HGUniversal Century

MSN-02 Zeong Meiji almond chocolate Ver.

The legless final boss of the One Year War, dipped in almond chocolate.

MechaGrade Score

3.8/5

Zeong Meiji almond chocolate Ver. · 1/144 · 2021

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2021

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the HGUC Zeong sculpt everyone already respects, wearing a color scheme that only existed because a chocolate company wanted to sell more almond bars.

That novelty is exactly the point. Underneath the candy-red and cocoa-brown plastic it is the same well-regarded 2001 HGUC engineering, so the shaping, the claw hands, and the psycommu-arm gimmick all hold up. I would not chase this one for the plastic alone, I would chase it because it is a genuinely fun piece of Gunpla history to own.

Best for: Zeong fans and Gunpla collectors who want a conversation-piece variant, not builders looking for their first taste of the mobile suit

The full review

What it is

The MSN-02 Zeong is one of the most recognizable silhouettes in the whole UC timeline, a legless final-boss unit built around a giant floating head, oversized detachable claw arms, and a huge propulsion unit for a torso. This particular release is the HGUC Zeong sculpt recast in a promotional color scheme, red and almond-chocolate brown instead of the usual pale Zeon pink, made for a 2020 Meiji candy tie-in tied to Gunpla's 40th anniversary. Bandai gave away 2,400 units through a purchase lottery rather than selling it retail, so it carries real scarcity. Building it feels exactly like building the well-liked standard HGUC Zeong, just with a color story that turns heads on a shelf next to every other Zeong out there.

The catch

Because this is a promotional prize kit and not a retail release, you are not buying it new off a shelf, you are buying secondhand or via resale marketplaces at whatever premium the scarcity commands, and that premium can be steep for what is, mechanically, an HGUC-era HG. The base Zeong sculpt is from 2001, so it leans on molded color and some stickers rather than the deeper color separation modern HG runners give you, and the head only gets a ball joint with a bit of forward-back tilt on the neck collar, the manipulator fingers articulate but the knuckles do not. The floating-head, no-legs design also means this kit displays best on its included stand rather than standing free, which some builders find limiting compared to a full biped.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already love the Zeong as a design and want the definitive oddball version for a UC shelf, or if you are the kind of collector who gets a kick out of owning a piece of Gunpla marketing history rather than just another mobile suit. Skip it if you want your first Zeong to be the easiest one to find, the standard-color HGUC or the MG version will get you the same core engineering without the hunt or the markup. It is also not the kit for someone chasing heavy articulation, the design itself caps how much posing range you get regardless of paint job.

What works

Instantly recognizable Zeong silhouette with the big floating head and oversized psycommu claw arms intact from the well-regarded HGUC sculpt
Genuinely unusual chocolate-and-red colorway that stands out from every other Zeong on a shelf
Real scarcity and story behind it, a 2,400-unit lottery prize tied to Gunpla's 40th anniversary rather than a mass retail item

Worth knowing

Not sold at retail, so pricing depends entirely on the secondhand and resale market
Underlying 2001-era HGUC engineering means simpler color separation and sticker reliance compared to modern HG kits
Head and finger articulation are limited (ball-joint head tilt only, no knuckle movement), and the legless design favors display-stand posing over free-standing dynamic poses

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The build story

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

The build itself is the familiar HGUC Zeong experience: the big propulsion-unit torso and the two claw arms go together cleanly, gate placement on the armor shells is tidy enough that cleanup is manageable, and the color-swapped runners in this version do not change any of the underlying part fit. Expect some sticker work for the finer color details rather than fully molded-in separation, which tracks for a kit of this vintage.

The standout piece of engineering is still the psycommu arm gimmick, the forearms detach and the kit includes the wire-guided remote-attack look the Zeong is known for in the show, plus the polycap joint on the display base that lets you angle the whole suit like it is floating into a final confrontation. Part count and accessory load are modest by design since there is no leg assembly to build, so the value here is almost entirely about owning the color variant rather than getting more plastic for your money.

Lore & trivia

01The Zeong was built at the A Baoa Qu space fortress during the One Year War specifically for Newtype pilots, using data from several earlier Zeon mobile suit experiments.
02Char Aznable piloted the Zeong at only 80 percent completion, lacking legs entirely, when he boarded it during the Battle of A Baoa Qu after his Gelgoog Commander Type was damaged.
03This chocolate-and-red colorway was never sold in stores. It was distributed as one of 2,400 units through a Meiji almond chocolate purchase lottery that ran from September to December 2020, timed to Gunpla's 40th anniversary.
04The Zeong's signature move, detaching its psycommu-controlled arms for a remote all-range attack, became a recurring idea in later UC works, including the arm-detach attacks seen on Char's Counterattack's Alpha Azieru.