Gundam Model Kits

This seems long-faced, almost like the EMSiA Zeta, and the trouble with the Zeta head is that it’s easy to sculpt it wrong. The MG ver 1.0 and Zeta Plus heads look better, but this new one grew on me after a while. Unlike previous Zeta-class MGs, there is an ABS internal structure of sorts where the vulcan turrets, external armor plates and faceplate attach to. The red diamond even has the “Z” monogram etched - very cool. The thin antennae fold up for WR mode; they may snag when converting back to MS mode. At least they aren’t as brittle as those on the MG Wing Gundam ver.Ka. Even then, I advise caution.

Torso

Much of the innovation of this kit is in its torso. The leaner chest area is fundamentally similar to its Zeta Plus brother. This time, though, the ver 2.0 has an actual ball-joint waist that gives around 90 degrees of twist in either direction, as well as leaning forwards and backwards. The arm posts now are hinged forward, independent of their plates, making two-handed grips of weapons much easier. The deceptively simple waist unit incorporates improvements on the Zeta Plus’ locking latch. The under-crotch latch now works with the leg plates (rather than against them) to provide a double-acting “sandwich” lock to keep them in place. The rear skirt armor also acts as a secondary locking latch. The leg posts themselves are much stiffer, and carry a pair of swing arms for the side armor and beam saber racks.
An elaborate system of arms and pivots, all in ABS plastic, is in charge of supporting the wing binders. No dangers of wings spinning in polycaps here; there just aren’t any. The wings themselves are ingenious. When collapsed, a pair of ball connections peeps out at the inner edge to join with the tail stabilizer in MS mode. When expanded, these retreat into the wing, replaced with another set of connectors to link with holes on the shield. Another pair of connectors flips out from the wing innards to link with the shield and hold it in place as the WR’s belly midsection. So much good thinking went in here.

Arms

Like the RX-78-2 Gundam “One Year War” ver. and the RX-178 Gundam Mk II ver 2.0 kits, the Zeta ver 2.0 also gains bent fingers, ball-jointed to the palm, which can be separated into individual fingers. There’s a handy notch in the palms to link with the weapons, as these new ball-joint fingers aren’t as stiff as usual MG gripping hands are. Also, there is now forward and backward wrist movement, so you can pose the Zeta ver 2.0 doing an actual push-up. The elbow is an L-type joint which enables some elbow swivel, like that on the MS-09 Dom. Coupled with the clavicle movement on the arm posts, the Zeta is more poseable than ever before.

Legs

Unlike the Zeta Plus kits, the Zeta ver 2.0 has no leg screws. Great. So they’re floppy then? Definitely not. The legs are the recipient of the other major chunk of engineering ingenuity.
The upper legs use traditional arm construction, similar to the 1/100 Gundam Astray Red Frame or Aegis Gundam. ABS plastic connects to the torso leg posts, which sprouts another post which the rest of the leg can connect to. This aids poseability. Chock-full of tough ABS plastic, inside the lower legs are notched sliding mechanisms for the knee joint and feet to facilitate WR mode. In MS mode, the Zeta ver.2.0’s knee joints sit at the bottom of their sliding range, so there is no danger of falling into its own knees like the ver.1.0 kit did (the Zeta Plus kits remedied this by using tight-fitting ABS plastic and some screws). One only uses the sliding mechanism to change into WR mode - stretching the leg, folding up the knee, then pushing the leg back up to normal. As with MG Zeta kit tradition, the legs are the only parts with traditional MG internal detail, but popping the external armor plates off seems easier here. The foot assemblies look complicated, but in essence they incorporate another sliding mechanism into the Zeta Plus’ ankle joint, and rebuild it with ABS plastic. Calf armor plates are linked to the sliding mechanism, so that pushing the feet inward exposes the rocket engines in the legs in WR mode. There’s even some degree of forward bend on the feet. Overall, the awesome legs support this back-heavy kit in free-standing poses the old Zeta-series MGs can only dream of.

Weapons and Accessories

Display base- It’s a mock-up of the Argama deck catapult, complete with a fire-baton-toting “crewman” giving signals on the deck. The foot catapult doesn’t slide as well as the MG Aile Strike Gundam/Strike Rouge’s base, though. An attachment arm provides two levels of tilt for aerial poses, and a removable sub-arm at the end has four detents to place your Zeta ver 2.0 in varying degrees of tilt, from horizontal to fully vertical. The sub-arm latches onto the underside of the kit’s crotch, and offers a decent hold. That might not be secure enough for some people, though, as the kit comes off a bit too easily from the sub-arm. The stand can also link to that of the MG Gundam Mk II ver 2.0, and a different sub-arm is provided so the Gundam Mk II can perform aerial poses on the Zeta ver 2.0 base, too. When not in use, the two sub-arms and grenade packs live in compartments underneath the display base.
Long beam rifle- Like the PG version, the scope on this one folds. The energy cap is molded in the correct gray, too. The extendible barrel’s action is damped by a polycap inside the assembly, and the muzzle can accept beam saber blades so it can act as a “long beam saber.” The rear latch is a double-acting one, enabling it to latch onto the tail stabilizer in WR mode and on the forearm in MS mode.
Beam saber- They’re typical beam sabers. Thanks to the palm latch, that means they can be used as beam guns in WR mode. Fitted to the side racks, they don’t fall off easily.
Hyper Mega Launcher- As you can expect, this long-range cannon is huge, but it’s very similar to the HGUC version in every way except for a few details and size (obviously). The landing skids are gone, but in their place come in a periscoping long-range sensor (was this in the anime?) and a swiveling latch for mounting on the shield in WR mode. The Zeta ver 2.0 has no problems carrying this in either mode. The gray one from the original MG looked a bit more menacing, though.
Grenade packs- Like the original MG, latching them onto the arm and pushing them forward makes grenades pop out of a hatch above the knuckle. Underneath the blue cover is a cluster of sculpted grenades.
Shield- It can contract to around 2/3 its length, and has Zeta Plus-influenced latches. The hardpoint that accepts the latch for the Hyper Mega Launcher lives under a losable cap, though. Waverider mode- An absolute treat, WR mode is much stiffer here than on the Zeta Plus kits because of the “closed box” format of the linked shield and wing binders. Due to the confusing histrionics of the wing arms, it will take a few tries to get used to the transformation process. I’ve encountered the knee armor plates coming loose when transforming the legs. You can see the Perfect Grade influence in the many locking mechanisms, especially the five built to work with the shield. One flaw with the Zeta Plus kits, the space between the back and chest armor plates, is no more. Overall it’s sleeker, more solid and stable, and is worth the effort.

Conclusion

Much-awaited by many Zeta fanatics, this kit is truly something else. I had my doubts, especially as it costs 5000 yen for something without screws. Yes, it’s expensive, but considering it has close to 400 parts and very clever engineering, I definitely think it’s worth it and it will not disappoint. Fans interested in ultimate poseability will hanker for the Gundam Mk II ver 2.0, but the premier transforming mobile suit that “eats Newtype souls for breakfast” has never been in any better 1/100 form. Zeta Gundam ver.2.0 is close to perfect. (Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars)

Contributor: Juan Miguel de Leon

General and Technical Data
Series: Master Grade (MG) 1/100 Release Date: 12/2005
Price: ¥ 5000