RGUniversal Century

MS-06R-2 Johnny Ridden's Zaku II

The first High Mobility Type Zaku ever molded, and it makes you earn every bit of that silhouette.

MechaGrade Score

3.6/5

Zaku II · 1/144 · 2017

GradeRG

Scale1/144

Released2017

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I came away from this kit respecting it more than I enjoyed building it.

The new leg thrusters and four-nozzle bell vernier backpack genuinely nail Okawara's original MSV art, and once it's posed on a shelf it might be the best-looking Zaku Bandai has ever put out in this scale. But getting there means fighting some real fit and stability problems that RG builders don't usually run into.

Best for: patient RG collectors who want the definitive Johnny Ridden Zaku and don't mind wrestling a few problem joints to get it

The full review

What it is

This is the first RG release of a High Mobility Type Zaku, and the first time this specific silhouette (the extended leg thrusters, the four-nozzle vernier backpack) has existed in kit form at all rather than just box art. I went in expecting a reskinned RG Zaku II and got something with genuinely new tooling instead. The proportions read exactly like Ridden's custom unit from the MSV lineage, and the loadout is generous: giant bazooka, standard bazooka, Zaku machine gun, heat hawk, and a fistful of hand parts to hold them all. When the pose lands, it looks like nothing else in the RG line.

The catch

The build has real rough edges. The forearm end caps rattle loose with no positive connection point, the knee and hip joints have noticeably limited bend for an RG, and the torso can sag under its own weight after a while. The giant bazooka's stock is oversized enough that getting the suit to hold it convincingly takes some fiddling. None of this is catastrophic, but it's more resistance than I expect from a modern Real Grade, and it shows up specifically in the new HMT-exclusive parts rather than the shared Zaku frame.

Who it's for

This one is for builders who already have an RG Zaku II or two under their belt and want the specialty version, not a first RG. If you're new to the grade, the standard RG Zaku II is the smoother, more forgiving build and a better place to start. But if you already know Real Grade's small-parts rhythm and you specifically want Ridden's suit, or you're chasing MSV variants, this is worth the extra patience. Skip it if loose joints and sag genuinely bother you more than a great finished pose can make up for.

The build story

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

The core Zaku frame builds the way you'd expect from the RG line, small parts, careful gate cleanup, satisfying color separation straight off the runners with minimal stickers needed. Where it gets tricky is the HMT-exclusive parts introduced for this release. The leg thruster assemblies and the backpack vernier cluster are new molds, and a few of the connection points there feel undertuned, loose where you want tension, tight where you want give.

The unique bits are also what make it worth building. The four-nozzle bell vernier backpack and extended leg thrusters translate the MSV concept art into plastic in a way no prior Zaku kit has attempted, and the weapon loadout (dual bazookas, machine gun, heat hawk) gives you real posing variety. Articulation in the shoulders, elbows, and ankles holds up fine; it's specifically the knees, hips, and forearm joints that need patience and maybe a drop of glue or a joint-tightening trick if you want it stage-ready for the long term.

Lore & trivia

01This was the first RG release built around a High Mobility Type Zaku II, and the first time this specific MS-06R-2 silhouette existed as an actual model kit rather than only MSV box art.
02Johnny Ridden is one of only four Zeon pilots in the MSV lore documented as having piloted this High Mobility Type Zaku II during the One Year War.
03Ridden's nickname was originally written as 'Red Blitz' before later material retconned it to 'Crimson Lightning,' reportedly to avoid overlapping too closely with Char Aznable's 'Red Comet.'
04The kit's backpack uses a newly designed four-nozzle bell vernier layout specifically to match Kunio Okawara's original illustrations for the High Mobility Type.