way it is.

Big V Fin

The Astray Red Frame happens to have a very large V-Fin even in its non-SD form, so it lends itself well to the exaggerated proportions of an SD.

Upper Torso

The front of the upper torso is the most decal-dense part of this kit. There are seven stickers in the chest, and two more silvery decals running along the sides:

The good news is that they’re all easy to apply, and I think they all look pretty good.

On the backside, there are no decals at all:

Technically the beam saber handles are supposed to be white, and a few parts of the backpack are supposed to be red, but I honestly think they look fine as-is.

Lower Torso/Legs

You’ve got two red stickers on the front skirts, two red stickers on each leg, and one red sticker on each foot.

The ones on the feet are a bit tricky to apply, though you can do yourself a favor by using a panel lining marker around the corners and angles to hide some of the imperfections.

There’s a bit of optional painting you can do on the legs - specifically some red around the ankles, and a bit more red around the two decals - though it doesn’t strictly feel necessary. The ankles, for instance, aren’t very visible, so you can safely ignore them.

Now let’s look at the backside:

See the legs? They’re hollow. This is a thing that Bandai tends to do with some products. Whether it’s an SD Gundam or a G Frame or a Gundam Universe action figure, they’ll often straight up remove surface detail on the backside of certain products, on the assumption that most people aren’t going to be looking at them from this angle.

It’s another reason why it’s not worth color correcting anything back here.

Finished

And here it is, the SD Astray Red Frame:

In this limited lighting, with nothing but my camera phone, I think it looks pretty good. Even the silver decals on the blade look better than expected:

But I suppose I’ll have to wait until I get home to pass proper judgment. See you then.