Series: Mobile Suit in Action!! (MSiA)
Title: MS-06R-1A/MS-06R-2 Zaku II High Mobility Type (2nd ver)
Release Date: 08/2003
Suggested Price: ¥ 1500
No. of Parts: 1 Zaku figure + 9 parts (2 additional parts depending on figure)
Plastic colors: Shin Matsunaga: white, light gray, red, black, violet, yellow; Johnny Ridden: crimson red, black, violet, yellow; Black Tri-Stars:
black, light gray, red, violet, yellow
Gimmicks: closed fist (2), heat hawk fist (2), trigger fist (2), Zaku machine gun, Zaku bazooka (Shin Matsunaga & Black Tri-Stars only), Dom bazooka (Johnny Ridden only), heat hawk, removable backpack, poseability

Introduction

Contributor: Jones Kingsu
Date: January 1, 2006

The Zaku II is probably the most highly modifiable mobile suit in the One Year War timeline, and they have helped shaped legends such as Shin Matsunaga, Johnny Ridden and the Black Tri-Stars among many others. I bet everyone who collects MSiAs bought Char's Zaku II and the mass produced version of it along with their first few purchases. I love these Version 2s!!! It's a good thing I managed to get ahold of the three versions of the High Mobility Type Zakus. No Zaku lover should ever be without one of the three. ^_^ Since they all are almost the same. I'll review them simultaneously and note the differences of the three.

Head

The head is very much the same as the first releases of the Zaku II Version 2. Shin Matsunaga and Johnny Ridden's heads have the commander antenna while the Black Tri-Stars' have none.

The heads provide excellent poseability that rivals the ball and socket system of most MSiAs. By default, they can rotate horizontally 360 degrees and then tilt their heads a bit side to side. I thought that was it but it seems that you can rotate another part of the "neck" to swivel to any direction when you detach the head. This will allow the head to be tilted in multiple directions. Cool enough as it is. There're problems with it when it becomes a bit too loose. You have to detach the head to re-align them and such.

Torso

The torso is very much the same as the Zaku II version 2 in its design. The cables are different from the mass produced versions though since they just travel straight back and nothing more. I don't know about this but I find it that these R-Types are capable of bending their body to the left and right a bit. Whatever helps in making this figure poseable is all good for me. ^_^ The waist can also rotate fully as long as you remove the backpacks. But for as long as the backpacks are there, you can only rotate them to about 45-50 degrees tops to the left or right.

The backpacks are the same for both Shin and the Tri-Stars. I can't recall if they're faithful to the original MSV designs by Okawara, but they sure look cool. It's a shame that the nozzles barely move and that the molding isn't that great. The right vent of the backpacks seems warped but I'd assume it to be the cause of the extreme heat output of it (as not to make myself feel bad for not being able to select a nicer mold). The fins also lack movement. It's not that bad that it lacks that but it could've been better... or am I just asking for too much? ^_^; The backpacks are also detachable, revealing the internals of it. The mechanism inside isn't that detailed, but it's not so bad having this as a plus.

Johnny Ridden's backpack is another story though. It's big! The cylindrical thing on the sides of the backpack are increased in size, the hook is located a bit to the left. The bottom part of it is very much same but I think the vernier nozzles are just tad bit bigger and are a bit adjustable.

The skirt armor provides great movement for the legs since they are assembled in four pieces. This allows the legs to be lifted to a near 90 degrees to the front (The mass produced Version 2 can go for a total 90 degrees though.). The side skirts provide a hole each to place the heat hawk and the rear skirt has a hole with no particular purpose for this figure. The backpack extends so much that the hole that was supposed to be pegged with a Zaku bazooka can't fit with anything anymore.

Arms

The arms, being of Version 2 design, allow greater poseability than their Version 1 counterparts. The shoulders are able to move forward and back, double-jointed elbows, ball and socket wrists are a boon to every toy collector who wants to make incredible action poses. As much as I love the design, I wish Bandai had thought of the shoulders being able to swing sideward for more than 15-20 degrees. That's the only thing lacking with their arms but they still are great.

The shoulder markings are different for each, with Shin having the yellow striped thing, Johnny Ridden's RB letters (What do they mean?), and the Black Tri-Stars' having the same thing with the mass produced ones.

The shields all look the same with the markings of Shin's WW (White Wolf insignia), Johnny's inverted triangle with a yellow Unicorn inside (weird...), and the Tri-Stars' insignia on their own.

The spike armors are the same except for Johnny's. He has slimmer spikes colored yellow and only he has a mark of the number 402 on it. I think it's the division he belongs to while he was assigned to Solomon.

It has the whole set of hand sets. The closed fists, the gun hands (left and right), and the heat hawk hands (left and right).

Legs

I can't seem to find what's wrong with the thighs. It seems that they refuse to go beyond 90 degrees forward. I guess it might be the material that they used for the skirt armor. It seems to be a bit more tough. The design is very much similar to the mass produced Zaku II's thigh.

The three also have different calf design:

-The Black Tri-Stars' calf has this cylindrical thing attached. I think it's a propellant tank of some sort.

-Shin Matsunaga's customization has the cylinders covered. Shin and the Tri-Stars have only those as differences.

-As for Johnny Ridden, the calf design has been covered entirely by the armor. You could see the similarities with the cables if you peeped but you can't see anything beyond that. His hind thrusters are also a bit bigger than the other two.

Articulation is also bad for the three of them. The knees bend only to a maximum of 45 degrees. it's the design of the calf that won't allow it to go beyond. This is actually a bad thing. Wish they had thought of a re-design of these.

The ankles are attached via ball and socket to the legs. It's good and all but the design of the legs prevents any radical movement of the feet. The feet can tip-toe though (just like the mass produced Version 2). The bottom of the feet is well inked and detailed.

Weapons and Accessories

The accessories for both Shin and the Tri-Stars are the same. Each has a Zaku machine gun, a Zaku bazooka, and a heat hawk. Pretty simple, yet I feel like they should've added more like the new grenades used by these R-Types (they're shaped like Molotovs). Johnny Ridden gets the radical MS-09 Dom bazooka instead of the slim Zaku bazooka. The weapons are all version 2 designs so they are better handled by the version 2 Zakus.

Conclusion

All-in-all, They aren't that bad. I'd actually recommend them for collectors, but it's just sad that Bandai overlooked the knee problem. That's what's holding these figures back from getting a high score from me.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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