OLD Z Gundam 1/100 Gundam Mk-II

Release 1985.5

Price ¥1,200

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

OLD 1/100 Gundam Mk-II - Box side view (1/3)

Box side view

Runners

Waterslide decals

1/100 Mk-II dedicated polycap runner

Mesh pipes and wire cores for fingers

OLD 1/100 Gundam Mk-II - Parts diagram (1/3)

Parts diagram

Manual

Straight build + wet decals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Polycap joint structure inside the limbs

Polycap structure at the shoulder

Neck joint that moves in all directions

The front skirt is designed to hang on via a hook.

The Mk-II's signature power cables are reproduced with mesh pipes.

OLD 1/100 Gundam Mk-II - Mesh pipes at the back of the knees and on the backpack. The ankle area is hidden behind the armor s

Mesh pipes at the back of the knees and on the backpack. The ankle area is hidden behind the armor so it's hard to see.

OLD 1/100 Gundam Mk-II - The articulated fingers that blew everyone's minds back in the '80s. The thumb is fixed, but the oth

The articulated fingers that blew everyone's minds back in the '80s. The thumb is fixed, but the other four fingers are individually poseable by inserting wire cores.

The wire cores don't hold very well though, so the fingers end up feeling loose.. T_T

Because of that, the grip strength is poor too, so it can't hold the beam rifle tightly.

The shield's internal magazine storage and adjustable length features are also reproduced.

The beam rifle can also be stored on the side skirt.

The Mk-II's signature vulcan pod is also included.

1/48 Kamille Bidan figure

Pretty decent articulation for its time.

OLD 1/100 Gundam Mk-II - The sole is also split into front and rear sections that move independently, though this does make i

The sole is also split into front and rear sections that move independently, though this does make it harder to keep stable on the ground.

OLD 1/100 Gundam Mk-II - Beam Rifle Firing Pose (1/3)

Beam rifle firing pose

Two-handed beam rifle firing pose

Beam saber action pose

Together with the 1/144 Mk-II.

Together with the 1/100 First Gundam.

Together with the MG Gundam Mk-II released in 1998.

Together with the MG Gundam Mk-II 2.0 released in 2005.

OLD 1/100 Gundam Mk-II - The evolution of the 1/100 Gundam Mk-II (1985–1998–2005) — it keeps getting slimmer, as if reflectin

The evolution of the 1/100 Gundam Mk-II (1985–1998–2005) — it keeps getting slimmer, as if reflecting the trends of each era..

This is the old-school Zeta Gundam series 1/100 Gundam Mk-II — a kit that was also released in Korea under the Academy brand back in the day and was wildly popular. In the '80s, it was a massive step up from the 1/100 RX-78, and the articulated fingers in particular were absolutely sensational. A lot of old-school fans actually got into the hobby through the 1/100 Mk-II rather than the First Gundam, and either way, for those fans it's one of the iconic kits of the '80s alongside the Zeta Gundam and the Hyaku-Shiki.

I finally got around to building the original Bandai release in 2017 — a good 30-plus years later — and it was quite the nostalgic trip, full of excitement and emotion. By today's standards the quality is obviously lacking, but there's something about that chunky, gorilla-like old-kit proportions that gives it a presence you just can't get from the overly slimmed-down MG versions.

The Zeta Gundam series was the lineup where polycaps were introduced in earnest, and the 1/100 Mk-II uses them even more extensively. Thanks to that, the overall joint strength is incomparably better than the 1/100 First Gundam, and the articulation also made impressive strides — the limbs bend past 90 degrees and the feet have individually articulated front and rear sections. That said, even though each joint has a decent range of motion on its own, they don't work together all that efficiently, so getting natural-looking poses is harder than you'd expect. Then again, that stiff, weighty stance unique to old kits could be considered part of the charm. ^^

The overall polycap strength is solid, but the joint balance between different parts of the kit is a bit off, so it tends to be tricky to get a clean, sharp pose. That's understandable given this is an early polycap kit, but the split front-and-rear foot design is a bit of a letdown — the front and rear sections keep spreading apart, which makes it hard to keep the kit stable on the ground. It ends up feeling a bit wobbly overall.

As for weapons, the beam rifle, shield, and vulcan pod are all faithfully reproduced, though the bazooka is missing just like in the 1/144 version. The shield's extension feature is reproduced via a detachable section, and the magazine storage inside the shield and the beam rifle mounting on the side skirt are also included. The color separation on the straight build is a bit lacking, but for the era, it's a pretty respectable effort.

It's an old-school kit I'd definitely recommend to veteran fans looking for a nostalgia trip, and at just ¥1200 it's priced at an affordable HG level, so it's easy to just go ahead and grab one. :-)
[ Updated at 2017.4.5 ]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.