I've already made a previous post on my Astray Red Dragon, so I'll put more emphasis on the Tactical Arms IIL addon kit this time.
Let's have a look.
The box is deceptively big, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot in here. There are a few extra parts including an alternate hilt and gatling parts to make the Tactical Arms II.
Although clearly too big for its contents, I appreciate the size of the box as it is the same size as standard HG and RG boxes. I'm glad BTF made this decision for the TAIIL because the size of their RG Caletvwlch box made stacking with others rather awkward.
Waterslide decals! Everything is better with decals. It's important to
note that the borders around the ink in these decals are rather wide.
Despite being precut, you may want to trim the decals further before
application.
The gold parts aren't molded in the infamous "puke gold" like Bandai's RG releases. Instead, they're in the "lame gold" like the old HG Strike Freedom.
Now, for the question everyone's been asking. "How are the swords?"
I was specifically interested in whether there was a noticeable difference between BTF's and Bandai's blades and whether BTF's Tiger Pierce will have a "mei".
Unfortunately, it's not only Tiger Pierce that was missing a "mei", Gerbera Straight didn't have one either. They also lack the "hamon" pattern found in Bandai's release.
Now that that's out of the way, it's time to build this thing. The build is quite enjoyable. The parts are molded in ABS, so experienced builders accustomed to PS will definitely feel the difference. That being said, the quality itself is not by any means bad and isn't prone to stressmarks.
Even if it was, that wouldn't be much of an issue, because nearly all the parts are undergated. A pleasant surprise. Mold quality is also very good though not quite as crisp as Bandai's sculpts. I have not come across any mold defects during the build and there were zero fitting issues.
The manual is very clear and I had no problems following the diagrams. The manual has neglected to show how it connects to the back of the RG Astray though and you may have to do a bit of improvising with parts on hand.
Finally, the finished model.
I've opted to use my two Bandai Gerbera Straights instead as they're clearly of higher quality than BTF's. My Red Dragon backpack is definitely going to storage though.
It's interesting to note that BTF's adaptor has three slots and you can
do some crazy stuff if you have extra parts lying around.
Because why settle for three swords when you can have seven?
Next up: RG Astray Blue Frame Second Revise
