Bandai Hobby - Mobile Suit Gundam - #2 MS-06S Char's Zaku II, Bandai Spirits RG 1/144 Model Kit

This was the first Real Grade I ever built and I had a blast. The model has remarkable detail that is comparable to Master Grades (sometimes even outclassing them). It has superbly intricate mechanics and armor, for example when you bend the leg, the armor covering the thighs shifts dynamically to accommodate for any pose you can imagine. The trees are molded in two different shades of plastic for each color (2 reds, 2 grays, etc.) which works so well that there's almost no reason to paint this kit. It's beautiful straight out of the box.The design of the internal components is really unique and interesting, especially when assembling it. Some parts, like the leg, are molded entirely together as a single piece. Sometimes-confusing instructions explain what you need to clip off, bend, snap on, and rotate in order to get the kit together but after you understand exactly what the instructions are asking you to do, it's generally easy. The only thing that makes construction difficult is the fact that all this complexity is shrunken down to 1/144! The pieces can be exceedingly small. The most difficult part of construction is application of the decals. They're contour-cut stickers that look pretty darn good stuck straight on there... but there are over 100 stickers! Some of them are so tiny that putting them on can make your head spin (like little metallic nobs and such).After it's all put together the result is impressive to say the least. The stickers do an incredible job of making the model look like a real, metal Mobile Suit. I'd recommend using a little bit of superglue to get some of them to stick, however. The metallic stickers on the joints tend to want to unbend themselves and pop off. If you're looking for a really high quality model, try a Real Grade, they're super fun and have the greatest articulation and realism of any model under Perfect Grade.

Char is probably my favorite Gundam character. There is nobody cooler than him, and even his Mobile Suits are rivaled in cool factor by very few others. I'm actually not fond of the Zaku II design, but Char's signature red color makes it just awesome as him. The model is fun to put together; I built the Real Grade RX-78 first and was impressed and delighted by this model's relative simplicity. Overall, it's very durable once constructed, but the "skirt" pieces can be a tad finicky when moving the legs. The stickers make it look great, but because so many of them are very small it takes a lot of patience to apply them. I love the 1/144 scale, as it's cost-effective and doesn't take up much room, but some people don't. If you're one of those people then you might think this model isn't for you, but I assert that this model is a must-have for any Char fan and I highly recommend it for any fan of Gundam in general.

One of the most fun kits I've built, building a Zaku was way more enjoyable than any Gundam I've built so far. It comes in a beautiful red color, the legs and arms are very sturdy and dont fall apart like when posing certain other kits. The kit does not come with a stand or the explosion behind the rocket launcher. I would also reccomend any beginners to take your time assembling it as it is NOT A GUNDAM, on top of it being an RG kit. You'll notice the legs, torso, and head all have cables around them. I highly reccomend you work over a box when building those pieces as simple mistake can cause those small red beads to go flying everywhere, causing you to spend time looking for them. This kit also comes with a small Char pilot, a Heat hawk, rocket launcher, and Zaku rifle. Like all kits it comes with some decals/stickers, which at some point I'll slap on but once you finish this kit I guaruntee you'll want to build other Principality of Zeon Mobile Suits like the Zaku. I plan or purchasing a Gouf later this month.

Bandai's Real Grade 1/144 Char's Zaku IIOut of the Real Grade series so far there are few Non-Gundams. The Zaku is a staple of classic Gundam and more so is Char's crimson unit.This kit does a fantastic job of rendering the MS-06S with great detail and articulation. Articulation is comparable to the Master Grade 2.0 Zaku II however I have found it to be a bit loose and "fiddly" around the waist.A nice wonderful touch that Bandai incorporated into this is a moving monoeye, just like in the Master Grade.As this was one of the very first RG kits, it does tend to over-do it with the panel lining, decals and chrome accents. Decaling will take a lot of time and patience with this kit, especially the pin-striping decals.One caveat for lesser experienced gunpla builders will be dealing with the Zaku's segmented cables. Like the Master Grades, each tiny segment is a piece and there are a LOT of them. If you're panel lining, they have line grooves too so again... Lots of patience is required for this kit to make it look good.Colors looks good for the most part. The Salmon pink and it's off-tone look nice together, however I'm not as sold with the maroon next to what I call a bubble-gum pink sort of color. I really think Bandai choose the wrong off-shade color for the maroon chest pieces as it stands out too much.It comes with clear pieces for the monoeye and gun and bazooka sensors, however it only gives you a rather plain looking pink sticker for the eye. If you really want this to look you should invest some time to make these parts look good with paints.It does okay with posing and holding weapons. The rifle and bazooka can be held well with the left hand on the support, but you have to forgo the handle tab to make it happen. Honestly the Zaku was never designed with real world articulation in mind but Bandai has managed to make it seem somewhat plausible here. As an early kit, it does feature the fold out tabs on the rifle and bazooka. They work, but it a very tiny and fragile part and Bandai opted out of this in later RGs for better stability and trigger hands.It comes with the Zaku Rifle, Bazooka, Heat axe, a clip for holding the axe, action base connector, a set of RG hands, a set of closed fists and a tiny Char figure. I normally don't pay much attention to the figures as they are too tiny and fragile to even bother with.Anyway, this a great looking kit once completed. It's harder to build than newer RGs IMO, but if you can handle it, you will be satisfied.Now if Bandai would only do some more non-Gundams in RG...