Series: High Grade Universal Century (HGUC) 1/144
Title: RMS-106 Hizack
Release Date: 07/2000
Suggested Price: ¥ 1000
No. of Parts: 92 + P.C.-123 Plus polycap sprue
Plastic colors: dark green, green, yellow, red, purplish-gray
Gimmicks: "option" shield

Introduction

Contributor: Jameson Leaser
Date: February 5, 2005

I was quite pleased when I first heard this suit was coming out. While "hero" suits are always cool, there’s always something to be said for the "grunt" suits, especially for display/diorama purposes.

Head

Nice big mono-eye decal. The head nods up and down, along with rotating. If the Hizack ever mounted a blade antenna, this model does not include that option.

Torso

Tight construction with a twisting waist, which, if I understand the whole "movable frame" gimmick, was not supposed to be a feature on earlier mobile suits. Now for two points for caution, both on the backpack. The thrust vector panels on either side of the backpack’s thrusters have a tendency to pop out with careless handling, and the fin-mounted retro thrusters sticking out of the backpack are broken parts waiting to happen due to the thinness of their joint posts. Don’t drop it!

Arms

Here is a major departure from the anime design: the external power/coolant cables, meant to run from the torso to the elbow armor in the forearm, stop in a block at the bottom of the upper arm instead. The reason for this is obvious, however, if you’re a perfectionist, you may have a hard time forgiving Mr. Katoki for this. Fortunately, the Hizack is also available in the Master Grade format, where this issue is corrected.

Legs

Nice, sturdy High Grade legs. No issues here.

Weapons and Accessories

What accessories? This kit only comes with the custom Zaku machine gun and its "option" shield. Whoop-de-do! If you’re patient and lucky (as I seem to be in this case), you might still be able to pick up the original 1/144th Zeta Gundam weapons set, which includes the Hizack/Marasai beam rifle, the Hizack beam saber, heat hawk, and hip-mounted rocket pods, all of which (with the disappointing exception of the beam rifle) fit the HGUC kit. Perhaps, one day, an HGUC weapon set will be made available...

Conclusion

Despite my usual inclinations, I really like this tight little kit. It’s not very articulated, but the poses it can make are quite good. Its Katoki proportions are also typically pleasing. The main drawback is its limited weapons loadout, though another version of this suit exists...

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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