Rai K. The Kit behind the Rai.

So, today I shall be reviewing the NJR (New Japanese Release) RZ-028 Blade Liger. Yeah, you know the blue motorized with the metal teeth/claws and the little figures of Van, Fiona, and Zeke? It’s that one.

Oh snap, box art. XD Anyway, let’s move on, shall we?

Difficulty: 3.5
Durability: 1
Accuracy: 3.5
Pose-ability: 2.5

This Blade Liger really isn’t all that difficult. There are a few small pieces in the head and along the back that may give you some difficulty, which is why he has the higher score. It’s also annoying that you have completely undo everything if you made a small mistake within the body. Not cool. The white pieces on the feet can also be slightly frustrating just because they don’t like to stay on. What-evs.

Eh, hehe. This is most definitely not a play thing. You see that cannon on the chest? The plastic pieces holding it on are pretty fragile. Little pieces are constantly falling off of the thrusters. The head loves to fall apart given the slightest provocation, and the mouth likes to fall off despite the fact that a gyro cap SHOULD be holding it on. Oh, and that tail? Wa-a-ay too long to be strong. I put this guy in a box for transport and as I was lifting him out of the box the tip of his tail caught on a jag and it broke. The break was just about two inches from the base. Not an easy fix. Here’s an image:

As for accuracy - O.M.F.G. That tail is frickin’ FUGLY. Holy crap, I want to break that thing again just to make it shorter. Seriously. When has a Blade Liger EVER had a tail that long? *shakes head* Also, this thing is really one absolute brick of a Zoid. It screams CHUNKY in every aspect of the word. It’s true that Van’s Blade Liger was a bit of a hunky thing in the anime, but nowhere near this degree. The cockpit hatch is also yellow. Last time I checked, it was supposed to be orange. Merr. You may hear me rant more about this thing in a later post.

Pose-ability. Well, it’s somewhat better than other Ligers, I suppose. The blades have an almost 360-degree range of motion and they don’t need to be out to the sides of the Liger to be positioned. The tail can be moved up and down (but do it CAREFULLY). The exhaust vents on the legs open, as do the boosters hidden within the back. Pretty much everything attached to the head moves - the flaps on top and bottom, the side blue and white things, the blue and white things that look like bunny ears, and the cockpit hatch. The mouth itself can’t really be posed, though. Like the other Ligers, it’s attached to a small arm that attaches to the motor that moves it up and down when the Liger moves. And despite his downfalls I will say that he does have decent walking action:

Yeah, that’s my Blade Liger. Oh snap, he’s a rocket! At least compared to some. XD And yes, that is Van in the cockpit.

Anyway, here are a few other options for the Blade Liger:

Blade Liger Mirage: A special Yuji Kaida limited edition kit. Now extremely rare. But I must admit that it is extremely spiffy. I really want one, but unfortunately cannot afford it. *sigh* But isn’t it gorgeous? It comes with the CP Attack Boosters.

Blade Liger Forest and Night Fight: Another gorgeous special-colored Blade Liger. Still the same build as the original and Mirage, just different colors. Very spiffy. Also extremely rare and expensive. Oh, and the feet on this one aren’t metal.

Red Blade Liger/Blade Liger Leon: Just a red re-color to depict Leon Toros’s Blade Liger from Zoids New Century (/Zero). I honestly don’t think that red is nice enough to merit purchasing one, but other people may have different opinions. Apparently this guy also can with Van, Fiona, and Zeke, though I have no idea why.

Blade Liger Black Impact: Another re-colored ‘limited’ Blade Liger, this time based off of the Black Impact Blade Ligers in Zoids: Fuzors. I think this coloration looks pretty cool.

Kotobukiya HMM Blade Liger: Extremely pose-able and amazingly detailed. I’m not really a fan of the yellow on this Liger, but that’s easily fixed. I’m so happy that they made the tail a reasonable length. If you’re a decent modeler, I would definitely recommend this Liger over the motorized versions.

Kotobukiya HMM Blade Liger Leon: The Leon version of the HMM Blade Liger, complete with AB Unit. Once again, the yellow annoys me, but that red is just gorgeous. Another amazing model.

Kotobukiya HMM Blade Liger AB Bang (Van) Version: I can tell you from owning this Liger that is absolutely to-die-for. Anime accurate colors means absolutely amazing blues and yellows. This guy comes with the AB unit as well as Van, Fiona, a standing Zeke, and a Zoid-core Zeke. He is also much more stream-lined and feline-esque than his brick of a cousin. If you have the money, this limited edition is definitely worth it. I’ll post my own images of him when I review him later, but for now here is one from someone else:

See what I’m talking about? Gorgeous.