Observations & Critique: Is it worth your effort?
This accessory was a mail-in/mail-order special release by a Japanese hobby magazine (Dengeki) that partnered with Yamato. These shipped in a plain white box with blue text. The outer white box (32.5 x 19 x 4.5 cm) sheaths an inner white tray that slides out to reveal the clear armor parts sealed in plastic bags. You got:
2x top of backpack booster pieces
2x leg covers
2x missile boom covers
Dengeki announced preorders in January 2003 for 1,500 Yen and Yamato made the parts to order and shipped them in March 2004. Something very similar was done years later for Yamato’s V2 1/60. Obviously, the two are not compatible. At release, a lot of people shrugged these off, reasoning that you can get a very similar effect by simply removing the original armor piece and leaving the internal detail exposed. “Wait, I paid $X for this?” was a very common lament when they were first released. However, these were only offered for a limited time and the 1/48 line (and Yamato) is dead so they will only get harder to come by as time passes, becoming more collectable.
The “clear” parts match the texture of the original parts they’re replacing which means they’ll appear a bit opaque from the ever-so-slightly grainy surface. A thin network of structural support also in clear-ish plastic is a nice feature that spruces up the look.
If you wanted to show off the inner-workings of the 1/48 armor, you can achieve this far better by simply removing the stock covers. The “clear” covers aren’t so clear that they offer close to the visibility of the naked fastpacks. Essentially, these parts are a gimmick that are only cool because of the visual presence of something that looks a bit different from the typical 1/48s.
Original Post Date: July 3rd, 2006
Updated January 24, 2008: This Critique has been updated – Existing pictures were cleaned up and new pictures were added.
Updated October 2, 2016: Pictures were standardized in HD, HD Video Review added
True But still want one if anyone is selling!
I suppose it is good with you wanna paint with custom colors … no?