Model Kit Review: Master Grade MS-06S Char’s Zaku II 2.0

Welcome back to my gunpla review. I’ve been busy with work so I haven’t really got the time or even a new kit for another review. As the title may have suggested, I am going to review the 2.0 rendition of Char’s Zaku II in its Master Grade form. The kit itself was produced in 2007 with ¥3500 suggested price or around Rp420,000 to Rp450,000 in Indonesia (depending on which store you got the kit from). Without any other blabbering, let’s get on with the review shall we?!  

Box & Runners

The kit comes in a smaller box it terms of its overall width but thicker in volume. 

On its sides you will find several presentations both of the kit, the accessories and several gimmicks that the kit comes with. The box art itself is quite impressive with cool-looking dashing pose and adequate amount of explosion behind the MS for such stunning effect.

The kit comes with a total of 13 runners including one with the polycaps. You will also be getting two sheet of decals, one dry-transfer and one regular decals, and a yellow bag of springs (2 springs) for the hosing on the kit’s legs.

Our first runner is the A-Plate. The runner comes with parts with three different set of colors; nice wine-red, dark grey or even almost black and clear. The wine-red parts will be used mainly for the main body of the kit while the black ones are going to make the feet, chest, knees and elbows. Moreover, the available clear parts will later be used for the head and some scopes for the Zaku’s weapons; his machine gun and bazooka.

The B-Plate comes fully in salmon-pink, char’s signature color. The parts in the runner will be making the kit’s unique shoulders and the head, along with some extra scalp part if you want to make the kit not as commanding as it should’ve been.

The C-Plate also comes fully in salmon-pink color. The parts from the runner will be making the arms and hand covers of the kit.

Same color goes for the D-Plate as well. The parts will be making the kit’s feet and parts of its legs.

The E-Plate comes with salmon-pink color yet again and the parts will be making parts for the kit’s legs.

After choking us with so much salmon, the F-Plate hits us with a fresh looking grey. The parts from the runner will be making the inner frame for several parts including the torso, waist and even the head.

More grey can be seen from the G-Plate which will also be making several inner frames, including the distinguishable yet awesome left shoulder.

The H-Plate comes in grey color yet again. Most of the parts will be making the inner frames for the kits legs. The level of details that Bandai put into these parts are just too awesome to ignore—even though it will be covered with the outer armor either way.

Another set of grey part can be seen from the I plate. In addition to parts for kit’s inner frame, you will also be seeing the tiny thrusters for the Zaku’s legs and some parts to make the additional crane that comes with the kit as a bonus.

The J-Plate also comes in grey and all of the parts will be making the weapons for the kit; a Heat-hawk, Bazooka and Machine Gun.

The K-Plate might the one that could make you go say “what the hell?” as its design is quite unique for those of you who never build a Zaku II in 2.0 version beforehand. The parts from the runner will be making the hosing that goes around the kit’s head, torso and both of its legs. If you are confused, don’t you worry. Just follow the given instruction and you’ll be fine. It’s quite hard to assemble, at least for me, especially when I have to move the bits from one part of the plastic to the other part which will actually connect with the kit.

The last plate comes in a small package and with a stunning red as well for the kit’s backpack. It is quite refreshing to see such vibrant color after we were stuffed with salmon and greys before.  

A runner full of polycaps will be also be given. Some of them may look weird but that’s the interesting point showing the level of design and engineering of the company despite the fact that the kit was produced back in 2007.

You will also be getting a yellow-bag filled with two springs which will be making the hosing on th kit’s legs. The assembly for the hosing was not that hard even though patience and meticulousness is encouraged when you are building it later on.

Two sheets of decals will also be given. One comes in a classic decal form of just get it out and apply it form while the other one comes in a dry transfer mode which is quite tedious and difficult to apply. The markings are cool looking though.

The manual comes with similar art with the box, so it’s good. Too bad it doesn’t come with color-splashed page for the decal guide part. Overall guidelines for the assembly was easy to follow and you will also be getting two color-splashed pages filled with some origin story, gimmicks, painting guidelines and poses for the kit.

Work in Progress

Just like other MGs, the building process will require you to build the inner frame of its parts before actually putting its outer armor. The overall experience of building this kit was interesting enough especially when you find out the actual details that Bandai have provided throughout the kit inner frame. It is a shame that we will eventually cover them but it is still nice to know how much effort that they have given in building these kits.

The head comes in 13 parts including two clear pieces for the eye cover and the actual mono-eye, along with the-extremely-hard-to-assemble hosing. The idea of assembling the hosing is indeed interesting but the bits were quite difficult to move from its pre-assembly position thus causing some minor pain to my poor thumbs. Two types of antenna or fins were given for some extra option; the standard one and the “stabilizer” type.

The inner frame looks quite unique as it is a non-Gundam unit. You don’t have to worry about the nub marks on the clear piece as most of them will be covered by the frame, though you shouldn’t forget to clean it either way so that the part will fit well in covering the eye. The sticker for the mono-eye was not that bad but it might be better for you to paint it as some bubbles may appear due to the non-flat surface of the actual mono-eye part.

The design was good enough to hide any obvious nub marks and the assembled head looked quite sharp. However, you should be careful about the part that seal the hosing at the back of the head. Mine was quite loose but not in that horrible way of not actually staying intact. Just make sure that you plug it in properly.

In regard of the kit’s torso, there are quite a lot of parts were needed to build it as it is also merged with the construction of the kit’s backpack. Some visible nub marks will emerge especially on the inner frame parts but it will be mostly covered later on anyway so no meticulous cleaning were needed. However, minor cleaning is indeed required to make sure that the parts will stick with each other well without any nub marks hindering its way.

There are some disturbing nub marks on the red wine colored parts especially on the back of the kit. Obviously it will not be visible if the kit was seen from the front but just take caution when cleaning the vivid red parts.

Same horrible experience can be found when assembling the hosing for the torso as well. Yet the part when we actually plug them into the torso was not that horrifying.

Be careful when you are going to cut the Char Aznable’s sitting figure to place him to the cockpit. There will be an excess of plastic that coming out of his butt. The instruction says to cut it entirely but it will leave the figure not being able to sit properly. I have to glue mine so it would be better if you leave some of that plastic excess to help the figure sits properly.  

The waist unit is less crowded than the torso in terms of its parts. The gate placement of the red-wine part were also quite good as most of them were located on the region which will not going to be seen quite often.

The frame of the waist was quite simple as well. There was no additional gimmicks for the leg connection compared to the complex yet fragile ones in the RX-78-02 MG. Each part of the skirt armor were also given some partial inner frame so it is quite nice to see as well.

The arms were surprisingly comprised of many small frame parts. Both of the arms were identical, just mirrored parts and all, yet the shoulders are clearly different as it is a Zaku unit. Make sure that you read the manual carefully so that you will not put the part the wrong way or for the wrong hands.

The frame is nicely detailed even though there are no “awesome” gimmick build in to it. Sometimes simpler is better, am I right?

As you can see from the picture, the right shoulder is a shield like while the left one is much spikier. There are not much of a difference in terms of how they were built yet the spikes shoulder has a small inner frame inside it while the shield is only a two piece put together. Panel lining options are there and you might want to sand some nub which were obviously seen on the kit’s forearms. Be careful when you try to clean it with pen knife though, the surface is not that flat so it is quite tricky to clean the part up. The hands were split into thumb, index finger and three other fingers. You can split the three fingers yourself by cutting the plastic molding that joins it for added articulation, but just make sure that you are going to be able to cut it and clean it well.

Now the legs…the legs. So much part were used to build these bad boys. Not to mention the irritating hosing as well. Each legs were constructed in similar fashion so no worries even though you have to pay attention so that no parts were swapped between each legs.

The frame of the legs were nicely detailed as well and you can see that the knee will move in tandem with the rest of the leg if you bend it. 

No obvious nub marks were seen as the salmon pink color makes it any discoloration or gauge mark less visible than the red-wine parts. Moreover, the kit’s feet were quite simple to assemble and they are equipped with some nice details as well. You will see some pistons moving around, even though the outer armor will cover it later on.

Three kinds of weapons were given along with this kit. First one is the bazooka.

Nub marks will be there as the grey plastic is always prone to such problems. You may have to be careful in plugging in the clear parts for the scopes as well. You may need a tweezers or very small set of hands to properly put it right.

Similar thing goes to machine gun as well. Nub marks were there, scope are quite hard to plug into as well.

Noting special for the heat-hawk though. It was only one piece. Lining opportunities are there as well.

The crane was quite complex to build for a bonus. The wheels come in separate pieces and even the deck was built from three to four small parts. The end results are great but panel lining has to be added for them extra details.

For the decaling…hmm…the decaling.

The normal decals is quite easy to put on even though they do not really add any “wow” detailing to the kit. On the other hand, the dry decals do add some cool looking and zeonic details but it is quite hard to put on.

You have to be really careful in cutting the dry transfer from the sheet as you may break other decals if you didn’t cut it well enough. In applying the sticker you also have to be thorough in scrubbing the decals to the part or you will have the same mistakes as the ones that I did. You have to line the sticker well as well so it doesn’t look weird like mine as well.

Parts, Articulations & Gimmicks

After hours and hours for building, the end result looks promising and menacing at the same time. Nonetheless, let’s break down the gimmick and articulation of this kit as it is all have been assembled.

The head could move up and down quite easily with decent range upward but no so much downward. The head will move side to side with some nice range and with an added gimmick of moving mono-eye. I advise to not turn the head side to side to much as he mono-eye, at least in my case, often pops out from its gears inside the head thus causing you to fix and sometimes disassemble the head again to fix the gimmick.

From the head, let’s go to the torso and the waist unit.

The torso could bend backward quite well but it is not that well for the forward movement. No rotation also from the waist due to the seemingly flexible hosing but it is better than being too flimsy though.

The skirting armor were quite articulate as all of the parts could be moved. The front skirts are on ball joints and you are going to able to move it quite well. The side skirts are on a hinge so you can move it out of the way but be careful as the side skirts may pop out once in a while. The back skirt is on a hinge so it could be moved out of the way as well. There are holes on the side skirts and back skirt for weapon, heat hawk, storage and one extendable tab for the bazooka on the back as well.

Before we go to the legs, let’s go back up to the arms and shoulders.

The arms are attached to the torso through a ball joint so various movement are going to be able to be achieved. The joint from the torso to the arms can also be extended, especially forward, so you are going to be able to turn the arm inside or outside for an extended pose or reaching to other arm pose quite well.

The shoulder, both the shield and the spikes, were attached through a hinge and an arm joint that is attached to a ball joint so no problems in terms of moving the shoulder when trying to hit some complex poses. The elbow will bend nicely for more than 90 degrees with some added piston details on the back of it as well. The fingers for the hand were split into three parts just like what I have mentioned and a tab on the palm is also available for a secure grip for the weapons. The fingers, excluding the thumb, are going to move on two points; one on the base of the finger and one on the knuckle. You have to be careful in moving the fingers as they may pop out from the joints, especially from the knuckle parts.

The cockpit can be accessed by moving the two flaps on the torso but it is quite difficult to move so a pen knife may be needed to do the gimmick. The cockpit position could be move from the right to the left side of the torso via slides from the back of the torso. It is quite tedious as we have to remove the backpack before accessing the panel to slide the cockpit but it is a nice gimmick overall. The thrusters on the backpack could be moved up and down as well but no other movement were available.

Upper body are done. Let’s move to the kit’s legs.

As I have mentioned previously, there are no additional gimmick at the connection from the waist to the leg. However, due to the articulation available on the skirting armor, you are going to able to move the leg forward without any hindrance. The balance of the kit was quite good as well.

The knee bend almost 180 degree with some nice floating knee cap gimmick. The kit can almost the split will but it was hindered by the skirt and just the design of the kit itself. Again, the balance is quite well on this kit.

Yet another problem comes from the hosing that goes through the leg. The connection can be quite well sometimes but the hosing often pop out from its socket and it is quite annoying especially when you are going to do some complex poses.

The kit can do the kneeling poses without any problem and without any worry that you may stress the hip connection just like the RX-78-02 MG. The feet can also bend for some additional dynamic poses.

Legs, done. Now let’s move on to the kit’s armaments.

The heat-hawk is easy enough to plug to the kit’s hands with quite secure connection as well.  A small connector was also included so that you are going to be able to store the heat-hawk into the available holes on the skirting armor.

The machine gun is a different story though. The tab on the hand could fit to the gun quite well but the stock often collided with the kit’s bulky arm thus making the process quite difficult. You may have to fiddle around some more if you are planning to display the kit with his gun on.

Similar things is applicable to the bazooka as well. Its long barrel often collide with the kit shoulder so over the shoulder pose is quite difficult to achieve. The kit could hold the bazooka well without any weight issue though. The bazooka could also be stored on a tab available on the back skirt yet it doesn’t seem to stay secure enough and it looks uneven as it tend to lean sideways as well.

The crane was a nice bonus overall. No issue in posing the arms as it is mostly a static cart. Multiple combination and adjustment could be achieved easily. It is sad that the Char’s standing figure does not come with a small base so it is quite hard to make it actually standing.

  

Conclusion

If I have to put numbers for the kit overall quality, I say the kit goes well with 7.5 in hand. I bought the kit solely on my interest in Char Aznable’s custom mobile suit. The color is very Char indeed and the proportion looks good overall. The building process is interesting and quite enjoyable for a 2007 Master Grade, even though the hosing assembly was annoying as hell to do. Nub marks could also be discovered on some obvious places like the forearms so some extra effort are needed to achieve a clean look. Lining possibilities were there as well especially on the arms and some tick marks on the legs. The decals are good overall but due to my lack of experience in putting the dry transfer decals, it ended up not as perfect as I planned. Articulation is good considering the kit is a Zaku which is known for its possibility hindrance. The 2.0 is real on this one yet the hosing again becomes an annoyance, especially the ones attached to the leg. The accessories for the kits were decent enough but some are just too big and too much of a hustle to put on. The crane was a nice addition for some extra poses though it may require additional setup like a diorama or something else to actually set the scene well. All and all, the kit is a nice option if you are a fan of Char or Zeon Mobile Suit like I am or just a person who is looking for a rival for his MG RX-78-2 or 02 in my case as I don’t think Bandai will make any Zaku II 3.0 anytime soon.

Thank you for reading my review and make sure to leave some comments or even some request for future reviews. Sieg Zeon and see you later!