Kit Review

Straight build

Zoid HMM Blade Liger Mirage - Head and torso parts. The pearl coating looks gorgeous ^^ (1/4)

Zoid HMM Blade Liger Mirage - Head and torso parts. The pearl coating looks gorgeous ^^ (2/4)

Head and torso parts.
The pearl coating looks gorgeous ^^

Legs

Underside

As a bonus, a box art poster is included.

Zoid HMM Blade Liger Mirage - Cockpit hatch open. It's supposed to be a limited edition, but... oddly enough, the pilot figur

Cockpit hatch open.
It's supposed to be a limited edition, but... oddly enough, the pilot figure isn't painted.
Looking at other kits, the paint quality was never great to begin with... but it still feels like a bit of a missed opportunity;

Zoid Core

Leftover parts

Zoid HMM Blade Liger Mirage - Action pose (1/7)

Zoid HMM Blade Liger Mirage - Action pose (2/7)

Zoid HMM Blade Liger Mirage - Action pose (3/7)

Zoid HMM Blade Liger Mirage - Action pose (4/7)

Zoid HMM Blade Liger Mirage - Action pose (5/7)

Action pose

Zoid HMM Blade Liger Mirage - A fierce pouncing pose (1/5)

Zoid HMM Blade Liger Mirage - A fierce pouncing pose (2/5)

Zoid HMM Blade Liger Mirage - A fierce pouncing pose (3/5)

A fierce pouncing pose

Zoid HMM Blade Liger Mirage - Full-open pouncing pose (1/6)

Zoid HMM Blade Liger Mirage - Full-open pouncing pose (2/6)

Zoid HMM Blade Liger Mirage - Full-open pouncing pose (3/6)

Zoid HMM Blade Liger Mirage - Full-open pouncing pose (4/6)

Full-open pouncing pose

Together with the original Blade Liger.

AB (Attack Booster) version Blade Liger lineup.

This kit is a pearl-plated version of the Blade Liger AB (Attack Booster), released as an Irisawa distribution limited edition, with the official name Blade Liger Mirage. The pearl coating gives the whole kit a really premium feel in hand, though the coating layer seems a bit thin so it's not super dramatically obvious. On top of that, while it looks quite impressive in person, in photos it just comes across as a plain clean white molded color ;; Seeing it in person, you can definitely get that Extra Finish-style semi-gloss pearl coating vibe.

Along with the pearl coating, the frame molded color has been changed to a light gray, and as a bonus the claw parts are finished with an Extra Finish-style semi-gloss gold coating — so all things considered, this has become the most premium and eye-catching kit in the Zoids lineup. On top of that, possibly due to the coating layer, the overall stability has improved as well, with poses locking in more firmly than before.

In conclusion, as a straight build alone, this is hands-down the number one quality kit among Kotobukiya's Zoids lineup. It's not flashy in an over-the-top way, but the subtle premium coating and slightly more solid assembly feel make for a really satisfying kit. Sure, like any early Zoids kit, the sheer number of parts can be a bit overwhelming — but after that long, long straight build, the presence it has on display makes this a limited edition well worth the effort :-)

Zoid HMM Blade Liger Mirage | 2010.8 | ¥6,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.