Overview
Border Model is one of the glut of Chinese model kit companies that has made themselves known in the girlpla market in the mid-late 2020s, with a trajectory fairly similar to Suyata with The Hunter’s Poem; previously more well known for building military models, before dabbling in girlpla to get some of that action. To date, they have put out three standalone kits; Hell Knight Syl, Tesla Trooper and Pirate Queen Anne. Syl, the first of these, was released in early 2025 as a two part set; Syl and her steed.
Construction and Engineering
Unlike The Hunter’s Poem or Project Witch, Syl has some level of competence in her creation. The plastic, while still cheap-feeling, is at least serviceable and Syl’s articulation isn’t terrible. That, sadly, is the best we can say for Syl.
Firstly, the electronic gimmicks (the light-up eyes and speakers) basically trigger whenever the kit is moved, and nearly impossible to access anyway being as they are embedded inside the model kit, meaning it’s pointless to even build them. Secondly, the horse itself isn’t particularly articulate, with no side movements on its head and necks and its heavy and hard armor restricting movements. It also comes with a single magnet to hold Syl’s sword and a quiver to hold her arrows, none of which have hardpoints or a pairing magnet to match with.
Put simply, there were a lot of good ideas but not so great execution.
Aesthetics:
Syl herself isn’t particularly striking, unless you were really into Sylvanas Windrunner. The real attraction is the horse, which, despite basically being stationary after being fully equipped, looks absolutely phenomenal. Still, Syl isn’t as bad as, say, Haoying from the Yutyrannus set; she is at least only slightly less interesting than her mount, and if she’d come with, say, more intricate armor as befits a Legally Distinct Warcraft Death Knight instead of being mostly topless, we might’ve gotten something going here.
Ease of Acquisition:
While this kit can be gotten at most retailers that export out of Japan or China such as HLJ or Aliexpress, the cost is usually hanging around the eye-watering mark of ¥8925 (roughly £42/ $56), slightly less for second-hand, which may or may not be worth the price of admission.
Personal Verdict?
While not the worst leap from military plamo to girlpla, Hell Knight Syl definitely shows some teething pains for Border Model. If you’re not particularly into the (admittedly awesome) undead horse that Syl comes with, Border Model’s Pirate Queen Anne is a significant improvement over Syl and a better demonstration of their capabilities with girlpla.
Official Site: https://www.bordermodel.com/en
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