MSiA RMS-106 Hi-Zack (Federal Forces Colors)

MSiA RMS-106 Hi-Zack (Federal Forces Colors)

Height: 10cm to top of head, 12.5cm to top of backpack.

Articulation: 28 total points of articulation: Ball jointed neck; 7 points in arms- double-jointed shoulders, ball-jointed shoulder armor/shield, pre-elbow swivels, double-jointed elbow, ball-jointed wrists; ball-jointed waist; 6 points in each leg - ball jointed hip, triple-jointed knee, double-jointed ankle. Also features ball-jointed thrusters on backpack and lower legs, and swivel-jointed thruster booms on backpack.

Accessories: Zaku Machinegun Kai, Beam Rifle with two E-Packs, Heat Hawk, Beam Saber with removeable blade, Shield, Missile Pods, Extra Hands x4.

Colors: Molded pale blue, dark blue, medium gray, tan, blue-gray, and transparent yellow. Painted pale blue, black, red, tan, medium blue-gray, and pink (Monoeye and Zaku MG Kai Cameras).

Release Data: Released , 2005 in Japan at a price of ¥1500. This item is still widely available as of this review (October 20th, 2005).

Gallery: 12 images.

Author: RAC



The Figure

The Hi-Zack is probably Zeta Gundam's best example of the series' merger of Federation and Zeon technologies. Sporting a Zaku-II derived design with a few added Federation elements like yellow chest vents, and armed with one of two blends of the two factions' weapons (Heat Hawk/Beam Rifle or Zaku Machinegun Kai/Beam Saber), the Hi-Zack is definitely a hybrid machine. As an MSiA the Hi-Zack has inherited another Zaku trait- the recolor. This second release is in the Earth Federation's blue color scheme, seen several times during Kamille's first trip to Earth.



The Head

While the shape has been changed ever so slightly compared to other MSiA, the face is still undeniably that of the Zaku. The head has free swivel and a decent amount of front-to-back tilt, but the back of the head is flared just enough to prevent any side-to-side tilt.

The Arms

While the upper arms and shoulder attachments are pretty much standard, the forearms are much more angular and "modern" looking than the Zaku-II's. The arms have some unusual features in the form of the conduction cables running from the torso to just above the elbow. They don't really restrict the arms in any way that'd be unreasonable on a human being, but they may well pop out of the torso-sockets from time to time, particularly when trying to use the Zaku Machinegun Kai.

The shoulders on my Hi-Zacks (one of each color) are odd- both the right arms raise further to the side than the left- I removed the shoulder armor to be sure that it wasn't the culprit, and the top of the Federation Hi-Zack's left shoulder socket looks stressed. I'm pretty sure it came that way, as I'm not terribly hard on my toys. However, the left arm will hang straight down, and the right arm is always slightly angled. It's strange, and if both my Hi-Zacks weren't identical in this regard I'd assume it was a molding error.

Shoulder swivel has a far less cryptic problem, with the left shoulder pauldron blocking the forward swing of the left arm somewhat. Which is a shame, because the right shoulder has superb swivel. The elbows fall just slightly short of the maximum possible flexibility due to the cables, but still do quite nicely. Due to the very square nature of Zeta MS hands, the ball-joints for the hands are very deep-set, which limits the wrists.

The Torso

The torso sports the Federation's trademark vents, and a more pronounced backpack than most of the old Zeon designs. Thankfully, the conduction cables have been moved so as not to possibly interfere with waist articulation. Unfortunately, the waist is restricted somewhat by its own shape. There's a fair amount of tilt, though not nearly as much as the Gundam SEED Destiny ZAKU series, but the swivel is restricted to a very narrow arc unless you force the waist to turn further.

I find the backpack frustrating. It's designed to be removeable, since attaching the missile pods to the Hi-Zack's waist would be impossible otherwise. However, since the backpack curves outwards at the bottom, it's too easy to pry loose for my tastes. As long as you don't put your thumb on the bottom half of the backpack, it's fine- the back and backpack both feature pegs and sockets, so it's fairly secure barring leverage. The two thruster arms on the top of the backpack are swivel-jointed, and have a pretty good range, as do the thrusters. The only thing that I wish was jointed are the flaps on the lower corners of the backpack- were they jointed, they wouldn't cause trouble with the storage of the Heat Hawk. I'll cover that further in the Accessories section.

The skirt is the standard soft-plastic affair; it doesn't interfere with posing but could warp if left in an extreme pose for too long, as always. There's a hardpoint on the rear skirt for mounting the missile pods- it'll hold the Beam Saber too in a pinch, but it is a pinch.

The Legs and Feet

The legs are pretty Zakuesque, with conduction cables still visible on the thigh and the back of the knee. The range is good, with the hips capable of wide stances. The knees are good, featuring the current-standard triple-joint, but the joint is very tight around the lower hinge and the lower leg may disconnect in more extreme poses. The ankles have quite a good range, making full use of the double ball-joint.

Paint and Decoration

Deco is sharp overall- the paint is pretty clean, with only a bit of roughness on the yellow of the right chest vent. There's the common problem of the blue paint on the hands not quite matching the more muted blue of the rest of the figure, but unless you're staring at the hands it's not too obvious.

The other issue is the joints. The molded conduction cables on the back of the elbow and knee joints should be the same tan as the cables everywhere else on the Hi-Zack. But of course, painting joints is a recipe for chipping, ill-fitting joints, or other small disasters, so it's just as well they didn't. Some more color at the elbows and knees would've been nice- the joint color is almost identical to the pale blue that the arms and legs are made of.

Articulation gets 8/10

Sculpt and Deco get 7/10



Accessories

-Zaku Machinegun Kai

"Kai" is Japanese, naturally, and means something along the lines of "modified." This should give you a good idea of what to expect from the Zaku MG Kai- it's very similar to the original Zaku Machinegun, complete with hinged foregrip and distinctive ammo drum. The biggest changes are a thicker stock and a new style of sight.

The Zaku MG Kai is huge. It's the same length as the 1/144 scale HGUC Hi-Zack's version of the weapon, but twice as thick. It's possible for the Hi-Zack to hold it correctly, but just barely- the foregrip is too thick for the regular "open" hand to grip properly, but it will wrap around adequately if forced. Even so, the size is still a problem- the stock can yank the cables out of the armpits, and the sight can butt up against the chest and get warped. Not unusable, but still frustrating.

-Beam Rifle

This is the most common Zeta-MSiA accessory so far, included with the Marasai and both colors of Hi-Zack. It's a simple rifle, with a fixed foregrip and an angled E-Pack. The big difference here is that the Hi-Zack iteration is painted, and thus the E-Pack fits a bit more snugly. This is good, since the Marasai's Rifle had trouble keeping the E-Pack on. It's far easier to hold and pose with than the Zaku MG Kai.

-Heat Hawk

The trademark Zaku hand-to-hand weapon, only bigger. Whereas the original Heat Hawk was smaller, more fragile-looking, this looks like a weapon you'd watch out for. Like the Machinegun's handgrip, it's a bit thicker than I'd consider ideal for the open hand. (In fact, the back of the package shows the gun hands in use for both.) It can hold on to it, though, and out of stubbornness I choose to use this hand rather than the one that would fit better.

-Beam Saber

Finally, an accessory actually made for the plain open hands! Not much else to say here- it's a plain Beam Saber with a rigid yellow blade, and it fits in the open hands perfectly if you don't stretch them out with Heat Hawks and Machinegun grips.

-Shield

In addition to the traditional shoulder shield, the Hi-Zack also sports an optional forearm shield- the shape is reminiscent of the Gouf's, but the rectangular eyeslit and yellow cross are definitely Federation touches. The shield mounts to a hardpoint on either elbow, and stays just fine. There's a compartment on the lower end for the storage of additional E-Packs for the Beam Rifle, but the hatch pops off far too easily.

-Missile Pods

Lastly we have the Hi-Zack's missile pods, which mount on the hips. Like the Machinegun and (possibly) Heat Hawk, they're a bit bigger than they really need to be. Once you've attached them (which requires removing the backpack temporarily) they fall under the arms, forcing them out to the sides and running more than a slight risk of popping loose the armpit cables. To add insult to injury, you have the option of storing the Heat Hawk on the back- but because the flaps on the bottom of the backpack aren't articulated, only if you're willing to warp the weapon in the process. If you lean the Hi-Zack's torso as far forward as it goes, the backpack won't touch the Heat Hawk, but that looks pretty stupid in my opinion. It's nice that the Hi-Zack's entire arsenal was included, but this accessory is more trouble than it's worth.

-Extra Hands

Six in all- "gun" hands, open hands, and fists. The gun hands are likely going to get the biggest workout, since only the Beam Sabers really do well in the other hands. All six fit the wrists nice and snug, since the ball-joint is recessed to accomodate the blockiness of the Zeta-era hands.

Accessories get 5/10



Closing Remarks:

The Hi-Zack is an attractive MSiA with decent articulation and hit-or-miss accessories. The 5/10 for Accessories is probably the least arbitrary score I've ever been able to give- discounting the hands, half the accessories work well and half don't. Unfortunately, since the Hi-Zack is said to only have the capacity for one Beam weapon at a time, you're still stuck with one dud weapon regardless of which official configuration you pick. And the missile pods, in my opinion, are a total waste of time.

I managed to import the Federation Hi-Zack for $15 shipped, which is not too bad, considering. If you're a big fan of the Hi-Zack or Zakus in general, you'd probably do best to get a single Hi-Zack in your preferred color scheme and decide from there whether or not you care to build an entire unit. The figure is on the high side of Good, and the Accessories on the low end of Could Have Been Better. Overall, I'll lean towards a low Good, since none of the accessories are completely unuseable. But be warned- they probably will cause undue frustration.

-RAC, Zeta Project Part II