- D-Style 08: Blade Liger: Limited Blue Version

    This Blade Liger is one of two counterparts, a red and a blue version that were released by Kotobukiya. They have a clean silver plating with a thin blue paint layer. The look is exceptional, but they suffer from a large number of quality control issues.

    I've had a very long time to assess my blue Blade Liger. It was built almost a year ago ad has since collected lots of dust, and had to be cleaned. My first impression when I got the kit was that the blue paint chipped very easily. It would just flake off in places, but it is difficult to show these in photos because of the flash overpowering any white spots.

    Now that it has collected dust, I realized after cleaning that it left almost a weird texture on the chrome parts. Some of the speckling are finger prints, yes, but some appears to be damage to the chrome that will hardly wash off. I'd compare it to something stained onto the surface and having to be scrubbed off (which, again, is difficult because of the fragility of the color layer.)

    The chrome also both complicates and helps the build, but mostly just complicates. You not only have to trim off the chrome from the pegs, but possibly a bit of the peg itself so that it will fit, due to the added thickness. On the other hand it helps hold the paws on, so.

Pros:
    -Excellent Color
    -Feet are more secure thanks to the chrome

Cons:
    -Chrome chips way too easily
    -Hard to clean of dust
    -Parts are hard to assemble

- Gimmicks

Cockpit:
The canopy opens up at the back. Due to the extra chrome layer it doesn't close all the way, or attach well unless you trim off a lot of extra chrome. I figured the appearance of shiny blue was more important than the canopy closing, so I didn't go this route.

Jaws:
The jaws open and close but thanks to the chrome th teeth are pretty difficult to get in all the way. Make sure to trim them a lot extra.

E-Shield Generator:
The panels on the top of the mane tuck down behind the head when inactive. They flip forward, but don't stand straight up as motorized kits do. There are no bottom mane panels.

Head and Neck
The head and neck rotate up and down, with the neck rotating at the base and the head attaching to a ball joint, which allows rotation and tilting.

Blades:
The blades attach on the side by pegs, and have no rotational ability. The range of motion is also small. This is actually the one break I had on my blue chrome Bladey. The black peg on one of the blades broke because the chrome in the slight was too tight, so I recommend extra trimming on the blade pegs.

Tail:
The tail flips up and down, and tilts to either side. It is attached on a ball joint.

Boosters:
The boosters are covered by a chrome blue panel. Both the armor and the boosters rotate upwards on one end, and have no extra maneuver ability.