OLD Gundam ZZ 1/144 Zssa

Release 1986.6

Price ¥700

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

Box side view

Runners

Parts diagram

Manual

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

With the booster unit removed.

Limb articulation

Beam saber action

Full volley fire~!

Rotating the booster unit's missile pods forward lets you recreate its unique flight mode.

Booster unit

Together with the Methuss, which has a similar style and color scheme.

Together with its predecessor, the Galluss J.

OLD 1/144 Zssa - Together with the HGUC Zssa Unicorn (Sleeves) version released in 2014. The HGUC one is noticeably chunkier

Together with the HGUC Zssa Unicorn (Sleeves) version released in 2014. The HGUC one is noticeably chunkier and bigger.

The third entry in the old-kit ZZ Gundam series is the missile-packed Zssa, in 1/144 scale. It has the lowest head height among the ZZ Gundam mobile suits, but with that big booster unit strapped to its back, the overall height actually ends up taller than the others.

The small, chubby body design looks well-executed, though the size does feel a bit smaller than what the specs would suggest. As you can see in the photos above, even compared to the HGUC, the old kit's body looks noticeably slimmer — and while the booster unit does add to the overall height, the body itself is smaller than you'd expect.

That said, despite the compact body, this kit surprisingly pulls off more dynamic poses than other old kits. The joint strength is also solid — on par with HGUC — so it's actually a fun kit to handle.

The booster unit can be detached, and rotating all the missile pods forward transforms it into a standalone flight vehicle. The molded color is a bit plain, but the volume and bulk come across really well. Of course, compared to the HGUC, the booster unit also looks quite small — overall, the kit seems to have come out a bit undersized relative to the actual scale.

Anyway, the molded color is pretty washed-out, so it doesn't look all that impressive straight out of a straight build — but if you're planning to paint it, this is a quality old kit that can be a genuinely fun build. :-)
[ Updated at 2017.7.7 ]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.