OLD MSV 1/144 MS-06R Zaku II

Release 1983.4

Price ¥500

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

OLD 1/144 MS-06R Zaku II - Box side view (1/3)

Box side view

Runners

Waterslide decals

Parts diagram

Manual

Straight build + waterslide decals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

OLD 1/144 MS-06R Zaku II - The spike armor, chest armor, forearm armor, instep, and underside of the feet are finished with a

The spike armor, chest armor, forearm armor, instep, and underside of the feet are finished with a rough matte molded surface.

OLD 1/144 MS-06R Zaku II - The mono-eye is represented using a waterslide decal applied to the inner head parts. It looks gre

The mono-eye is represented using a waterslide decal applied to the inner head parts. It looks great with a nice sense of depth, but it's a bit of a hassle since you have to apply the decals mid-assembly..

OLD 1/144 MS-06R Zaku II - The small fins on the back of the legs are only precariously held in place with glue, so be carefu

The small fins on the back of the legs are only precariously held in place with glue, so be careful — they'll fall off easily if you touch them.

OLD 1/144 MS-06R Zaku II - There's also a joint that lets the neck move up and down, but the hold is so weak that the head ke

There's also a joint that lets the neck move up and down, but the hold is so weak that the head keeps drooping forward ^^; In the end I stuck some double-sided tape under the neck to keep the head looking up.

A total of 5 hands are included, along with a Zaku Machine Gun and a Beam Tomahawk.

OLD 1/144 MS-06R Zaku II - As you can tell from the leftover waterslide decals, decals for Shin Matsunaga's unit are included

As you can tell from the leftover waterslide decals, decals for Shin Matsunaga's unit are included as well.

Articulation isn't great, honestly.

OLD 1/144 MS-06R Zaku II - All the MSV kits share a similar shoulder structure, with a gimmick that lets the shoulders swing

All the MSV kits share a similar shoulder structure, with a gimmick that lets the shoulders swing forward and backward.

Maximum spread angle of the shoulders and legs

OLD 1/144 MS-06R Zaku II - Zaku Machine Gun pose (1/3)

Zaku Machine Gun pose

Just barely able to hold it with both hands.

Beam tomahawk action

Together with the 1/144 Char's Zaku.

Together with the HGUC High Mobility Zaku.

The long-awaited MSV (Mobile Suit Variation) series based on First Gundam kicks off with the 1/144 MS-06R Zaku II. Known as the High Mobility Zaku, it's one of the most iconic MSV units out there — the same design branches out into the Black Tri-Stars' units, Shin Matsunaga's custom, Johnny Ridden's custom, and more. The MSV line took the existing Gunpla and layered on imagination to produce a wide variety of distinctive, individualistic MS as weapons of war. The concept of blending military aesthetics with sci-fi got a lot of modelers seriously excited. One particularly notable touch is the rough matte armor surface on certain panels — like Zimmerit coating on a tank — which became a signature trait of the MSV series.

Since the MSV series itself launched in 1983, it's a noticeable step up from the First Gundam plastic models that were released intensively between 1980 and 1982. Just looking at the comparison photos above, you can see the proportions feel heavier and more weapon-like, and the joint structure was improved too — every MSV kit comes standard with the shoulder forward/backward swing gimmick and a hip joint that lets the legs spread apart. Sure, by today's standards it's still old-kit territory, but the 1980s were genuinely a golden age for Gunpla history, with a remarkable amount of progress packed into a short span of time.

As you'd expect from a 1/144 kit, the molded color is a single shade of gray, but the overall proportions and sense of volume carry that warm, nostalgic charm of the '80s. The design elements are essentially the same as current versions — only the overall proportions have changed — and once you clean up the seam lines and lay down some paint, I think it'll come together as a wonderfully chunky, rugged Zaku.

Sure, the articulation is still limited, and having to build the whole thing with glue makes the assembly process feel decidedly old-school — but I think that's exactly what makes old kits so charming, that sense of nostalgia. The joint strength really shows the limits of vintage kits: the arms and legs are loose and floppy, making it hard to hold a pose or lock in an angle. If you want to build this one properly, fixing up the joint strength is pretty much a must, even more so than worrying about articulation.

Also, all the MSV kits include a small sheet of waterslide decals. The mono-eye is done with a waterslide decal too, which looks nice, but you have to apply the decal to the inner head parts before closing everything up — meaning you have to stop mid-assembly just to do your decaling, which is a little annoying ^^;

All that said, this lineup has a real charm to it — just building one is enough to send any old-school fan on a nostalgia trip. As a kit to practice customizing and painting on, it's actually more fun to mess around with than a standard old 1/144. Definitely worth picking up :-)
[ Updated at 2016.7.21 ]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.