I’m a little torn about this kit overall. Manly because, well I don’t know if it’s because of my unexperienced handling (though I hear model kits can usually take much more) or if this kit just plainly sucks the way it sucks.

Astraea is a the prototype for Gundam Exia, aka it’s the whiter and shittier version of the Gundam 00 lead gundam. I actually quite liked the simplistic design of the Astraea, which is why I got it in the first place. However, I have found major problems with this kit that just makes it overall an unpleasant purchase.

Polycaps, polycaps, polycaps. I hate them. To death. And especially on this kit. There are super stiff in places where you don’t really need them or even want them to be (shoulders, for example), and intolerably loose where it should be critical for them not to be (hands, leg-hip joints). The leg-hip joints are particularly frustrating; the two caps that form the joint keep on splitting apart, making it impossible for the model to pose without have its legs literaly falling off. Hands is also problematic for the same reasons.

Conclusion? Don’t buy it unless you really loved the design, or if you’re looking for a cheap and easy to customize model to test wild ideas on. Otherwise? I wouldn’t really recommend this kit at all.