Kit Review

Straight build + Partial paint + Panel lining + Decals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack — the universal standard reference size.

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - Rear view in normal mode (1/3)

Rear view in normal mode

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - The Gunner backpack. Color separation is much better than the HG, but part of the beam

The Gunner backpack. Color separation is much better than the HG, but part of the beam cannon still needs touch-up painting. (see arrows)

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - The white parts on the rifle also need touch-up painting. Oddly enough, those white se

The white parts on the rifle also need touch-up painting.
Oddly enough, those white sections are separate parts, but the color separation wasn't done for them.
It was definitely possible to do the color separation there — guess they just forgot.. ;;

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - The energy pipe connecting the beam cannon to the backpack is mesh-style.. and inside

The energy pipe connecting the beam cannon to the backpack is mesh-style..
Inside it has the same red coated wire as the HG.

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - On the 1/100, the Zaku shield's spike is much longer and sharper. It feels noticeably

On the 1/100, the Zaku shield's spike is much longer and sharper.
It feels noticeably more pointy compared to other scales.

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - The hand grenade that attaches to the side skirt. The white bands on the front and bac

The hand grenade that attaches to the side skirt.
The white bands on the front and back are handled with seals, and they come out looking pretty clean.
That said, the only hand parts included are one open-hole hand each, so you can't actually pose it holding the grenade -_-;

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - A highlight of the 1/100 Zaku Warrior! The beam part of the heat hawk is made from pin

A highlight of the 1/100 Zaku Warrior! The beam part of the heat hawk is made from pink soft plastic.
The spike on top also moves along with it.

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - The way the beam cannon deploys is the same as the HG. It's just a bit stiffer, so it

The way the beam cannon deploys is the same as the HG. It's just a bit stiffer, so it holds position better.

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - The double-jointed beam cannon connector, just like on the HG, can wrap around the bod

The double-jointed beam cannon connector, just like on the HG, can wrap around the body and fold in,
making it much easier to hold in hand.

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - On the 1/100 beam cannon, the grip section also swings slightly to the side, making it

On the 1/100 beam cannon, the grip section also swings slightly to the side, making it easier to hold.

Just like the HG, the rifle mount on the rear end is implemented as a slide mechanism.

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - It's a tight fit with the Gunner pack in the way, but you can still store the rifle th

It's a tight fit with the Gunner pack in the way, but you can still store the rifle there well enough.

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - Articulation. The arms are nothing special, but the legs fold a full 180 degrees. That

Articulation. The arms are nothing special, but the legs fold a full 180 degrees. That's the Zaku Warrior for you!

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - Just like the HG, the ankle articulation is also very flexible, bending quite far forw

Just like the HG, the ankle articulation is also very flexible, bending quite far forward.

Rifle action po~se

The arm movement is nice and natural.

Heat hawk action pose featuring the soft plastic part.

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - A secondary grip extends from the inside of the beam cannon. The green section on top

A secondary grip extends from the inside of the beam cannon.
The green section on top of the beam cannon requires touch-up painting.

That lo~ng beam cannon as always. Even bigger at 1/100 scale.

Fully armed action

Bring it on!

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - With that outstanding leg articulation, kneeling poses are a breeze! (1/3)

With that outstanding leg articulation, kneeling poses are a breeze!

Just as expected, the 1/100 quality is a step up from the HG.

The included pilot character card of Lunamaria Hawke.

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - A shot together with the HG Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom). The molded c

A shot together with the HG Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom).
The molded colors are completely identical between the two. Both are high quality.

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) - Bonus shot.. the MG Zaku II Char's Custom, which somehow feels like a natural extensio

Bonus shot.. the MG Zaku II Char's Custom, which somehow feels like a natural extension of the same color palette.
The head size difference is quite something..;;

Together with the previously released 1/100 Force Impulse Gundam and Chaos Gundam.

Straight build photo — front

Straight build photo — rear

The Zaku Warrior, the most popular kit from SEED Destiny, has finally made it to 1/100 scale. And the first release isn't the standard mass-production type — it's the Gunner-type Lunamaria Hawke Custom in that striking red. This is the same one that just came out as an HG not too long ago.

Since the Zaku Warrior was already top-tier quality in HG form, there was plenty to look forward to in the 1/100 as well. First off, being 1/100 scale, it feels much larger and more imposing than the Zaku Warriors we've seen before — it's got that presence that only mid-to-large scale kits can pull off. And since it comes with the Gunner backpack included, it looks absolutely fantastic. The sheer impact of that already-huge beam cannon is on a completely different level from the HG — it's seriously cool~

When I first saw the 1/100's molded color, I was a little disappointed — it looked like it had a wavy texture to it. But comparing it side by side with the HG, the molded color is completely identical. It just looked that way because the parts are bigger. The peculiar shade of red came out really nicely. Since red doesn't photograph well with a digital camera.. the actual kit looks much more subtle and better-looking than it does in the photos above.

Like other 1/100 kits before it, the Zaku Warrior follows a similar pattern of improvement over the HG — slightly better color separation, slightly better articulation, and otherwise feels like a blown-up copy. The color separation is definitely an improvement over the HG, though there are still some white areas on the rifle and beam cannon that need to be painted. I do like how the top and bottom of the backpack's tank section are cleanly separated in white. ^^

Articulation is a step up from the HG — the legs can now achieve a full 180-degree bend. There aren't that many poses where you'd actually need that kind of extreme flex, but getting into a kneeling pose is super easy. Joint strength is pretty stiff all around, so everything holds firmly in place. The 1/100 Impulse had stiff joints, but the next kit, the Chaos, felt a bit loose and wobbly... With the third 1/100, the Zaku Warrior, it's back to that solid joint quality we've come to expect.

The Gunner Pack's gimmicks are pretty much identical to the HG version overall, and the double joints let it sit naturally close to the body. The energy pipe connecting the backpack to the beam cannon is reproduced with a double-layered mesh — now *that* feels like a proper 1/100! One improvement over the HG is that the beam cannon's grip section itself can swing slightly to the side, making it easier to hold at different angles. That said... in practice, you can barely get the hand to grip it. If you try to angle the beam cannon too far, the palm and back of the hand just fall apart. ;;

If there's one standout feature on the 1/100 Zaku Warrior, it's probably the Heat Hawk. Using a soft pink part for the beam section of the Heat Hawk was a bold move, and it paid off beautifully. It's something that wasn't even attempted on the MG Zaku releases. Hopefully they'll keep doing this kind of thing across other scales and grades going forward...

Overall it feels like a slightly upgraded version of the HG... but there are definitely some disappointments too. For one, there are no natural-looking action grip hands at all — just a single pair of no-grade-style hands with open holes. The left hand detail on the HG Zaku Warrior was really nice, so it's a real shame it got dropped in the 1/100. Because of that, even if you want to do an action pose using the hand grenade on the side, there's no way to actually hold it — it just ends up as decoration. ;;

As expected, it's a clean, high-quality kit... but personally, I'm actually more excited about other color variants of the Zaku Warrior than this red one. Still, if you're a fan of the Gunner-type Zaku Warrior, this is a high-quality kit that's well worth picking up without hesitation. ^^

1/100 Gunner Zaku Warrior (Lunamaria Hawke Custom) | 2005. 3 | ¥2,300

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.