Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Frame Arms Ray Falx - Detail shots (1/4)

Frame Arms Ray Falx - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

There are a ton of parts for combining into different weapon configurations.

Beryl Sword and Beryl Knife

Beryl Sword + Knife combined form

Defense Rotor, which acts as a shield

Bayonet-type weapon (long type) and bayonet-type weapon

Spear-type weapon

Large sword

Large sword - long type

Large launcher

Shuriken-type weapon combining the Beryl Dagger II

The large sword's handle can also be mounted on the backpack.

You can also recreate large wings using the same combination shown above.

Frame Arms Ray Falx - With the large wings attached. Looks great visually, but the body joints are so weak it makes you nervo

With the large wings attached.
Looks great visually, but the body joints are so weak it makes you nervous.

Three standard hand styles

Clear stand with an extra support post for mounting weapons

Leftover parts

Limb articulation is pretty good.

Wing articulation

Holding the large sword

Large sword - long type action

Large launcher action

Spear-type weapon action

Bayonet-type weapon (long type) combined with the Defense Rotor

Bayonet-type weapon action

Beryl Sword + Beryl Knife action

Beryl Sword/Knife combined weapon action

Shuriken action with large wings attached

Together with the previous kit, the Wyvern.

Ray Falx has been released as the 35th Frame Arms kit. True to the original lineup, it sports a fantastic design born from unlimited imagination — and the generous use of clear parts throughout gives it a really premium look.

First off, it comes with a large box and a hefty number of runners compared to other Frame Arms kits. Assembly takes quite a while as a result, but the improved build quality makes the whole process feel pretty clean. It's still not quite up there with Bandai's smooth yet solid snap-fit feel, but the parts go together with just a slight firmness and no real trouble — you can definitely feel Kotobukiya continuing to improve.

The highlight of this kit is being able to combine the large number of weapon parts into all sorts of different configurations. As you can see in the review photos above, you can pull off around 11 different weapons in total, and you can even use them to build and attach a large set of wings. The only slightly frustrating thing is that going the large wings route means you can't set up the other main weapons at the same time. (Guess I need to buy two...)

The large wing configuration looks absolutely stunning, but unfortunately the waist and hip joints are loose, so displaying it without a stand is pretty tough. The base frame is naturally built on the Frame Arms Architect, so articulation is great — but joint strength is still lacking as ever.

Sure, the improved RE version of the Frame Architect is used here, and it is a bit better than before, but the waist and hip areas are still weak. No matter how you look at it, the concept of reusing frames is one thing, but keep reusing a frame with poor rigidity and it starts to feel a bit lazy. The wing and limb joints hold up well enough on their own, but since the waist and hips — the most critical joints for supporting the whole body — are the weak points, posing ends up being a hassle in more ways than one.

Anyway, even if the key joints are a bit lacking, the visual impact is absolutely stunning and the overall product value is high. I'd strongly recommend this kit to anyone who loves flashy, eye-catching designs. For a Kotobukiya kit, the value for money is pretty decent too — given the price, the part count and overall volume don't feel like a rip-off at all. :-)

Frame Arms Ray Falx | 2017.5 | ¥6,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.