Monday, April 29, 2013

Gunpla - #15 - HGUC Zee Zulu Review



Finally, my first Zeon kit. I am not actually a fan of Zeon MS, but after watching Unicorn OVA, I could not resist myself to buy at least one of them. Zee Zulu, this thing wreaked havoc during the assault of Torrington base on Unicorn OVA eps. 4, before finally taken down by Feddie's Byarlant Custom. Being a variant of the mass produced Geara Zulu, Zee Zulu was built as an amphibious and close quarters mobile suit. This MS is equipped with hydro jets for the greater underwater propulsion, scuba gears (LOL), a cased-beam rifle, and the most badass of them all : a pair of heat knives and claws. Combined with the dark blue color scheme, Zee Zulu really looks stealthy and much more menacing than the ordinary Geara Zulu.

There are 11 runners for this kit. Quite many for a HG, even though some of them are identical (for right/left parts). There are also some "spareparts" left from these runners. I'm not sure whether this "spareparts" could be used to make variations for Zee Zulu, or they are simply the leftovers from Geara Zulu parts since Zee Zulu is actually the variant of Geara Zulu. There's also a sheet of foil stickers for this kit, and damn, there are so many of them. If you hate foil stickers, then you're doomed LOL. The building process was actually simple and straight forward. What I liked the most was that most of seam lines and nub marks were hidden by the kit's design. Bandai's engineers really made a great efforts for this.

Zee Zulu without his equipment. The seam lines and nub marks were concealed by the design :-)
This kit surely includes tons of accessories. Officially, you'll get 4 sets of hand (2 closed, 1 open, 1 trigger). Anyway, as I mentioned above, there are spareparts left, and there are actually 2 more hands provided. Hence practically, you'll have 6 sets of hands. Other accessories included : 2 hydrojets, 2 flippers, 1 tank (for oxygen?), 2 heat knives, 2 heat claws, and 1 beam rifle with its case.
Zee Zulu with his complete equipment

Zee Zulu jettisoned his equipment. Guess what's inside the case ?
Yes, the beam rifle is inside the case. Cool !
Now, the articulation. As other HGUC kits from the Unicorn series, Zee Zulu also possessed a stable yet quite impressive articulation. The hands really capable to do great poses, especially with the knives and claws. Unfortunately, the skirt and leg armors somehow limited the feet movement, for example for kneeling pose (as shown in the OVA). Anyway, I personally satisfied with Zee Zulu's action poses for now.   

Bare handed pose
With opened heat knives and claws
Defensive pose
With the beam rifle
Heat knives unsheathed pose.  Really like a pro killer >.<
Overall, Zee Zulu is one the best Zeon MS design. If you are confused to pick your first HGUC kit from Zeon faction in Unicorn OVA, I really recommend you to get this guy. IMHO, It's better to pair this kit with other Geara Zulu variants such as Guards Type or Angelo Sauper use Geara Zulus. Here some pictures of Zee Zulu, enjoy :-)   




















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AMS - 129M Zee Zulu

Pros :

  • One of the best design for an amphibious Zeon MS
  • Great details and tons of accessories
  • Great stability for posing
Cons :

  • Limited articulation for the legs
  • Too many foil stickers for the details  


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