Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Upper body, front / rear

Head

Xenosaga III KOS-MOS Ver.4 - Arms and Legs (1/3)

Arms and Legs

Xenosaga III KOS-MOS Ver.4 - The two watermelons (....) really have some solid three-dimensionality. And assembling them feel

The two watermelons (....) really have some solid three-dimensionality.
And assembling them feels a little... naughty.

You can mix and match 4 different face expressions with 2 different head covers.

Xenosaga III KOS-MOS Ver.4 - You can swap out the upper body parts to recreate the D-Teneritas pose. As you can see, it's don

You can swap out the upper body parts to recreate the D-Teneritas pose.
As you can see, it's done by replacing the chest area with parts that show the straps coming undone (...) and all the weapons on the body fanning out dramatically.

The two hand vulcans each let you choose between two different magazine sizes.

The revolver-style handgun even replicates the break-action mid-section.

The Dragon Tooth can be reassembled into either launcher mode or saber mode.

The articulation isn't all that great, honestly.

Xenosaga III KOS-MOS Ver.4 - Dual Handgun Action (1/4)

Xenosaga III KOS-MOS Ver.4 - Dual Handgun Action (2/4)

Dual Handgun Action

Xenosaga III KOS-MOS Ver.4 - Dragon Tooth Launcher Mode Action (1/3)

Dragon Tooth Launcher Mode Action

Xenosaga III KOS-MOS Ver.4 - Dragon Tooth Saber Mode Action (1/3)

Dragon Tooth Saber Mode Action

Xenosaga III KOS-MOS Ver.4 - Hand Vulcan Action (1/3)

Hand Vulcan Action

Xenosaga III KOS-MOS Ver.4 - A powerful pose using both hand vulcans. The hand vulcans are so heavy that getting this pose to

A powerful pose using both hand vulcans.
The hand vulcans are so heavy that getting this pose to hold is no easy task.

Xenosaga III KOS-MOS Ver.4 - Double hand vulcan action with the small magazines attached. (1/3)

Double hand vulcan action with the small magazines attached.

Xenosaga III KOS-MOS Ver.4 - D-Teneritas Action (1/4)

Xenosaga III KOS-MOS Ver.4 - D-Teneritas Action (2/4)

D-Teneritas Action

Xenosaga III KOS-MOS Ver.4 - The chest puffs up even bigger in this mode. The straps come undone and everything spills out, t

The chest puffs up even bigger in this mode.
The straps come undone and everything spills out,
though the purple bra part seems to be made of stretchy material so it doesn't snap off. (Oh my... *ahem*)

Together with Reikaseal Eleonore, who shares the same concept.

KOS-MOS Ver.4 from Xenosaga Episode III, the famous PlayStation RPG, has arrived as a Kotobukiya plastic model kit. The overall concept and layout is pretty much the same as the Reikaseal series, though it comes with a generally more upgraded configuration.

First off, it ticks all the boxes as a Kotobukiya girlpla — the excellent color separation makes the assembly process genuinely fun. As you can see in the photos, even a straight build already looks as flashy and stylish as a decent finished figure. The dense color separation on the forearms and shoulders stands out in particular, as does the meticulous color separation on the chest and legs. And above all, the experience of assembling those voluptuous (..) breasts is a feeling you just can't get from any other kit. The flesh-colored parts are molded in a slightly matte special material, so they feel a bit different from regular plastic to the touch as well.

On top of the stunning looks, the accessory lineup is also generous — two massive hand vulcans with two magazine size options each, the Dragon Tooth which can be reassembled into launcher or saber mode, two handguns, and more. All of KOS-MOS Ver.4's signature weapons are faithfully included. The iconic pose for KOS-MOS Ver.4 is of course the double hand vulcan pose, but the vulcans are just so big and heavy that holding the pose is a real challenge ^^; It's not just the weight of the vulcans themselves — the shoulder and wrist joints tend to give out and pop off — but if you prop them up cleverly against the body here and there, you can get them to stay put well enough. When you consider that even the finished figure version of KOS-MOS Ver.4 struggles with this pose and comes with a dedicated stand for it, the model kit version might actually have the edge.

And the real highlight of this kit is the D-Teneritas pose recreation, which is achieved by swapping out the entire upper chest section. As you can see in the photos, the chest swells up, the shoulder straps come undone, and seven sharp collar-like blades fan forward — it's a somewhat suggestive setup, but the excellent parts breakdown pulls it off in a really impressive way.

All in all, this is an exceptionally high-quality kit as a buildable girlpla figure, and the flashy styling more than makes up for the somewhat limited articulation. Getting the double vulcan pose to hold is a bit of a struggle, but that's just a structural limitation, so all things considered it still holds up pretty well. The matte-like texture of the flesh-colored parts in particular gives it a distinctive feel that sets it apart from Kotobukiya's other girlplas.

If you're a Xenosaga fan, you're probably already very interested in the KOS-MOS character — and the Kotobukiya model kit version, which rivals or surpasses most finished figures in terms of quality, is definitely worth taking on. Even if you don't know the game but are drawn to cute girlplas like this, give KOS-MOS Ver.4 a shot — it's a step up from the Reikaseal series in every way :-)

Xenosaga III KOS-MOS Ver.4 | 2012. 1 | ¥4,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.