The MS-06 Zaku II is easily one of the most iconic designs from Mobile Suit Gundam, making up the bulk of Zeon’s forces in space, throughout the colonies, and on Earth. The MS-06 Zaku II has seen countless revamps and redesigns, even appearing in other Gundam Universes with different model kits to match. This latest Zaku II model builds into the first iteration of the Zaku II, seen most commonly during the One Year War. Since the last iteration of the MS-06 Zaku II, Bandai has released exactly 201 models under the HGUC banner, spanning almost 20 years! This MS-06 Zaku II is a color swap of the HGUC #234 MS-06S Char Zaku II released for the 40th Gunpla Anniversary in 2020.
Here’s what Bandai included alongside the MS-06 Zaku II for accessories:
- 120mm Zaku Machine Gun
- 280mm Bazooka
- Heat Hawk
- Action Base Adapter
- Commander Type Antenna
Articulation –
Bandai has almost perfected the MS-06 Zaku II this time around! Anyone who has built one of the older Zaku HG kits will be excited to see just how much Bandai has improved its engineering. You can expect the MS-06 Zaku II to pull off just about any pose you’ve seen in the anime, thanks to the number of double-joints and added articulation points. Bandai has even included an alternate set of skirt armor made of new flexible material. Bandai also recommends using the traditional plastic armor for painting, as the rubberized material may be prone to chipping. As a color swap of Char’s Zaku, the MS-06 Zaku II includes the parts to create the Commander Type Zaku II, allowing further customization of the model.
Weapons and Other Notable Attributes –
The MS-06 Zaku II’s weapons feature sharp new molds, offering a great representation of their anime appearance. The Bazooka clips into the Mobile Suits back skirt for storage, and the Heat Hawk clips right onto the side skirting when not in use. Thanks to the included Weapon Holding Left Manipulator, the MS-06 Zaku II can even use both weapons simultaneously. This model would make an excellent army builder or a perfect choice for a first-timer, as it provides a stellar model right out of the box in under 150 pieces!
This kit includes:
7 Runners total (A, B1, B2, C1, C2, D, E)
Total Piece Count – 149 with 2 Unused Parts
Foil Stickers
Materials – PS, TPE|
English & Japanese Instructions
Additional Fun information
Pilot(s): Slender, Denim, Gene, Kohm, JQ, Crown, Ghien, Acous, Tachi, Cozun Graham, Cucuruz Doan, Brenev Auggs, Shin Matsunaga, Johnny Ridden, Gerald Sakai, Lou Roher, Charlotte Hepner
Unit Type: Mass Production General-Purpose Mobile Suit
Model number: MS-06
Code name: Zaku II
Overall Height: 17.5m(57.4ft)
Manufacturer: Zeonic Company
Scale: 1/144
Grade: High Grade
Completed Model Height:
Original Release Date: Jan 2022
Gundam Series: Mobile Suit Gundam
Mechanical Designer: Kunio Okawara
Cynical Medic (verified owner) –
This revive kit is a recolor of the already impressive Char Zaku II “revive” kit. The only other differences from the Char “revive” aside from the recolor is the grunt Zaku II “revive” kit lacks the two vernier thruster on the upper part of the thruster pack. The slight change in the thruster pack was first noticed on the HG Zaku II “Revive” Real Type kit from the Gundam Base.
The main issue with this kit as was the case with the Char revive kit is the separate forearm sections can become loose over time or from manipulation. Suggest gluing the parts in place or throw a thick layer of top coat on the ball joint. Other than that it’s a nice kit, here’s hoping for more variation of the Zaku II revive kit in the future.