Welcome back to another N.G.O Resource gunpla review.
Different from my previous reviews, on this occasion I would like to try out a
quicker method in reviewing my gunpla model kits. The reason for this approach
is because of my own laziness and of a thought that this particular kit is old
enough for you guys to know the details. Thus, I will only be focusing on the
overall quality and my own personal opinion of the kit.
The kit that I am going to review is High Grade Zaku Amazing
from the Build Fighters lineup which was released on 2013. The kit comes with ¥1800 in
terms of price so around Rp225,000 in Indonesia but you can easily find stores
which sold the gunpla for cheaper price in sales.
There was nothing too special in terms of its overall
building process. It gets rather bland and repetitive especially when we are
building the grey bits for the shoulders and the legs. The piping was straight
forward but it is quite tedious to line and all. The gate placement was
something else as nubmarks are easily formed especially on the red and salmon
pink parts. There are some seem lines as well especially on the forearm.
However, the finished look that you will get is quite
eye-catching. The red-wine color on the new amazing equipment fits well with
the kit. If you do have the time and equipment, it would be a lot better if you
could add some additional details like some weathering or further detailing to
flare up the kit even more.
In terms of the size, well, the kit won’t be towering over
anyone else to be honest. It looks shorter even when compared with my Gouf and
Dom and it clearly looks even shorter when I put it beside my Gyancelot,
Lightning Zeta and ZZII. The size difference can be seen even clearer when I
put it beside my two Master Grades.
Articulation
The head could go up and down with limited range while side
to side is a bit better than the former.
There is a mono-eye gimmick installed as well so you can move the eye by sliding a tab under its head. Nice gimmick to add some variation to your posing.
The shoulders are attached on a swing out polycap so both
have quite the range though they are rather limited due to the bulky design.
The arms can be stretched sideways well enough as the shoulder armor is
attached with a separate ball joint. Arm swivel are there as well while the
shoulder can only be bent for slightly above 90 with only one point of
articulation. The hands are attached via ball joint with decent amount of
range. You will also be getting five extra hands including a set of trigger
fingers, special holding hands for the heat-natas and one fist for the left
arm.
There are not much of articulation going on the torso. The
kit could be forward and backward in limited fashion while rotation and side to
side swivel is absolutely hindered by the piping from the waist. The missile
pods of the backpack can be move with decent amount of range and the thrusters
could also be wiggled slightly as well.
The skirt armor has some articulation on them. The front
skirt could be moved ever so slightly while the side ones can be hinged upward.
The back skirt, however, is static.
The legs are attached via universal joint but due to the
bulky design the kit’s range of movement is quite limited. The leg could be
stretched sideways quite well and the bits on the legs act like stabilizer so
the balance of the kit is quite well for a bulky Zaku. Forward kick is
accessible as well while a swing to the back is quite limited by the static
back skirt. The knee, sadly, only bend at one point of articulation and it
hardly reached the 45 degree mark. The feet are quite limited as well due to
the bits but at least both are doing quite well in keeping the kit to stand
properly. The missile pods on the backpack could also be moved to the slots in the legs for added display variation.
In terms of accessories, in addition to the extra hands, you
will also be getting a handful of weapons as well. You will even get the old
weapon for Zaku type mobile suit like the heat-hawk, bazooka and machine gun,
but I was too lazy to even cut them out off their runners. Additional leftovers
could also be found from the runners as this is kit a direct legacy of the
previous HGUC High Mobility type Zaku.
The kit’s main weapon, the long rifle, was quite decent.
Nice parts separation is there to allow you to get creative with the dull grey
color. The handle fits well to the kit’s trigger finger hand but the hinge was
rather loose in mine so take consideration when assembling it. An extra handle
could also be popped out for additional posing preferences.
Two heat-natas were given for melee option. Its grey color
may look bland so I do advise you guys to add some color just to add more
visual impact to the blades. The handles fit well to the special gripping hand
that comes with red-wine hand covers.
You will also be getting a set of handguns that are quite
detailed for its size. The grey, again, dulls the weapon visual so additional
details in encouraged to add some more flare to the revolvers. The guns fit
well into the kit’s trigger finger hands without any issue.
Conclusion
I will only be giving this kit a 6.5 due to some concerns
and considerations. The design of the kit could be a hit or miss for some
people as not many are fond of the Zaku aesthetics. The amazing add-ons
included are also no more than just additional block of armors and set of
weapons. If you are looking for a playable model kit this HG will not be able
to give you that aspect as the articulation tend to be limited by, sadly, its
new additional equipment. You could achieve one or two poses but it would be
hard for those who are quite creative and tend to be adventurous in posing
their kit. Nubmarks are also quite prevalent so it will require you some effort
and patience in order to get a clean looking kit; repainting the kit as a whole
is one of the available option to solve that problem.
In term of the positives, the color provided in the kit is
decent enough and represent the actual character in the anime quite well. The
kit also doesn’t fade off too much when put beside the MG Zaku II Char which
clearly is the kit that the HG is based on. Due to the bits on the legs, the
kit is well balanced and the bits can be used as grips when you try some more
action-filled poses. Moreover, if you do like the design of the Zaku but you
don’t want to get the older version of the kit, this HG offers you just enough
value for that. Of course, the new Zaku II Char’s HG, the Origin version is
clearly better in so many levels due to its up to date engineering yet I don’t
think that this kit has lost all of it charms to be chosen as an addition to
your collection.
That’s it for the review folks. Please comment and give me
your thoughts about this quicker-type of review. See you on the next one!
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