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武装

神姫

The New Busou Shinki & Friends Guide v0.01b

Compiled by and for the Shinki Generals on /toy/

The Mk1 design uses the original Multi Moveable System body, designed by Masaki Apsy. The Mk2 design is the refined 2010 version dubbed MMS 3rd. Arnval uses the Tall variant.

Busou Shinki [武装神姫] was a toyline launched by Konami in 2006. The figures are 1:12 sized but considered 1:1 in lore, and came pre-assembled with removable armor & accessories. They were typically released in themed pairs with each set designed by a different artist, although some releases were expansion packs and a few artists contributed multiple waves. All of the figures share the same core design, but it was refined in 2010 creating new small and tall configurations which slightly limited compatibility. The final wave was released in 2012, months before the anime aired, and the toyline was never revived. For an in-depth look back please see the original guide is linked below. The figures are only available second hand now, so the most common places to find deals are Mandarake, Amiami Pre-Owned, eBay, Suruga-ya, Jungle, or use a proxy and try Rakuten and Yahoo Japan Auctions.

In 2017 Konami teased a reboot of Busou Shinki with nebulous plans for a mobile game and model kits featuring new characters, but so far only one kit has been produced and the project seems abandoned again. However, in 2020 they launched a new arcade game called Battle Conductor using some of the original character designs.

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At first all of the Frame Arms Girls were drawn by Humikane, it wasn't until the line had proven to be a hit that other artists were tapped for more variety.

Frame Arms Girl [フレームアームズ・ガール] is an ongoing line of model kits launched by Kotobukiya in 2015. These are 1:10 sized but marketed as non-scale, and treated as 1:1 in the anime and manga (the “Hand Scale” kits are half the size of the originals, and work well with Koto’s Hexagear line).The characters were originally all mecha musume based on the original Frame Arms mecha, but the line has branched out into a few other licenses like GaoGaiGar and Wonder Woman. Engineering varies slightly between figures as the designs are adjusted to different artists’ style. Unlike Busou Shinki, the armor isn’t easily swappable between figures, but as model kits customization is essentially limited only by the builder’s skill. Printed faceplates are included and all parts are molded in color, but painting is encouraged and water slide decals provide accents and alternate expressions for blank faceplates. .

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Blade is the key artist behind most of the original Desktop Army characters, and the line itself was designed around his preferred style. A familiar name to fans, because he also designed Pomock and Partio - the first Busou Shinki figures using the MMS 35d Small bodies.

Desktop Army [デスクトップアーミー] is a toyline launched by Megahouse in 2016. The figures are approximately 8cm tall SD/chibi characters intended to be 1:1 scale, and come pre-assembled with accessories on model kit runners.  A definite departure in design, but relevant nonetheless. This line was presented as a smaller, cheaper alternative for potential fans. Notable also for the official release of free 3D models to entice customizers when the website launched. The line has branched out from all original characters to a number of licensed releases with popular franchises like Sword Art Online and Fate/stay Night, as well as multiple collaborations with Frame Arms Girl and Megami Device.

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Humikane is once again tapped to design the flagship characters for the line, just as with Busou Shinki and Frame Arms Girls. Nidy2D is a new contributor, but his ASRA characters have proven very popular.

Megami Device [メガミデバイス公式] is another model kit line by Kotobukia, launched in 2016, and it is the closest thing to a true successor to Busou Shinki currently available. Apart from being kits instead of action figures, the rest of the details mirror the original toyline: 1:12 sized but considered 1:1 scale, themed waves designed by different artists, and sharing the same core engineering across all the figures with heavy emphasis on customization and compatibility (although they are no longer MMS compatible without modification). The single Busou Shinki kit launched with the 2017 reboot announcement was a Megami Device collaboration. In 2020 Koto announced new Modeling Support Goods sets specific to Megami Device with enhanced upper and lower body components compatible with existing figures, available in white and two different skin tones. Interestingly, the Machineca body this line is based on is not exclusive to Kotobukiya, but rather is an original project by Masaki Apsy and is shared with two other lines: Dark Advent by Alphamax with character designs by Saitom, and Chitocerium by Good Smile Company with character designs by Huke. To reiterate: these are not Megami Device kits, but due to the shared engineering there is some cross-compatibility.

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Alice Gears Aegis [アリス・ギア・アイギス] is a mobile game with no toyline of its own, but collaborations with each of those lines: several Frame Arms Girls and recently Sylphy from Desktop Army have been added to the game, and AGA characters are available as Megami Device model kits, DTA figures, and even a few Figma. The dev team behind it also worked on past Busou Shinki games, and many of the characters are designed by artists familiar to the various other franchises. The app is region locked and untranslated but when has that ever stopped fans?

Some of the other popular mecha musume lines that don’t share the creative overlap and interconnectivity as the rest listed above, but are still common enough in the threads:

Notable GK makers with webfronts (most require a proxy service like Tenso or White Rabbit and stock may be very limited):

Shops that specialize in accessories, but not specific to a single GK maker (also probably require proxy service):

More general resources: