OLD Gundam ZZ 1/144 R-Jarja

Release 1986.7

Price ¥600

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

Box side view

Runners

Waterslide decals

Parts diagram

Manual

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

The scabbard, mono-eye, and green parts of the rifle are represented with wet decals.

Beam rifle and beam saber

OLD 1/144 R-Jarja - The articulation on the arms and legs is pretty grim.. The legs especially feel like they barely move at

The articulation on the arms and legs is pretty grim.. The legs especially feel like they barely move at all.

The articulated shield on the back of the shoulder does move a little bit.

Beam rifle firing pose

Beam saber action pose

Together with the 1/144 ZZ Gundam.

Together with the 1/144 Gallus J.

Together with the HG R-Gyagya released in 2014 as part of the Build Fighters lineup.

The fifth entry in the old-kit ZZ series is the 1/144 R-Jarja — a kit that still hadn't received an HGUC release as of 2017 when this review was posted. Back in 2014, the R-Gyagya, a variant of the design, did come out as part of the Build Fighters HG lineup, but either way, this remains the one and only R-Jarja plastic model kit to date.

I totally get that it was hard to nail a proper red molded color with the technology of the time, but looking at it now, the color feels pretty food-toy-ish. That said, back when painting was the norm, it probably wasn't much of an issue.

In terms of proportions, it looks a bit more squat and cramped compared to other old-kit ZZ entries, and the articulation is just as grim — there really aren't many poses you can pull off. The legs in particular have an almost fixed-in-place range of motion, making this one of the worst leg articulation offenders among the old kits.. Overall joint strength is decent enough thanks to polycaps, but the front-to-back shoulder movement is noticeably loose, which makes posing even harder.

One saving grace is the wet decals, which weren't included in other kits and do add a nice touch here. They're applied to the mono-eye, the rifle scope, the scabbard, and a few other spots. Just keep in mind that with older kits, wet decals can be stubborn about releasing from the paper, so you'll want to be patient and handle them carefully.

All in all, this is one of the lower-quality old kits out there — it needs not just a paint job but also some serious joint modification, making it a pretty high-difficulty build. That said, it does have the merit of being the only R-Jarja plastic model kit in existence, so I'd recommend it to advanced builders who enjoy painting and customizing. :-)
[ Updated at 2017.7.13 ]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.