MGUniversal CenturyTop pick

MS-06F Zaku II Ver.2.0

The grunt suit that got a frame worthy of the hero.

MechaGrade Score

4.5/5

Zaku II · 1/100 · 2008

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2008

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

This is what happens when Bandai stops treating the villain's mook suit like an afterthought.

The Zaku II Ver.2.0 gives Zeon's most iconic grunt a full inner frame, double jointed limbs, and pose range that rivals kits twice its price. I went in expecting a nostalgia piece and came out with one of the most fun builds on my shelf. It earns its reputation as one of the great MG kits of its era, not just one of the great Zaku kits.

Best for: Universal Century fans who want the definitive Zaku II frame and don't mind fighting a few stubborn pipes to get it

The full review

What it is

This kit takes the mobile suit most associated with the word Zaku and finally gives it engineering to match its fame. Under the monoeye dome and iconic shoulder spike is a real inner frame with double jointed elbows and knees, a neck that syncs the camera eye to your movement, and manipulator hands with individually jointed fingers. Building it feels less like assembling a background enemy and more like assembling a small PG. The part fit on the outer armor is tight and confident, the color separation is excellent for a 2008 release, and the moment the frame clicks together under the shoulder armor I actually said out loud that this felt like more kit than the price suggested.

The catch

The power line pipes across the frame are genuinely difficult. They are tight to the runner, need real force to free, and more than one builder has ended the session with sore fingers from wrestling them into place. Waist rotation tops out around 45 degrees because those same pipes eat the space a swivel would normally use. The hands have a hard time gripping the included weapons securely, especially the bazooka, and the trigger finger tends to rotate to odd angles under any pressure. None of this is a design failure so much as the cost of packing this much frame into a grunt suit kit from this era.

Who it's for

Builders who already care about Universal Century mobile suits and want the Zaku done right should move this to the top of the pile. It rewards patience during the pipe assembly stage and pays that patience back with a display piece that holds dynamic, forward leaning poses most 1/100 kits from the same year cannot manage. If you want a fast weekend build with no fiddly small parts, look at an HG Zaku instead. If you want the grunt suit that actually earns a spot next to your Gundam kits on the shelf, this is the one to build.

The build story

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

The build departs from typical Gundam-style assembly in a way that feels refreshing rather than repetitive, but the small parts count is real and the pipe stage will slow you down no matter how careful you are. Clipping the rubberized pipes free and pushing them through rather than pulling saves your fingers. Everything else, from the torso to the leg armor, goes together with tight, confident part fit and almost no looseness.

The frame is the star. Full knee bends, double jointed elbows, and a linked shoulder and torso system let it hold forward leaning combat poses that most contemporary MG kits could not manage. It ships with a Zaku machine gun, bazooka, and heat hawk, giving real loadout variety, and the weapon molding uses solid slide injection rather than split halves, so panel lines land where they should instead of down the middle of the barrel.

Lore & trivia

01The MS-06F was the most produced mobile suit of the One Year War and became the design most associated with the word Zaku across the entire franchise.
02It was lighter than the earlier MS-06C because it dropped the heavy anti-nuclear shielding that became unnecessary after the Antarctic Treaty banned nuclear weapons.
03Three MS-06F units under Char Aznable's command were the first Zeon mobile suits to engage the prototype RX-78-2 Gundam, during the assault on Side 7.
04Dalong.net's review of this kit scored it 108 out of 100, the highest mark the site had given at the time, largely for the frame engineering.