Banpresto SCM Ex MSV: Zaku II (MS-06R)




There are several figures waiting for review in Shewsbury Land now and this the one that excite me the most, simply because it's a Zeonist MS, the all time favorite Zaku II.

This is the review of Special Creative Model MSV #1A: Zaku II MS-06R (Black Tri-Stars) produced by Banpresto.

At 1,450 yen (about SGD 23.00 before adding shipment charges) this action figure is certainly an attractive item and a must have for Zeon fans and collectors.

Apart from this, Banpresto also recently released the Special Creative Model MSV #1B: RX-78-2 Gundam (Real Type Color) but I personally dislike that color scheme and anyway we already have several RX-78-2 old fart Gundam figures in Shewsbury Land and thus I don't plan to add more of him for now.


Ok then, let's get on to the review;

The box...





Out of the box...






You will get the Zaku...




And the weapons (machine gun and bazooka), optional hands and 1 extra head.






Since this is for the legendary Zeon trio "Black Tri-Star", it is only natural to get 3 units of this figures....

Black Tri-Stars; Ortega (left), Gaia (middle), and Mash (right)




Some information about Black Tri-Stars from Gundam Wikia;

The "Black Tri-Stars" (黒い三連星 Kuroi Sanrensei) were a three-man mobile suit assault team in the classic anime TV series Mobile Suit Gundam. They are sometimes alternately referred to as the "Black Trinary", or less often, the "Black Trinity

The trio consisted of Zeon ace pilots Lieutenant Gaia (ガイア Gaia), Lieutenant Junior Grade Ortega (オルテガ Orutega), and Lieutenant Junior Grade Mash (マッシュ Masshu). The three men first met in May, U.C.0076 when the Zeon space forces began secretly practicing combat maneuvers in preparation for the upcoming war. The three were all assigned to the Mobile Training Battalion D Company, 2nd Platoon, and became good friends quickly. During the Battle of Loum on January 16th, U.C.0079, the three men first earned their notorious reputation when they captured General Revil. The three customized MS-05 Zaku I that they piloted, painted in a black-and-purple colour scheme, earned the trio the nickname "Black Tri-Stars".

The Black Tri-Stars came up with their own unique tactical maneuver with the high speed and maneuverability of the Zakus, developing their trademark attack, the "Jet Stream Attack". Moving in at high speed, the trio lines up one behind the other, forming a lethal simultaneous triple assault in which two of the members attack with ranged weapons and the last one attacks with a melee weapon. The danger of this maneuver is that dodging one attack puts the victim perfectly in the sights of the second or third attack. The three members of the Black Tri-Stars were said to be more skilled than an entire squad of normal soldiers, and they proved it constantly with their ruthless attacks on the Earth Federation's space forces. In July, 0079, the Black Tri-Stars alone in their new High Mobility Zaku IIs destroyed an entire Earth Federation Reconnaissance in Force fleet near the Zeon asteroid fortress of A Baoa Qu.

In October, U.C.0079 the Black Tri-Stars are each given a new Dom and transferred to Earth by Kycilia Zabi where they join the 7th Terrestrial Mobile Division, 1st Mobile Suit Battalion. On November 6th, the Black Tri-Stars arrive at Odessa, Ukraine to shore up the defenses of the mining facilities against the Earth Federation's all-out attack. The trio immediately sets out to ambush the White Base, during which the Black Tri-Stars manage to kill Medea transport commander Ensign Matilda Ajan. However, Federation's Gundam pilot Amuro Ray is able to break through the deadly Jet Stream Attack by using Gaia's Dom as a jumping platform, and kills Mash in return, forcing the two remaining Black Tri-Stars to retreat in shock.

Gaia and Ortega return to Odessa where they honour the death of their fallen comrade, Mash. They decide the best way to both honour and avenge Mash's death would be to destroy the Gundam and the White Base. On November 9th, the remaining two Tri-Stars attack the White Base during Operation Odessa (M'quve finds out about this and berates them as they attack but the remaining Tri-Stars still continue on). However with the triad broken, Gaia and Ortega are easily killed by the Gundam, putting an end to the legacy of the Black Tri-Stars.



Let's have a look at this customized Zaku II;











By the way, before we move on, just a personal taste of mine, I would rather have the shield on the left side, like this;




In a way it's like those Zaku from Gundam Seed.




OK, let's have some close up look on this figure again;










Side by side with the SCM Ex: Zaku II and SCM Ex: Zaku II (Char Aznable);





Articulation is pretty good, this kneeling pose is never a problem;




And thus you can have plenty of fun with many action pose....




The detailing on the weapons is quite good considering the cheap price of this figure;






Unfortunately, Banpresto did not give the usual Heat Hawk (axe) for Zaku.

In the photo below, the Axe is from the SCM Ex: Zaku II (Char Aznable).

So now... let's do the famous Jet Stream Attack - Shewsbury Style...






Thankfully I have the previous SCM Ex: RX-78-2 Gundam to be the victim for today;




Jet Stream Attack - Shewsbury Style - First is the attack from Heat Hawke...




Jet Stream Attack - Shewsbury Style - The second attack is a shot from the bazooka...




Jet Stream Attack - Shewsbury Style - The final attack is the deadly "Zaku Kick" - it is similar to that Kamen Rider Kick...





From there onwards, they can start rape the Gundam as they wish...






As a side note, this Banpresto SCM Ex figure is just 12cm tall, 1cm short from the usual 1/144 scale, in the photo below, we put the GFF RX-78-2 Gundam and the SCM Ex figure next to each other....




Overall, this SCM Ex figure from Banpresto is certainly a very nice collectible action figure with a very nice price tag and offers lot's of fun good articulation and action pose. Proportion wise may not be perfect but I don't mind them being a bit chubby and meaty though a little shortie as the price is damn cheap. I have no complain what so ever on this figure though maybe it would be nice if Banpresto also give the Heat Hawke - in which they did not.

As at the day of this review, this item is still available from HLJ;

http://www.hlj.com/product/BNP46990-A


I have also suggested the local hobby and toy retailers to bring in this figure though I'm not sure if they interested with my suggestion as the problem with this action figure is to find the right volume to match the demand. For example, I would certainly love completed action figures - ready to play out of the box, but probably other people might not share the same interest and this is really though scenario for the retailers to handle.



end

Comments

  1. It can certainly have more decal on this zaku. The purple look weird to me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Leon, due to the price and also some "technical instructions" from the big brother Bandai, I think Banpresto have done what they could and thus this figure don't really have lots of decals. Purple is the favorite color of Lt. Gaia, leader of the team.

    ReplyDelete
  3. For such a low price action figure, it really looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've seen some of these as prizes inside those arcade machines. A really great prize if you can actually win them.

    ReplyDelete

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