Gundam Model Kits

Just to give you an idea of the number of parts we are looking at at the Perfect Grade level, the head alone consists of 41 parts! That doesn't add the 20+ parts for the hose that attaches to it. I must do a count of the MG Zaku II head for a full comparison. :)
I really enjoyed putting this head together - took about 2.5 hours in all. The mono-eye has an LED that is ingeniously included in the whole head array so that it works even when the eye is moved left or right. This movement can be achieved by operating a lever on the base of the back of the head.
Detail is very nice and some is visible from the flip-top 'hood' on the top of the head. You can see more of the internals by removing the 2 sides of the head armor which is held on by polycaps - nice touch!
Batteries for the mono-eye are stored in the neck unit just under the head - you will need to purchase 2 LR43 1.5v batteries (normally used for watches I believe) for this. I strongly recommend that you get these prior to assembly so that you can test the whole light setup before you build the rest of the kit - so that you can correct any errors before moving on. I cannot stress this enough - I put the whole thing together only to realize after installing the batteries that the setup didn't work... a lot of disassembly followed. :)

Torso

Upper body houses the cockpit which features a chair which slides from side to side. The cockpit has 2 hatches which open. A small one which looks too small for the pilot to exit from as well as the entire central chest area which can flip open. Presumably the chair slides from side to side depending on the hatch that the pilot open. This sliding mechanism eliminates the engine block which is in the MG Zaku chest areas beside the fixed pilot seats.
Lower body is straightforward to assemble as all 5 flaps (2 front, 2 side and 1 rear) are poseable to allow for maximum hip mobility. Of special note is a little feature which is both useless but cool at the same time - the rear and front flaps are attached to a special suspension system so you can actually push down on them. The spring in the system pushes the back into position once the pressure is released. The crotch section lowers down to reveal inner details (insert own joke here).
The backpack features 2 thrustes and a couple of smart joints which allow the backpack armor to be flipped up to show the internal details. There is even a piston there which appears to hold the armor up - just like popping open a car hood. It's a nice touch. 2 thrusters are poseable but not like in most MG setups where the rocket output sits on a moveable ball-joint - rather, the entire rocket unit hiding under the backpack armor is moveable.

Arms

The next parts to assemble are the arms. These aren't hard to do, though you should pay special attention to use the correct parts for each step. With this kit, you should expect to spend quite a bit of time looking through the many runners of parts to find what you need.
There are cool chromed pistons that extend and contract when the joints of the arms move. The whole assembly is nice and tight and very cool to watch when in action. Compared to the arm of the RX-78, the Zaku arm is a little less complex but in my opinion that's an advantage - the whole assemby has a more solid feel.
One aspect of the design I especially like is on the fore-arm elbow joint. It's gonna be hard to explain but I'll try... there is a flap built onto the fore-arm that slides into the rest of the arm when the elbow bends - this allows the elbow joint a lot of flexibility without an ugly 'gap' in the forearm to allow for the joint to work. If you don't get it, just trust me on this... it's a simple idea but an excellent one nicely executed!
Hands are fully articulated with 3 individual segments per finger/thumb... this is *after all* a Perfect Grade kit y'know! I love these hands but due to the molding process, each segment has a little circle molded into one side of it which just got to me - so I puttied them up. They are hardly noticeable on a kit this big though so if you hate puttying, don't worry about it. Oh... it's nice that the articulated fingers are actually molded with the 3 segments already attached - very ingenious!
Although the armor is easily removable, there is only one 'flap' on each arm that can be opened. The Gundam, in comparison,has at least 3 hatches on each arm that can be opened to reveal internals.

Legs

The arms took time to build - more than 3 hours each... but the legs took me even more - about 5 hours each!
These are very well done and also feature several working chromed pistons. I especially like the knee design which has very nice action when bending and straightening. And speaking of bending, these knee joints have excellent articulation! I'm certain this figure can do a good crouch when completed. I'll be sure to get some pics up of the knee at full bend. This is even more remarkable when you conside that this is a bulky Zaku model here, not a sleek Gundam... so the full articulation is impressive!
The hip joint features (like the fingers) - working joints which have been molded as one piece.
The feet on the Zaku have individually poseable fore-feet and heels - this adds to the realism of the model design. Although the foot design is nice, there is limited forward ankle articulation.
All armor is easily removable to show the detailed inner skeleton. In addition, the knee pads and the armor on each foot can be 'opened'. The cables attaching upped to lower leg are essentially the same design as that found in the head and on the main body.
The whole leg assembly has a very solid feel and is very well designed.

Weapons and Accessories

To be completed.

Conclusion

All in all, I don't have many negative comments to make about this kit - I like it very much. It is costly but for the price you do get a lot. It may not have as many gimmicks as it's Gundam counterpart, but it makes up for it by just being a Zaku - which has attitude!!!
If you like Master Grade kits and feel that you are up for a greater challenge (and if you have a fat wallet) then go pick up one of these bad boys! You won't regret it.

Contributor: GUNDAM_BASE

General and Technical Data
Series: Perfect Grade (PG) 1/60 Release Date: 03/1999
Price: ¥ 12000