[Review] 30MF Liber Paladin class up armor

30MF class up armor Liber Paladin Review

Kit info

• Name : 30MF Class up armor - Liber Paladin
• Brand : Bandai Spirits
• Original Price : 700 JPY
  
• Release Date : 2024/08
• Link : scalemates, download instructions (.pdf, 2.6MiB)

Story

This is a CLASS Ⅲ job requiring swordsmanship that surpasses Knights and advanced physical defense abilities.

It is a job that demands the skill to wield a sword with high weapon capabilities and supreme martial arts abilities on par with high-ranking warriors.

Those who attain this jobs are treated as high-ranking knights in their country and palace.

What's in the box (sprues and other parts)

OJ2-A1 [Gray]

OJ2-A2 [Gray]

OJ2-B [Injected gold]

All three sprues are labeled 30MF Paladin (パラディン) and it is likely that these sprues are shared between Liber Paladin and Rosan Paladin. (edit : after getting the Rosan Paladin class up armor set, I can confirm that in fact, both paladin kits do share these sprues.)

Detailed Parts Review

All the parts laid down separated from the sprues.

Parts assembled and Liber Knight seen disassembled for transformation to Paladin.

The parts will replace 

• visor and mask
• top parts of the spaulders
• side skirts and back skirt armor
• wrist armor

of the Liber Knight kit and also add 

• additional chest and back armor
• greaves (shin guard)
• extension for the front skirt armor
• larger blade extension for the sword

on top of the armor.

Image Gallery

Finished Paladin seen from the front. The Paladin armor pieces are in darker gray so you can easily see what's been changed/added.

From the back. Note that rear skirt is replaced but connecting pieces (in blue) are repurposed from Liber Knight configuration and reused here.

Conclusion

The Paladin class-up armor kit is a straightforward yet effective enhancement to the already impressive Liber Knight kit. Like its counterpart, the Holy Knight armor kit, it builds upon the existing Knight armor, transforming the Liber Knight into a form that's more defense-focused.

My primary concern with this kit is that despite its defense-oriented design, it lacks any enhancements to the shield itself, unlike the Holy Knight kit, which includes a shield extension. It would have been great if this kit featured parts to enlarge the shield, emphasizing its defensive capabilities.

Additionally, the kit seems to be in short supply everywhere, forcing me to pay a significant premium on the secondary market. This scarcity is a common issue with Bandai's latest and most popular kits, so one must either accept the higher prices or wait for the availability to improve following future re-releases.