Kit Review

Snap-fit build
+ light panel lining + seals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Upper body

RG Char's Zaku II - The head. I should've pushed the neck in a bit more firmly... sorry if it looks like it's floating a

The head.
I should've pushed the neck in a bit more firmly... sorry if it looks like it's floating a little T_T

RG Char's Zaku II - Shoulders and arms (1/4)

RG Char's Zaku II - Shoulders and arms (2/4)

Shoulders and arms

Back section

Rear view with bazooka detached

Legs

RG Char's Zaku II - Seals on various parts of the legs.. (3/5)

Seals on various parts of the legs..

True to the RG line, the cockpit hatch open feature is included even at 1/144 scale.

The 1/144 scale figure of that certain someone.

RG Char's Zaku II - The ball-threading method here isn't the multi-injection style of the MG Zaku 2.0 — instead, it's li

The ball-threading method here isn't the multi-injection style of the MG Zaku 2.0 —
instead, it's like the Gouf 2.0, where you insert a rod through the neatly arranged balls on the runner and then cut them off.
Overall it feels like an improvement over the MG... the balls aren't stiff so they're easy to fit on,
and the runner has minimal gates, making it much easier to remove and clean up the balls.

RG Char's Zaku II - To keep the balls from spinning freely or moving around randomly, there are small protrusions on the

To keep the balls from spinning freely or moving around randomly, there are small protrusions on the central rod.

Outer armor removed shot.

As expected, the sheer number of outer armor pieces rivals — or even surpasses — most MG kits..

Full-body frame shot.

RG Char's Zaku II - Torso and arm frame. Pretty much identical to the RG RX-78-2. (1/3)

Torso and arm frame.
Pretty much identical to the RG RX-78-2.

Head

RG Char's Zaku II - Leg frame. The skeleton is the same as the RG RX-78-2, but the mechanical frame armor is completely di

Leg frame.
The skeleton is the same as the RG RX-78-2, but the mechanical frame armor is completely different.

RG Char's Zaku II - To think we'd get this kind of detail at 1/144 scale... what a time to be alive. (1/4)

RG Char's Zaku II - To think we'd get this kind of detail at 1/144 scale... what a time to be alive. (2/4)

To think we'd get this kind of detail at 1/144 scale... what a time to be alive.

Articulation in frame-only state is, as expected, ex.treme.ly good.

The legs can spread out this far..

The shoulder joints are so flexible that you can twist the arms all the way like that.

Waist and shoulder articulation.

A squat pose? No problem..

RG Char's Zaku II - Frame picking-up-a-coin pose. (1/3)

Frame picking-up-a-coin pose.

RG Char's Zaku II - Even the gimmick where the mono-eye rotates further when you turn the head is replicated exactly the

Even the gimmick where the mono-eye rotates further when you turn the head
is replicated exactly the same as the MG Zaku 2.0.

The skirt and some armor pieces have molded detail on the inside as well.

The backpack itself also has an additional inner frame layer.

Articulation is pretty much on par with the MG Zaku 2.0..

Thanks to the excellent shoulder joints, the shoulders can bend forward quite dramatically.

One thing that bugs me though.. the shoulder area looks a bit bare when viewed from above.

The armor on the back of the forearm is done with a sliding mechanism.

The thigh slide.
Just like with the RG RX-78-2, it slides quite aggressively..

The feet have a 3-stage joint, but the range of motion is quite limited.

The backpack verniers are also articulated.

RG Char's Zaku II - The picking-up-a-coin pose that was the MG Zaku 2.0's signature move can be pulled off here too, mor

RG Char's Zaku II - The coin-picking pose that was the MG Zaku 2.0's signature move is pretty well replicated here. Ther

The coin-picking pose that was the MG Zaku 2.0's signature move is pretty well replicated here.
There's a heartbreaking story behind why the left arm can't straighten out and stays in a fist... T_T

RG Char's Zaku II - Standing shooting pose (1/4)

RG Char's Zaku II - Standing shooting pose (2/4)

Standing shooting pose

RG Char's Zaku II - Heat Hawk action (1/4)

RG Char's Zaku II - Heat Hawk action (2/4)

Heat Hawk action

An adapter is included to mount it on the 1/144 Action Base 2.

RG Char's Zaku II - Spike armor charge pose (1/4)

RG Char's Zaku II - Spike armor charge pose (2/4)

Spike armor charge pose

Launch pose

Groin kick~

RG Char's Zaku II - Together with the MG Zaku 2.0 Char's custom. You could say they're pretty much on the same level of

Together with the MG Zaku 2.0 Char's custom.
You could say they're pretty much on the same level of quality..

Together with the HGUC Char's Zaku, which looks painfully outclassed by comparison.

Together with the RG RX-78-2.
Both have incredible quality..

Snap-fit build

The second kit in this brand-new grade, RG, is — naturally (?) — Char's Zaku II. Since the basic kit structure is almost identical to the RG RX-78-2, the culture shock is a bit less this time around, but being the second release, it does feel like things have improved overall.

First off, the inner frame that comes molded as a single piece is nearly identical to the RG RX-78-2's — at a glance you might wonder if it's literally the same frame. But look closely and you'll find quite a few subtle changes made specifically for the Zaku. Since the differences aren't immediately obvious, the frame itself doesn't deliver much of a shock. The articulation is similar, and the way the armor attaches is pretty much the same too. And just like the RG RX-78-2, the color separation is more intricate than on the MG, since it's based on the HCM Pro design.

So the overall kit structure isn't anything new... but since it's a completely different mobile suit, the feeling you get after finishing it is still quite different. Compared to the RG RX-78-2, the build process feels a bit easier, and the armor fits together better so pieces don't pop off as easily. It's hard to point to any one specific improvement, but it feels like the RG's signature innovative engineering now has an added element of "stability."

On top of that, even at 1/144 scale the cockpit hatch opens, and there's even a gimmick where the mono-eye links to the neck rotation just like on the MG Zaku 2.0 — it really makes you think RG is in a league of its own. Watching those shoulders and knees move through their impressive range of motion, it almost feels like it surpasses even the MG Zaku 2.0.

In particular, the assembled bead-stringing style power cable — done in the same fashion as the Gouf 2.0 — deserves a lot of credit. The single-piece molded power cable on the MG Zaku 2.0 was impressive, but it was a bit tricky to assemble and felt stiff. The Gouf 2.0 switched to the assembled bead style which was a slight improvement, but cleaning up the gate marks still felt like a pain. The RG Zaku addresses that weakness nicely — it's neither too stiff nor too loose, making assembly really comfortable. Just the right amount of tension. On top of that, the small-gate technique used on the Keroro series and the No Grade Destiny kit has been applied here, so the gates connecting to the beads are tiny. That makes cleaning up the gates much easier, and overall it's way less stressful to work on the power cable than on the MG. ^^

On the downside, the stability when standing is pretty questionable. The RG RX-78-2 already had somewhat iffy footing, but the RG Zaku — despite having bigger feet — is oddly difficult to stand up straight for some reason ㅡ,.ㅡ You can get it to stand if you take a bit of care with the pose, but it doesn't feel very stable ;;

Another area where it clearly falls behind the MG Zaku 2.0 is the side skirts. On the MG Zaku 2.0, you can swing the side skirts back out of the way, which really frees up the hip joint's range of motion. But on the RG Zaku, they only lift up slightly in place, so they pop right off every time the hip joint moves through a wide range. This makes poses like the groin kick quite a hassle. T_T

There are a few drawbacks like these, but it still shows off everything the RG grade has to offer — and it comes across as an even better quality kit than the RG RX-78-2. You still need to be careful not to lose the tiny parts during assembly, and sticking all those little seals will have your eyes going blurry... but the fact that they managed to cram this level of gimmickry into such a small kit is what sends a thrill through the fingertips of any Gunpla fan.

For reference — as anyone who read the review carefully will have noticed — I sent my left articulated hand to another dimension. T_T It wasn't even a tiny part; a whole hand just vanished completely, which was pretty alarming. It goes to show just how much care this kit demands during assembly.

Honestly, I didn't have huge expectations for the RG Zaku... but it came out with better quality than I anticipated, easily surpassing the RG RX-78-2, so I'm very happy with it. ^^ Looking forward to seeing more kits released in the RG line! :-)

RG Char's Zaku II | 2010. 11 | ¥2,800