Gunpla Build - High Grade Zaku I (Final)

Here now is the finished High Grade Zaku I:

It turns out that I was correct about this being the same general mold as the Zaku I Sniper Type, so this build ended up being extremely familiar. It also means that this model has the same quality of articulation, so if you want a deep dive on that, take a look here. Ad if you want the TL:DR version, it’s better than you’d think for a 2006 model, but it’s not quite up to modern standards.

A Few Gimmicks of Note

These aren’t the only gimmicks, but I didn’t know where else to write about these two.

First, you can reposition the monoeye. You do have to take the head off, and it’s stiff as hell, but you can do it:

Second, it comes with a special holding hand with an angled wrist:

This makes certain firing positions (especially with the bazooka) much more comfortable, and essentially makes up for the lack of range in the model’s elbow bend.

About the Visual Design

Normally I go deep into the visual design of a given model during the intro post, but I decided I’m going to leave at least some of that analysis until the build is complete. All too frequently I’ll notice cool details on the model that aren’t as obvious in illustration or animation, and they go on to color and change my perception of the mobile suit. And sometimes the model doesn’t actually look much like how it looks on screen. In either case, my initial analysis often feels outdated or misinformed by the end of any given build - so why not just wait until the end to go into the nitty gritty?

I’m going to give it a shot for the next few builds. We’ll see how it goes.

Coloring

It turns out that the colors don’t look quite as well in person as they do in photos you’ll find online. This is almost certainly due to the fact that the photos I’ve seen online are of painted kits, and honestly I should have known better.

In any case, on my (unpainted) model the blue is a little too bold, and it strongly clashes with the green. This makes sense: blue and green usually clash, but I got in my mind the idea that the blue would have a little more grey mixed in, and thus be a little more muted.

Of maybe it would work better if the green was a litte more muted. Either way, it’s not as great a color palette as I believed it to be.

Details

The colors might be less of a problem if there were some good opportunities for extra painting and detailing, but that’s not really the case here. The body is largely smooth, and lacking in the nooks and crannies where you might be able to use metallics or even just contrasting colors.

What’s frustrating is that it feels like this is a problem that impacts this Zaku in particular. If we look at some similar models, we’ll see that they all end up faring better. For example, consider the Zaku II Revive:

This guy’s body is roughly just as smooth, but the inside of the shoulder shield and the tubing offer some very nice panel lines. Furthermore, remember that the Zaku II has better, more varied color placement, particularly in its legs and feet. Even if the body is largely smooth, the extra color makes the body parts more interesting to look at.

Or consider the Zaku I Sniper:

Even if you ignore the fact that this one is weathered to all hell, there’s actually more going on in terms of texture and details in the torso. And don’t forget the giant backpack, or the unorthodox gap in its head, or its asymmetric knee armor. Together all these little changes add up to a lot of visual expression.

So yeah. The OG Zaku I suffers from a particular case of detail deficiency. I suppose I could have tried adding some more decals, but I wanted to go for a simpler, “classic” kind of feel. Maybe that was a mistake, but I also don’t know if adding more decals would have really helped in this case. I think they might have clashed with the simple visual design.

Accessories

This model kit comes with a very respectable number of accessories. Some of these weapons are quite uncommon - in fact, there are a few that I’ve never seen before. In that regard, I have to give it points for originality.

But I don’t know if all of these weapons look good in hand. There is something … off about them.

Machine Gun

This is the same machine gun used by the Zaku I Sniper Type. I liked how it looked on that model, where it is very clearly a backup/emergency weapon. Here, however, it is supposed to be a primary weapon, and as a primary weapon it just feels too slight.

One of the problems - at least from a visual perspective - is that is that the model cannot wield the machine gun in two hands while also holding the knuckle shield. The loss of the shield removes a lot of the bulk from the model, and the result is that it looks a bit puny and pathetic.

“But wait”, you might think. “It doesn’t have to hold it in two hands”. That’s true, and sure enough, it kind looks okay holding it one hand - at least in certain poses:

But in a shooting pose, it just doesn’t look right. Not to my eye at least:

Zakus just don’t typically one-hand a machine gun:

It kinda looks like it’s firing a “pew pew” laser gun. It’s weightless when it should feel heavy.

Knuckle Shield

The Knuckle Shield looks great in standing poses, but I found that I often didn’t know what to do with it in action shots. Furthermore, there’s no way to lock it in place, and the grip from the left holding hand is as loose as can be. If you position it just right, you can get it to largely stay in place, but it still feels like a design deficiency.

Heat Hawk

I absolutely love that the Heat Hawk comes with a holster:

I mean, it just makes sense. How else is it supposed to attach to the hip? Well, if you’re literally any one of my other Zaku models, you’ll have a separate Heat Hawk with a peg on its side that allows you to do this:

Which just looks stupid if you ask me.

Anyway, I think the Heat Hawk looks really good paired with the knuckle shield:

It gives the Zaku some good, solid, melee combat vibes.

Sadly, these were among my blurriest photos of the shoot, so I don’t have much to show of it:

Bazooka

My favorite weapon of the bunch. It feels like the Zaku I was made for this.

To put a point on it, Bandai went so far as to include a special cradle that mounts on the right shoulder. You can see it in the photo above, but here’s a better shot of it from the back:

I’ll admit that it looks a little awkward when not using the weapon, as it easily impedes the Zaku’s range of vision:

But it sure looks great while aiming and firing:

With the cradle to keep it steady, and the special holding hand to keep it at the right angle, every pose just looks natural:

And of course, once it’s out of ammo, it can switch to the shield-mounted sturm faust as a last resort:

Pack Mule

One thing I also want to point out - the Zaku I can carry all its weapons on its body:

This is always a plus in my book.

Comparisons

Let’s compare the Zaku I with some of its siblings.

We’ll start with the “obvious” comparison to the Zaku I Sniper Type:

I didn’t realize until now just how different their torsos are. The Sniper Type has quite a bit of extra detailing, and that - combined with all its other gimmicks (it’s kickstand in its knee, the gap in its head, etc) goes a long way toward making it look not only unique, but cool. In comparison, OG Zaku I looks much too plain.

Now let’s move on to the Origin-style Zaku II:

This I suppose is the real obvious comparison, but I don’t think it’s a particularly useful one. The Origin makes some significant tweaks to the Zaku design. Here you can see that the Zaku II looks a lot more “squished” in comparison. While it is the same height, everything body part feels both shorter and wider in comparison.

In any case, you can still see that the Zaku II looks and feels bulkier, and that alone gives it a more menacing look.

Lastly, we have the “best” comparison of the bunch, alongside the Zaku II Revive:

These two look like a perfect pair. The relative simplicity of both models means that they look of a kind. In fact, this photo makes the Zaku I look a lot better than it would otherwise.

Conclusion

Bandai went out of their way to add a bunch of unique weapons, accessories, and gimmicks to this model kit. Maybe they did it so that it felt more like a true evolutionary predecessor to the Zaku II, or maybe they just did it so that the model felt different enough to be worth buying.

Whatever the truth may be, the effort is both obvious and appreciated. But it isn’t enough to make me feel good about the final product.

The problem, I think, is that short of a visual redesign, there’s not much they could do to make it better. The OG Zaku I design looks like someone was told to sketch out an “Old Zaku” in an afternoon, and they simply stripped away all the defining visual elements of the Zaku II. Quick and simple.

And if my gut is correct, that’s probably extremely close to the truth. It makes sense too; why would you do more for a mobile suit that was only showcased in a single early episode?

But it just isn’t enough. It feels too much like its sibling, without looking quite as cool.

Mind you, it’s not a bad kit. But if you’re looking to add a Zaku to your collection, I’d go for just about any other one before finding yourself here. You really have to want to like the minor minutiae of mobile suit variants to want to go for this one, but if you do, I suppose it is interesting in its own way.

Final Thoughts

• Just a reminder, the decals are not included with this model, except for the one for the monoeye.
• I found a photo of what is alleged to be of a Master Grade Zaku I: If this is real, then it is exactly the kind of visual redesign that makes this mobile suit more interesting. Look at how different the chest is. It has a real "old school sci-fi" vibe to it, and it is exactly the kind of look that makes it feel deliciously old fashioned.