Marzan Empire
Classification: Melee
Armaments:
(2) SW-MACHETE (Kurosawa recolor)
Pilot: Codename: GHOST
The latest version of the Kurosawa series, the Sword Kai is a stripped down version of the Hyper Kai that goes back to the roots of the design with a much increased mobility rating.
BUILD NOTES
The KRSW reFrame is one of the oldest surviving concepts I have for the reFrame series and actually started back in 2016. It was originally a tribute mech build for Quiccs as I saw his toys at the DevilToys booth at ITGE Macau 2015.
I actually got introduced to Quiccs shortly after and the build became more of a trade piece with Quiccs but never got to release it as I was never quite content with the build, hence all the further upgrades and iterations of the design.
Thinking about it, it would also be the first samurai mech design I’ve done and I’m really happy with the overall look and vibe of it. The shoulders for one is actually one of the best aspects of the design for me. The tank treads armor skirt would be the next as that really took some tinkering to get it right.
Happy to finally call it finished in the OG colorway and will be working on instructions for the model this July 2019. Please look forward to it! 😀
WIP Process & Previous versions
VER 1 (2016) // Reframe V1
QU-KRSW G KUROSAWA
The initial Kurosawa reFrame build was built too closely to the TEQ series of designs by Quiccs and was too black featuring two swords / sabers. One good part of the design were the side shoulder vents but the proportions were all over the place for this initial version.
It actually looked okay in person but taking photos of it made it look like one big chunk of black and was never truly happy with the build so it was shelved for quite some time.
VER 2 (2017) // Reframe V2
MARZ-QKRSW-K KUROSAWA KAI
The 2nd version of the Kurosawa came when I decided to experiment on a V2 reFrame body which meant a rear backpack cockpit for a minifig pilot. I added a bunch of guns for the build (shotgun, sawed off shotgun pistols, flintlock) taking design inspiration from the Crossbone Gundam series. I also added red and gold highlights to break the build visually and make the design pop out more.
The issue here was that with the V2 body having the rear backpack cockpit, it became unbalanced and often fell backwards.
VER 2.5 (2018) // Reframe V3
MARZ-QKRSW-KZ Kurosawa Hyper Kai
The 3rd version came with the V3 reFrame upgrade so I had to take what was in the V2’s design and migrate that over to the new frame torso. The rest of the parts were just carried over.
With the improved weight distribution of the chest cockpit on the V3, it no longer had weight / balance issues but I still wasn’t quite happy with the build, especially the feet area that I found too chunky.
Ver 3 (2019) // Reframe V3
The latest and last version of the OG colorway Kurosawa was done this year just in time for JBF 2019. I decided to go back to the original plans on the first version to just have the two swords and since this build’s backstory is that it pillages parts from other faction mechs, it actually stole the design from the Sailia OG’s sword and recolored it.
The feet assembly was also improved to be sleeker and more stable at the heel area and several minor changes were made with newer LEGO parts.
ToyCon PH 2019 Report
As mentioned in my recent ToyCon PH 2019 recap post, this was actually one of the few items I had for sale over at my booth last June 28-30. Was very happy it got sold on the first day and a huge congratulations to its new owner! 😀
Also as mentioned, instructions for this build will be released sometime late July / August this year so please look forward to it. 🙂
reFRAME v3 Instruction Manual
The reFrame System is a modular brick skeleton aimed to help both new and veternan brick mech builders create their own designs in a consistent size with modular capabilities. It was originally designed to be a basis for all my mechs in the Mech Wars universe. Having gone through a number of upgrades, the V3 reFrame can now house a minifigure pilot in the chest without sacrificing aesthetic or articulation.
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