MBF-EA1 Astray Prophet - A Retrospective
Although this wasn’t my first Gunpla build, this was my first attempt to add some paint to an existing model. = )
In this short trip down memory lane, I’ll show off some photos and some ideas I had when going into this. Although I’ve build other model kits in the past - even going so far as to help paint them - I really hadn’t tried it on something that was built to be movable.
I also hadn’t tried painting one (or helping to paint one) in decades. So enjoy this look back on my first real Gunpla project from 2014…
The MBF-EA1 Astray Prophet
Like a fair number of folks… I like the Gundam Astray. To me, it’s a solid design that can be a base for a number of mods. In this case, I went with something easy for my first real mod.
Something simple…
I remade my fave suit from the long dead Gundam MMO - SD Gundam Capsule Fighter Online. = )
Back when that game was still live, I pulled a fairly decent M1 Astray early on in the service’s life. It was a solid suit within the game and it was a go-to once I upgraded it a bit. One of the things I did when I had the chance was switch out the classic red to my usual dark blue. After the game went dark, I kept that simple design change in mind but I never really acted on it. Years later, I managed to swing past a hobby shop a few town’s over and scooped my first Gundam kit in decades! It was…
What? You thought I’d just jump straight into painting up a build? o.O So… that AGE kit kinda’ brought me back into the hobby. I got a few more, stumbled across my old screenshots from all those years ago and ordered me an Astray.
Full Disclosure: I did not realize the M1 had a permanent backpack. I thought that it came off like the colored frames until I looked in the booklet. This did kinda’ bum me out a bit as i was hoping to get SEED kits with backpacks and swap them out. Still not a deal breaker! = )
The last kit I painted (Well… helped paint, really) was a F-14 Tomcat I had built with my father back when I was a young model maker. I loved the idea of doing stuff like painting the details most folks would miss or never even see. I loved the idea of straight up doing a completely new paint job like taking a basic OD Green plane and painting it in a jungle camo.
With this one, I wanted to remake my trusty Astray in plastic… with a twist. I wanted to bring over some details I wanted to do back then but it wasn’t possible for one reason or another. I brought up a line art version of the suit and got to work planning out my colors in SketchBook. I’d bring back my dark blue and I’d give it some golden accents to break up the large amount of a singular color.
Once I had my kit in hand, I did something I never got the chance to as a kid building jets with my Dad - I busted out a rattle can and got myself a match small jar of paint and painted it right on the runner.
Before you type angry comments at me - Painting on the runner was the only option for me at the time. I don’t have a spray booth or any good setup with which to paint parts. I didn’t even have a working airbrush at the time. A can of spray paint is always a solid option and painting parts on the runner is just easier to handle when you don’t have a set of clips to hold things. The following photos are from the longer post found here. -> [Main Tumblr Linkage]
Looking at the dates, this all went down around eight years ago. Since then, I haven’t really gone this big again. Not for a lack of trying… I still don’t have a spray booth or a safe area to paint. I Do have an airbrush (a cordless number with a rechargeable air pump) but the poor thing is still stuck unused. I mostly just brush paint details. Not as impressive to watch but still a fun way to add to details.
If you made it this far, thanks for indulging this look back at my first real paint job. At some point, I’ll stick together a work log for the “Mid-season Suit Upgrade” that I’m slowly picking at - the EA1 Prophet Astray Mk2.
(Source: propheka.com)