Observations & Critique: Next in my continuing series on burning money
As with Yamato’s 1/48 Clear Accessories (available through Dengeki Magazine in 2003), these clear parts consist of clear replacement covers for the legs, missile booms, and main thrusters. There is nothing else in the plain white box (30 x 18 x 4 cm) except the cardboard sleeve that contains plastic baggies housing the clear replacement covers. You are not purchasing actual super parts. The box for the 1/60 version have even less glitz to them than the 1/48 ones did, as there’s nary a word of print to be found.
These parts were sold in July 2009 exclusive to Yamato’s website which ships only to Japanese addresses. The MSRP was 1,500 Yen plus the cost of domestic shipping. Outside of Japan, you’d have to add a finder’s fee and shipping abroad. At the time, the price was considered expensive but, now long out of print, people have spent over $100 to track a set down.
There really isn’t anything special to these parts beyond the fact they’re molded in clear plastic. These are simply the exact same plastic parts already on your super parts but simply made without pigment. The sandblasted texture and matte finish carry over from the regular armors so the ‘clear’ armor is somewhat opaque.
As I mentioned when I reviewed the 1/48 versions of these clear parts; if you really want to show off the internals of the super parts the best way to do it is to simply remove the covers. The opaque clear parts look nice but they do obscure the details beneath. When using the strike cannon, the overall effect can be muddled.
How much are these gimmicky parts worth to you? If they’re worth much you’re probably best off finding a set sooner than later as they’ll probably only get harder to obtain. I bought one set and that was enough for me.
Original Post December 22, 2009
Updated December 27, 2016 – Add additional pictures, release information, and increased resolution of existing photos to HD.
Updated January 15, 2017 – Added HD Video Review
I came to the same conclusion. I was hoping for, well, more. Or maybe some battle-damage versions would be cool. These just made me say “wow! I could have just removed the original cover parts.”
i just got one recently! i kinda love it through! I applied it on my 1/60 Low Viz too..:)