Well here’s my awaited completed RG 1/144 Zaku II gunpla! Now for my review.
Leg and foot units:
The detail and articulation is great! A lot of lines to ink and a lot of decals to place, I like the metal look stickers at the back of the knee.
I give this 9/10.
Waist unit:
The front skirts keep on popping off if you move it too much. The rest of the waist unit is alright.
There is a small hatch that can opened on the back of the waist unit, it is used to mount the Zaku Bazooka when it is not in use.
I give it 8/10.
Torso unit:
Hardest part to connect is the tube with the beads, other than that the torso unit is a straight forward build.
A hatch can be opened on the front of the torso to reveal the pilot’s seat, that’s a plus for gimmicks.
I give it 9/10.
The arm joints can be extended up to the near front. Thrusters can be moved up and down.
Arms and hands:
Detail and articulation is also awesome for the arms. It comes with fixed hands and the super-articulate than MG’s hands.
Love the decals and the metal look stickers.
I give it 9.5/10
Left arm parts:
Right arm parts:
Head unit:
The head is just perfect! This is my most favorite part of this kit, because the eye moves when you move the neck! Great inner working!
I give it a perfect 10/10!
Weapons Heat Tomahawk, Zaku Machine gun, Zaku Bazooka:
Though his armaments are few in number, these are classic weapons of the oldest mobile suits made.
Detail is great, I like the tomahawk. 😀
I give it 8.5/10
Parts all together:
Sorry for the dark images, forgot to adjust the settings of my camera, just shot away and realized it when I was done taking all these images! :))
Positives:
-realistic decal
-realistic articulation
-head/eye articulation
-different shades of the same color for extra detail
-spring parts on the leg
Negatives:
-front skirts keep popping off when trying to pose it
-applying the decals is really a troublesome task
-a lot of panel lines to ink
-few armaments
-clear circular part of the bazooka keeps coming off, large chance of losing it in the wilderness of my floor.
Overall, it is a great and a recommended kit to have! Its a classic model and I’ve always wanted a Zaku model in my collection. You just need to have extra patience in building this kit due to its massive detail and small sized parts
Anyway that’s it for my RG 1/144 Zaku II, overall score is 9/10! 90%! 🙂
Happy New Year! 😀
Updated Pictures:
Gunbies 
My God… those lining decals and power conduit beads looks painful to put on…
Actually, I was going to get this kit until I saw RG Strike released afterwards, and bought that instead. lol.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I totally agree to that comment! Took me a very long time to panel line them! I also got the RG Aile Strike 🙂
LikeLike
This is tempting me to get back in the world of gunplas again…
But i have figure collecting now and my hobby budget can’t cover both >_< damn those tempting detailed real grades…
LikeLike
Almost forgot, i love your choice of theme. It suits the topic very well XD
LikeLike
Oh thank you! I was afraid the theme is too simple and bland. 😀
LikeLike
I once too stopped collecting them gunplas, I started when I was still in high school, but when we moved to a new house due to family affairs, I wasn’t able to retrieve my old gunplas and I got dismayed, it was left in the old house.
Then I met a friend at college who has a small collection of gunplas and decided I wanted to collect and build them again too! Now with proper tools and resources!
Yes, when I saw these RG kits for the first time, I got so intrigued that I bought two at the same time! But a word of caution, they need a lot of work! I find them more difficult and needs more time to build and detail than MG kits.
LikeLike
@darkandchoco
Fresh&Clean theme is FAR from simple and bland, trust me.
And i love how you make use of your featured sliders, people usually put the newest 5-8 posts to appear there. To provide a better selection for the readers, but ends up confusing them. Choosing only 5 was a smart move
LikeLike
Oh I see, Thanks!
Yes, I tried to put more than 5 initially, but when I tried to browse my own blogsite, I confused myself, so I thought lesser featured posts would be better. 😀
LikeLike
Good day!
I have a lot of questions =D
I noticed that there are shiny foil like stickers in your Zaku. Did you apply the topcoat(matte) after sticking them to the gunpla? If yes, will it reduce its luster?
How exactly do you thin out the panel lines made by the copic 0.03 marker?
Sorry if they’re quite numerous…
(The way you built that Zaku model kit is really cool. Its full of details =D)
LikeLike
Yes I did apply topcoat after I sticked the shiny foil stickers. It does reduce its luster a bit, but I like it better anyway. And if you stick it after topcoating, the sticker will have hard time sticking on the surface! They like smooth surfaces, so for me, I apply them before topcoating.
After marking the panel lines, I just rub out the excess ink with a cotton bud and clean out the ink smudges with a rubber eraser! 😀
LikeLike
Thanks! Now I can continue the construction of my RG Freedom. I was a bit skeptical on the applications of both the topcoat and panel lining because I might ruin my gundam. But from what you said, I will fully detail it when summer arrives for optimum results =D
LikeLike
Goodluck! You’ll need a lot of time, patient and effort in detailing your RG gundam, it’s tedious but fulfilling in the end! Looks cool standing there all detailed and all! 😀
LikeLike
and how long you take to apply all the stickers? mine take about 4 hours lol
LikeLike
Just about the same lol! 😀
LikeLike