MG MS-18E Kampfer - Dalong.net

Release 2010. 3

Price ¥4,000

Gundam 30th Anniversary

Special Clear Parts

Release date: March 2010 / Price: ¥4,000

Box open

MG Kampfer - The added clear runners increase the volume of the contents, so the bottom of the box is slightly taller than us

The added clear runners increase the volume of the contents,
so the bottom of the box is slightly taller than usual.

The clear runners added to the existing kit

The torso, shoulder, and leg runners have been made clear.

A special treat — 2 full runners have been made clear.

Clear runner shots

Parts diagram

Full body view

MG Kampfer - Clear parts for the torso. The wood-grain mock-up texture on the inside of the parts is quite visible. (1/3)

Clear parts for the torso.
The wood-grain mock-up texture on the inside of the parts is quite visible.

MG Kampfer - Clear parts for the shoulders (1/3)

Clear parts for the shoulders

Clear parts for the backpack verniers

MG Kampfer - Clear parts for the lower body. There's barely any internal mechanical frame, but most of the complex outer armo

Clear parts for the lower body. There's barely any internal mechanical frame,
but most of the complex outer armor on the torso has been made clear.

MG Kampfer - Clear parts for the legs. The transparency is relatively high, so the molds and frame inside are clearly visible

Clear parts for the legs.
The transparency is relatively high, so the molds and frame inside are clearly visible.

This kit is the MG clear exterior 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 Kampfer Review

◆ Coverage and Effect

This is a rare kit where 2 full runners have been made clear, covering most of the torso, the shoulders, and the legs. As you can see in the photos, it looks like over 60% of the exterior is taken up by clear parts, making this easily the top kit in terms of both the size and quantity of clear parts.

For the torso, most of the upper body as well as the entire complex armor structure of the lower body has been made clear. The lower body has almost no internal frame, so it looks a bit bare, but the upper body does show a decent chunk of internal frame underneath. That said, some of the torso clear parts have a pretty noticeable wood-grain mock-up texture on the inside of the armor, which does bring the transparency down a notch. Whether that wood-grain pattern looks weird or actually gives it a certain charm is going to be a matter of personal taste.

The shoulders have no internal frame, so they end up looking like plain white clear lumps, which is a bit of a shame — though the sculpt has good depth so the silhouette still reads well. The legs, on the other hand, have noticeably high transparency, and you can clearly see the internal frame and molds through them.

◆ Difficulty of Swapping

Overall, swapping between the standard armor and clear armor isn't all that difficult, but there are quite a lot of parts to swap out so it does take a fair amount of time. That just goes to show how many different areas have been made clear. The lower torso in particular requires extra care when disassembling and reassembling. The connection structure is a bit unusual, so you'll want to follow the manual carefully and apply force in the right direction to avoid snapping any locking pins.

◆ Overall Verdict

This is easily a top-class kit among the MG clear event kits, both in terms of quantity and quality. Rather than a half-hearted, scattered approach to the clear parts, both shoulders, both legs, and most of the torso have been made clear in a consistent way, so the overall look is nicely balanced.

Almost all the other clear event kits only have a single runner made clear, so I'm honestly not sure why the Kampfer alone got 2 full runners. The Sazabi also had 2 runners made clear, but in terms of part count and runner size it was really more like one runner's worth — so the Kampfer is really the only kit that genuinely got a proper 2-runner clear treatment. Maybe the developers had a special soft spot for this one?

Either way, it's easily the most recommendable MG 30th anniversary clear event kit out there. :-)

MG Kampfer | 2010. 3 | ¥4,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.