Kit Review

Straight build + Partial paint + Panel lining + Decals

The universal yardstick — size comparison with a cigarette pack.

Outer armor removed. Quite a lot comes off.

Mechanical frame shots

Upper body frame. The shoulder joints are pretty intricate.

The backpack frame is also quite detailed.

There is a frame on the arms too, but... it's a stark blue and the detail is a bit rough. -_-

Leg frame

The heel can lift up, which allows the ankle to bend forward quite a lot.

MG Gouf - Quite a few of the outer armor pieces are designed so seam lines aren't visible. Especially those large leg parts m

Quite a few of the outer armor pieces are designed so seam lines aren't visible.
Especially those large leg parts made with slide molds — absolutely stunning!

Cockpit hatch open

MG Gouf - If you remove the head cover and take off the clear piece on the front, you can move the mono-eye. But taking off t

If you remove the head cover and take off the clear piece on the front, you can move the mono-eye.
But taking off the clear part is a bit of a hassle, so it's kind of a pain.

MG Gouf - Interesting hand configuration. The Gouf's left hand originally has something like a machine gun attached. As for t

Interesting hand configuration. The Gouf's left hand originally has something like a machine gun attached.
As for the regular hands on both sides, instead of the old rock-paper-scissors articulated hands,
the fingers are swappable and plug in as replacements.

MG Gouf - This way, you can swap out all four fingers on both hands to configure them as a rifle grip, a sword grip, or an op

This way, you can swap out all four fingers on both hands
to configure them as a rifle grip, a sword grip, or an open hand.

The heat saber is stored inside the shield.

MG Gouf - Remove the heat saber handle and plug in the orange soft-plastic saber blade, and you've got yourself a heat saber.

Remove the heat saber handle and plug in the orange soft-plastic saber blade, and you've got yourself a heat saber.
The color and texture of the orange soft part are really nice.

MG Gouf - The heat saber handle has a peg that plugs into a hole in the palm to lock it in place, so it holds very securely.

The heat saber handle has a peg that plugs into a hole in the palm to lock it in place,
so it holds very securely.
This is a method commonly used in 1/60 scale kits.

The finger machine gun fingers may look stiff, but each one can actually move individually.

The heat rod, the Gouf's signature weapon. You can bend it however you like.

MG Gouf - It's made by threading a mesh pipe over a rubber-coated metal wire and then stringing beads onto it, so even when b

It's made by threading a mesh pipe over a rubber-coated metal wire and then stringing beads onto it,
so even when bent in all directions, it holds its shape firmly.

Articulation isn't exceptional, but the legs are much better compared to the MG Zaku.

The shoulder connection uses a ball joint, giving it a wider range of motion.

Since the sole of the foot moves separately, the ankle can bend forward at a large angle.

Action poses. Truth be told, the only weapons are the heat rod and heat saber — just those two..;;

The heat rod holds its shape firmly.

Finger machine gun action. Rat-a-tat-tat..

Heat saber action. Always looks great with that texture..

A kit that really captures the Gouf's devilish charisma.

MG Gouf - Since the pilot Ramba Ral's figure is already included with the Ramba Ral custom Zaku I, the Gouf instead comes wit

Since the pilot Ramba Ral's figure is already included with the Ramba Ral custom Zaku I,
the Gouf instead comes with a 1/20 figure of Ramba Ral's wife, Crowley Hamon (Hamon Ral).
But she's way too skinny;; What is this, a beanpole..

MG Gouf - Together with the Ramba Ral custom Zaku I. No matter how you look at it, Ramba Ral and Hamon are quite the mismatch

Together with the Ramba Ral custom Zaku I.
No matter how you look at it, Ramba Ral and Hamon are quite the mismatched couple. (Ramba Ral does look like he's got some serious muscle though..;;;)

Hot on the heels of Ramba Ral's blue Zaku I, Ramba Ral's main unit — the Gouf — has been released. It shares the same power pipe family lineage as the Zaku, but it's a popular unit that exudes a more refined silhouette and devilish charisma compared to the Zaku. Above all, it shows a lot of improvements and refinements over the old MG Zaku that had been reused again and again.

First off, there's an internal frame running through the head, torso, arms, and entire legs, and the detail is pretty impressive. You can tell they really put in the effort to make it well. The arm frame being the same color as the body is a little iffy, but for an MG kit that's relatively early at number 32, the detail is quite something. A large portion of the outer armor can be removed, and they've put a lot of detail on the inside of the armor panels too.

There are also several attempts to hide seam lines throughout the kit — one-piece arm parts, parts split along the body's natural lines, and most impressively, the one-piece slide mold leg parts. The key leg parts are molded in a rounded band shape using a slide mold, preserving the subtle curves while eliminating seam lines. That said... even though it's a slide mold, the parting lines are still a bit noticeable and need some cleanup. Anyway, it's not perfect, but it was a fresh and creative attempt at hiding seam lines. This leg-band slide mold approach has since carried on through the Gouf Custom and into the Zaku F2 line.

Arm articulation isn't much different from the Zaku, but the legs have improved a lot. The knee bend angle is greater, and especially thanks to the double-jointed ankle, the foot bends forward quite significantly. This gives you stable ground contact in a variety of poses, making it far more dynamic than the Zaku. The downside, though, is that due to the Gouf's characteristic power pipes connecting at the crotch area, the skirt barely moves at all. (Must've needed a lot of energy down there..;;) On the flip side, the point where the legs connect to the body is positioned a bit lower, so it doesn't actually restrict leg articulation as much as you'd expect. (In other words, it's basically a micro-mini skirt ^^;)

The weapons are a bit sparse — though that's kind of true to the Gouf's original specs, leaving out the machine gun that's even included with the HGUC Gouf is a bit of a letdown. Something like the new Zaku machine gun from the Zaku F2 should've been included, but they skipped it.. On the plus side, the heat rod — arguably the Gouf's signature weapon — is pretty well done. It's made with a mesh pipe threaded over a rubber-coated wire, with beads strung on top. The bead-stringing process is quite a chore, but thanks to the wire, you can bend it into any shape and it holds that position really well. Also, the blade of the heat saber stored inside the shield is made from an orange soft plastic part, and it looks and feels great.

The biggest weakness of the MG Gouf is joint strength. Everything is an upgrade over the MG Zaku, but the joint strength somehow didn't improve at all T_T The elbow joints feel a little better thanks to structural changes, but the leg joints — especially the knees — are pretty weak. If you don't balance it carefully, it'll just topple right over backwards;; You can fix it with some joint reinforcement, but the weak joints straight out of the box are still a bummer. Sigh.

The mono-eye in the head can move, but you have to open the head cover and remove the clear part at the front, which is quite a hassle;; It's nice that it locks in place better than the Zaku's awkward lever mechanism from the back, but it would've been great if they'd put a little more thought into making it more user-friendly.

The Gouf's blue molded color feels faithful to the original, but it's very much a matter of personal taste. Blue plastic in general seems to be something people either love or hate... Color separation is flawless, of course. The two orange triangle pieces on the chest also use the same translucent soft plastic as the heat saber, giving them a unique look.

Since Ramba Ral's figure is already included with the Zaku I, the Gouf comes with a figure of his wife, Hamon Ral instead. The typical middle-aged stocky Ramba Ral paired with the impossibly slender Hamon — they never look like a matching couple no matter how you look at them. (There must be something we don't know about...;;)

Overall, it's a kit with much better quality than the Zaku, but weak joints hold it back. Of course, if you're just going to display it standing still, it's not really a problem ^^; The Gouf's devilish charisma really shines through, and the detail, frame, and proportions are solid enough to win you over at first glance — so if you're a Gouf fan, feel free to go ahead and grab one without hesitation.

MG MS-07B Gouf
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★	Various attempts at hiding seam lines, including one-piece slide mold parts and more.
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★☆	Perfect color separation. Nice-feeling soft plastic parts. Molded color may vary greatly by personal taste..
Proportions	★★★★★	The Gouf's devilish atmosphere comes through really well.
Articulation	★★★☆	Much better than the Zaku. Flexible ankle joints. Poses hold up pretty well.
Joint Strength	★★	Overall a bit loose. The knees in particular are pretty bad.
Internal Frame	★★★★★	Frame throughout the head, torso, forearms, and entire legs.
Detail	★★★★☆	Good detail. You can tell they put quite a bit of effort into the frame especially.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★☆	Just the heat rod and heat saber, but both are pretty well done. Plus a figure.
Parts Count / Price	★★★★★	344 parts total. Parts per ¥1,000: 122.9. Very generous.
Uniqueness	★★★★☆	Captures the unique personality of the Gouf really well. The fresh new approaches stand out.
Dalong's Point : 83 pts.

MG Gouf | 2000.10 | ¥2,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.