| MSiA
RMS-106 Hizack (EFF colors)
Series: Mobile Suit in Action!! (MSiA) Title: RMS-106 Hizack (EFF colors) Release Date: 10/2005 Suggested Price: ¥ 1500 No. of Parts: 1 Hizack figure + 14 parts Plastic colors: blue, navy, battleship gray, grimy black, red, gold Gimmicks: Zaku machine gun (Kai), beam rifle, missile launchers, shield, e-pack (2), beam saber with yellow beam blade, trigger hand (2), grip hand (2), closed fist (2)
Contributor: MavHunterExtreme Photography: MHEX Date: December 6, 2006 This is one mobile suit I've been waiting to see Bandai incorporate into their “Mobile Suit in Action!” action figure lineup for some time. Needless to say, when I found out the RMS-106 Hizack was finally scheduled to be released, I had to get my hands on it. I favored the all blue color scheme of the EFSF variant over the traditional green colors of the Titans version, so I opted for this version instead. So how did the MSiA incarnation of the EFSF variant RMS-106 Hizack stand up? Let's find out…
Although there isn't that much detail on the head, the paint job is well done and accurate with no visible blotches, bleeds or runoffs on the camera track, the monoeye or the cables. The panel lining is well defined with little manufacturing defects, so I'm satisfied with the head's overall appearance and aesthetic. The head is mounted on a rigid-mounted protruding ball joint that allots for a maximum of 30° vertical (facing forward, 5° facing to the sides), 5° side-to-side (facing forward, 30° facing to the sides) and 360° horizontal articulation.
The upper and lower torsos are attached to one another with a standard ball joint that allots 5° of all-round articulation. The restrictions on the torso's articulation come from a combination of the cables running along the sides, the tall armor skirt panels jutting above the waist line and the rectangular shape of the mid-section, all of which come together to make twisting the Hizack's waist to any degree all but impossible. A fact of which The backpack of the Hizack features four movable verniers with about 5° of overall articulation and a pair of deflection plates mounted on the sides that can rotate 360°, though realistically you‘ll only have 210° to work with when its mounted. The paint job is just about dead on with only a small amount of bleeding on one of the verniers, yet when the small size of the burner is taken into consideration this is only a minor flaw. The backpack is mounted using a combination of a large square cavity embedded into the backpack that fits onto matching square peg while two smaller rectangular pegs on either side of the large square cavity fit into matching cavities on the Hizack's back. The arrangement works pretty decently, though I've noticed the pegs wear down along the edges and start to wobble in place after a while.
The Hizack has a blast shield on its right shoulder and a spiked pauldron on its left shoulder, both of which are mounted on ball joints protruding from the upper arms that allow 5-10° of tilt for each piece. The blast shield retains the traditional look of other Zaku shields, though this one is a little sleeker with its trapezoidal shape. The pauldron on the left shoulder hinders that arm's articulation by a couple of degrees, but its nothing that can't be overlooked. The arms are attached to ball joints at the end of a cylindrical peg with a clip joint on the other end. The clip joint is used to secure the peg onto the recessed peg imbedded in the upper torso. The shoulder joint can move 45° horizontally while the ball joint allots for a maximum of 55° outward, 180° forward and 190° backwards; the restrictions on the arm is due to the pair of elbow cables attached just underneath the clip joint. The elbows have double hinge joints and can move 175° forward (though the elbow cables tend to get in the way) with no backward movement at all thanks the elbow's design. A single miniature ball joint is mounted at the end of each forearm to attach the handsets, but because the ball joints are recessed the hands have very limited articulation, only a degree or two in all directions.
The detailing on the legs is up to par with the high standards cultivated in the “Mobile Suit in Action!“ line with sharply defined panel lining, cables molded right into the legs and joints, the movable verniers imbedded in the leg-mounted engines and thrusters and yet another good paint job From the hips the legs can move 45° outwards, 80° forward and backward and tilt roughly 5°. The knees are double hinge joints that can move 165° backward and only a degree or two forward at the most. The ankles are mounted using double ball joints and have 30° of all-round articulation. Rather than incorporate a toe-mounted ball joint to connect the sole to the feet, Bandai opted to use a more traditional method and make the feet solid pieces, a decision I am particularly grateful for since the former arrangement (used on the Ver. 2.0 MSiA Zaku II and the EMSiA Zaku II) doesn't stand up for very long to normal wear and tear like a solid piece can.
Zaku machine gun (Kai)- This famous firearm has been modified from its OYW counterpart very little, sporting the classic stock, barrel and swiveling handle. The only real differences in this version are a thicker & bulkier build, a rigid-mounted ammunition drum and a different targeting scope. The gun fits well in the Hizack's hand, although trying to get the action figure to hold it both hands using the swiveling handle is difficult at best.
Beam rifle- The beam rifle's lineage can be traced back to the beam gun originally developed by the Principality of Zeon for the MS-11 Act Zaku of MS-X. The two weapons differ very little from each other, save for a different style of e-pack and a handle attached to the side of the gun so it can be held in both hands rather than just one, allowing the Hizack to more easily absorb the weapon's recoil, improving the Hizack's control and increase accuracy. The beam gun's e-pack batteries are attached with a rectangular peg that fits into an adjoining slot on the bottom of the gun. The overall design of this compact beam weapon is straightforward, clean, compact, and very practical, all traits which turn the Hizack's beam gun a truly impressive sight despite its relatively small size and lackluster appearance.
Missile launchers- The missile launchers connect to the Hizack by using the cylindrical section of the support beam to attach onto the C-clip back of the lower torso. The clip has a solid grip on the crossbeam but is still easy to remove and replace again and again. I've found it's easiest to remove the backpack, then mount the launchers and replace the backpack. The launchers are attached to ball joints on each end of the support beam and can rotate 360° and have 5° of all-round articulation. The bulky size of the launchers interferes with the arm's articulation, but they're still pretty cool on the Hizack.
Shield- The shield mounts onto the back of the Hizack's forearm using a rectangular peg on a swiveling mount on the shield. The placement of the shield makes it very difficult to pose and very cumbersome during play. Personally I think it would have been better to incorporate a mounting bracket system similar to the one used by the MSiA RMS-117 Galbaldy Beta action figure. Not only would this have given the shield more than one point to mount it with, but would have made it easier to pose with. On the other hand, the shield is rather large and bulky, so I guess the peg-in-hole system used for the shield was a necessary measure to ensure the shield would remain in place. Additional e-packs are kept in a storage compartment on the inside of the bottom of the shield. The compartment is very small, but the e-packs fit right inside. The door covering this compartment has a flimsy mount that opens and twists (I‘m not kidding) very easy. All-in-all, I'm not too happy with the shield.
Beam saber- The beam saber hilt is colored in blue to match the Hizack's paint scheme and includes a yellow beam blade that attaches using a long, skinny post that fits into the cavity on the end of the hilt. The blade is made using stiffened plastic materials that gives it enough strength to resist normal wear and tear without having to worry about bending, warping or twisting. There is a C-shaped clip on the back of the lower torso that can be used to mount the beam saber hilt, but it requires some manhandling to get it in and out of the clip's grip. Therefore I don't recommend storing the beam saber on the clip.
Heat hawk- Yet another weapon based on the weapon of choice of MS-06 Zaku pilots of the OYW, this variant of the heat hawk is twice as large as its cousin with an elongated handle and conformed grip designed to fit comfortably inside the Hizack's hand (provided you can get the thing in its hand).
This one has been a long time in coming, but I must say the wait has been worth it. Having seen Bandai apply their talent towards the RMS-106 Hizack, I'm hoping to see either the Hizack Custom with its longer shoulder armor and beam launcher and most especially the MS-11 Act Zaku from which the Hizack and its weapons were based being incorporated into the “Mobile Suit in Action!” lineup. Realistically though, that's unlikely since the Act Zaku is already available as part of Katoki Hajime's high quality Zeonography action figure/completed model lineup. High Points: Solid construction, decent articulation overall, nice detailing, minimal flaws in paint and lots of accessories. Low Points: Interference from the elbow cables, poor torso articulation, bad location for the shield mounting point. Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars <<back to Gundam |
