Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Frame Arms Magatsuki - Detail shots (1/4)

Frame Arms Magatsuki - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

Articulation is pretty good for the look of it.

Unsheathing pose

Frame Arms Magatsuki - Tactical Bludgeoning Sword Tenkai action poses (1/3)

Tactical Bludgeoning Sword Tenkai action poses

Frame Arms Magatsuki - Aerial poses using the Kotobukiya stand (1/3)

Aerial poses using the Kotobukiya stand

Tactical Interception Sword Satsuga action poses

The main armor pieces can be removed.

The inner body.

Inner body action poses

Inner body and weapons swapped with the clear parts included in the first-run limited edition.

Full view with clear parts equipped.

Frame Arms Magatsuki - Action poses with clear parts equipped (1/3)

Action poses with clear parts equipped

The 23rd kit in Kotobukiya's original mecha lineup, Frame Arms, is Magatsuki — a Japanese samurai-style design. Just looking at the appearance, it's so different you'd almost wonder if this is really a Frame Arms kit.

Magatsuki comes with two types of swords, two of each — the large Tactical Bludgeoning Sword Tenkai and the smaller Tactical Interception Sword Satsuga. They're normally stored on the back, and you can detach them as needed and even recreate an unsheathing pose. The main outer armor pieces are also removable, so you can strip it down to just the slim inner body.

Considering it uses the Architect frame, which can be a bit iffy in terms of joint strength, it holds poses surprisingly well even with all that armor and weaponry hanging off it. The polycaps on the Architect frame seem to have been gradually improved. It's not super tight, but the joints and articulation are decent enough.

The first-run limited edition includes a clear parts set, which lets you swap out various blue parts on the body as well as the blade parts. It looks alright once you put them on, but honestly it doesn't feel like a particularly useful bonus... more of a "better than nothing" kind of thing. ^^;

Anyway, if you're into Japanese samurai-style mecha, this is definitely a kit worth checking out. It has a fresh feel to it, designed freely without being tied down to any particular source material or lore. :-)

Frame Arms Magatsuki | 2014.5 | ¥4,700

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.