A photo of Busou Shinki Fort Bragg with the weapons platform in backpack mode.

This is an unusual female action figure as it’s top-heavy at the back rather than the front.

I was only mildly intrigued when the lineart for the Fort Bragg EX weapon set appeared online. It only became a Buy It Now figure for me upon release when fan-modes (like the one above) starting appearing.

I’m puzzled why this Mecha Musume-ish mode wasn’t documented in the instructions. The artillery platform legs were clearly designed to double as legs for an MMS figure; there are peg holes of the right sizes and joints in the right places.

(Long-time Transformers fans will know the toys sometimes had features that weren’t adequately documented in the instructions. This was particularly true during the Beast Wars era and it was mainly a problem with Hasbro’s figures. Takara’s instructions were generally better.)

I can understand how someone might consider these undocumented features a hidden bonus waiting to be discovered but I’m of the opinion cool design features ought to be pointed out and highlighted.

That can be the difference between sale and no-sale.