Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining

The universal yardstick — size comparison with a cigarette pack.

The Magelra Top gun included as a bonus in the Zaku II (Garma Zabi Custom) kit.

The standard weapons — rifle and bazooka — are also included.

Zaku II (Garma Zabi Custom) tomahawk action pose

HGUC Zaku II (Garma Zabi Custom) - Alongside the Char's Zaku II. It's basically a color variant kit, but there are a few differences. Fo

Alongside the Char's Zaku II. It's basically a color variant kit, but there are a few differences.
For starters, the Zaku II (Garma Zabi Custom) gets a bonus weapon called the Magelra Top gun — a machine cannon.

HGUC Zaku II (Garma Zabi Custom) - The head is the only real difference. ^^ The head antenna is slightly different, and the Zaku II (Gar

The head is the only real difference. ^^ The head antenna is slightly different, and the Zaku II (Garma Zabi Custom)'s head has 4 machine cannons added to it.

The arm structure is the same, but the color combination style is different.

The Zaku II (Garma Zabi Custom) comes with Garma's exclusive tomahawk.

Straight build photo before panel lining

It was already expected when Char's Zaku II came out, but color variants of the Zaku II have started hitting shelves. The first one is the Zaku II (Garma Zabi Custom), belonging to the young nobleman Garma.

When the HGUC Char's Zaku II came out, one thing that caught my eye was how the forearm parts were assembled. There were sections where the parts were split even though the molded colors were completely identical. It really gave off the vibe that they were planning color variant kits with different color combinations for the forearms down the line... and the most obvious case for that kind of color combo would be the Black Tri-Stars Zaku series. In the MG, the Black Tri-Stars' forearms are supposed to be a combination of purple and black, but since the MG didn't have the parts split up properly, you had to paint them black to get the accurate colors — which was always a bit of a letdown. (See the MG Black Tri-Stars Zaku I and Zaku II reviews.) So I figured they split the parts that way to properly represent the Black Tri-Stars units in HGUC form, but instead the Zaku II (Garma Zabi Custom) ended up coming out first. ^^;

Anyway, the Zaku II (Garma Zabi Custom) is essentially the Char's unit with the molded color combo swapped to dark green and deep earth tones. That said, there are a few bonuses — the head antenna is changed and 4 machine cannons are added to the head, giving it a slightly more detailed look. It also keeps all of Char's unit's weapons as a baseline, and on top of that you get the stylish Magelra Top gun as a bonus (which, in the MG, was included with Char's unit). And third, the tomahawk has been swapped out for a larger, more imposing Garma-exclusive version.

Well, since it's basically just a color swap at the end of the day, the sturdiness, articulation, and joint characteristics are naturally the same as Char's unit — which means they're excellent. And it seems like they didn't want anyone calling it a lazy cash-in, so they threw in a bunch of bonuses. It's a pretty generous kit.
If you're a Garma fan... (though I'm not sure he's all that popular a character — I'd say Ramba Ral is more...) or if you're after a Zaku II with a rougher, grittier color scheme, this will be a great kit for you. Or it could just be fun to collect the affordable, high-quality Zaku II series. ^^

HGUC Zaku II (Garma Zabi Custom)
2002.9
¥1,200

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.