Post by GetterBoi on Jan 6, 2019 14:33:06 GMT -5
I got my Musclebear KO Astray Red today and I can say, pretty good for the price. However, it is not as good as official in terms of paint finish and tolerances.
Official vs KO
- KO comes in 2 plain boxes, 1 white cardboard and 1 brown box with no instructions or papaerwork of any kind.
- The main body only with small backpack attached, Bandai weighs 282g vs KO 275g. Perhaps due to different black plastic. The small backpack is definitely softer material on the KO.
- KO V-fin fits w/o issue. On official, I had to shave the peg slightly thinner for it to fit wihtout pushing back out.
- Clear part above V-fin on offcial is turquoise, while KO is green.
- Plainted gloss red on Bandai is like candy apple, very bright, while the KO is slightly muted (or sometimes, just unpainted red plastic.
- The frosted metallic red/pink is again 1 shade duller on the KO. Well done and passable. I have a scuff/chip on the left foot out of box.
- The light gray paint on the KO is 1 shade darker and a bit clumpier, not as smooth as Bandai.
- The "RED FRAME" text on left shouler is not as crisp as official. Same applies to almost all tampos.
- Official black torso is glossy. KO is matte finish.
- Official tampo on upper torso says "MBF-P02 ASTRAY"in silver with "LOWE" in red accross it, while the KO says "MBF-M1 ASTRAY" (incorrectly) with "LOWE" across (barely legible).
- KO: I had to remove some flash on the backpack where one of the beam saber handles attach, otherwise didn't fit.
- KO: upper arm swivel is extremely tight. So tight, I'm concerned of snapping the shoulder ball peg when adjusting. The arms are turned 90 degrees (elbows out) out of box.
- KO small backpack has 1 painted silver center panel which is not painted on the official (intersting).
Overall, the KO is passable and good for the price, but not 100% to official (expected). The joints are super tight, which is good and bad. The good because the ankles and hips on the official tend to loosen with handling (maybe the KO will as well over time), but the arms and torso ab crunch is so tight, there is fear of breakage when putting too much force to turn the arm, etc. Panel line details on official are usually thinner and sharper than Musclebear (see photo).
Official vs KO
- KO comes in 2 plain boxes, 1 white cardboard and 1 brown box with no instructions or papaerwork of any kind.
- The main body only with small backpack attached, Bandai weighs 282g vs KO 275g. Perhaps due to different black plastic. The small backpack is definitely softer material on the KO.
- KO V-fin fits w/o issue. On official, I had to shave the peg slightly thinner for it to fit wihtout pushing back out.
- Clear part above V-fin on offcial is turquoise, while KO is green.
- Plainted gloss red on Bandai is like candy apple, very bright, while the KO is slightly muted (or sometimes, just unpainted red plastic.
- The frosted metallic red/pink is again 1 shade duller on the KO. Well done and passable. I have a scuff/chip on the left foot out of box.
- The light gray paint on the KO is 1 shade darker and a bit clumpier, not as smooth as Bandai.
- The "RED FRAME" text on left shouler is not as crisp as official. Same applies to almost all tampos.
- Official black torso is glossy. KO is matte finish.
- Official tampo on upper torso says "MBF-P02 ASTRAY"in silver with "LOWE" in red accross it, while the KO says "MBF-M1 ASTRAY" (incorrectly) with "LOWE" across (barely legible).
- KO: I had to remove some flash on the backpack where one of the beam saber handles attach, otherwise didn't fit.
- KO: upper arm swivel is extremely tight. So tight, I'm concerned of snapping the shoulder ball peg when adjusting. The arms are turned 90 degrees (elbows out) out of box.
- KO small backpack has 1 painted silver center panel which is not painted on the official (intersting).
- Gold color on sword parts are more yellow and looks richer on Bandai version.
- KO: On the blade, you can see/feel nubs from the gate cuts. This makes the fitment into the sheath a bit tighter. Cannot file this or cut it off because of the chrome finish.
- KO: On the sheath, it says "Gerbera straoght" instead of "straight".Overall, the KO is passable and good for the price, but not 100% to official (expected). The joints are super tight, which is good and bad. The good because the ankles and hips on the official tend to loosen with handling (maybe the KO will as well over time), but the arms and torso ab crunch is so tight, there is fear of breakage when putting too much force to turn the arm, etc. Panel line details on official are usually thinner and sharper than Musclebear (see photo).
If you have fears of getting a box-swapped KO in a Bandai box, the giveaway is the chest, Bandai is glossy while KO is matte with the incorrect tampo "MBF-M1".
I attached 1 image, so you can see the color and the tampo difference.
Musclebear Model on left, Bandai on right:
Musclebear Model on left, Bandai on right:
