MGCosmic Era

MBF-P05LM2 Gundam Astray Mirage Frame 2nd Issue

A villain's upgrade kit that trades a wide fanbase for a deep one, and rewards the people who show up for it.

MechaGrade Score

3.8/5

Gundam Astray Mirage Frame 2nd Issue · 1/100 · 2025

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2025

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a genuinely satisfying build wearing a niche costume.

It runs on the same Astray inner frame architecture that made the original Red and Blue Frame MG kits community favorites for articulation, so the bones underneath are excellent even if the character on the box is obscure. The mode change between Tyrant and Brute is the real selling point here, and it delivers. I would not call it a must-own, but I would call it one of the more mechanically interesting P-Bandai exclusives in the Astray family.

Best for: SEED VS Astray readers and Astray-frame completionists who want the full weapon loadout, not first-time builders looking for a mainstream face-turn kit

The full review

What it is

This is Rondo Gina Sahaku's upgraded Mirage Frame, the villain unit from the Gundam SEED VS Astray photo-novel, done up as a Master Grade built on the same core Astray inner frame that the Red Frame and Blue Frame kits use. That frame is the reason this kit feels good in the hand before you even add armor. Joints are tight, the hip and shoulder geometry is generous, and the whole thing wants to be posed aggressively. The headline feature is the transformation between Tyrant Mode, running double beam sabers, and Brute Mode, which reconfigures those same sabers into Saber Fangs and adds a Fin Rifle and the paired C Swords. Swapping modes is a genuine highlight, not a gimmick that gets ignored after one photo.

The catch

This is a P-Bandai online exclusive, which means the price sits above a comparable retail MG and it will not be sitting on a shelf at your local shop. It is also a reissue of a mold that traces back to the original Mirage Frame Second Issue release from around 2010, so do not expect the panel-line engineering or nub placement of a current-generation Bandai kit. Expect more reliance on stickers for some of the finer color separation than a brand new MG would need, and a few of the smaller manipulator and effect parts (the C Sword hand attachments especially) are fiddly to seat cleanly on first assembly.

Who it's for

If you already know who Gina Sahaku is, or you have built and liked the MG Astray Red Frame or Blue Frame and want another suit on that same excellent inner frame, this is worth tracking down. The double weapon loadout and clean mode switch make it a rewarding shelf piece once it is done. If you are new to Gunpla or want a kit with instant name recognition, skip this one and start with a mainline Astray or a Wing/Unicorn MG instead, both for price and for how much easier they are to source. This is a kit for people already invested in the Astray corner of Cosmic Era, not a gateway kit.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

The build leans on familiar Astray-line assembly logic, so anyone who has put together a Red or Blue Frame MG will feel at home immediately. Gate placement is mostly reasonable given the kit's age, though a few of the smaller weapon and manipulator parts need careful nub cleanup since visible seam lines are harder to hide on the katana-style C Swords. Nothing here fights you, but the smallest accessory parts reward patience over speed.

The standout is the shared inner frame doing its job: hip swing, shoulder lift, and knee bend all sit well ahead of what you'd expect from a kit rooted in an older mold. Color separation on the main body is handled well through molded plastic, with stickers picking up the finer secondary details. The two-mode weapon system, sabers becoming Saber Fangs, plus the Fin Rifle and paired C Swords in Brute Mode, gives this kit more genuine part-count value and posing variety than its niche subject matter might suggest.

Lore & trivia

01The Mirage Frame Second Issue is Rondo Gina Sahaku's rebuilt mobile suit from the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED VS Astray photo-novel, upgraded after his defeat by Gai Murakumo's Blue Frame Second Revise.
02In the story, the suit's combat performance was considered too dangerous for a standard Coordinator to pilot, and Gina could only use it after undergoing experimental bodily modifications himself.
03The kit converts between Tyrant Mode, armed with dual beam sabers, and Brute Mode, where those sabers reconfigure into Saber Fangs alongside a Fin Rifle and a pair of C Swords nicknamed Amenohabakiri.
04This MG release is a P-Bandai online-exclusive reissue tied to a mold with roots going back to the original early-2010s Mirage Frame Second Issue kit.