I found this guy last Christmas in a local "Chinese Depot" store. It's supposed to be the 1/144 scale model of the Astray Gundam (out of the Seed Saga), but it actually looks a little more petit than that, but hey, for $2.00 USD I was not going to complain!

The molding and plastic are not the usual BANDAI quality. It basically has no joints at the arms or legs, but if you know your way around plastic that should not be a problem.

I bought it just thinking on having some greebly parts for kit bashing but when I had a closer look, I thought that with some minor work it would become a fun weekend project. So: some filling and sanding, plus painting later, I found myself with a nice 'A SI TE LAI' assembled model kit. (That was the actual name on the box)

A Chinese copy-cat of a Japanese model toy, assembled and painted in Costa Rica for under $ 4.00. Now, how's that for Globalization?

Size comparison