Kit Review

Straight build + Partial paint + Panel lining + Decals

The universal standard for size comparison — the cigarette box. Yeah, it's big alright.

View from below. Pretty imposing.

MG Sazabi - The red molded color comes in two shades. A slightly brighter red and a slightly duller red are combined througho

The red molded color comes in two shades.
A slightly brighter red and a slightly duller red are combined throughout various parts of the body.

Outer armor removed

Internal frame

Upper body front frame shot. There's not much of a frame to speak of, and it's a bit chunky..

The back of the body is pretty plain too.

MG Sazabi - You can peel back one more layer of the body frame, which reveals a bit more frame detail. (But you can't attach

You can peel back one more layer of the body frame, which reveals a bit more frame detail.
(But you can't attach the head in this state~;)

The backpack detail is pretty decent.

The head frame. It's really tiny compared to the size of the head itself;

There's a bit of detail on the inside of the shoulder armor too.

The legs have a frame throughout.

No less than 4 verniers on the back! Fitting for Char's personal unit.

The detail inside the skirt is nice.

The front and rear pegs on the feet can fold down to grip the ground — that feature is faithfully reproduced.

The vernier units on the shoulder armor have a wide range of movement.

Interestingly, the cockpit is in the head. It opens up and down — the hatch-open feature is perfectly recreated.

There's a movable cylinder on the back of the elbow.

Movable cylinder on the front of the ankle.

The weapons look reasonably substantial.

There are 4 different beam weapons, which is quite a lot.

The beam tomahawk can be stored inside the shield.

The beam tomahawk's handle can rotate and extend/retract.

Interestingly, the beam saber is stored right under the palm of the hand.

MG Sazabi - Being such a big guy, there are holes in the palm to lock the weapons in place. The beam rifle and beam tomahawk

Being such a big guy, there are holes in the palm to lock the weapons in place.
The beam rifle and beam tomahawk have pegs that plug in for a solid hold!

The fin funnel storage units on the backpack move up, down, and side to side.

Opening and closing the funnel storage units. The internal detail is great.

All 6 of the Sazabi's funnels move properly.

Articulation is.. probably due to its size, not great.
The arms are decent, but the lower body is a bit lacking. -_-

Like the Dom, each finger is attached individually and bends at one joint.

MG Sazabi - Action pose with the beam rifle. It looks powerful, but the legs don't grip the ground well so you can't really g

Action pose with the beam rifle. It looks powerful, but the legs don't grip the ground well so you can't really get much out of the poses..

Sazabi really is a kit that speaks through its back..

Beam saber action. It looks a bit short for a kit this size.

Attaching the beam part to the beam tomahawk looks longer and more convincing.

The beam tomahawk can be fitted with two different beam weapons — a sword form and an axe form.

MG Sazabi - Together with the original Char's personal unit, the Zaku II Char Custom. The Sazabi's sheer size is absolutely o

Together with the original Char's personal unit, the Zaku II Char Custom.
The Sazabi's sheer size is absolutely overwhelming!

MG Sazabi - A comparison shot of the shield next to the MG RX-78 v1.5. Really puts into perspective just how massive the Saza

A comparison shot of the shield next to the MG RX-78 v1.5. Really puts into perspective just how massive the Sazabi is~

When MG kits were mostly sitting in the ¥3,000–4,000 range, this ¥8,000 beast in a PG-sized box suddenly showed up and caught everyone off guard. That kit is the Sazabi — Char's final machine, one of the largest mobile suits in the standard MS size range. True to Char's style, it's a blazing red giant with a flashy design, and it seemed like something that would never easily get a 1/100 release given its sheer size.

The massive box is split into three sections and packed full of parts, though the part count isn't actually that huge relative to the box volume. Part of that is because the parts themselves are large rather than numerous — that said, it still boasts roughly twice the part count of a typical MG. This is very much a kit that wins on presence.. During the build you'll be wowed by those chunky arms, legs, and torso, and once it's done you'll be wowed all over again by its 25cm height and sheer volume. ^^

The red molded color is split into two shades — a lighter one and a darker one — mixed and distributed throughout the body, giving it a surprisingly intricate feel. The lighter molded color can look a little plasticky at times, but that intensely red coloring that's so quintessentially Char is hard not to love. Head to toe, blazing red~

The greatest strength of the MG Sazabi is its detail. Befitting its large size, the detail in each section looks like fine sculpture. The charisma of the rear view in particular is like looking at a Leonardo da Vinci sculpture.. (A real man speaks through his back!) The funnels with their perfectly reproduced movement gimmick are excellent, the beam tomahawk with its extendable length is great, and the massive shield that's over 20cm long is a nice touch too. The hand gimmick where one finger joint folds like the Dom's is a nice touch as well~ The inner frame is implemented to a reasonable degree, but only the legs are really worth looking at — the rest is a bit lacking. The arms have no frame at all, and the body has one but the detail is pretty plain.

And as for articulation.. this is a kit that's really hard to give a good score to. The arms and shoulders move well, but the legs are basically frozen stiff;; The knees bend a little, sure, but getting the feet to sit flat and stable on the ground is a real struggle. Unless you're standing it perfectly straight, the feet just won't grip the ground properly. The ankle range of motion is very unnatural too — you can't spread the legs sideways, can't kick them forward or back.. don't expect any dynamic action poses.. T_T

The joints are generally stiff enough to match the kit's size, but the funnel attachment on the backpack is a bit weak and they'll fall off if you bump them carelessly;; The leg joints are reasonably solid, but the legs are so heavy that when you pick the kit up to move it, they tend to wobble around. That said, it's definitely not a kit that's loose and floppy. The only real issue is that it's just too big and heavy. The finger grip isn't great, but thankfully the beam weapons and rifle have pegs that lock into the palm, so in practice it's not much of a problem.

For its top-tier price and massive stature, it's a reasonably luxurious kit — but opinions are somewhat divided. Nobody disputes that it's a solid, imposing presence, but quite a few people have been put off by the poor leg articulation that essentially makes it a "standing display model" and the steep price tag.

The MG Sazabi is clearly not a "perfect" kit. It has some shortcomings, and the high price does make you question the value a little.... But it's the machine that saw Char off in his final battle, and it's a kit that offers a harmony of intricate detail and sheer physical presence that's hard to find in any other MG. It's one of those rare kits that radiates presence just standing there doing nothing! For anyone who remembers the impact of "Char's Counterattack" — the film that essentially closed out the Universal Century — this is a wonderful tribute. And if the Sazabi's style speaks to you, well... that means you'll end up buying it someday. ;-)

MG MSN-04 Sazabi
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★★	Aside from a very small number of spots, the color separation covers pretty much everything it needs to.
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★★	Two shades of red. The color separation does what it needs to do.
Proportions	★★★★☆	Foot ground contact is a bit iffy. But the presence and sheer presence when just standing there is cap..
Articulation	★★★	Arms are great. Legs and ankles are.. basically just for standing still;
Joint Strength	★★★★	Not terribly loose, but the weight and size make some parts feel a bit precarious.
Internal Frame	★★★☆	Legs are great. Arms have none at all, and the torso is a bit plain..
Detail	★★★★★	Overall part-by-part detail is excellent.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★★	Variety of beam weapons. Massive rifle and shield. Perfect funnels.
Parts Count / Price	★★★★	464 parts total. Parts per ¥1,000: 58. Value for money is a bit ambiguous.
Uniqueness	★★★★★	Char's final machine. The ultimate presence. A truly unique MG.
Dalong's Point : 88 pts.

MG Sazabi | 2000.7 | ¥8,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.