HGUC Sazabi Part 1

The big red monster MS
Am running a bit low on motivation to continue with MG Char's Gelgoog Ver. 2.0 after working on the figures and pilot cockpit in the previous two postings, so I'm going with something else right now for a change of mood. ^^


The mighty Sazabi in HGUC format.



Box art.
For me, Sazabi is the pinnacle of Zeon's MS development. In terms of specs and weapons, its performance is definitely way above most other MSs in the universe of "Char's Counterattack"; in terms of looks, its size and color are very intimidating; and in terms of piloting, there's no need to say, it's already a sure win. ^^

Having one's own supreme leader leading the front line in a huge red MS, who isn't there just for show but is someone who has well established himself as an ace pilot long before that particular era, I can just imagine the zeal of those Neo Zeon soldiers fighting alongside this flagship MS. It doesn't justify their genocidal ultimate goal of course, but in a fictitious world, it must be a spirit of great awesomeness.

I do like its supposed "successor" - Sinanju very much, but I can't seem to be able to associate the same feeling I have about Sazabi with Sinanju, even though both are evidently huge, red and piloted by the same person (in a way). Sinanju is a lot more delicate in terms of component design, supported by its abundance of emblems and an overall more compact look. The emblems make it look ceremonial in nature, even though Full Frontal does lead his Neo Zeon remnants into battle with this red MS. Both are very fierce-looking Zeon MSs to me, but Sazabi has a powerful sense of brute force that I don't really see on Sinanju.

Doesn't make the latter any less attractive nonetheless. ^^

Back to this HGUC kit. To me, Sazabi was part of a really awesome streak of releases in this plamo line. A few months after its release in June 2008, Kampfer came out, and not too long after that, Rezin Schnyder's Customized Geara Doga was released, all which are some of my favorite Zeon MS designs. ^^ On the other hand, from a "broader" perspective (XD), including Sazabi, it was all Zeon MSs for HGUC for the second half of 2008. Very nice. ^^ All that made Sazabi seemed like an even more celebrated design than it already is. ^^





Introduction of the kit on the sides of the box.



Content.




Manual design.


Runner A - The usual multi-color runner. Contains parts for the shoulder armors, front skirt armors and head, plus all the yellow parts for the pipes and vents plus clear yellow beam parts.
Despite looking like there are just three color molded on this runner, there are actually four - the usual design for a multi-color Runner A.


(Left) A one-piece part for the tail on the helmet.
(Right) The V-Fin on the forehead is molded in a different, darker tone of red as compared to the armor parts around it. It's detectable by the hints on the runner design.


(Left) The same dynamic design for the beam saber parts like the ones on Nu Gundam.
(Right) I like the much larger beam sword part though. ^^


(Left) Two layers of parts for the end segment of the shoulder armors to make them look extra thick I believe.
(Right) The brighter red shown is the more accurate display of the parts' color actually. ^^;


Some molded details behind the front skirt armor parts.


Runner B - Contains three large parts for rear skirt armor and shield.


Huge protruding parts for the rear skirt armor that contributed quite a lot to the box's thickness no doubt. XD


The shield is 15cm tall and 7cm wide.
Freaking awesome! ^^


Some molded details behind the shield.


Runner C - Contains parts for the leg armors, shoulder armors, waist and weapons.


(Left) The vents on the groin need to be painted it seems. ^^;
(Right) The beam sabers' handles are molded as single-piece parts.


Large and thick parts for the leg armors, molded with some simple details on the rear face.


Runner D - Two pieces. Contains repetitive parts mainly for the legs, some for the arms and Funnels.


Quite a bit of details for the sole part.


Fixed three-per-set Funnel part in storage mode and the single pieces when deployed.


The red parts on Runner A (left) are molded in a brighter tone of red as compared to the ones on Runners B, C and D (right).


Runner E - Contains black parts for the body, backpack and weapons.


Very simplistic details for the Beam Shot Rifle and the shield's mount rack.


(Left) The black part on the shield is 11cm tall and 6cm wide, which would have been a pretty big shield on its own for a regular MS. ^^
(Right) The vertical bar at the bottom of the shield needs to be painted. ^^;


Runner F - Two pieces. Contains repetitive parts for the various thrusters, legs and backpack.



All the thrusters and the fuel tanks are molded in single-piece parts.
The thrusters need some serious yellow on black paint work to make their nozzle interior stands out like the ones on the completed model.


(Left) Single-piece part for the beam sword/ax is a design that is missing in the Master Grade version. ^^
(Right) The mount rack for the Funnels have pretty rich molded details. ^^


Runner G - ABS runner that contains all the joint parts and hand units.


The runner is molded in glossy black, which is of similar design as Runner C and F in HGUC Nu Gundam.


Polycap set PC-132AB - the same one used by HGUC Nu Gundam with a couple of new pieces.


Clear sticker sheet for the eye, emblem on the shield and left front skirt armor.
Instead of using the clear sticker given, I planned to use the separately released water slide decal version for the two large emblems. Nothing wrong with the clear stickers, I just wanted to try something new with this kit. ^^


Gundam Decal No. 72 for 1/144 MS Char's Counterattack Neo Zeon MS use.



Compatible for all the Neo Zeon kits shown.


No difference in terms of size and design as compared to the clear sticker version actually.


All the parts are separated from their runners.
Starting the work on this kit in the next posting. ^^