Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Detail shots

Frame Arms Vulture - You get to choose between two face parts: one molded in clear blue (left) and one in plain plastic (righ

You get to choose between two face parts: one molded in clear blue (left) and one in plain plastic (right).
The plain one on the right is probably meant for those who want to paint it themselves. (No explanation in the manual.)

Frame Arms Vulture - A three-section sword that can be folded and unfolded. The joint design is pretty flimsy, so the section

A three-section sword that can be folded and unfolded.
The joint design is pretty flimsy, so the sections tend to pop apart when you try to bend them ;;

You can also mount it on the back like this.

You can remove the Vulture's claw from the forearm and swap it out with the back-of-hand armor.

Three different hand parts are included in total.

Articulation is pretty decent.

Frame Arms Vulture - Striking a pose with arms crossed. (1/3)

Striking a pose with arms crossed.

Three-section sword action.

Three-section sword action 2.

Claw action.

Frame Arms Vulture - Three-section sword action suspended in mid-air. (1/3)

Three-section sword action suspended in mid-air.

Transformation

First, remove the forehead part and flip the back of the head 180 degrees upward.

Raise both arms and bend them 90 degrees forward.

Plug in the clear parts under the forearms to act as a support stand.

Frame Arms Vulture - Spread the legs wide open and rotate the clear pegs on the rear legs 180 degrees to pull them out under

Spread the legs wide open and rotate the clear pegs on the rear legs 180 degrees to pull them out under the feet.

Pull the head — which was tucked away in the rear — forward, and the transformation is complete.

Frame Arms Vulture - Transformed into bird cruising mode. (1/4)

Frame Arms Vulture - Transformed into bird cruising mode. (2/4)

Transformed into bird cruising mode.

Flight pose

After more than a year of releasing nothing but color variants following the Magatsuki in May 2014, the Frame Arms lineup finally gets a brand-new original mech design. The star of the show is the "Vulture," decked out in feathers all over its body. Most people will probably think of the Vulture from StarCraft first, but in English, "vulture" also refers to large birds like condors and — well, vultures.

The combination of pink and deep purple tones gives this kit a pretty striking look even as a straight build. Its biggest feature is the transformation into a bird cruising mode with large wings, just as the name suggests. The transformation process itself is actually very simple — you fold the arms in to become the bird's feet and spread the legs out to form the wings, with no particularly special gimmicks beyond that. That said, the design is pulled off well enough that just flipping it over and spreading the legs out into wings actually produces a surprisingly convincing large bird silhouette.

Since the transformation gimmick is so straightforward, one hidden strength of this kit is that articulation isn't really hampered by the transformation mechanism at all. Most of the joint articulation from the Architect base frame remains usable, so you can pull off a good variety of action poses. For weapons, it comes with a three-section folding sword — similar to a three-section staff — that can be mounted on the back and displayed either folded or unfolded in all sorts of poses.

Frame Arms doesn't have any original story or lore to speak of, so the lineup basically lives and dies by looking cool and having fun gimmicks. In that sense, if the style appeals to you, this is a solid kit you can build without any major headaches or frustrations. It's also a nice reminder that there's a whole world of mech design sensibility out there beyond Bandai — free-spirited and full of personality in its own right. :-)

Frame Arms Vulture | 2015.8 | ¥3,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.