Back in the day... following the usual order of things, I figured the next PG after the PG RX-78 would surely be the Mk II — but surprisingly, Zeta Gundam got the PG treatment first. On top of that, it launched at ¥20,000, blowing right past the ¥12,000 of the previous PG, and shocked a lot of people at the time. Like, what on earth did they put in it to suddenly jump to ¥20,000..!!!??
To cut to the chase — once you open the box, it's clearly worth every bit of that ¥20,000.
1. A perfect Waverider
First of all, as everyone knows, Zeta is a transforming kit. The concept of transforming into an atmospheric re-entry Waverider has kept Zeta radiating an incredible charisma in the Gundam world for over a decade since it first came out. When the MG Zeta was released, its dramatically different style and more refined transformation system drew a lot of attention. But... as everyone knows, the MG Zeta has since earned the infamous nickname "Octopus Gundam" and become synonymous with limpness. Both in MS mode and especially after transforming into Waverider mode — the legs and wings that just wouldn't stay in place and flopped all over... it really was a kit that just couldn't hold a proper shape. (And this was really supposed to be refined by the guy with the protractor??)
Personally, if someone asks me what the biggest strength of the PG Zeta Gundam is, I'd raise my hand for "perfect transformation." The PG Zeta Gundam's transformation is based on the MG Zeta Gundam's transformation system, but it's more refined, more automated, and above all, it completely overcomes that looseness. You'd think it'd be even harder to hold together given that it's a massive Waverider weighing nearly 1kg and stretching 40cm — but the PG Zeta Gundam's Waverider locks up with 12 cleverly placed locking pins, so no matter where you grab it, how you balance it, or what angle you set it at, there's zero wobbling or looseness. It holds its shape rock-solid, like a fresh recruit sitting at attention in the barracks.
The wings, leg connector panels, and legs that used to be loose on the MG Zeta Gundam — all of it locks together into one perfect solid mass on the PG Zeta Gundam. The transformation design is just incredible, I can't say anything other than "amazing." On top of that, the spring-assisted auto-transformation system built into the waist, head, knees and other parts is a really nice touch. :-) A PG should feel packed solid from the inside out!Transformation Review(see that section) And when you look at the wiring diagram meticulously laid out so the LEDs light up all the way to the wingtips, it just blows your mind. The die-cast metal landing gear handles the weight of this heavy beast without any issues whatsoever.
Anyway, the PG Zeta Gundam in Waverider mode is just absolutely stunning. @o@
Though it is a bit tricky to display in Waverider mode since it's so long and wide.
2. The Mobile Suit Is Way Too Heavy
Alright, back to MS mode. In MS mode it stands 33cm tall (19.8m in-universe), making it the tallest of all PGs. Up until the ridiculously large 36cm MG Perfect Zeong came out in 2004, it was the undisputed king of Bandai's regular injection Gunpla lineup in terms of sheer presence. Either way, it's the biggest, and seeing it in person it's absolutely massive, and holding it you can really feel just how huge it is.
Being a transforming kit, having only 4 hatch openings feels a little sparse... but it's great that they managed to pack internal mechanical frames across almost the entire body, which is impressive enough to make you forget it's a transforming kit. ^^ A PG should feel stuffed full of internal mechanics!
As for articulation — hmm, it feels a bit mixed. It's definitely less poseable than a standard PG like the PG RX-78, which makes sense since it's a transforming kit. The arms can bend 180 degrees, but the shoulder structure means they can't raise very high. The legs bend quite well in frame-only state, but once you put the outer armor on they can't bend all the way. Of course, this is all relative to a regular PG — taken on its own merits, it's actually capable of some pretty dynamic poses for a transforming kit. Just don't go in expecting the same level of articulation as a non-transforming PG.
On a kit this large, an even bigger issue than articulation is joint strength. The biggest weakness of the PG Zeta Gundam is its sheer size and weight. The joints on the PG Zeta Gundam are by no means loose — they're generally quite stiff. But even though the joints aren't loose, the weight of the kit itself causes it to slowly, gradually lean... That's the problem. The stabilizers and wings on its back are quite heavy, so if you stand it up straight, the upper body slowly tilts backward over time. So you end up having to splay the legs back to keep it from falling over — but then the legs are splayed back and the upper body is leaning way back, and it ends up looking like it's got a pot belly sticking out.
Because of this, I tried all sorts of poses — the review photos above were taken by carefully getting it to stand up straight and snapping the shot quickly before it started leaning. (^^;;;) It doesn't topple over immediately, but if you put it in a display case and leave it, it'll eventually end up with that pot-belly posture. (-_-) If you get the angle just right it'll hold for a while longer, but honestly it's not easy to keep it standing perfectly upright. In my case, I ended up solving (?) it by placing it at the very back of the display case and leaning it slightly against the back wall...
Weak ankles are one of the commonly cited flaws of PGs in general, and the spring-loaded suspension here makes them feel a bit less solid. The polycaps in the ankle joints aren't loose per se, but PGs are all pretty heavy, and that weight makes it hard to keep balanced. The PG Zeta Gundam has this issue to some extent too — though the bigger problem is the torso and leg connection point constantly tilting backward from the weight of the backpack, so it's hard to even tell if the ankles are weak. (-_-a?) It's big, detailed, packed solid, and has great presence and heft, but these physical load-bearing weaknesses seem unavoidable.
And the most frustrating part of the PG Zeta Gundam has to be... the shield mount. The shield attaches to the arm via a complex multi-joint assembly needed for transformation, and as you can see in the photos, after moving it around a bit it tends to go "click" and pop loose, sending the shield flopping down. It's a bit hard to describe in words, but anyone who owns a PG Zeta Gundam will definitely be nodding along. It's not so bad that it falls off on its own, but it would've been nice if they'd made it more secure. On top of that, the polycap connecting the stabilizer to the body is a bit shallow, so it occasionally pops off too.
3. Lights, Lights, Lights!
The PG Zeta Gundam comes with light-up beam sabers as standard — the same style as the ones included in the separately sold custom set for the PG RX-78. Weapons ReviewAs covered in that section, they cleverly use special fishing-use mercury batteries to make the LED light travel all the way through the long clear parts.
Dim the lights (you can't see anything with the lights on) and fire up the light-up beam sabers, and it's a truly fantastic sight. The beam sabers look more or less visible depending on the angle — but shoot from the right angle where the light really shows, and you get photos that look like something straight out of Star Wars. Absolutely killer. It was the kind of item you'd never have imagined would actually be made into a product, and I have to give a round of applause to the Bandai developers for pulling it off so brilliantly.
Beyond that, like the MG there are LEDs in the stabilizers, and like other PGs there are LEDs in the eyes — but the PG Zeta Gundam goes one step further with LEDs in the cockpit instrument panel and even at the wingtips. The results are pretty impressive overall, though the cockpit lighting is a bit dim and leaves something to be desired.
4. A Landmark Kit.
Personally, the PG Zeta Gundam is the kit that amazed me the most out of every Gunpla I've ever built. The PG RX-78 was impressive because it was my first PG — but the PG Zeta Gundam builds on the standard PG formula with so many new and surprising ideas that weren't in its predecessor, making it feel like it's a whole tier above a regular PG.
If you're a Zeta Gundam fan, you absolutely cannot miss this landmark masterpiece of a kit. And rather than expecting the incredible dynamic posing you get from a typical PG, this is a kit where you should focus more on the charisma of the kit itself and the appeal of its perfect transformation.
As of 2004 when I'm writing this review, the PG GP01 has come out at the same price point, but the PG Zeta Gundam's charisma is still overwhelming. Honestly, the PG GP01 doesn't feel all that different from the RX-78 in terms of quality and feel, aside from having a massive number of parts.
Which one is better is going to come down to personal preference — but in terms of being fresh, unique, rich, and spectacular as a kit in its own right, nothing has come close to matching the PG Zeta Gundam yet. Apparently it was the kit that required the most development staff, the longest development period, and the highest level of focus in Bandai's development division's entire history.
As one example of this — if you look at the MG lineup for 1999, the year before the PG Zeta Gundam launched in March 2000, it's mostly mold-reuse kits like the GM, Zaku, Dom, and NT-1 variations, with very few completely new toolings. In other words, the behind-the-scenes story goes that Bandai pulled in even the MG development staff — their main lineup and best talent — into the PG development team, and spent over a year and a half focused on the PG Zeta Gundam, which significantly slowed down new MG development. I personally get the feeling that it's the kit that had the most effort poured into it out of any Gunpla in existence.
(As you know, I've built pretty much every major Gunpla out there... ^^;)
Sure, in MS mode the weight makes it hard to get it standing perfectly straight — but there are various ways to work around it, and the near-perfect Waverider mode more than makes up for it. If anything, I'm a little worried and saddened that we may never see another masterpiece like this again...
The MG EX-S is incredible, and the HGUC Den'zan is amazing too — but all things considered, Dalong.net's pick for the greatest Gunpla of all time goes to the PG Zeta Gundam. Boom!
PG Zeta Gundam | 2000.3 | ¥20,000
AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.
