HGUniversal Century

Zaku High Mobility Surface Type (Danan)

A desert scavenger's Zaku, built on a genuinely good frame and dressed in camo nobody else is wearing.

MechaGrade Score

3.8/5

Zaku High Mobility Surface Type (Danan) · 1/144 · 2024

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2024

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the rare P-Bandai exclusive that earns its price tag instead of just taxing your loyalty to a movie.

It reuses the Zaku High Mobility Surface Type frame from Cucuruz Doan's Island, which was already one of the better-engineered HG Zaku variants out there, and dresses it in a brown camo scheme with waterslide decals that no other version of this mold gets. I like it more for what it is mechanically than for who Danan is as a character, and that is fine.

Best for: Cucuruz Doan's Island fans and Zaku variant collectors who want the best-engineered HG Zaku frame in an oddball desert paint job

The full review

What it is

Danan is a P-Bandai exclusive release of the Zaku High Mobility Surface Type mold, the same frame used for Egba, Wald, and Sangho's units in Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island. What sets this one apart is the molded brown plastic and a sheet of camouflage waterslide decals meant to evoke the Southern Cross Corps' improvised desert paint. It comes with a Zaku machine gun with a removable magazine and two heat hawks, one stored and one deployed, plus a weapon nodding to Danan's preference for close-in, unconventional fighting. Building it feels like building a proven kit again, in a new coat.

The catch

This is a P-Bandai exclusive, so it costs more than a mainline HG and you have to actually track it down through the P-Bandai store or a reseller markup. The molded brown is a single flat color, so without panel lining and some attention to the waterslide decals the surface reads plain on the shelf. Those decals are waterslide, not stickers, which means water, patience, and a topcoat if you want them to survive handling, a step plenty of casual builders skip. It is also a repaint of a mold you may already own if you built Egba or Wald, so the actual build is not new ground if this is your second or third copy of the frame.

Who it's for

Buy this if you are already invested in the Cucuruz Doan's Island Zaku family and want the full roster of pilots, or if the brown desert camo scheme is what actually sold you on the character. The engineering underneath, double-jointed knees and elbows with a pull-out knee mechanism for deep poses, is legitimately good and worth experiencing even once. Skip it if you already own another version of this mold and are not attached to Danan specifically, or if P-Bandai pricing and shipping is a dealbreaker. This is a kit for completionists and Zaku loyalists, not a first HG purchase.

What works

Double-jointed knees with a pull-out extension mechanism give real depth to kneeling and dynamic poses
Comes with a Zaku machine gun with removable magazine plus two heat hawks (stored and deployed) for varied loadouts
Brown molded plastic and dedicated camo waterslide decals make it visually distinct from every other release of this frame

Worth knowing

P-Bandai exclusive pricing and availability, you are paying more and hunting harder than for a mainline HG
Waterslide decals demand real patience and a topcoat, they will not hold up to casual handling on their own
It is the same frame as Egba and Wald with a new coat of paint, so the build itself offers nothing new if you already own a sibling kit

Sold? Grab it.

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The build story

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

The frame underneath the brown plastic is the same well-regarded Zaku High Mobility Surface Type engineering from Cucuruz Doan's Island, so gate placement and part fit carry over. Nub cleanup is standard HG fare, nothing brutal, and the plastic takes panel lining well since the brown is flat and benefits from definition. The camo waterslide decals are the one genuinely different step in the build, and they reward patience, soak them properly and let them set instead of rushing.

Articulation is where this frame earns its reputation. The head sits on a ball joint with a secondary tilt, the torso can swing forward through the shoulder mounts for extra lean, and the double-jointed knees pull out for a deeper bend than most HG Zakus manage. Shoulder armor and the shield are jointed separately so they clear the arm instead of fighting it. The loadout, a machine gun with removable magazine and two heat hawks, gives enough variety to build a couple of distinct poses without extra purchases.

Lore & trivia

01Danan's unit is one of five Zaku High Mobility Surface Type suits used by the Southern Cross Corps following Cucuruz Doan's desertion in Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island.
02The kit was a Bandai Hobby Online Shop (P-Bandai) exclusive released in March 2024 at 2,750 yen.
03Danan's loadout, built around a Zaku machine gun and heat hawks, is meant to reflect the character's preference for unconventional, close-range combat.
04The kit shares its frame with three other Cucuruz Doan's Island P-Bandai releases (Egba, Wald, and Sangho), each distinguished mainly by molded color and included decals.