Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining + Decals

The universal standard for size comparison — a cigarette box. It's a pretty standard MS size.

Upper body close-up

Open up the head and you can easily change the mono-eye direction.

Cockpit that opens with a sliding mechanism

Nicely reproduced verniers on the body (panel lining only on the verniers that are clearly visible... how cheap -_-;)

MG Hi-zack - The articulated sections of the arms and legs use soft material, while the non-articulated sections use the clas

The articulated sections of the arms and legs use soft material, while the non-articulated sections use the classic bead-string style power pipes —
As you can see in the photos, the mismatch is a bit jarring. -.-;
Also worth noting, the spike armor outer plates on the shoulders are articulated too.

MG Hi-zack - The missile pod and heat hawk can both be stored on the rear skirt at the same time. In normal mode it carries t

The missile pod and heat hawk can both be stored on the rear skirt at the same time. In normal mode it carries the beam saber though.

MG Hi-zack - Articulation is... hmm... the arms get about 90 degrees, and the legs fold quite a bit more than you'd expect gi

Articulation is... hmm... the arms get about 90 degrees, and the legs fold quite a bit more than you'd expect given the design.

MG Hi-zack - The ankle connection uses a double ball joint, which gives it a wide range of motion — though as a result, it's

The ankle connection uses a double ball joint, which gives it a wide range of motion —
Though as a result, it's a little less solid.

The shoulder section folds forward, which gives the arms a greater range of movement.

The rear part of the feet folds in two sections, so they can bend forward more.

MG Hi-zack - The backpack verniers also use ball joints, which is a bit unusual... but the space to actually move them is so

The backpack verniers also use ball joints, which is a bit unusual... but,
The space to actually move them is so limited that it doesn't really help much. -_-;

MG Hi-zack - The inner skirt armor on the lower body has solid molding, and the ball joints connecting the thighs move indepe

The inner skirt armor on the lower body has solid molding,
And the ball joints connecting the thighs move independently on each side, giving the legs a wider range of motion and more varied poses.

The MG Hi-Zack comes with a pretty generous weapons loadout.

And the inside of the shield can even store two beam rifle energy packs — how cute!

Fully armed

Machine gun action pose

Natural leg pose thanks to the double-split feet.

Beam rifle action pose

Heat hawk action pose

It's got a beam saber too!!

Thanks to the relatively good leg joints, a kneeling pose comes together naturally.

Take that — missile pod style~

With the outer armor removed

The inner frames...

Upper body front frame

Upper body rear frame

Leg frame

Without the outer armor, the legs have an even greater range of motion.

Remove the side leg armor and there's detail hiding underneath too...

Together with the HGUC Hi-Zack. The MG is clearly in a different league. ^^;

Together with the Zaku II F and F2, which share a similar color scheme and style.

Together with the MG Rick-Dias.

Straight build before panel lining and decals

You know,
sometimes you end up warming up to an MS you weren't really into at first, just by building a really well-done kit of it. The MG Hi-Zack is exactly that kind of kit for me. ^^; It was pretty easy to predict that the MG Rick-Dias and other Zeta-related MS would keep getting added to the lineup — especially with the Zeta theatrical version coming up next year — but I don't think many people expected the Hi-Zack to be the one to get the MG treatment first. There are so many cooler units out there...!!!

Anyway,
the HGUC version came out a while back, but it was pretty average quality and never really caught on. The HGUC in particular got a lot of flak for its rather murky molded color. To be fair, it wasn't just the kit — the original unit's color scheme itself is the kind of combination that can easily end up looking like wastewater from a tannery if you're not careful.

Fortunately,
the MG Hi-Zack's molded color is a big step up from the HGUC. Great news for straight build fans. It's a yellow-green that feels subtle yet distinct, with a nice sense of weight to it. Of course, that's going to vary depending on the eye of the beholder, but it's at least better than the HGUC, and it actually looks even better in person than in photos. The color separation is excellent too — you can achieve an almost perfect recreation of the design colors — and seam lines have been carefully minimized throughout.

The articulation
is also impressive for the design... (very similar to the MG Zaku II F2) and the joints have just the right amount of stiffness with no loose parts. The double ball joint ankles can be a tiny bit tricky to lock into position, but they do make for more natural poses. The shoulder joints also use the trendy(?) dislocating style, which makes it much easier to hold weapons. The finger joints aren't too loose either, so there's plenty of grip strength to hold weapons without any trouble. I still wish they were just a little stiffer, but...

The Hi-Zack
has power pipes running all over its body by design — soft rubber is used on the arms and legs, while the traditional bead-string style is used on the torso and head. I get that the rubber is there for articulation on the limbs, but the mismatch between the two types of power pipes is a bit distracting. You can just tell yourself they're different types of pipes and move on without too much trouble... but depending on the person, it might be something that catches your eye.

One of the
standout features of the MG Hi-Zack is probably the weapons. It's not an overwhelming amount, but it gives off this oddly satisfying sense of abundance. The missile pod that attaches to the waist has great detail, and you've got the big heat hawk, beam rifle, machine gun... and you can actually have all of them on the kit at once. As a bonus, being able to store two extra beam rifle energy packs inside the shield is just adorable. ^^

The torso
and legs have inner frames to a reasonable degree, though the detail level is about average. Looking at the inner frames, the removable outer armor structure, the articulation design, the seam line handling and so on — it does start to feel like recent MG releases are all being stamped out from the same template. The Rick-Dias looks completely different, yet the style, structure, and format are almost identical. The quality is good so it's hard to complain, but there's a tiny nagging feeling that each kit is losing its individual character and everything is becoming a bit too uniform. That's probably just a ridiculous gripe from being too spoiled by the high quality... ^^;;

Somewhat
inevitably... it looks like a Federation Forces version of the Hi-Zack will be coming out before long. Bandai would never let such an easy color variant slide (^^;) and there's evidence scattered throughout the runners. For one thing, the weapon runners are split in a way where one side is cut off unnecessarily — like G1, I1 — which is the classic sign of variation runner prep. It seems the runners are divided between the Titans and Federation versions so different weapons can be included for each. But the most obvious giveaway is that the Federation Forces markings are already right there on the decal sheet. ^^;;; Looks like they're planning to use the same decals for both versions.

In conclusion,
just like the recent high-quality MG lineup, the MG Hi-Zack is a kit that's hard to find fault with. It really washes away that slightly frumpy image the Hi-Zack used to have. The only real question is probably personal taste in design. If you were already a fan of the Hi-Zack in the anime (say, a Jerid fan), this kit will exceed your expectations. And even if you weren't that into it, building it might just win you over — that's the kind of kit this is. Factor in the generous contents and it's absolutely worth every yen at the ¥3,000 price point. ^^

MG RMS-106 Hi-zack
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★☆	Almost no seam lines to deal with, except for parts of the shoulders and legs.
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★☆	Color separation is perfect. Molded colors are faithful to the source, though individual perception of the color may vary.
Proportions	★★★★★	Slightly slimmer and more refined, but not enough to betray the feel of the original.
Articulation	★★★★	Excellent articulation for the bulk. Natural action poses.
Joint Strength	★★★★★	Stiff enough — no complaints here!
Internal Frame	★★★☆	Upper body, backpack, and leg frames. For a recent release, the frames feel like they got a little less attention.
Detail	★★★★☆	Exterior is top-notch. Frame detail feels a bit plain though...
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★★	Colorful and plentiful — a nice variety of weapons~
Parts Count / Price	★★★★☆	301 parts total. Parts per ¥1,000: 100.3. Excellent value for money.
Uniqueness	★★★★☆	Pulling off this level of quality for such a minor unit;; Way more satisfying than expected.
Dalong's Point : 90 pts.

MG Hi-zack | 2004. 8 | ¥3,400

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.