OLD First Gundam 1/100 Real Type Zaku

Release 1982.2

Price ¥700

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

Parts diagram

* I lost the manual so I couldn't scan it — sorry about that.. T_T

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

OLD 1/100 Real Type Zaku - Decal close-up (1/6)

OLD 1/100 Real Type Zaku - Decal close-up (2/6)

OLD 1/100 Real Type Zaku - Decal close-up (3/6)

OLD 1/100 Real Type Zaku - Decal close-up (4/6)

OLD 1/100 Real Type Zaku - Decal close-up (5/6)

OLD 1/100 Real Type Zaku - Decal close-up (6/6)

Decal close-ups

Zaku machine gun action

OLD 1/100 Real Type Zaku - Bazooka + Heat Hawk action (1/3)

Bazooka + Heat Hawk action

With the 1/100 Real Type Dom.

With the 1/100 Char's Zaku.

OLD 1/100 Real Type Zaku - With the limited edition MG Zaku v2.0 Real Type version. As you can see, the decal placement and d

With the limited edition MG Zaku v2.0 Real Type version. As you can see, the decal placement and designs are almost identical.

This is the second kit in the old-school First Gundam Real Type series — the 1/100 Real Type Zaku. There was also a limited edition MG Zaku v2.0 Real Type released at some point (see the review photos), and this kit is essentially the original that it was based on. If you compare the decals side by side, you can see that the newer release pretty much copied the old kit's decal designs and placement wholesale. Like the other kits in this series, it's basically the same kit with a changed molded color and wet decals added, so for the overall kit characteristics, check out the 1/100 Char's Zaku review.

First off, the molded colors have been changed to a deep green and dark brown, which gives it a much heavier, more intense look compared to the original Zaku's bright green or pink color scheme. The molded colors came out really rich and deep — honestly, it's hard to believe this is an old kit when you see the color quality. On top of that, you've got a massive amount of wet decals to apply — roughly twice as many as the other Real Type kits — and since they're a bit aged, the decals had gotten fragile and weren't easy to work with. T_T Fortunately, I gradually figured out how to handle old decals, and while I made a few mistakes here and there, I managed to get them all on. Still, with so many more decals than other kits, the whole decal session took around 6–7 hours.

That said, having so many decals means the finished look is all the more rewarding. For a kit this size with this kind of visual impact, it's only ¥700 — the old-kit value-for-money is just unbeatable. Personally, I think this is the most well-rounded kit in the old-school Real Type series, and it's one I'd happily recommend if you're looking for something you can enjoy at a low cost without any pressure. :-)
[ Updated at 2016.4.15 ]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.