OLD First Gundam 1/144 Zock

Release 1981.8

Price ¥600

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

Runners

Parts diagram

Manual

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Internal structure of the legs.

Internal structure of the arms. A surprisingly complex joint structure with no less than 4 stages.

The shoulder parts can slide in and out via a slide gimmick.

OLD 1/144 Zock - Comparison of shoulders tucked in (left) vs. extended out (right). It's not quite as noticeable as you'd exp

Comparison of shoulders tucked in (left) vs. extended out (right). It's not quite as noticeable as you'd expect.

The torso parts configuration is identical front and back.

The hip joints use separate left/right pins.

The soles of the feet have verniers sculpted as separate parts, similar to the Rick Dom.

The mono-eye is a separate part that you glue on, so you can position it wherever you like.

OLD 1/144 Zock - Articulation is roughly like this.. The legs have a limited range of motion, but the arms feel like they mov

Articulation is roughly like this.. The legs have a limited range of motion, but the arms feel like they move pretty freely.

Action pose~

Action pose 2

Rawr~

OLD 1/144 Zock - Together with the HGUC Zock. Since the front and back look identical, there's really no need to bother shoot

Together with the HGUC Zock. Since the front and back look identical, there's really no need to bother shooting the rear view~

This is the 1/144 Zock, well known for being identical front and back. It's a unit with quite an imposing presence in the lore, and it comes in a bigger and chunkier box than other 1/144 kits, with a relatively steep price tag of ¥600.

Once you open that unusually thick box for a 1/144, you'll find the parts have quite a bit of volume to them. Thanks to that, the finished build comes out looking impressively chunky and solid from both front and back. The arms in particular feature a multi-stage joint system with 4 stages, giving them quite flexible articulation, and the shoulder connection to the torso is nicely designed to slide in and out.

The two mono-eyes, one on the front and one on the back, require you to glue on separate round parts — but that does mean you get to choose exactly where to position them. And if you use double-sided tape instead of glue, you can even reposition them whenever you feel like it, so it's actually a pretty handy assembly method.

Overall articulation is pretty decent given the shape, so you can pull off various poses that are uniquely Zock. Its silhouette is so different from your typical MS to begin with, and it's a big unit, so even just swinging those arms around gives it a surprisingly menacing presence.

Personally, I think it holds its own really well against the HGUC Zock that came out much later — smaller in size, but the proportions are solid and not at all inferior. I'd say it ranks among the better kits in the entire old 1/144 lineup. Sure, with just a single molded color it looks a bit washed out and lacks punch, but give it a good paint job and it'd look fantastic on its own. There aren't really any points where major modifications feel necessary either, so I'd recommend it as a great old kit for seam line cleanup and painting. :-) [ Updated at 2016.2.4 ]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.