I bought this MG almost immediately after it was released last year, which happened to be just a month after the first Zaku II Ver. 2.0 as well. Although the content between the two are around 80 percent identical, this is the my first big scale Char's Zaku II, and I love models in red (like Sazabi and Alteisen) as well. So I really don't mind building another Zaku II Ver. 2.0.
Then again, unless Bandai releases Johnny Raiden's High Mobility Type Zaku II Ver. 2.0 , another Zaku II Ver. 2.0 variation is not in my wish list at the moment.
The mono-eye camera on the box cover isn't exactly loyal to the model, since the head features combinational movement function, where the eye moves together with the turning of the head. The eye in that position would mean that the head must be turned to the left first.
The set of conductive pipes for the head, body and legs. It's 'Ouch!' time for your fingers again, to pull out all the rings ^^;
Anyway, as compared to Strike Freedom, MG Char's Zaku II is an easy one for me. Not only were the details easier to panel-line, the experience of building the first Zaku Ver. 2.0 also helped me to be a lot more swifter in all the work.
The different components of this model are explained below:
Arm
Parts painted: gold and silver for the hydraulic pipes of the elbow and upper arm (static) and gray for the knuckle (original molded in red together with the armor on the back of the hand).
The painted elbow and upper arm can only be seen in some serious action poses of the model, but it's great to have the details there nonetheless.
The arm unit is completely identical to the first Zaku II Ver. 2.0, except for the colors of course.
Leg
Bits and pieces of hydraulic pipes for the feet, all painted in silver. The huge thrusters on the bottom of the feet (new parts for this MG) are painted in red.
The new parts for the Char's Zaku II also include three small thrusters on the back on the legs, and two smaller ones in front. I painted the interior of all of them in red.
New bigger leg armors to accommodate the thrusters and extra fuel tanks (?) of the inner frame. Everything else is the same as MG MS-06J Ver. 2.0.
No worry, the extra parts do not deter the articulation of the legs one bit ^^
Body
Gold and silver for the static hydraulic pipes of the abdomen. The body unit is also completely identical to that of MG MS-06J Ver. 2.0.
The backpack is completely new, which is twice the size of that on MG MS-06J Ver. 2.0. Like the thrusters on the bottom of its legs, I painted the interior of the rocket thrusters in red as well.
Pilot figures
The pilot figures of Char is probably my best painted 1/100 figures so far ^o^
I had to slice off the white paint initially painted on the bottom of Char's boots so that he can stand properly ^^;
Crane
The crane is purely for decorative purpose only ^^; Plenty of parts to paint as well, which are all optional of course.
There are a total of four static hydraulic pipes within the handles of the crane not to be missed.
As mentioned, the crane is just for decoration. And if you're thinking of using the crane to hold the weapons, you can forget the idea ^^; I tried that before, the handle of the crane is strong enough to lift up the Heat Hawk only -_-|||
Head
The head is also completely identical to that of MG MS-06J Ver. 2.0. I painted silver on the interior of the eye, so that when it's fitted with the red clear part of the camera, there will be a bit of limited shining effect ^_^
The 'bold' helmet is included actually, which will allow you to assemble Char's Zaku II without his commander antenna XD
Weapons
The 3-tube Missile Launcher is pawned for the crane, so there are only three weapons in Char's Zaku II's armament list XD
Completed
My completed MG Char's Zaku II Ver. 2.0 ^_^
Watch out for Part 2: Action poses and Part 3: Comparison with MG MS-06J Ver. 2.0 coming soon ^^
