MSiA MS-06S Char's Zaku Second Version

Height: 10.5cm to top of head, 11.5cm to top of Commander's Antenna.

Articulation: 30 total points of articulation: Triple-jointed neck; 7 points in each arm - double jointed shoulder, ball-jointed shoulder armor, pre-elbow swivel, double jointed elbow, ball-jointed wrist; ball-jointed waist; ball-jointed main thrusters on back; 5 points in each leg - ball jointed hip, double-jointed knee, ball-jointed ankle, ball-jointed foot.

Accessories: Zaku Machinegun, Zaku Bazooka and mounting clamp, Heat Hawk, MMP-80 machinegun with removeable grenade launcher, Zaku Minelayer backpack, Extra Hands x4.

Colors: Molded reddish pink, maroon, dark gray, and medium gray. Painted dark gray, light gray, silver, pink, purple, yellow, and red ink (panel lines).

Release Data: Released November 2002 in Japan at a price of ¥1500. Rereleased November 2004 for a price of ¥1500. This item is no longer in production as of this review (February 28th, 2005).

Gallery: 8 images.

Author: RAC

The Figure

As I said in my Garma's Zaku review, I was happy enough with that figure that I got another Zaku Second Version when the opportunity presented itself. That would be Char's Zaku, which of course is pretty much the same figure (with one molding distinction) in Char Aznable's famous color scheme. While the figure is all but identical to Garma's Zaku, the accessories are significantly different.

The Head

Outside of coloring, the head is the only area where this figure is any different from Garma's Zaku, since Char's Zaku has no Head Vulcans. The sculpt is equally good, however, and equally important, the commander's antenna is still nice and straight. The combination swivel-tilt-swivel neck joint is superior to just about any other MSiA neck out there, though of course you may have to do some careful turning to get exactly the angle you desire.

The Arms

The shoulder swivel is great, the shoulder socket in the arm could use work- again, it's superior to the original Zaku figure, and being able to lift the arm straight out to the side isn't strictly necessary. But this is only a marginal improvement over the Zaku-I's shoulder in this respect. In all other respects the arm is great, with nicely articulated shoulder armor and shield, top-flight elbows, and strong wrists. Also, the hands are NOT painted, and match the arms perfectly. Which only serves to mystify me further as to why Garma's Zaku had that problem.

The Torso

The best waist joint a Zaku-II has ever had in any medium I'm aware of, since the conduction cables are completely contained on the upper torso. Little tilt, but I don't know that you could fix that without redesigning the skirt armor. The skirt itself is flexible enough, and when combined with the low hip joint, doesn't get in the Zaku's way much if at all. The standard Warping Warning still applies, of course. And of course there are hardpoints for storing the Bazooka and Heat Hawk.

The backpack is nicely decorated, with silver thrusters and highlights. This time, the removeable shell serves a purpose other than showing the nifty mechanical details underneath, thanks to the included Minelayer backpack.

The Legs and Feet

The hips have a great range, as I mentioned above. The knees do pretty much all they can with the shape, though they seem stiffer here than on Garma's Zaku- it's a bit harder to get the correct half of the double-joint to bend first. The conduction cables running from thigh to calf pose no problems to the knee, and shouldn't interfere with posing.

The two-part feet still add a much-needed... well, kick, to the poseability, but for some reason the right foot's "slipper" part keeps falling off on Char's Zaku. It's easy to pop off on Garma's, but won't fall off unprovoked. Since this is unique to one foot on one figure, I'm going to chalk it up to a molding error and not hold it against the figure.

Paint and Decoration

Char's Zaku is nicely detailed, with the occasional use of silver standing out nicely. The paint seems clean overall, and the panel lines are a deep red, which makes for a nicely subtle effect. Well, it's subtle in one way, but not so much in another- the ink used is extremely glossy. It's not a bad effect in any way, but it is unusual.

Articulation gets 8/10

Sculpt and Deco get 8/10

Accessories

-Zaku Machinegun

The same mold as Garma's, except in medium gray. The change in plastic and hands seems to help, though, as both grips seem to fit their respective hands better. Also, I was able to get the Zaku MG in a better position, with stock against the shoulder and both grips used. It might just be me, because I really didn't like those painted hands, but it just seems to work a bit better on Char's Zaku. It's probably best to put the ammo drum on after it's adjusted the way you want it, to avoid having to crawl around on the floor with a flashlight.

-Zaku Bazooka with mounting rack

Again, same mold in medium gray plastic. However, this time there isn't really a material difference in hand fit. Which is fine, since it was great to begin with. As before, it's a truly ambidextrous weapon thanks to the secondary handgrip and camera swivels, and the mounting clamp connects firmly at both points.

-Heat Hawk

Char has the standard purple Heat Hawk, which is shorter and less impressive than the version used by Garma. As with that model, this one is entirely painted, except for the peg that allows you to attach it to the hardpoints on the skirt. It's kind of limited in how you can pose it if you don't want the peg to show- it seems far more prominent than the peg on the Garma version was. And also, as before, if you store it blade-down it has to go on the left hip. Still, it looks pretty good- though the paint softens the detail just a touch- and fits the appropriate hand quite well.

-MMP-80 Machinegun with removeable grenade launcher

Here's the first of two "bonus" accessories, in the sense that they're accessories that Char's Zaku was never seen to use. The MMP-80 was first seen in the Gundam 0080 OAV, made many years after the original MSG though the story runs concurrently. It looks more like a modern day automatic weapon than anything in the original MSG, with a long, narrow magazine and an overall boxy look. Add the optional grenade launcher and you have a near-perfect rectangle. It's not my favorite Zaku weapon design, but it's nicely sculpted, and menacing due to its size- I'm inclined to give it to my Dom Second Version to complete its 0083-style arsenal. Like the grenade launcher, the ammo clip is removeable, but neither really attaches as firmly as I'd like, so keep an eye on them. The launcher is also angled slightly, and looks a bit off.

-Zaku Minelayer backpack

The other bonus item hails from an MSV model kit, a bit closer to contemporary with Char's Zaku but still a retcon piece. The original Zaku Minelayer is nearly identical to a standard MS-06 Zaku II with two exceptions: one is this backpack, and one is that the right conduction cable is supposed to run from the snout to the backpack, rather than to the back of the head as usual. Obviously, this wouldn't be possible without a head swap, so this detail was omitted.

The backpack looks good and is nicely detailed, with tiny silver "mines" molded into two compartments on the bottom of the backpack. They're non-removeable, which is fine since there wouldn't be much to do with them otherwise, outside of losing them. It attaches firmly to the back- but make sure it's attached at the correct angle, otherwise it can pop back off far too easily. Though it's large, it doesn't hinder waist movement much, if at all. You won't be attaching the bazooka clamp, though.

-Extra Hands

Fists, Trigger-fingers, and Plain Gripping hands, as usual. Each attaches firmly to the ball-joint in the wrist and holds the appropriate weapons and/or handgrips nicely. And as I said before, they are molded in the correct color, no paint. This is a major improvement over Garma's Zaku, and it's worth an extra point as far as I'm concerned.

Accessories get 9/10

Closing Remarks:

Char's Zaku Second Version is better than the original Zaku II by leaps and bounds, and comes with a respectable assortment of weaponry- pretty much everything Char was seen using in the original Gundam, and a couple of nice extras in the form of the MMP-80 and the Minelayer Backpack. Both might be better applied to other MS (the Dom and the F-type Zaku, respectively), but it's always good to have more options.

I got a pretty nice deal on my Char's Zaku- it was $15 shipped, as I recall- but I'd consider going a few dollars higher if necessary. But again, if you only get one, hold out for whichever you want the most.

It's good and poseable, and well-armed, and fixes my largest complaint with Garma's Zaku. That's enough to kick it up to Excellent in my book.

-RAC 2/28/2005