Introduction:
This is the last HG IBO kit from the set given to me and I tried to finish this one quickly because I still have two more in line. I will be quick with the review as well and just point out most of the noticeable factors. I’m not being lazy; I am just trying to keep up with the deadline.
Before I got the chance to build this kit [Astaroth Origin], a friend of mine already sent images just before it got released in the market. I really love the color and the design of this model. Unfortunately, there was no info yet that this model will receive a 1/100 treatment. Maybe in the future, but I doubt it will be within months before year 2017 ends. It’s just my guess so I could be wrong.
Again, please ignore any typos you may notice in the article. But I do need some corrections on different terminologies or information if what I’ve said in the following paragraphs is wrong.
Unboxing:
Nothing new in the box art and the theme were pretty much the same with the other IBO kits.
You get two plastic bags here with the sprues inside.
The construction manual features the pilot and the mobile suit in the front page. It’s not a big deal if the texts are written in Japanese, but I like it if they have included some English-translated info as well. I guess it can’t be helped because there were other characters featured in the front page as well.
As usual, you get the front part of the paper with colors and the back side is printed in black. It is folded in several pages to fit in.
Here’s the list of the sprues and other contents of the kit.
Sprues/Runners:
Even though the finished model in the box seems to have a lot of parts, you only have 5 sprues here. I don’t like the brown parts in Sprue C. I just thought they have the same rough feeling again back when I built the Gundam Vual. But there were no badly molded or missing parts so it’s fine on my side that they are complete.
I will use the foil stickers here to add some extra color but I will leave the marking for the eyes and use a metallic green instead.
Body Unit:
I kind of forgot what kit was released first – the Vual or the Astaroth Origin. The Astaroth Origin has the same parts like that of Vual but this model has the completed armor compared to the half-completed look of Vual. That means you can just repaint this to black and get the head for a fully armored Vual.
There were no issues here in snap fitting except for the few seams in the inner frame which is my fault for not fitting the polycaps firmly. I like the tone of red here and it is a bit darker or almost similar to the color of maroon.
Head Unit:
Parts separation in this unit is above average and that means you have a nice set of options if you’re planning to paint this model
It was a smooth build and I am glad that the red face mask doesn’t pop off.
Like I said earlier, I will not use the foil sticker for the eyes. My apologies for the blurry shot but yes I did used the metallic green of Uniball Signo pen here. I also used some silver to add some extra color.
Arm Unit:
There’s a nice amount of parts here in the arms thanks to the shield attached on the sides of the shoulder armors. I remembered that I attached the shoulder armors of vual incorrectly and I’m sorry about that. But it still looked cool right? LOL xD
Overall there were no snap fitting issues here but you will encounter an issue once you attach the hands. The ball joint of the hand seems a bit large for the socket. This results to a small seam in the wrist. At some point the seam doesn’t shows up, but there were cases when I twist the hands the seam tends to appear. Not a big deal actually but you might want to check this out especially if you’re planning to paint the model.
Articulation is nice and you get a decent bend here.
You can move the shoulder armors up and the shields as well.
Rotating the shield is also possible because of the rounded male-female pegs. One of the gimmicks here is that you can pull this gray flap out to form a wing for flight purposes.
Leg Unit:
The leg features average amount of parts and most outer armor parts are red.
It was a smooth build here with no bothersome issues. It’s your call if you want to add those foil stickers for the feet.
Movement range isn’t bad but not that very good either. You get a good angle for certain poses but I don’t think it can do very extreme poses even if the waist is a male-peg design and not your common ball-joint peg.
Waist Unit:
The waist also features average amount of parts with two tones of red.
Same with the other kits I have built, I don’t see any problems in cutting the front skirts’ pegs. Just be sure to check if the crotch part has sockets to hold them and make sure the ball joint are not damaged to avoid a too loose movement.
Same with the Vual only in red color; but the good thing here is that it was a smooth build.
You can lift the side skirts way up and the front skirt to a certain degree. Moving it sideways is also possible to give you more angles for the legs.
Backpack Unit:
You get a simple backpack with no other parts. It was kind of a disappointment Bandai didn’t design the middle section to be separated. I thought it was a movable fin of sort same with the Aegis Gundam.
There were no snap fitting issues so that’s good on my side. I applied the foil sticker to give it some color.
The back has a connector that can be lifted up or down. So I am counting this as part of the gimmicks because the Astaroth seems to have a flight mode as well.
Weapons:
150mm Shotgun:
Amount of parts were pretty straightforward as expected from a high grade kit.
Detailing is really great though and you have no issues here.
Nanolaminate Sword and Sledgehammer:
Same with the shotgun, you get simple parts to build the sledgehammer. There are no parts needed to build the sword.
The nice detailing of the weapons here designed by Bandai outweighs the lack of parts separation. It’s really nice that the sledgehammer also acts as a scabbard for the nanolaminate sword. So you actually have 3 weapons here for Astaroth Origin.
This red piece acts as a holster where you can attach both shotgun and sledgehammer.
It looks really cool but I think it will get in the way when you stand the model straight.
Completed Model:
So yeah, the weapon does get in the way but it’s not much of a big deal.
Articulation Test:
The model still features nice movement range even after the final assembly. With a few twist here and there, Astaroth Origin can possibly show cool dynamic poses especially with an action base.
Rest of the shots:
My apologies if there were any blurry shots. I am still working on my photography (using a cellphone camera :v ).
So here are my personal ratings for Astaroth Origin…
 |
| Design based from GDC card |
Plastic Quality: 9/10
I don’t have much to say here regarding the plastic quality. Bandai has always strived to put this into the top. There were some bumps back then, but Bandai never ceases to please their consumers. And Astaroth Origin looks great because of what they did. The color looks great and I like it very much. There were no flashes or badly molded parts (incomplete mold).
Assembly: 9/10
I’m supposed to give this an 8 because of my problem in the wrist section. But it was just a minor issue that can be fixed or ignored. Everything fits just fine as expected from results of the other HG IBO kits I have built. There were no loose parts either and tightness on the joints was enough to hold each body parts.
Detailing: 9/10
Even without the foil stickers, the model looks really great. The detailing applied for a High Grade model is really awesome. I am getting excited what if Astaroth Origin finally gets the spot in the 1/100 FM line. Of course, with some good ideas (and skill) in painting, this model can definitely become an eye-catcher.
Articulation: 9/10
The model may seem bulky or wide because of the shields in the shoulder, but the articulation gives way for good movement range. You can lift these shields up and slide-open the flaps to form the flight mode. Legs also look “muscular” but features decent angles.
Gimmicks: 4/10
I think there were several gimmicks here to take note of. The shields on the arms were the primary ones that caught my attention. I mean Bandai could have designed the mold where the gray piece is fixed and you can’t slide it out. Fortunately, Bandai give it a simple yet nice articulation.
Weapons: 5/10
The weapons were really awesome for me because you have a lot of poses to do. More weapons means more options for posing. And because you have a basic inner frame, you can use other weapons from the IBO line and add it up here for Astaroth Origin.
Extras: 2/10
The kit doesn’t have any extras that you can use, but the whole model itself is already complete or full of weaponry to think it needs extra items.
Patience: 3/10
Same with the rest of the HG IBO kits I have built, it’s really easy and smooth. If I were not so crammed with work or other things to do, I can finish the model within hours.
Overall Rating: 9/10
It’s a really nice kit with that features good overall detailing. There are lots of panel lines and those I call “semi vents” if you want to put some panel accents. Plastic is really good overall and I am glad that I didn’t encounter the same quality from Vual where the nubs tends to get rough when you trim them. I love the color as well and it reminds me of Sengoku Astray. If I were to paint the kit, I would definitely follow the Sengoku Astray color scheme and add some white sections in its body.
Yes, I’d recommend this kit among beginners and those who just want to build as part of their stress-relieving free time. The only issue here were the seams I mentioned when you attach the fixed hands which are just a minor problem. I don’t think the foil stickers pose an issue as long as you’re careful when applying them. I was kind of disappointed that Bandai didn’t design some carved surfaces to fit the stickers. If you noticed the Kimaris Vidar, the shield on its side features a carved surface and you can place the foil sticker there. The good thing about it is that the carved surface can protect the foil stickers getting torn. If Bandai did the same thing here in Astaroth Origin, that would be nice.
The kit gives you a lot of color scheme ideas if you want to paint it. Although the problem I see here is the parts separation. You may need to add a lot of masking tapes just to get the extra detailing. And since you have the same inner frame with the rest of the HG IBO kits, the kit does have a lot of room for modification.
If this kit would show up in Daban Model’s line, I suggest you go for Bandai. Not because there were issues from the original kit that might get worse, but you want the quality and rich color of the Astaroth Origin. You will enjoy the building process if there are no issues step in to bother you. :)
That’s all I can say for this awesome kit (hoping for 1/100 FM :D ), if there are typos just pretend you didn’t see them. But if there is wrong information used in the article, please do correct me.
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We are now back in the decals-making business, although this is only available for Philippine consumers. And we still don’t have a huge set of choices at the moment but we are moving kit by kit.
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