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[Review] 30MF Liber Fighter / Silhouette 2

30MF Liber Fighter / Silhouette 2 Review

Kit info

Story

Liber Fighter : This is a CLASS Ⅰ job requiring an axe and round shield. It is a basic job requiring highly offensive abilities specialized in close combat. Those with this job perform powerful slashing attacks with their axe, display their defensive powers with the skillful use of their round shields, and must be warriors capable of martial arts skills. It is an offense-focused job that overwhelms enemies with a swift combat style.


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

Silhouette Parts

A [Multicolored]

B [Warm Gray]

C [Cool Gray]

Sprues A~C are shared with previous silhouette 1 used in Knight variants of 30MF kits. So that means that the parts of the silhouette 2 contained within sprues A~C are the exact same as silhouette 1. Those include : 

  • colored rings for decoration and armor attachment
  • element core (clear part)
  • upper arms including the shoulder and elbow joint.
  • knee joints and upper legs, except the hip - top most part of the legs.
  • ankle joint and the ankle cover (part A-4)
  • waist part
  • various joint parts that connect torso sections, hands, etc.


D1 [Warm Gray]

D2 [Warm Gray]

E1 [Cool Gray]

E2 [Cool Gray]

F1 [Clear Orange]

F2 [Orange]

Sprues D~F are labeled "30MF Silhouette 2 (30MF シルエット2)" and it is specific to Liber Fighter (and presumably upcoming Rosan Fighter). It has very similar parts of the corresponding sprues from Knight variant kits (silhouette 1) but the parts have somewhat different dimensions. They are mostly thicker and shorter, resulting in more stockier look of silhouette 2 compared to silhouette 1.

Same with silhouette 1, silhouette 2 uses two very slightly different shades gray colors. 

Fighter Class up armor parts 

G1-1 [Warm Gray]

G1-2,3 [Warm Gray]
G1 sprue is split into two parts to fit into the package.

G2 [Warm Gray]

Fold out style instruction manual. [8 pages, colored on one side]



Detailed Parts Review (Silhouette 2)

Well silhouette 2's build process is exactly same as the silhouette 1 used in Knight variants of 30MF kits. I was going to write "refer to Liber Knight review for more information" but I'll just copy and paste my descriptions from that review for you convenience. 


Head is constructed with 4 parts. Rightmost part will be only used in silhouette mode. It'll be replaced when Knight Fighter armor is worn.



Note the dual-jointed neck: a ball joint at the bottom and a rotating joint in the middle. Naturally, there's also a ball joint at the base of the head. Thus, even with a sizable headgear and collar, the head can achieve quite impressive poses.


The new shoulder joint primarily consists of two parts: one that rotates up and down and another that rotates front to back. The arm, attached to the shoulder, can also rotate on its axis, thus achieving the range of motion of a typical ball joint without the inherent instability of such a joint.


Torso is constructed from 3 parts (2 points of articulation excluding the waist). Chest armor shown here is only used in silhouette mode, meaning it will be replaced with Knight armor.


The arm construction follows the traditional 30MM/MS style, eschewing the use of C-joints. Ring accent parts, which can be exchanged for rings with 3mm pegs, are also recognizable features from the 30MS series. Typically, the upper arm is capable of rotating on its axis just below the shoulder, and the elbow can flex to approximately 135 degrees.


The set includes three styles of hands for both sides, and fortunately, there is no need to exchange the back of the hand parts, a common requirement with many 30MM series models.




The waist section combines elements of both 30MM and 30MS designs. The outer shell mirrors the 30MM style, while the hip joint adopts the characteristic Y-shaped joint typical of the 30MS design.


The leg construction borrows from the 30MM/MS series, notably omitting C-joint parts to enhance stability. The upper thigh features dual rotating axes, located just below the hip and around the colored ring, allowing the hip armor to rotate independently of the hip joint.

Colored rings, along with optional 3mm peg replacement rings, are also featured on the legs, similar to the 30MS.



Silhouette comparison

As you've seen in the sprues analysis, many parts are shared between two silhouettes. But some different parts result in silhouette being slightly shorter and more bulkier on the limbs and the torso.

Torso of silhouette 2 is wider. It is also thicker front to back so collar accessories won't be exchangeable between two silhouettes.

Silhouette 2 has thicker and shorter forearm. Also the hands are bigger. The silhouette doesn't use the U shaped shoulder armor part for the silhouette mode per the instruction but you can choose to use them anyways.

Silhouette 2's legs are shorter because of shorter and thicker lower legs and hip part. It's feet are also wider although it doesn't seem that different on the picture.

While Silhouette 2 reuses many components from Silhouette 1 and follows the same construction process, it does provide a more muscular body with some new parts. However, the real difference becomes apparent once you apply the Fighter class upgrade armor.

Detailed Parts Review (Fighter class up armor)

All the parts for Fighter class up armor laid down. (Except the equipment.)


Legs are equipped with cuisses, poleyns, greaves, and sabatons. Unlike Knight variant kits, where the Knight lacks greaves and the Holy Knight and Paladin have partial front armor, the fighter class armor includes a pair of greaves that fully cover the lower legs. These greaves consist of two parts that attach to the sides of the lower legs.


The waist is equipped with four pieces of skirt armor: front, back, and one on each side. The side skirts are connected to the rear skirt—similar to Knight variant kits—and can pivot outwards to accommodate leg movement.


The arms are equipped with four pieces of armor: the spaulder (not pictured here), which connects to the back armor, along with the upper arm, lower arm, and wrist pieces. Interchangeable rings featuring 3mm pegs, similar to the 30MS series, allow for some armor pieces to pivot at their attachment points.


Torso gets three major armor parts. Chest, back, and also the gorget (collar). Silhouette mode's chest piece will be removed. There are also some joint parts (in orange) to attach the spaulders.


Fighter class uses three pieces for the head. One for lower face, one for the visor, and another for the comb. Silhouette's mouthpiece is replaced by lower face part.

The shield features a simple design, consisting of a single part, while the axe comprises two parts. Additionally, some joint parts are provided to attach the equipment.



Class up armor compatibility between Silhouette 1 and 2.
Because most of the parts are shared between two silhouettes many class up armor parts can be used by either silhouettes. Of course due to some size differences some don't fit at all and some others do fit but shows some awkward results.


Trying to fit Knight class up armor into thicker and shorter silhouette 2, I find that most of the armor fits but some obviously don't. Collar won't fit because the torso is thicker, also arm guards and sabatons won't fit because of the thicker forearms and feet.


If you try the opposite - fitting Fighter class up armor to silhouette 1, more parts fit because of the slimmer profile of silhouette 1. However, back armor has some collision so it is not possible. Also the collar doesn't fit because of the different torso thickness. 

Spaulders look somewhat awkward when used with Knight's back armor because fighter's back armor has different spacing between spaulder attachment points. (Contrary to expectation, Fighter class's spaulders sit more closely together.)

Also due to longer lower arms and legs, some of the "skin" shows beneath the shorter armguards and greaves. 


Image Gallery














Conclusion

This is another great addition to Bandai's very popular 30MF line-up. It's silhouette reuses many parts from previous silhouette but by cleverly using some new parts, the silhouette has more bulkier and muscly look, which is great look for front line fighter class.

Included fighter class up armor adds even more bulk to the silhouette, resulting in very imposing melee warrior style kit. 

Some armor parts are even exchangeable between two silhouettes so it give you more customization opportunities, which is a good thing in the world of 30ML models. 

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