The MBF-M1 M1 Astray is a mass-produced mobile suit of the Orb Union introduced in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.
Technology & Combat Characteristics[]
The mass production variant of the prototype P0 series developed at the Heliopolis colony, the M1 Astray was developed by Morgenroete for Orb Union's national defense force.[1][2] Due to concerns over production costs, the M1 Astray omitted the prototypes' ability to equip optional parts and went through several downgrades, including reduced armored area, a reduction in its limbs' range of movement, and a simplified sensor.[3] Similar to the Alliance's GAT-01 Strike Dagger, the M1 Astray was installed with a Natural-use OS.[1][2][3]
Like the prototypes, the M1 Astray utilized lightweight foaming metal as its armor, prioritizing mobility over durability.[1][3] Its backpack was designed using the Earth Alliance's Aile Striker as a reference and functions as a flight unit, allowing the mobile suit to fly for a short period of time.[1][2][4] This feature was meant for mid-range travelling, enabling the M1 Astray to quickly deploy within Orb Union without needing air transport.[1] The M1 Astray's standard armament consisted of a beam rifle and a pair of beam sabers based on technology developed by the Alliance, a pair of head-mounted 75mm CIWS, and a shield with anti-beam coating.[1][3]
Armaments[]
- "Igelstellung" 75mm Multi-Barrel CIWS
- A pair of head-mounted Vulcan guns, they are small-caliber shell firing weapons designed to shoot down missiles and lightly armored vehicles, but are ineffective against the armor of a mobile suit.
- Type 70 Beam Saber
- The standard close combat beam weapon of Orb's mobile suits. The M1 Astray is equipped with two beam sabers on its backpack.
- Type 71 Beam Rifle
- The M1 Astray's main weapon, the Type 71 beam rifle was based on technology obtained from the Earth Alliance. Like the rest of the mobile suit, it is a light weight design. Its performance is identical to the Strike Gundam's beam rifle.
- Shield
- M1 Astray can use a physical shield with anti-beam coating for defense, it is mounted on the left forearm and/or handheld. This is the same type of shield as used by Strike and Duel Gundams.
- A 9.1m long physical sword, the M1 Astray can be optionally equipped with up to two of this sword. Despite its name, the sword can be used for both anti-MS combat and anti-ship combat. Stored in special sheath mounted on the side armor, the sword is similar in appearance to the anti-ship swords of the MBF-02+P202QX Strike Rouge IWSP.
- A special katana made for MBF-P02 Gundam Astray Red Frame. During a sparring match, an M1 Astray piloted by Rondo Gina Sahaku snatched the weapon from the Astray Red Frame, but as the mobile suit was not designed to use this katana, its left arm short-circuited after unleashing a single sword slash.
History[]
First Alliance-PLANT War[]
The Astray series of mobile suits are build by Morgenroete Inc. for the Orb Union during the First Alliance-PLANT War to protect their neutrality. Benefiting from the Earth Alliance's G Project research, the Astrays copied most of the major features of the Gundam mobile suits except for the Phase Shift armor, as Morgenroete failed to obtain its data. The model number of the Astrays is "MBF" (for Main Battle Figure), with the prototype models having the model number, "MBF-P". There are five prototype models - the MBF-P01 Gundam Astray Gold Frame, MBF-P02 Gundam Astray Red Frame, MBF-P03 Gundam Astray Blue Frame, and the unassembled MBF-P04 Gundam Astray Green Frame and MBF-P05 Gundam Astray Unit 5 (which later become the MBF-P05LM Gundam Astray Mirage Frame).
The production model of the Astray is the MBF-M1 M1 Astray, and it was developed simultaneously alongside the prototype models, but on earth. The M1 Astrays were test-piloted by Asagi Caldwell, Juri Wu Nien, and Mayura Labatt, but little progress was made until GAT-X105 Strike Gundam pilot, Kira Yamato, assisted in creating a Natural-use operating system.[5][6] Even before this OS was completed, Orb put the M1 Astray into mass production.[5] However, this proved insufficient when the Earth Alliance invaded Orb, as even though they proved individually superior to the GAT-01 Strike Daggers, Orb's forces were eventually overwhelmed by the large quantity of the Strike Daggers.[7][8] All the surviving M1 Astrays were loaded onto the battleship Kusanagi and escaped into space, where they provided the bulk of the Three Ships Alliance's mobile suit compliment.[9][10] The M1 Astrays proved to be equal to ZAFT's ZGMF-600 GuAIZ individually. However, many[10] units were still destroyed protecting the ships of the Alliance, among them the three test pilots'. Asagi and Juri were blown up by two Strike Daggers' beam rifle shots, while Mayura was killed when a GuAIZ stabbed her cockpit as she sliced across its cockpit.[10]
When he joined the Three Ship Alliance, Jean Carry piloted an M1 Astray with a custom white color scheme. The M1 Astray has a space optimized variant, the MBF-M1A M1A Astray and a former Morgenroete technician Yoon Sefan created the MWF-JG71 Raysta, a civilian mobile suit based upon the M1 Astray. This civilian MS is eventually mass-produced and sold by the Junk Guild.[11]
Second Alliance-PLANT War[]
In C.E. 73, Orb fielded the MVF-M11C Murasame, the successor to the M1 Astray. Despite this, the M1 Astray continued to serve in the Orb military. Some of the M1 Astrays were outfitted with an additional flight pack known as EF-24R Shrike for improved flight capabilities, becoming the MBF-M1+EF-24R M1 Astray Shrike. During the Second Alliance-PLANT War, multiple M1 Astrays participated in the defense of Orb during ZAFT's Operation Fury.[12] Later, several units were deployed as part of an Orb Union fleet during the Battle of Messiah.[13]
Variants[]
Gallery[]
Anime[]
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED[]
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny[]
Games[]
Gunpla[]
Notes & Trivia[]
- The HG 1/144 scale model kit instruction manual specifies the unit numbers of the three test pilots: Asagi's designated unit is 211, Mayura's is 212, and Juri's is 213. Bundled number decals allow the option of displaying these unit numbers or a custom one.
- The model kit also has a slot on its flight pack for mounting something, suggesting that the Shrike might have been planned for the model.
- In the GBA game Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Tomo to Kimi to koko de, it's possible for the Archangel crew to obtain an M1 Astray, though for only one stage. This is done by having Kira ignore Birdy flying off while in Orb.
- In Battle Assault 3 featuring Gundam SEED, the three test pilots' M1 Astrays are given different colors to distinguish them from one another and to indicate fighting styles:
- Asagi's unit has the standard color and prefers the use of a beam saber
- Juri's unit has a purple tint and focuses on ranged combat with the beam rifle
- Mayura's unit has a pink tint and focuses on hand-to-hand combat.
- In Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Battle Destiny, the SP Special Attack of the regular M1 Astray is releasing 2 afterimages and then proceeding to shoot rapid, concentrated beam rifle fire at the primary target. The Jean Carry custom color version, on the other hand, has a "Super Taunt" skill that is almost similar to the basic taunt function of the LaGOWE and Kerberos BuCUE Hound (as well as Jean's prior custom units), only it affects all enemies within a specific distance. The latter is useful for missions where defending certain MS or battleships, but is also a risky move, since all affected enemies will be targeting the user instead.
Appearances[]
- Television Series
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
- PHASE-27, Endless Rondo
- First Appearance
- PHASE-28, Kira
- PHASE-37, Divine Thunder
- PHASE-38, Decisive Fire
- PHASE-39, Athrun
- PHASE-40, Into the Dawn Skies
- PHASE-41, Trembling World
- PHASE-42, Lacus Strikes
- PHASE-43, What Stands in the Way
- PHASE-44, Spiral of Encounters
- PHASE-45, The Opening Door
- PHASE-46, A Place for the Soul
- PHASE-47, The Nightmare Reborn
- PHASE-50, To a Future that Never Ends
- PHASE-27, Endless Rondo
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
- PHASE-01, Angry Eyes
- Flashback(s) Only
- PHASE-14, Flight to Tomorrow
- PHASE-20, Past
- PHASE-42, Freedom and Justice
- PHASE-43, A Call for Counterattack
- PHASE-44, Lacus Times Two
- PHASE-01, Angry Eyes
- Manga
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray
- Chapter 11.5, Option Parts 3: Magic Bullet of Dusk
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Eclipse
- Chapter 3, ODR (first half)
- Flashback(s) Only
- Chapter 3, ODR (first half)
- Games
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 High Grade Gundam SEED 1/144 M1 Astray (2012) instruction manual
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 M1 Astray's profile on the archived Gundam Official.com website
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Mobile Suit Gundam SEED - MS Encyclopedia (2008), p.106-109
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Official File Mechanics Vol.03 (2003), p.15
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Mobile Suit Gundam SEED PHASE-27, Endless Rondo
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED PHASE-28, Kira
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED PHASE-38, Decisive Fire
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED PHASE-40, Into the Dawn Skies
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED PHASE-43, What Stands in the Way
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Mobile Suit Gundam SEED PHASE-49, The Final Light
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Never Ending Tomorrow
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny PHASE-42, Freedom and Justice
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny PHASE-50, The Final Power
External links[]