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MS-06S Zaku II (Principality of Zeon Char Aznable's Customized Mobile Suit) |
| Series | UC0079 |
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| Title | MS-06S Zaku II (Principality of Zeon Char Aznable's Customized Mobile Suit) | |
| Release Date | November 1999 | |
| Suggested Price (JPY) | 300 | |
| No. of Parts | 48 (No Polycaps. No Stickers) | |
| Plastic Color | Pink | |
| Grade | FG | |
| Scale | 1/144 | |
| My Rating | Value Buy | |
| Model Status | Completed (2002-04-30) | |
| Production Roll-Out# | #1 |
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| My very first model |
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| My second attempt on FG Zaku |
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Comment
I made a spontaneous decision in buying this kit while I was visiting “Toy R Us”. I have
not been doing modeling for more than 10 years and this kit is cheap, so I thought it will
fun to do this casually, for old time sake. I never guess that this will spark up my long
lost hobby again.
The proportion of this kit is very well done for a FG. This kit is a sort of direct scale down of the perfect grade MS-06S. The completed model (painted) actually looks quite menacing. The number of panel line on this kit is few just like what you see in the Gundam TV series. Nothing fancy.
Articulation is not good and the completed kit does not balance well. However, this could be fixed by stuffing some blue tack into the feet (see construction note).
Packaging
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Weapons, Gimmicks and Accessories The one and only weapon: The Zaku's machine gun. |
Construction Note
The quality of plastic is quite good as compared with some HG model. The whole assembly
can be done in less than 1 hour. (Not including painting) The snap fit is a wonder for a FG
model. Once I snap in the parts, the parts is so tightly fit together that I could not find
a safe way to separate the parts without damaging the plastic.
I have not done any sanding and puttying on this kit and yet the result is still satisfactory. I tried gluing to give extra strength and as an insurance to eliminate the seam lines.
One problem with this kit is that it cannot pose steadily. A small breeze will knock the completed model down. What I did to rectify the problem is that I stuff in blue tack into both feet before gluing it. The result is a much steadier kit.
As usual, painting is a challenge for a FG kit. The larger parts usually require more than one colors to be painted on and some area is somewhat hidden.
This is my first attempt to do paneling. The panel is done by mechanical pencil on the first kit. The result is subtle but not to my satisfaction. I think I could do better so I tried with brushing with a fine brush with gray. The result is still unsatisfactory.
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| White (50%) + Red (25%) + Yellow (25%) |
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Gun Metal (100%) |
| Red Brown (100%) | Semi-gloss Black (100%) | |
| Black (70%) + White (30%) | Red (70%) + Red Brown (30%) |
Lesson Learned
- I must paint all my kit. Plastic is ugly to look at under good lighting.
- Paneling attempt #1 : Mechanical pencil is out. The result is glossy and does not look real.
- Paneling attempt #2 : Fine brushing the panel line with acrylic is out. I could not panel with a #0 brush steadily all the time.
- Sanding the glue excess is a must.
In brief
Considering its low price, this kit is a value buy. Strong plastic and good snap fit.
This model is perfect if you need a Zaku. This is a good kit for beginner to get a feel on
modeling. In my opinion, I think this kit is better than the HG Zaku in term of proportion.
However, the details and design is inferior to a HG.
I will recommend this to first timer for assembly and painting experiment before moving on to the higher grade.
Manual Scans
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Document Date : 2002-07-25 Last Modified : 2006-07-14 |
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