RGUniversal Century

MS-06R-1A Uma Lightning's Zaku II

A P-Bandai only Blue Thunder repaint that proves the RG High Mobility Zaku mold still has fight left in it.

MechaGrade Score

3.7/5

Zaku II · 1/144 · 2020

GradeRG

Scale1/144

Released2020

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a great little kit wearing a color scheme you cannot get any other way, and that is both the whole appeal and the whole catch.

Bandai reused the RG High Mobility Type Zaku frame, the same one built for Johnny Ridden's kit, so the engineering underneath is proven and the articulation is genuinely fun to throw around. What you are really paying the P-Bandai premium for is Uma Lightning's bright blue MSV-R paint job and a dedicated decal sheet, not a new sculpt. Judge it as a great mold in a rare coat of paint and it earns its spot on the shelf.

Best for: RG collectors chasing MSV-R color variants who already know the High Mobility Zaku mold and want the Blue Thunder scheme specifically

The full review

What it is

This kit is Bandai handing you their RG High Mobility Type Zaku II engineering again, this time dressed in Uma Lightning's personal Blue Thunder colors from the MSV-R Ace Pilot Log line. I went in expecting a reskin and came out impressed anyway, because the frame this shares with the Johnny Ridden RG earns its reputation. The hip and shoulder joints let the Zaku hunch, lunge, and plant a wide low stance that actually looks like a mobile suit bracing for a fight, not just standing at attention. It is a small kit that rewards handling it, and the moment I got the monoeye and the vents test-fit I could tell the runners were doing real color separation work instead of leaning on stickers everywhere.

The catch

Being P-Bandai exclusive, it is not sold at retail and it is priced above a standard RG (it launched around 3,630 yen), so you are paying a premium for the paint job and the exclusive decal sheet, not new tooling. Builders of the shared High Mobility mold consistently flag knees capped around 90 degrees, which limits how deep a kneeling or dynamic pose can go. It is also an RG at heart, meaning small parts, tiny beads and springs in the inner frame that like to ping off the table, and panel lines that genuinely need a wash or liner to pay off rather than reading as detail on their own. The backpack red accent piece is a sticker rather than molded color, an odd shortcut on a kit this detailed elsewhere.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already like the RG High Mobility Zaku sculpt and specifically want it in Uma Lightning's Blue Thunder scheme for an MSV-R lineup, or if you collect the Ace Pilot Log series and this slot matters to you. Skip it if you just want a Zaku II and do not care which pilot livery you get, since the standard RG or an HG Zaku will get you similar bones for less money and no aftermarket hunting. It also is not the easiest first build; the small inner-frame parts and panel line workload suit someone who has already built at least one RG and knows what they are getting into.

The build story

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

The build follows the familiar RG playbook: an inner frame goes together first, then outer armor clips over it, and the small scale means tweezers earn their keep on this one. Gate placement is typical RG, mostly on non-visible faces, but a few of the tiny frame pieces are genuinely small enough to launch across the room if you are not careful. Fit is snug rather than loose, parts click home with confidence, and I did not run into the seam problems that plague some other 1/144 kits.

The engineering payoff is in the articulation: bicep swivels, 180 degree elbows, ball-jointed wrists, and hip work that lets this Zaku crouch and lean in a way flat-footed HG kits cannot match. Weapon loadout covers a Zaku Machine Gun, Heat Hawk, Zaku Bazooka, and the oversized Giant Bazooka, which is a genuinely generous spread for a 1/144 kit and gives you real posing variety beyond just standing with a rifle. Color separation on the Blue Thunder scheme holds up well on the body and limbs, though the backpack's red accent is a sticker rather than molded plastic, the one spot where the detail work eases off.

Lore & trivia

01Uma Lightning is a named pilot introduced in Mobile Suit Gundam MSV-R: Johnny Ridden's Shadow, a manga expanding on One Year War side stories originally serialized in Gundam Ace magazine.
02This kit reuses the RG High Mobility Type Zaku II frame originally tooled for the Johnny Ridden RG release, repainted and re-decaled as Uma Lightning's personal 'Blue Thunder' machine.
03It was released in January 2020 as the 18th entry in Bandai's P-Bandai exclusive MSV-R Ace Pilot Log model series, sold only through Bandai's mail-order channel rather than at general retail.