Kit Review

Coming soon

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Upper body front and back

Head

Legs

Leftover parts

Frame Arms Khanjar Renewal Ver. - Shooting pose action (1/3)

Shooting pose action

Frame Arms Khanjar Renewal Ver. - Kneeling shooting pose (1/4)

Frame Arms Khanjar Renewal Ver. - Kneeling shooting pose (2/4)

Kneeling shooting pose

Frame Arms Khanjar Renewal Ver. - Poses using the Kotobukiya stand (1/4)

Frame Arms Khanjar Renewal Ver. - Poses using the Kotobukiya stand (2/4)

Poses using the Kotobukiya stand

With the Khanjar Renewal Ver. armor removed.

Shared frame

Frame Arms Khanjar Renewal Ver. - Just like the original Khanjar Renewal Ver., armor parts for the Stiletto are included as w

Just like the original Khanjar Renewal Ver., armor parts for the Stiletto are included as well.

Built as the Stiletto.

Frame Arms Khanjar Renewal Ver. - Action pose (1/3)

Action pose

Together with the original Khanjar Renewal Ver.

Frame Arms Khanjar Renewal Ver. - Aside from the orange molded color becoming more muted, the color separation on the face /

Aside from the orange molded color becoming more muted,
the color separation on the face / chest / shoulder ducts has been upgraded.

It seems Kotobukiya wasn't fully satisfied with the quality of their early Frame Arms kits, so they've started putting out renewal versions. The first one out of the gate is the Khanjar Renewal Ver. — there are no structural changes, just updated color separation and some tweaks to the molded colors.

Compared to the original version, the changes are: the orange molded color has been shifted to a slightly more muted tone, and color separation has been added to the face, chest, and shoulder duct areas, making it a bit more colorful overall. On top of that, the hand parts have been swapped out for a new runner, though it's not something you'd really notice unless you're looking closely. ^^;

Since the kit's structure is the same as before, the Stiletto armor parts are naturally included as well, so swapping is just as easy. That said, the Khanjar Renewal Ver. is one of the earlier Frame Arms kits, so it's hard to call it a top-tier build overall — it's a bit shaky in the snap-fit department in particular. Aside from the parts you need to detach for armor swapping, you're really better off gluing everything else together for your own sanity. The key joints on the Frame Architect — hips, thighs, shoulders, waist, and so on — absolutely need to be disassembled and re-glued. Otherwise you might finish the build only to find the internal joints falling apart on you, which is a real headache. ;;

The frame structure itself has good articulation, but on the Khanjar Renewal Ver., the hip armor is a bit awkward and ends up limiting movement quite a bit. Joint strength isn't exactly rock-solid either, but if you re-glue the frame during assembly it holds up well enough. In terms of articulation and durability, it's pretty much just average.

It's not the sharpest quality out there, but the Frame Arms concept of layering armor over a frame is still fun as ever, and if you haven't built the original Khanjar Renewal Ver. before, this is worth picking up at least once. Building it twice isn't really justified since the quality difference isn't all that dramatic. Kotobukiya has always had a knack for color separation, so it's a bit of a shame they didn't go this route from the start. Either way, the fact that they're giving renewal treatment even to original mecha with no particular franchise backing (?) is still pretty entertaining in that niche, obsessive Kotobukiya way. :-)

Frame Arms Khanjar Renewal Ver. | 2012.8 | ¥3,600

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.