Gunpla Review: 1/144 HG IBO Gundam Astaroth

So... what do normal people do when they have a career crisis? Do they panic and suffer anxiety attacks (like me)? Buying more Gunpla does not seem to be helping. But these impulse purchases means more new content for the site. So we're going to take a look at latest IBO release (as of this post), the great sword wielding Gundam Astaroth.

apologies to the readers... but making crappy effects somehow calmed him down >.<

Gundam Astaroth, to my knowledge, is the 1st MSV (Suit Variation) from the IBO universe. I initially though that this will be the new lead come the second season, but was eventually revealed to be the suit from a manga.

Aesthetics

1st impression when I saw the design was: "Look! it's a homage to the Strike Gundam," While it's not a 1:1 copy, the v-fin, the chest and overall color scheme evokes it.

Gagh... green backdrop!

The design is asymmetric, as you can see. Kinda like how the Gold Frame is 1/3 Blitz, the left side is made up of other salvaged suits: A Rodi type armor for the left arm and a weapon from another suit. Exposed mechanical details and an asymmetric knee armor further makes it unique. The side skirts is reminiscent of the GP-03.

The original Gundam Astaroth was supposedly painted red. This Astaroth, as you can see, is the more traditional lead Gundam scheme. Stickers (a lot of em) are needed to detail it up. Without paint, it looks like the Strike. But when all the details are painted, it'll look a lot more unique.

I love the red leg thrusters. They look like bloody talons jutting out of the suit.

The kit has plenty of surface details. In fact most Gundam Type suits from IBO seems to be heavy on surface details compared to the other suits from the same universe (i.e. Graze).

Kira Yamato.. Launching!

Like all IBO kits though, these kits are relatively hollow behind all that armor. And while you can pull the armor out, I find that the structural rigidity of the kit is compromized. The arm armor are especially fiddly.

Overall, the aesthetics are pretty good, but I feel it is let down by the color scheme. I'll probably figure out a way to color it in a way that will make it look menacing. The kit feels decent, but lack overall solidity of the HG Origin kits. Then again, it's priced 30-50% less than the Origin kits, so it's kinda expected. It makes it so easy to buy a bunch and kitbash 'em though.

Articulation

The suit articulation is pretty good. It sports the standard set of articulation points, so nothing really is needed to further enhance it. So i'll just give you an image dump, and a few comments on some of the sore points.

The chest swivel, the one that gives it an ab crunch is loose on mine. Could just be my copy, but it gets annoying, especially when posed with it's massive weapon. The hands are also loose in mine and the bicep swivel has an annoying tendency to pop out of the peg.

The entire lower body, however, is super poseable.

Quick remarks, the front skirts actually are quite annoying, especially when placing the kit is more extreme poses. The side skirts can get out of the way, but it's a peg and swivel affair, so you can't tilt it to one side to get out of the way. You'll have to either flip it up, or rotate it to the back (i.e. make it point backwards). Long shins and small thighs means it really cannot kneel.

Loki is disappointed, to Taylor's surprise

Overall it's above average. The only other IBO kit I have is the Grimgerde, and that one has better articulation and is a bit more solid. While it's fine using smaller weapons, the problem will start if you start wielding it's primary weapon and highlights weakness on the arms and thighs.

Now I need to get a Gusion just to see if the bulky suit has a more solid feel amongst all the IBO kits.

Weapons and Extras

The astaroth is packed with quite a number of weapons: A rifle, a knife, and gauntlet and the massive buster sword.

I love the IBO universe for making beam spam unusable as we're getting all these cool chunky looking weapons. The rifle and the knife are easily held as they are light.

The gauntlet is an interesting bit of kit. It's basically a 3 fingered hand mounted on a shield made up of the Hyakuren's side skirts. The fingers are poseable, but it only has one place to swivel. So no, you cannot make a giant fist.

The shield has 2 places to attach to.

Mounted on the kit, it introduces issues on the left arm articulation due to how massive the shield part it. The Shield also has a habit of falling off.

It would be fine if you're not ham-fisted

The giant sword is folded and mounted on the back. It also has a secondary handle that can swivel. It looks awesome tilted slightly to the side. Cloud would be proud.

You can technically put all weapons onto the kit, but the rifle and knife has no storage locations. So once you start using the massive sword, you'll need to put aside the weapons. It's the 1st IBO kit I know to not have weapons storage. The knife is supposedly stored in the side skirt and the rifle connects to the side, replacing a booster. Not exactly tactical eh.

What do you know about tactics? You got beaten in chess in 3 moves!

The articulation means you can put it into decent poses.

Maybe it's due to the weight, but poseing it with the sword is quite a challenge. While you can technically have it hold 2 handed by the main grip, it's meant to be supported by the secondary handle. Doing so will make it look like it's wielding a chainsaw. Would be awesome if it was a chainsaw sword. I also wish there were open palms.

man ..you complain a lot

Overall, it's pretty good. The weapons are substantial and massive, like all IBO kits.

Size Comparison

The height is standard for the IBO universe. It's pretty much on par with Grimmy here, if a little bit taller due to the massive head camera.

It stands pretty well with the UC stuff. It even looks taller compared to the Zaku here. Make no mistake though, the Zaku is a hell of a lot more solid.

How many times to you need to be reminded of the price difference

Summary

The overall kit is just above average for me. Was going in expecting it to be as nice as the Grimgerde, but it's not quite there. You'll need to paint and detail it to make it look better (or use the stickers) out of the box. Or it's fodder for Cloud Stryfe/ Guts mods due to the massive sword. I'd still recommend it as it is a cheap and easy build, and it looks good once in a decent pose. Just don't go fiddling with the arms. They're annoying as hell.

Good:

- Cheap

- decently articulated

- Massive Sword! and a nice variety of weapons

- pseudo inner frame

Bad:

- fiddly arms have a tendency to be difficult, especially posing with the sword.

- color's a bit meh (subjective)

- hollow construction (but hey it's cheap).

- Gauntlet keeps falling off... might need to thicken or glue it.