Kit Review

Straight build

First, the Liger Zero body without the armor.

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Close-up shots of the body (1/6)

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Close-up shots of the body (2/6)

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Close-up shots of the body (3/6)

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Close-up shots of the body (4/6)

Close-up shots of the body

Leftover parts

#1 - Before attaching the Schneider-type armor

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Liger Zero Schneider configuration (1/3)

Liger Zero Schneider configuration

Alongside the normal Liger Zero Schneider.

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Detail shots (1/6)

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Detail shots (2/6)

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Detail shots (3/6)

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Detail shots (4/6)

Detail shots

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Action pose with blades deployed (1/4)

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Action pose with blades deployed (2/4)

Action pose with blades deployed

Pose with blades gathered to the front

#2 - Before attaching the Jager-type armor

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Liger Zero Jager (1/3)

Liger Zero Jager

Alongside the normal Liger Zero Jager.

Detail shots

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Action pose with all wings deployed (1/4)

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Action pose with all wings deployed (2/4)

Action pose with all wings deployed

#3 - Before attaching the Panzer-type armor

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Liger Zero Panzer (1/3)

Liger Zero Panzer

Alongside the normal Liger Zero Panzer.

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Detail shots (1/7)

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Detail shots (2/7)

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Detail shots (3/7)

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Detail shots (4/7)

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Detail shots (5/7)

Detail shots

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Pose with all weapon hatches open (1/4)

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. - Pose with all weapon hatches open (2/4)

Pose with all weapon hatches open

This kit is the HMM Liger Zero - Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver., released as a Kotobukiya Shop exclusive. The Liger Zero has always been able to swap armor to take on various configurations, and up until now four types have been released in total — the normal type plus the Schneider, Jager, and Panzer types.

This kit is a set that includes the Liger Zero body (without the normal armor) along with all three special armor sets — Schneider, Jager, and Panzer — with every single runner molded in clear. It's a special limited edition through and through. As you can see, packing in all three types means the box is absolutely massive — Iron Kong-level big — and the price matches, coming in at a hefty ¥12,800.

Just looking at the insane number of runners crammed into that huge box is enough to send a chill down your spine. (I counted roughly over 70 runners -_-) The parts count looks like it beats most Bandai PGs. Thanks to that, pure assembly time alone ended up taking me the better part of ten days, chipping away at it here and there. Either way, just keep in mind that this is a kit with an absolutely enormous amount of building involved.

One thing that really impressed me while building this kit is that even though it's a clear molded kit, the plastic came out on the softer side. Normally with clear limited editions, the transparent material tends to be very hard and brittle, making gate cleanup a real pain. But this kit uses a somewhat softer clear plastic, which actually makes cleaning up the parts even easier than the normal version. I mean, with a parts count this massive, if gate cleanup were tough on top of everything else, it'd be a true ordeal. Thanks to the softer material, even with all that insane assembly grinding (it just takes a long time), I never really felt like it was hard to build. ^^

With so many runners, just finding the right parts is a job in itself. What I'd recommend is using the manual to sort your runners by section first — body, Schneider, Jager, Panzer — and then tackle them one at a time. That way it's not too overwhelming. It does feel like you're building four separate kits though, and honestly the workload is pretty much exactly that.. (ahem)

Once it's all done, the clear effect looks really fantastic and definitely feels like fair compensation for all that assembly grinding. It has that genuinely special feel you'd expect from a limited edition, and the softer plastic makes it nice to handle too. The one bittersweet thing is that since it's a three-armor swapping system, two sets of armor always have to be sitting in storage in a disassembled state. ^^;;

Clear limited editions often end up with tighter joints and less play compared to the normal versions, which usually means better joint strength. This kit, however, feels pretty much on par with the normal version. The normal version wasn't exactly known for rock-solid joints to begin with, so I wouldn't go into this clear limited edition expecting any kind of joint strength improvement.

All in all, in terms of being "special," this is a limited edition I'm pretty happy with — both in quantity and quality. That said, the price is steep and the workload is enormous, so you'll definitely want to go in mentally prepared (?). Still, since the plastic is soft and easy to work with, if you're someone who enjoys slowly savoring a big build over a long stretch of time, this could be a great one to keep you happily busy for ages. :-)

Zoid HMM Liger Zero Changing Armors System Set ~ Clear Ver. | 2014. 8 | ¥12,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.