Robot Damashii [Side MS] Geara Zulu Part 3

Extra mobility with one crucial flaw
A look at Robot Damashii [Side MS] Geara Zulu's articulation design in this posting. ^^


[Head] Can be tilted upward for a pretty wide angle.


With a wide space between the neck joint and bottom of the helmet, the head can be turned to the side easily without any collision with the collars.


[Shoulder] Can be bent upward for a wide angle thanks to the large opening of the shoulder joint and upper arm.


The shoulder joints can be bent forward and rearward.


[Left shoulder armor] Attached to the left upper arm just like the HGUC Gunpla version, the left shoulder armor can be adjusted downward for a slight angle - until it hits the body obviously. ^^;


[Upper arm] Lateral movement is possible.


[Elbow] Very flexible bend for the elbow joint.


The elbow can also be twisted laterally without moving the upper arm. ^^
Not sure if it's of any practical application, but the gimmick is there. ^^


[Wrist] Pretty flexible swivel joint allows the wrist to move independently of the forearm and hand unit.


[Wrist] Ball-type joint connecting to the hand unit allows a 360-degree rotation for the latter.


[Right shoulder shield] The armor plate is connected to the right upper arm via a ball-type joint.


Just like its left counterpart, the right shoulder shield can be adjusted downward for a slight angle - until it's stopped by the arm. ^^;


[Body] Oddly enough, a joint is inserted inside the chest, which allows the latter to be lifted (right image).



[Waist] Together with the more conventional lateral articulation of the waist, Geara Zulu has a really human-like movement for its body.
That's a really flexible design for a Zeon MS,


[Skirt armors] The front and side skirt armors can be lifted.



Double-joint design for the front skirt armor allows it to be shifted upward while not bending it flat.


[Hip] Very wide expansion of the legs.


Double-joint design for the hip allows a more stable standing pose.
Extra security is any pose is always good, even though Geara Zulu is already a well balanced design that doesn't tilt over very easily. ^^


[Knee] Just 90 degrees for the knee bend - the same limitation as the HGUC Gunpla version.


Pretty solid-looking knee component but not as great-looking as the Gunpla version though. ^^; The large slot when the knee joint is bent is a bit too glaring there. ^^;


[Side thruster] Can be tilted very easily.



[Foot] Has wide enough room for it to be angled out from the ankle guard, which would be very useful for the figure's standing pose. ^^


The front portion of the foot can be split and expanded, a very good design for some extra security as well as better look for the leg's action poses. ^^


[Backpack] None of the backpack's thrusters is movable.
Suffice to say, there are plenty of articulation points on this Robot Damashii version that are not available on the HGUC Gunpla version. The chest, wrist and foot are great examples of that benefit which I really like on this figure. ^^ It's even more exciting to realize that the Gunpla version is already very articulated itself, capable of plenty of coolsome action poses. With all of the "enhancements" on this Robot Damashii version, the awesomeness of its action poses can easily get several levels of upgrade I believe. ^^

Still, despite the many awesome points it has over the Gunpla version, there's one glaring articulation feature that is missing - the mono-eye camera is not movable at all. ^^; Even though the wide neck articulation does help to negate this design flaw by allowing the head to be adjustable to the side, the fierce look when the mono-eye camera is tilted to the edge of the goggles - a design element I like very much on Zeon mono-eye MSs cannot be realized on this Robot Damashii figure. ^^;

Another surprising thing about the immobile mono-eye camera is that the two variations of this figure: Angelo Sauper's customized unit and Tamashii Web Shop's limited Guards Type have upgraded design where the eye is movable. ^^;


Images are from Hacchaka's reviews: Angelo Sauper's customized unit and Tamashii Web Shop's limited Guards Type.
The improvement (or should I say correction ^^;) is all good for those two figures, but it makes this regular grunt type seem somewhat "lonely", being the only one among the three with a fixed mono-eye camera. ^^; I did try moving the eye using a toothpick (the helmet is fixed as well, so it's not possible to remove it and adjust the eye from the inside), but it doesn't move one bit. ^^;

Some action poses from Geara Zulu to put those joints to the test. ^^







Kneeling pose is too easy for Geara Zulu. ^^
Its HGUC Gunpla version can do just as well too. ^^





Even though it's an action figure, the crotch fits one of Action Base 2's connector pieces very accurately.
There's some deliberate arrangement on the designer's book to allow such compatibility I would imagine. ^^






More action poses from Robot Damashii Geara Zulu in the next posting. ^^