MGUniversal Century

MS-06R-1 Zaku II Ver.2.0 (A Baoa Qu Guards Ver.)

The same brilliant Ver.2.0 frame, dressed in a battle-worn defense squad livery that earns its exclusive-kit price tag.

MechaGrade Score

3.9/5

Zaku II · 1/100 · 2009

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2009

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the excellent MG Zaku II Ver.2.0 engineering everyone already loves, wearing a High Mobility Test Type shell that makes it a genuinely different-looking build on the shelf, not just a repaint.

I built one expecting a simple recolor and came away impressed by how much the vernier housings and skirt shaping change the silhouette. The frame underneath still does all the heavy lifting. The catch is that this is a limited or Premium Bandai style release, so you pay exclusive-kit money for a variant, not a from-scratch upgrade.

Best for: Zaku collectors who already love the Ver.2.0 engineering and want a High Mobility Test Type variant with real shelf distinction, not just a new sticker sheet

The full review

What it is

This kit takes the proven MG Zaku II Ver.2.0 inner frame, the one that reworked the entire line back in the mid 2000s, and wraps it in the High Mobility Test Type armor associated with the A Baoa Qu defense squadrons. The mono eye gimmick alone sold me on this frame the first time I built a Ver.2.0 Zaku: turn the head and the eye tracks along a tiny internal gear, so it actually looks like it is scanning instead of just sitting there painted on. The skirt armor is fully ball jointed and swings out of the way on its own, which frees up hip movement most 2009-era kits simply did not have. Sitting next to a plain MS-06F, this one reads as a distinct unit, not a decal swap.

The catch

The ABS plastic Bandai used for the inner frame joints on this line is durable but the gate marks on it are noticeable and need real cleanup work if you care about a clean build, more so than the polycap era kits that came after. The hands are the weak link of the whole Ver.2.0 line, they do not grip weapons as snugly as I wanted and the machine gun or gatling accessory can work loose during posing. As an A Baoa Qu variant, this was sold as a limited or exclusive release, so pricing runs above a standard MG and secondhand availability can be inconsistent depending on when you look.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already appreciate the MG Zaku II Ver.2.0 platform and want a High Mobility Test Type build with a different armor profile and squadron color scheme for the shelf, or if you are chasing the A Baoa Qu release specifically as a collector. Skip it if this would be your first Zaku, since a standard MS-06F or MS-06J Ver.2.0 gets you the same excellent frame for less money with easier parts sourcing. It is also not the pick if loose grip accessories are a dealbreaker for you, since the hand issue is not unique to this variant, it is baked into the whole line.

The build story

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

Assembly follows the familiar Ver.2.0 sequence: frame first, then armor shells that clip over it with real color separation on the joints before you even add the outer plastic. The ABS frame runners are where you will spend the most time with a hobby knife, since the gate placement is more visible here than on newer kits, and a little sanding goes a long way on the shoulder and thigh joints. None of it is difficult, it just rewards patience over speed.

The standout is still the articulation the frame allows. Shoulders rotate at the base, elbows are double jointed, wrists get two points of movement plus individually articulated fingers, and that ball jointed skirt means deep leg poses are actually achievable instead of blocked by armor. For a kit built around a High Mobility variant, that range of motion matches the character. The tradeoff is those same hands not holding the gatling gun or machine gun as firmly as I would like, so if you display it mid-pose expect to reseat the weapon now and then.

Lore & trivia

01The MS-06R-1 High Mobility Test Type was developed by Zeon engineers as an early step toward improving Zaku mobility once the war looked to be dragging on, feeding directly into the later R-2 lineage.
02The A Baoa Qu naming ties this variant to the E-Field Air Defense Battalion, the unit associated with defending the A Baoa Qu fortress in the One Year War timeline.
03The MG Ver.2.0 Zaku II line, which this kit's frame is built from, replaced the original 1999-era MG Zaku frame with a redesigned skeleton and the now-signature geared mono eye.
04R-1 and R-1A High Mobility Test Type units later appear as an in-game upgrade path for the Zaku II Commander Type in Mobile Suit Gundam: Gihren's Greed.