I was poor on cash last month so didn't have much of a capacity to buy much for myself bar the essentials. However, it gave me a chance to work on some of the model kits I had been collecting but not building. This consisted of a bunch of Gundam kits involving various High Grade 1/144 GM's. GM's are the mass-produced Gundam units used by Earth Federation Forces/Space Forces, and function solely for the Zeon army to destroy by the handful. Basically it's the EFF/EFSF version of the Zaku II in function. But that's just a bit of useless information.
In addition to the GM's, I was especially excited to try Bandai's brand new 1/144 Zaku II F2 kit, which is the Zaku variation that appeared in the 0083 Stardust Memory series. Not to be confused with the good old Master Grade 1/100 model. This new kit is fairly recent and was released about a month or two ago of this posting. There are two releases of this, the Zeon and the EFF version. Built here is the green Zeon version. I haven't had much of a chance to construct the other, but is otherwise identical bar a tan paint scheme.
The MS-06F2 appears to be a rather a heavily armoured variant of Zaku II MS-06F, with heavier plates on the arms, chest and loops to secure the piping around the waist. Though lacking in double jointed elbows, which seems to be the standard in the more recent model kits (like the Gundams and the Zaku I circa 2006 and onwards), this model is a vast improvement over the previous High Grade Zaku II offering. In fact, I dare say it's almost tries to mimic the shoulder and hip articulation found on the Master Grade v2.0 Zaku's, particularly with the shoulder and hip assemblies.
The head is a bit smaller than in the previous 1/144 Zaku II, the proportions look a whole lot better, and almost matches its 1/100 v2.0 counterparts. There are actually three helmet variants available during assembly. The standard (as above), commander's antennae and one with three armoured plates along the forehead. The 1/100 Master Grade EFF Paintball version of this chap had these armour plates that you can glue onto the helmet.
The only thing that I find that is missing from this kit is the 280mm Zaku Bazooka, which is practically a standard fitting on most Zaku II model kits as is the obligatory 120mm Zaku machine gun. The 120mm Zaku Machinegun is present but with a different stock and under-barrel grenade launcher attachment. The Zaku Machingun even comes with the alternate ammo magazine used by the EFF Zaku's during Paintball practice. It is molded into the rifle, so you only need to remove the standard ammo drum to reveal it. Other accessories include theHeat Hawk (axe, and also the second obligatory weapon next to the Zaku machinegun) , a pair of triple tube rocket launchers that fit on the legs and a 90mm heavy machine gun as seen in the top picture.
The only real major complaint I have about this kit is the clip that holds the Heat Hawk to the armour skirting. Rather than the usual round peg and peghole setup, it's a rectangular recess that you have to fit a flat diagonal peg into. It doesn't like to stay in very well. An undocumented and probably unofficial use of the axe holder is to slot it between the 'open 'optional hand to make it look like the Zaku is handling the axe in a more casual manner.
Overall I must say that I do highly approve of this new Zaku, though it could use double jointed elbows and a better axe holder. Now I'm crossing my fingers in hope that they release the humble Zaku II in Bandai's new RG (Real Grade) series, which I am lead to believe is like cross between the level of detail or complexity of a Master-Grade scaled with the usual High Grade scale (1/144). First up in the RG line is the iconic RX-78 Gundam, which I may actually cave in and try out one of these days when it is finally released.
I was poor on cash last month so didn't have much of a capacity to buy much for myself bar the essentials. However, it gave me a chance to work on some of the model kits I had been collecting but not building. This consisted of a bunch of Gundam kits involving various High Grade 1/144 GM's. GM's are the mass-produced Gundam units used by Earth Federation Forces/Space Forces, and function solely for the Zeon army to destroy by the handful. Basically it's the EFF/EFSF version of the Zaku II in function. But that's just a bit of useless information.
In addition to the GM's, I was especially excited to try Bandai's brand new 1/144 Zaku II F2 kit, which is the Zaku variation that appeared in the 0083 Stardust Memory series. Not to be confused with the good old Master Grade 1/100 model. This new kit is fairly recent and was released about a month or two ago of this posting. There are two releases of this, the Zeon and the EFF version. Built here is the green Zeon version. I haven't had much of a chance to construct the other, but is otherwise identical bar a tan paint scheme.
The MS-06F2 appears to be a rather a heavily armoured variant of Zaku II MS-06F, with heavier plates on the arms, chest and loops to secure the piping around the waist. Though lacking in double jointed elbows, which seems to be the standard in the more recent model kits (like the Gundams and the Zaku I circa 2006 and onwards), this model is a vast improvement over the previous High Grade Zaku II offering. In fact, I dare say it's almost tries to mimic the shoulder and hip articulation found on the Master Grade v2.0 Zaku's, particularly with the shoulder and hip assemblies.
The head is a bit smaller than in the previous 1/144 Zaku II, the proportions look a whole lot better, and almost matches its 1/100 v2.0 counterparts. There are actually three helmet variants available during assembly. The standard (as above), commander's antennae and one with three armoured plates along the forehead. The 1/100 Master Grade EFF Paintball version of this chap had these armour plates that you can glue onto the helmet.
The only thing that I find that is missing from this kit is the 280mm Zaku Bazooka, which is practically a standard fitting on most Zaku II model kits as is the obligatory 120mm Zaku machine gun. The 120mm Zaku Machinegun is present but with a different stock and under-barrel grenade launcher attachment. The Zaku Machingun even comes with the alternate ammo magazine used by the EFF Zaku's during Paintball practice. It is molded into the rifle, so you only need to remove the standard ammo drum to reveal it. Other accessories include theHeat Hawk (axe, and also the second obligatory weapon next to the Zaku machinegun) , a pair of triple tube rocket launchers that fit on the legs and a 90mm heavy machine gun as seen in the top picture.
The only real major complaint I have about this kit is the clip that holds the Heat Hawk to the armour skirting. Rather than the usual round peg and peghole setup, it's a rectangular recess that you have to fit a flat diagonal peg into. It doesn't like to stay in very well. An undocumented and probably unofficial use of the axe holder is to slot it between the 'open 'optional hand to make it look like the Zaku is handling the axe in a more casual manner.
Overall I must say that I do highly approve of this new Zaku, though it could use double jointed elbows and a better axe holder. Now I'm crossing my fingers in hope that they release the humble Zaku II in Bandai's new RG (Real Grade) series, which I am lead to believe is like cross between the level of detail or complexity of a Master-Grade scaled with the usual High Grade scale (1/144). First up in the RG line is the iconic RX-78 Gundam, which I may actually cave in and try out one of these days when it is finally released.
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