Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Upper body

Head.
The eyes are clear parts, but the color is so dark you can barely tell..

Back and backpack section

Arms

Border Break Cougar type-I - Legs. The shock absorbers are represented, but they don't actually move :-) (1/3)

Legs. The shock absorbers are represented, but they don't actually move :-)

The Assault Changer can be attached/detached from the backpack section.

Border Break Cougar type-I - You can also mount a Type-38 grenade container on the back of the left arm instead of the weapon

You can also mount a Type-38 grenade container on the back of the left arm instead of the weapon mount.

The duel sword can be stored in the center of the backpack.

Border Break Cougar type-I - Two M90 submachine guns are included, and they can be mounted in various ways on the shoulder we

Two M90 submachine guns are included,
and they can be mounted in various ways on the shoulder weapon mounts.

The submachine guns can also be mounted on the weapon mounts on the back of the forearms.

The thruster units on the sides open and close at the rear..

Border Break Cougar type-I - You can insert a separate intermediate part to make the verniers extend outward. It would've bee

You can insert a separate intermediate part to make the verniers extend outward.
It would've been nicer if they'd made it slide-type instead.. it's a bit of a brute-force transformation ^^;

The center torso section uses almost the same Frame Arms body as before.

For the arms, only the two shoulder parts are shared with Frame Arms.

The leg skeleton mostly makes use of Frame Arms parts.

The leftover Frame Arms frame parts that weren't used remain as leftover parts.

Border Break Cougar type-I - Three sets of hands are included — fists, open hands, and weapon-holding hands. True to Kotobuki

Three sets of hands are included — fists, open hands, and weapon-holding hands.
True to Kotobukiya form, the hand proportions are a cut above Bandai's.

The articulation is... really impressive!

The shoulders move quite flexibly forward and back,

and the waist is fairly flexible too.

The front of the foot can fold once more, but the angle it bends to is narrow.

Border Break Cougar type-I - Natural action poses. (1/4)

Border Break Cougar type-I - Natural action poses. (2/4)

Natural action poses.

Border Break Cougar type-I - Kneeling poses are also pretty easy to pull off. (1/4)

Border Break Cougar type-I - Kneeling poses are also pretty easy to pull off. (2/4)

Kneeling poses are also pretty easy to pull off.

Border Break Cougar type-I - Drawing-sword poses look great too! (1/3)

Drawing-sword poses look great too!

Border Break Cougar type-I - Duel sword action (1/4)

Border Break Cougar type-I - Duel sword action (2/4)

Duel sword action

Border Break Cougar type-I - Hong Kong noir action using the Kotobukiya dedicated stand.. (1/4)

Border Break Cougar type-I - Hong Kong noir action using the Kotobukiya dedicated stand.. (2/4)

Hong Kong noir action using the Kotobukiya dedicated stand..

Border Break Cougar type-I - Comparison with the Kotobukiya 1/144 Hückebein. The Cougar type-I is on the smaller side too, bu

Comparison with the Kotobukiya 1/144 Hückebein.
The Cougar type-I is on the smaller side too, but it's still bigger than the Hückebein.

Together with the Frame Arms that serves as its base.

Border Break Cougar type-I - Together with the Frame Arms series kits. They share a good chunk of the frame, but the Cougar t

Together with the Frame Arms series kits.
They share a good chunk of the frame,
but the Cougar type-I's quality is in a completely different league.

Kotobukiya, who keeps churning out new lineups without a break, has kicked off a new lineup based on Frame Arms. It's called the "Border Break" series — an injection-molded take on the mechs from Sega's latest arcade network robot battle game. http://borderbreak.com )The Kotobukiya Border Break series reuses 70% of the base frame from the previous Frame Arms, with only some frame parts updated for the new exterior design, while all the exterior armor is newly designed.

There were Frame Arms-related kits before, like the Stiletto and the Type-32 Model 1 Tank.. but whether the development team changed or the production facility and machinery are different, the Border Break kit's quality is far superior even though it's based on the same frame. It's noticeably better in every way — molded color, color separation, detail, molding, joint strength, you name it. ^^; And not just compared to other Frame Arms kits — in many respects, this kit seems to be among the best quality Kotobukiya has ever put out.

First of all, the snap-fit tolerances have improved across the board, so almost everything can be assembled without glue (though some parts are still a bit iffy without it..) and the molded colors are close to what you'd expect from Bandai's Shizuoka factory. Joint strength is also very solid overall, and the articulation is excellent — you can get pretty natural poses in just about any position. The kneeling pose in particular is naturally achievable at a level that easily surpasses most Bandai kits.

Sure, the assembly process has that slightly stiff Kotobukiya feel compared to Bandai, but it's improved a lot compared to before. The detail and molding feel noticeably sharper than your typical Kotobukiya kit, so the sculpt and sense of depth are outstanding. The quality can vary quite a bit between products, but this kit really shows Kotobukiya's day-by-day improvement ^^

All in all, this kit is surprisingly(?) satisfying across the board — color separation, molded color, articulation, joint strength, detail & molding, everything. It seems like a clear step up in quality even compared to Sega's other robot battle game series, Virtual-On. Kotobukiya kits have always had their own personality compared to Bandai, but quality has been hit-or-miss — with this kit, though, you can build it without any worries. :-)

Border Break Cougar type-I | 2010. 1 | ¥3,500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.