MG MSN-04 Sazabi - Dalong.net

Release 2010. 3

Price ¥8,000

Gundam 30th Anniversary

Special Clear Parts

Release date: March 2010 / Price: ¥8,000

Box open

Maybe it's because the box is large, but even with 2 extra runners added
the box height hasn't changed.

Clear runners added to the existing kit

The rear skirt and leg armor runners — 2 in total — have been made clear.

Clear runner shot

Parts diagram

Full body view

The rear skirt and leg armor have been made clear.

MG Sazabi - Only the main skirt armor itself is clear, so the verniers and other surrounding parts use the standard opaque pa

Only the main skirt armor itself is clear,
so the verniers and other surrounding parts use the standard opaque parts.

MG Sazabi - A look at the skirt removed for inspection. The transparency is a bit low, so the interior isn't all that visible

A look at the skirt removed for inspection.
The transparency is a bit low, so the interior isn't all that clearly visible..
But since there's no inner frame inside anyway, it doesn't really matter.

MG Sazabi - Leg armor. Only the shin armor below the knee has been made clear, and the transparency is high enough that the m

Leg armor.
Only the shin armor below the knee has been made clear,
and the transparency is high enough that the molds on the inside of the armor and the inner frame are quite visible.

Alongside the MG Dom clear parts, which were applied to similar areas.

This kit is the MG exterior clear parts version released to commemorate Gundam's 30th anniversary. It's essentially the same contents as the original kit, but with one set of clear runners added. In other words, it lets you choose between standard armor and clear armor for certain exterior parts, so for the basic kit features please refer to the normal version review — this review only covers the added clear parts.

MG Sazabi Review

◆ Areas Applied and Effect

Clear parts have been applied to the rear skirt armor and the leg armor below the knee. Since this is such a voluminous kit, 2 full runners have been made clear. It's 2 runners, but the actual parts count isn't all that high.

For the rear skirt, only the 2 main skirt armor pieces have been made clear, so the surrounding verniers and structural parts still use the opaque standard parts as-is. The clear state of the skirt is somewhat translucent rather than fully transparent, so it doesn't look particularly great — but since there's no frame inside anyway, there's nothing really showing through either.

The leg armor, much like the Dom's, lets you see the verniers and frame inside quite clearly, and the molds on the inside of the armor are visible too, giving it a pretty clean and nice look.

◆ Difficulty of Swapping

If you want to swap between the standard armor and the clear armor, the leg parts separate and reattach easily enough. The skirt section, however, is a simple snap-fit connection that wasn't really designed with removal in mind, so it's a bit tricky. You'll need to figure out the locations of the locking pins beforehand using the manual, then carefully apply the right amount of force to split the front and rear skirt armor pieces apart — there's a risk of breakage if you're not careful, so watch out.

◆ Overall Impressions

Honestly, just making the leg armor clear like the Dom would've been fine on its own, so having the skirt parts included as clear parts too feels like a nice little bonus. That said, since the skirt itself has no internal gimmicks or frame, the effect of the clear parts there is pretty much nil. I guess you just have to think of it as exactly what it is — a "bonus" thrown in.

Truth be told, the Sazabi is a bit of an older MG kit, so aside from the legs there isn't much of a frame worth showing off. But that leg armor section has been done up nicely in clear, so as an added clear parts set, I'd say it's done its job. :-)

MG Sazabi | 2010. 3 | ¥8,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.