Kit Review

Straight build + Partial paint + Panel lining + Decals

The universal yardstick — size comparison with a cigarette pack.

Compared to the standard type, the high-mobility type feels a bit light on weapons.

MG Shin Matsunaga's Zaku II - The high-mobility type's backpack has gotten really big and beefy. I did a quick partial p

The high-mobility type's backpack has gotten really big and beefy.
I did a quick partial paint job on the red section in the middle of the backpack.

The high-mobility type's legs have an angular shape with large verniers added to them.

View from below.

On the forearm, there's a marking that looks like it's recording kill counts...

Head hatch open and cockpit hatch open.

Foot cover open.

The high-mobility type backpack can be separated into 3 sections.

Inner frame of the high-mobility type backpack.

The leg frame is the same as the previous standard type — only the outer armor has changed.

MG Shin Matsunaga's Zaku II - Just like the standard Zaku, it comes with 3 sets of hands: rock-paper-scissors poseable h

Just like the standard Zaku, it comes with 3 sets of hands: rock-paper-scissors poseable hands, fists, and open hands.

The heat hawk can be mounted on the side.

MG Shin Matsunaga's Zaku II - The high-mobility type does have a gimmick for mounting the bazooka on the rear, but the b

The high-mobility type does have a gimmick for mounting the bazooka on the rear,
but the backpack is so huge it gets in the way and you just can't get it out. T_T

Fully armed.

MG Shin Matsunaga's Zaku II - The articulation is slightly worse than the standard Zaku. The larger leg pieces make the

The articulation is slightly worse than the standard Zaku.
The larger leg pieces make the already-limited knee range of motion even more restricted;;

MG Shin Matsunaga's Zaku II - Action pose (1/3)

Action pose

Heat hawk action pose.

MG Shin Matsunaga's Zaku II - Bazooka action pose (1/3).

Bazooka action pose.

Together with the mass production Zaku II. There are changes here and there.

The markings on both shoulders have changed.

MG Shin Matsunaga's Zaku II - The backpacks on the mass production type and the high-mobility type are completely differ

The backpacks on the mass production type and the high-mobility type are completely different.

Leg size difference.

The high-mobility type also comes with option parts, as expected.

MG Shin Matsunaga's Zaku II - Being a variation, there are quite a few leftover parts. Mostly parts from the standard ty

Being a variation, there are quite a few leftover parts. Mostly parts from the standard type —
and since the high-mobility type has shorter power cables by nature, a lot of pipe parts end up left over.

Following the standard Zaku II, the high-mobility R-1 type has been released as a variation. The first of the high-mobility variations is Shin Matsunaga's custom unit in white.

First off, the molded colors on Shin Matsunaga's unit — a nice balance of white, gray, and black — have a pretty great feel to them. Unlike the red-and-blue Zakus, this one has a unique color scheme with its own kind of charisma. Maybe that's why, in a straight build with panel lining, this feels like the most striking of all the Zaku IIs. (On the flip side, without at least some panel lining, it can look a bit plain and washed out.)

The biggest changes going to the high-mobility type are the backpack and legs. True to the high-mobility concept, a large and powerful-looking backpack and heavier, bulkier legs now come with 3 large verniers added. And separately from the high-mobility changes, as Shin Matsunaga's personal unit, the shoulder markings have been upgraded to something more refined.

With all these extra backpack and leg parts added, the weapons loadout is somewhat scaled back compared to the previous standard types — you only get the basic Zaku machine gun, bazooka, and heat hawk. And yet the price has gone up ¥300 from the standard type to ¥2800. If they're cutting weapons and adding armor, keeping the price the same would've been nice — that's a bit of a letdown. (The part count for the standard and high-mobility types is almost the same.)

The internal gimmicks and articulation are basically the same as the previous standard type, but the leg articulation is slightly more limited due to the thicker legs;; On top of that, joints like the knees and forearms are still weak, making it pretty tough to hold poses. There are clear limits to what action poses you can pull off. That said, it does look pretty sharp just standing there, so it's probably best to think of it as more of a display-standing kit ^^;

It brings back memories of the old high-mobility Zaku released way back as an MSV kit — that thing was really stubby and rough-looking. I always thought the design itself was cool, but that squat proportion was just... something. Setting aside the old-kit-style shortcomings of the MG high-mobility Zaku II, the proportions and style when just standing still are actually quite good, I think. And among them, Shin Matsunaga's unit has the brightest and most harmonious color scheme, giving it the most stylish look — making it the most recommendable kit in the early MG Zaku II series ^^

MG MS-06R-1 Shin Matsunaga's Zaku II
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★	Almost no consideration for seam lines.
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★☆	Color separation is nearly perfect. The most well-balanced molded colors.
Proportions	★★★★☆	The high-mobility type looks quite good just standing still.
Articulation	★	Arms and legs can't bend past 90°. Limited ankle range of motion. Skirt armor is very restrictive.
Joint Strength	★	Elbow and knee joints are weak. Pipes pop off easily. Grip strength is poor -.-
Internal Frame	★★☆	Top of the head, backpack, part of the legs. Backpack detail has become more refined.
Detail	★★★★☆	Lots of panel lines. More complex and intricate detail.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★	As the body gets bulkier, the weapons become more ordinary.
Parts Count / Price	★★★★☆	307 parts total (+ 28 detail-up parts). Parts per ¥1000: 109.6
Uniqueness	★★★★	For a variation, there are surprisingly quite a few changes. The charm unique to the high-mobility type.
Dalong's Point : 63 pts.

MG Shin Matsunaga's Zaku II | 1996.6 | ¥2,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.