HGUniversal Century

MS-06D Zaku Desert Type (Pink Panther Corps)

A shockingly good Zaku frame wearing the silliest, most likeable paint job in the lineup.

MechaGrade Score

3.9/5

Zaku II · 1/144 · 2025

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2025

Runnersn/a

Check price on Amazon

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

The verdict

I did not expect to like a pink Zaku this much, but the frame underneath the joke color scheme is the real story here.

This uses the modern HG Origin Zaku II tooling, and that tooling is just better than the older HGUC Zaku kits in almost every way, more articulation, better proportions, cleaner color separation. The Pink Panther Corps paint job is a novelty, sure, but it is built on a genuinely strong base kit.

Best for: Zaku collectors who want the best-engineered HG Zaku frame available, worn in a color nobody else on your shelf will match

The full review

What it is

This is a P-Bandai exclusive reskin of the HG Origin Zaku II, done up in the tropical/desert warfare colors of the Pink Panther Corps from the Mobile Suit Discovery side stories. On the shelf it reads as a full pink and yellow desert Zaku with a distinct radiator backpack, a modified left shoulder shield, and unit markings applied via water slide decals rather than stickers. I went in expecting a gag kit and came out impressed, the sculpt is crisp, the pink is molded in plastic rather than relying on paint or stickers to sell the joke, and the desert backpack with its cooling unit is a genuinely different silhouette from a standard Zaku II. It photographs better than I thought a pink mobile suit ever would.

The catch

This is a Premium Bandai online-exclusive release, so it is not sitting on hobby shop shelves and you will pay import or reseller markup over the roughly 2,640 yen list price. Being a straight color and accessory variant of the existing HG Origin Zaku mold, there is nothing structurally new here if you already own another HG Origin Zaku, you are paying mostly for the desert parts and the decal sheet. The water slide decals look better than stickers but take more patience and a steady hand, and if you rush them you will lose some of the crispness that makes the unit markings pop.

Who it's for

Buy this if you collect Zaku variants, if you like the Mobile Suit Discovery side material, or if you just want a genuinely fun, off-beat centerpiece for a One Year War display that is not another olive drab Zaku. Skip it if you already own an HG Origin Zaku II and are not attached to the desert lore or the pink color scheme, since the frame underneath is functionally the kit you already have. Newer builders should also know decal work adds real time to the build compared to a sticker-only kit.

What works

Modern HG Origin Zaku frame gives noticeably better articulation than older HGUC Zaku kits, especially at the hips and knees
Color separation is handled through molded plastic rather than stickers, so the desert pink and yellow scheme holds up under handling and repositioning
Generous desert-specific loadout: machine gun, cracker pod, twin and triple missile pods, heat hawk, and a reshaped shield give real posing variety

Worth knowing

Premium Bandai exclusive, so price and availability run higher than a standard retail HG
If you already own another HG Origin Zaku II, this is mostly a repaint and decal set rather than a new engineering experience
Water slide decals require more care and drying time than the stickers most HG builders are used to

Sold? Grab it.

Check price on Amazon

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The build story

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

The build itself runs like any well-tooled modern HG, gates are placed on non-visible surfaces on most parts, nub scars clean up easily with a hobby knife, and part fit across the torso and limbs is snug without being a fight to assemble. The desert backpack is a multi-piece unit rather than a single molded block, which makes it look busier and more mechanical once assembled than the standard Zaku backpack.

Where this kit earns its keep is the frame. The Origin-line double-jointed elbows and knees, ball-socketed waist, and swing-frame hips let you get real bent-knee and forward-lean poses that older Zaku kits simply cannot hit. The weapon loadout is unusually complete for an HG at this price point, giving you enough hardpoints and hand parts to build two or three distinct poses without repeating a silhouette.

Lore & trivia

01The MS-06D Zaku Desert Type was developed at a captured Earth Federation base in California during the One Year War, purpose built for combat in arid and tropical climates.
02The Pink Panther Corps color scheme and unit come from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin MSD (Mobile Suit Discovery), a side story spinoff of The Origin manga rather than the original anime continuity.
03This HG release was sold exclusively through Premium Bandai, first announced in February 2025 and released that April at a list price of 2,640 yen.
04The kit's desert backpack carries a prominent cooling radiator unit, and its joints are depicted in-universe as sealed against sand and dust for harsh desert deployment.