An uninformed ramble on the Zaku II

Today's mindless rambling is about the mono eyed beast known as the Zaku. More specifically it is the Zaku II. Please note that as per the title, I know very little of the source material not having watched the original series the Zaku originates from. Most of what I know I've gathered in bits and pieces from various sources so please take everything I say in here with a grain of salt. Corrections obviously welcome for those that are better versed in the history and origins of the Zaku II. As a semi-related preamble to this: The real purpose I'm bringing this up is because I just plain like this mecha. However, the other reason is that I had a diorama project I was working on mid to late last year mentioned in last years blogs, but didn't really elaborate on it too much. This was partly due to the fact I had put it into two model making competitions, one local and one in Japan (purely for fun, I assure you!), so wasn't at liberty to disclose too much of the details. Now that the competitions are over - and naturally I did not win (though did end up amongst the many great honourable mentions ) - I will be putting up some photos of the results in the near future. As the key figure in this diorama is a Zaku II, I thought I'd give a brief overview of what it is, from my uninformed perspective. Right, enough o that. What is a Zaku II? Well, this chap in the photo below is a Zaku II - taken from a few snaps I took a few years back called "Zaku II On the Lawn".

To those that know what these guys are and want more specific details on the Zaku in the photo, this is a MS-06F Zaku II. That probably doesn't mean much to most folks. The MS-06 is the model numbering system that Zeon (the side that uses these mobile suits) assign to their various mobile suits. The F marks this as as a variation of the MS-06 with modifications that allow it to be used in space. A MS-06J for example would be the ground type that doesn't have the extra rocket boosters on the legs and backpack. There are many-many other variations. The Zaku II is a type of mobile suit in the Gundam universe. The best way I could describe them is that they look a bit like an American footballer with spikes on one shoulder pad and a shield replacing the other.

Like a large majority of the mobile suits that feature in this series, its sequels and its spinoffs, they have a single camere "eye" on the head (main camera). Zakus are the mass produced staple mobile suits used by the Principality of Zeon (the alleged 'bad guys') against the Earth Federation Space Forces (the alleged 'good guys'). They technically exist solely to be blown up in very large quantities by the EFSF. They are the counterpart to the GM (pronounced Jim) used by the EFSF, which in turn is blown up in large quantities by Zeon. It's interesting to point out that the name Zaku closely resembles the Japanese word Zoku, which can be interpreted as vulgar or common. That technically describes them quite well. I think a better term was Zako - but I can't seem to find the translation in my dictionary - or maybe my imagination made up the word.

These guys first featured in the 1979 anime Mobile Suit Gundam, and I understand were designed by Kunio Kawara, one of the mecha designers for the show. Despite being the blow-me-up-now mecha for the show, they turned out to be more popular than the titular mecha for the series, the Gundam. The plastic model kits for the Zaku outsold the Gundam at a ratio of 2 to 1! They were originally sold in the standard mass produced green colour and the Char's custom Zaku II which is essentially a red repaint that came with a command antennae on the head.

As the years have gone by and the Gundam mythos continues to expand, many variations of the Zaku have emerged. And I'm speaking of the Zaku II alone, and not the other Mobile Suits that appear to be Zaku spinoffs like the Marasai in Zeta Gundam and the Geara Doga in Char's Counterattack and the Zaku's featured in Seed Destiny. The Zaku, is in a way, the basis for many later mobile suits. (The white Zaku in the photo is an unpainted "White Ogre", a personalized Zaku II from the Igloo 2 series. Note the antennae on the head. That generally signifies that the Zaku II is used by a commanding officer and the whole suit is calibrated to be something like 20% better than the normal suits piloted by the soldiers.)

If you were to ask my why the Zaku did better - I wouldn't have a clue except that I am just as hopelessly fascinated with them. The Zaku is actually quite simple looking monster and is not as intricate in overall detail as the Gundam. There are more curves than straight lines on the limbs, torso and head. Perhaps it's the simplicity of it that assists much of the Zaku's appeal. In a way, for the model kits, this simplicity lends itself greatly to easy customization of the paint work or for etching your own details in.

One aspect of the Zaku that may put mecha fans off is the fact that they are asymmetrical thanks to the shoulder armour consisting of one round pad (with spikes) on the left arm and a shield on the right arm. I quite like the asymmetry - but I do agree that it's a matter of taste. But if you think about it, these are only bits of protective armour. From a model kit perspective, there's always the option of buying two kits and swapping the shoulder pads.

According to the specs of these mobile suits that you get on the instructions for the model kits, Zakus can weigh up to 80 tonnes when fully kitted with their basic equipment (including 100mm machine gun, a 280mm bazooka and an axe known as heat hawk). If you can imagine the amount of weight these guys are swinging about and the amount of momentum they can possibly achieve with that much weight, it's mind boggling. Heavy metal indeed! 'tis a shame they're made to blow up so easily.

Since the start, Zaku model kits have been released and re-released in various sizes such as 1:144, 1:100 and 1:60, and come in various grades classified as High Grade (HG), Master Grade (MG), Perfect Grade (PG) and numerous other types including assembled action figures and other fun items. The recent Master Grade 1:100 scale Zaku II v2.0 releases (from 2006 onwards) are quite breathtaking model kits that are very intricate kits to put together with probably about 5 - 8 hours of construction time depending on how much effort you put in.

Once done, they are excellent to fiddle with and pose thanks to their highly articulate frames as well as offering a feature present in many master grade kits with removable armour plates that let you view the inner mechanical details.

I'll simply close this article off with a personal recommendation by saying that even if you don't plan to immerse yourself in the Gundam universe but would like a fun mecha model kit to put together, definitely give this chap a try. I highly recommend any one of the v2.0 master grade kits - they're well worth it and oodles of fun. However don't limit yourself to the Zaku II - they're just the focus of this blog article. I can heartily recommend the Master Grade 1:100 Gundam Mk II v2.0 kit (either in the AEUG or Titans colour schemes) as well if you'd like to try a Gundam instead, which features equally good articulation and features an interesting sliding armour system to facilitate the articulation without the armour getting in the way. If you don't have any local shops that sell these kits, you can try places like ebay or online shops like Hobbylink Japan.