HGUniversal Century

MS-06D Zaku Desert Type (Double Antenna Type)

A sand-worn prototype Zaku that turns a simple recolor into a genuine variant with its own head, its own history, and its own decal sheet.

MechaGrade Score

3.6/5

Zaku II · 1/144 · 2021

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2021

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a well-built HG variant kit that earns its existence instead of coasting on being another Zaku repaint.

The all-new head sculpt with its twin antennae and the earthy molded color scheme make it look distinct on the shelf next to a standard MS-06. The catch is that Bandai leaned on water slide decals instead of molded color for the camouflage pattern, which raises the finishing bar for a kit that otherwise builds like a friendly HG. It is a kit for people who already like Zakus and want a specific, oddball variant, not a first kit for someone new to the hobby.

Best for: Zaku collectors and Origin-MSD fans who want the rare double-antenna prototype variant, not first-time builders

The full review

What it is

This is the desert-warfare Zaku from Gundam The Origin MSD, and Bandai gave it a genuinely new head rather than just swapping a color scheme onto the standard HGUC frame. The long and short antenna rods and the extra sensor housings on the temples are molded fresh, and the body comes in earthy tan, gray, and brown plastic that actually reads as desert camo before you touch a paintbrush. Building it feels like building a familiar HG Zaku with a fun new hat. The mono-eye slides side to side with a switch under the head, the head sits on a ball joint plus a c-clip pivot, and that alone made me want to keep fiddling with expressions long after the kit was finished.

The catch

The camouflage pattern and panel line marks are water slide decals, not molded color, which is the opposite of what most HG builders want to hear. Decals of this size and shape take patience, silvering is a real risk if you rush them, and skipping them leaves the kit looking unfinished since the plain plastic underneath is not the full camo look. This was also a Premium Bandai exclusive, so it never got a wide retail run, it commands a higher price than a standard HG, and it can be genuinely hard to track down years later. None of that is a build-quality flaw, but it is the honest reason this scores a notch below the best HG variants.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already have a couple of standard Zaku kits on the shelf and want the oddball desert prototype with the extra antenna, or if you are building out an Origin MSD collection and want the variants that never got HGUC treatment. Skip it if you want your first Zaku, want a kit that looks complete straight off the runners without decal work, or you are not willing to hunt a secondary market listing at a markup. It rewards someone who already knows they like this mobile suit and wants the deep cut, not someone sampling the hobby.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

Runner count sits around 14, which is modest and keeps the build quick, and the gate placement on the new head parts is careful enough that cleanup does not risk the thin antenna rods if you take your time with a nipper and a light sanding pass. The body panels snap together with the same confidence-inspiring fit HG Zaku kits are known for, no looseness in the main joints out of the box.

The standout engineering is entirely in the head unit, the ball joint and c-clip pivot combination lets it tilt and turn in a way flat HG heads usually cannot, and the underslung mono-eye switch is a small tactile detail that makes posing feel alive. Weapon loadout covers a Zaku Machine Gun, Cracker Pod, a double missile pod and a triple missile pod, and a Heat Hawk, which is a full and useful set for a suit built around suppressing fire rather than melee.

Lore & trivia

01The double-antenna configuration was the early prototype spec for the MS-06D Zaku Desert Type before Zeon standardized production down to a single antenna, with 43 double-antenna units built against 71 single-antenna units.
02The Zaku Desert Type was Zeon's primary mobile suit for Earth-based desert operations in North Africa and the Middle East during the One Year War, until it was eventually replaced by the MS-09F/trop Dom Tropen.
03This kit comes from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin MSD, the manga spinoff that expands on mobile suit variants and side stories set within the original One Year War timeline, which is why it got new tooling instead of reusing an HGUC Zaku head as-is.