Kit Review

Straight build + decals

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - Before anything else — cigarette pack size comparison with the Zaku head an

Before anything else — cigarette pack size comparison with the Zaku head and a human hand.. ^^; It's pretty big.

The kit itself forms one small diorama.

Soldiers chatting

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - "Hey. My stomach's been sending me signals..." "Me too."

"Hey. My stomach's been sending me signals..." "Me too."
"The bathroom's over that way.." ^^;;;

The undisputed star of this kit is the Zaku head.

From various angles..

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - The lower neck section just sits on top without locking in, so it's a bit i

The lower neck section just sits on top without locking in, so it's a bit iffy in terms of stability. Wobbly..

Detail of the lower neck section. It's basically just a stand, really.

Outer armor removed

Pin holes for securing the outer armor.

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - The armor has these little pegs that plug into the holes shown in the photo

The armor has these little pegs that plug into the holes shown in the photo above, which helps hold things in place.
Just slipping the armor on by itself doesn't give you a very secure fit.

The neck section. There are cylinders on the front and back.

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - These cylinders though... I don't know who designed them, but if I ever mee

These cylinders though... I don't know who designed them, but if I ever meet that person I'd love to give them a smack on the back of the head.. ;;
They're only loosely secured in one direction, so they pop out incredibly easily. Moving the neck is nerve-wracking.

Detail of the lower neck section

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - When you move the neck, the cylinders articulate like this. It'd be even be

When you move the neck, the cylinders articulate like this.
It'd be even better if the cylinders were plated, but this kit is built more along the lines of a military model, so...

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - Building the head. You stack the parts one by one, like constructing a litt

Building the head. You stack the parts one by one, like constructing a little building.

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - Some parts are so tiny you'll need tweezers and glue to attach them. This i

Some parts are so tiny you'll need tweezers and glue to attach them.
This is a really tough kit to build without tweezers.
The little wiper attached to the clear part in the bottom left is adorable. ^^ So the Zaku's viewport even had a wiper, huh..

Still building.

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - The mono-eye is of course poseable.. It slides along a groove, just like th

The mono-eye is of course poseable..
It slides along a groove, just like the MG Acguy.
But it's a bit loose, so the eye tends to wander wherever it feels like going..

The mid-section of the head

Inner frame complete.

The mono-eye section. Pretty detailed, actually.

The frame for the top of the head

View from below

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - The dreaded bead-stringing power cables attach as separate upper and lower

The dreaded bead-stringing power cables attach as separate upper and lower parts.

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - An unavoidable comparison shot! The 1/35 scale really is massive. The PG he

An unavoidable comparison shot!
The 1/35 scale really is massive. The PG head looks so tiny next to it..

The molded colors are quite a mixed bag too;

Comparison with the Gouf, the first entry in the UCHG line.

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - The motorcycle is relatively detailed. The front headlight, kickstand, and

The motorcycle is relatively detailed.
The front headlight, kickstand, and side bag are all optional — you pick from several choices.

The soldier on the motorcycle.
Getting him to stay put is a real pain.. Ugh.

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - No matter how you look at it, the German military vibe is just way too stro

No matter how you look at it, the German military vibe is just way too strong.

Soldier 1. Looks like he's angry about something..

Soldier 2, holding a machine gun.

The machine gun's bipod and magazine are also a pick-one-of-two situation.

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - Officer 1. Though something about this guy's pose feels a bit funny.. It's

Officer 1.
Though something about this guy's pose feels a bit funny.. It's the kind of pose you'd see a lot at '80s nightclubs.

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - Our man Ramba Ral.. The color separation and decals alone do a great job of

Our man Ramba Ral.. The color separation and decals alone do a great job of capturing his character.
As you probably know, he's modeled after Omar Sharif, so the resemblance is there.
The real Omar Sharif wasn't quite this short and stocky though..

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - Our dear Hamon-sama.. Something feels really off T_T The figure's body look

Our dear Hamon-sama..
Something feels really off T_T
The figure's body looks fine, but the face.. the face..

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - Close-up of the officers' and soldiers' faces. The officer looks pretty syc

Close-up of the officers' and soldiers' faces.
The officer looks pretty sycophantic..;

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - The faces of the Ral couple. Ramba Ral is passable, but Hamon's face is jus

The faces of the Ral couple.
Ramba Ral is passable, but Hamon's face is just... OTL

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - There's a whole bunch of Zaku machine gun shell casings included, so you ca

There's a whole bunch of Zaku machine gun shell casings included, so you can use them in a diorama.
The molded color looks pretty convincing. They're really "brass-y".. (?)

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set - In keeping with the military kit aesthetic, various accessories are include

In keeping with the military kit aesthetic, various accessories are included — magazines, a pistol, a canteen.

One shot in black and white..

Straight-built state

This is the second entry in the Hard Graph series, which aims to blend military modeling with Gunpla — the "Ramba Ral Independent Raiding Party" set. Even before it went on sale, this kit generated far more buzz than the first entry, the Gouf, and the reason is simple: it includes a highly detailed 1/35 scale Zaku head. The main-character figures of Ramba Ral and Hamon are figures, sure, but the undisputed star of this kit is the Zaku head.

First off, the price is in MG territory at ¥3,000, and the box is hu~ge. More precisely, the box is quite tall — taller than any MG box released up to this point. Roughly the same height as the RRR Layzner box. That's just how much volume the Zaku head takes up.

So, the Zaku head — the center of all the attention.. As expected, the inside is packed~ with frame and mechanical detail. It gives you a feeling of a genuine mechanical mass unlike anything I've handled before — the PG's head frame doesn't even come close. The assembly method itself is like constructing a small building, stacking parts one by one, and it's a bit of a shame that the internal frames get hidden one by one as you go.

In some ways, you might expect it to be incredibly precise in the way a military kit would be, but the mechanical frame doesn't quite live up to that level of expectation. Rather than feeling ultra-precise, it's more like... adequately precise? That said, since this is the first kit to ever depict the internal mechanics of a Zaku head at this level, the impact it has on longtime fans is pretty significant.

One thing is clear though — in terms of structure, assembly process, and method, this kit is definitely closer to a military model than a Gunpla. What I mean is... it's not a kit you can just sit down and build comfortably thinking of it as regular Gunpla. It doesn't snap together with the satisfying click of Gunpla snap-fit, and the connection points don't lock together tightly either. Sure, a lot of it does just snap together, but a lot of it also absolutely requires glue. Roughly half the Zaku head is snap-fit, and the other half needs to be glued.

And some parts are so tiny that without modeling tweezers, assembly can get pretty frustrating. True to its military kit nature, tweezers are an absolute must during assembly — keep that in mind. As a result, just the Zaku head alone takes quite a bit of time to build. I wouldn't say the assembly process is particularly difficult, but it's definitely not something you can breeze through either.

The biggest complaint I have about this Zaku head is probably the neck cylinders. I like that they articulate forward and back, but the way they're secured is really iffy — they pop out at the slightest movement. Structurally, the way they're held in place is just completely unreliable — they're basically just resting there — so they fall out even without moving anything. And once they fall out, you basically have to disassemble the entire neck to get them back in, which is a real pain.. I'd love to have a word with whoever designed that part.
(By "have a word," I mean 後射 — rear shot — also known as a "poop dart".. You know what I mean, right? ;;)

Anyway, the high expectations did lead to a slight sense of disappointment... but a finely detailed Zaku head the size of a baby's fist is the stuff of Gunpla fans' dreams. Just the fact that it exists is something to be grateful for... ^^

As for the rest of the figures.. they feel more like accessories to the Zaku head;; The color separation on the figures is surprisingly clever and they do look decent, but their ability to stand on their own is just terrible. Why is it so hard to get them to stand on a flat surface... The review photos above — if you look closely, they're all held up with double-sided tape. Their feet are too small to stand freely, and the center of gravity is just off. The motorcycle rider in particular needs to be carefully aligned with the bike when gluing, otherwise he won't grip the handlebars properly and the whole thing won't stand up right.

The figure detail isn't bad and the proportions are decent enough... but it's hard to escape the feeling that the "Zaku head" is the real main attraction :-) And while the Omar Sharif-esque Ramba Ral figure is acceptable... Hamon, who is supposed to be a beautiful woman, really got the short end of the stick in the face department.. T_T The sharp, Maetel-esque Hamon figure that came with the MG Gouf is way better.. (Reference photos)

This kit is a key factor in determining the future direction of the UCHG line. Honestly, from the perspective of your average Gunpla fan, interest leans far more toward the mechanical side than military figures, and a large-scale, detailed Zaku head is an incredibly compelling item. In the end, most people buying this kit will be doing so out of excitement for the Zaku head, and the UCHG series will ultimately depend on "which mech is featured as the main attraction."

In that sense, this Zaku head UCHG feels like half a success. The large, detailed mechanical Zaku head is undeniably a big-ticket item... but for those who simply want "a detailed mechanical piece," the military-style kit composition and assembly method feel a bit in the way. For those accustomed to the user-friendly, easy Gunpla assembly experience, there may be some resistance, and the surprisingly long build time means it's not exactly a consistently enjoyable hands-on experience throughout. Some people might even find themselves mildly annoyed by the particular kind of "hassle" that comes with military kits they haven't touched in a while. On the flip side, for those who already enjoy both military models and Gunpla, this is a very attractive item.

In other words, it's not a question of the kit's quality (the quality is genuinely high) — it's more that the target audience still feels a bit unclear. Regardless, I'm not sure how long the concept of "a military kit for Gunpla fans" will hold up, but I do want to show my support for Bandai's efforts to diversify their product lineup. ^^ Here's hoping they keep the line going somehow..

UCHG Ramba Ral Commando set | 2006.10 | ¥3,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.