Kit Review

Straight build
+ panel lining + seals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Upper body

Back and backpack

Head

Arm section

HGUC Zaku II F2 (Zeon) - Legs that are rounded yet strangely angular. Incredibly refined proportions. (1/3)

Legs that are rounded yet strangely angular.
Incredibly refined proportions.

It comes with a decent variety of weapons.

You get four hands in total: a pair of fists with peg holes, an open hand, and a weapon-holding hand.

Like recent HGUC kits, the peg holes in the palms lock onto the weapons,
so the grip is really solid.

Three different head top types are included in total.

The mono-eye is movable, of course!

It's kind of surprising that the thigh armor is molded in one solid piece. :-)

Fully armed

HGUC Zaku II F2 (Zeon) - The triple missile pod on the leg.. just like the HGUC Zaku II, it doesn't lock in very well and wob

The triple missile pod on the leg..
just like the HGUC Zaku II, it doesn't lock in very well and wobbles around a bit;

Weapon accessories around the side skirts.

HGUC Zaku II F2 (Zeon) - Articulation is surprisingly not all that great. Probably because they put everything into the propo

Articulation is surprisingly not all that great.
Probably because they put everything into the proportions..

It's a shame the front skirt gets caught on the power cable and can't raise very far.

The forward/backward range of motion on the shoulders is decent enough.

Most recent HGUC kits have that hip rotation gimmick built in like that.

HGUC Zaku II F2 (Zeon) - Fully armed action pose (1/4)

HGUC Zaku II F2 (Zeon) - Fully armed action pose (2/4)

Fully armed action pose

HGUC Zaku II F2 (Zeon) - Beam tomahawk action (1/4)

HGUC Zaku II F2 (Zeon) - Beam tomahawk action (2/4)

Beam tomahawk action

HGUC Zaku II F2 (Zeon) - Commander type with head antenna.. "Follow me~" pose (1/3)

Commander type with head antenna..
"Follow me~" pose

HGUC Zaku II F2 (Zeon) - Aerial firing pose using Action Base 2 (1/5)

HGUC Zaku II F2 (Zeon) - Aerial firing pose using Action Base 2 (2/5)

HGUC Zaku II F2 (Zeon) - Aerial firing pose using Action Base 2 (3/5)

Aerial firing pose using Action Base 2

HGUC Zaku II F2 (Zeon) - Together with the HGUC Zaku II mass production type. The style difference looks exactly like an old

Together with the HGUC Zaku II mass production type.
The style difference looks exactly like an old vs. new release comparison.

HGUC Zaku II F2 (Zeon) - Together with the Zaku FZ from 0080, which came out relatively recently. The FZ was pretty decent ba

Together with the Zaku FZ from 0080, which came out relatively recently.
The FZ was pretty decent back then.. but the gap in how refined the proportions are is pretty significant;

The Zaku trio.

Together with the MG Zaku F2.

The MG F2 was quite a gem in its day too, but the HGUC F2 is even more of a gem.

Straight build

With the HGUC lineup dominated by Unicorn releases, the Zaku II F2 from 0083 has suddenly crashed the party. Thinking back to the MG days, the MG Zaku F2 was released as a masterpiece that completely blew past the quality of the original MG Zaku 1.0. Even looking at it now, the MG Zaku F2 is a great kit with nothing to fault in terms of structure or proportions. Since the MG Zaku 1.0 was lacking in quite a few ways at the time, I still vividly remember being blown away thinking — the MG Zaku F2 is what a real Zaku kit should be!

The reason I'm suddenly bringing up the MG Zaku F2 is because I got a similar feeling from the HGUC Zaku F2. The HGUC Zaku II was decent enough in its own right, but looking at it now, there are quite a few things to be disappointed about in terms of proportions and structure. If anything, the Zaku I that came out later was better, and with the absolute benchmark of the MG Zaku 2.0 out there, the HGUC Zaku II looked even more lacking by comparison.

But this new HGUC Zaku F2.. this thing is a gem! It's giving me major flashbacks to the MG. Whether it's MG or HGUC, the Zaku F2 always seems to take quality up a notch from what came before. I can't help but think it's partly because this is a Zaku designed by Katoki— who has a massive influence on the current Gunpla lineup — so maybe the Bandai development team felt a little extra pressure (?) to get it right. ^^; (Like, "if we mess this up, Katoki's gonna tear us apart..")

The biggest strength of the HGUC Zaku F2 is probably the proportions. As you can see in the photos, it gives off a feeling of being almost perfectly balanced, and that becomes even more apparent when you compare it to the Zaku FZ from 0080 that came out not long ago. Simply put, it's just gorgeous.. especially that signature Katoki style of lines that feel angular yet smooth at the same time — it really comes through beautifully here.

Starting with the one-piece thigh molding you rarely see in HGUC kits, the arms and legs are split so seam lines are barely visible, the molded colors are clean and stable, the joints are solid — the feel in your hands while building it is really satisfying. The weapons loadout is solid too. The articulation is a little surprisingly average though.. you won't be getting any deep kneeling poses out of it, but somehow just standing it up is enough — it's a beautiful Zaku.

I do wish the articulation were a bit better, but because the feel of actually handling and building this kit is so good — even more so than just looking at it — this is a clean, gem-quality HGUC that I can wholeheartedly recommend to any Gunpla fan. :-)

HGUC Zaku II F2 (Zeon) | 2010.2 | ¥1,700

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.