HGUC 1/144 Zaku III and Zaku III Custom Review - Hobby Clubhouse | ZZ Gundam Model and Gunpla

The last name to the Zaku lineage is the Zaku III and Mashymre Cello's Custom variant comes to us via Bandai's High Grade Universal Century line. Mass production-ready but with heavy enough firepower to stand toe-to-toe with the meanest of the mega size MSes of the era, do these kits do the character justice? Come fine out!
Also, check out the review of the Zaku III Twilgiht Axis version: • HGUC Zaku III Twilight...
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[@LoliMaster69227]

The *always* bulky ZAKU III

[@HobbyClubhouse]

That read in his voice in my head, emphasis on the "always" and all

[@Roaddbuster]

Seriously wish Bandai would make this into a Master Grade. The Zaku III is one of the coolest upgrades of the simple Zaku I and Zaku II turning it into a bigger and bulky mobile suit.

[@HobbyClubhouse]

Man, an MG kit would look amazing. Imagine a Zaku III but at the size of the recent Gundam Mk V...

[@EggkFarm]

5:07 Just two bros, chilling out. Great review, these are two really neat kits. In many ways they still look like good buys today with some extra love. The seams would be a challenge but it's always do-able. I'd say the green one is my favorite of the two.

[@HobbyClubhouse]

They really would make nice projects with some extra details and scuffing out all the seams. There's still a third bro actually in a coming video - the Zaku III Twilight Axis version

[@jakobvonbugmann]

I just wanna say you did an amazing job selling these kits, genuinely entertaining video and very well put together and edited. Well done.

[@maaarrlonn]

the zaku 3 was one of the many old hg's i enjoyed building and painting to accuracy. really happy this video came out :)

[@HobbyClubhouse]

They've both sat around my storage for a long time and survived being hit by a storm, so I'm really glad too that they get their time here on KZbin

[@Moominyeager96]

Wish there is a revive version kit for Zaku III both mass produced type and Custom type

[@Rey-sb6li]

Awesome review! ^^

[@djsoundwave5595]

I wish they'd reprint this kit more often, would love to make this bulky guy shine bright with mordern kits

[@HobbyClubhouse]

All those big surfaces would be so exciting to detail up and add some nice water decals onto

[@roddytorres6525]

Amazing review of the amazing Zaku III

[@HobbyClubhouse]

Thank you so much! The Zaku III deserves a ton of love:)

[@ApenBaard]

Ok I thought i would be content with getting one of these but seeing em together like this really makes me want both of these chunky boys :'D The seamlines are a bit of a shame but Ill just do my best to ignore em xD Great review as usual, thanks^^

[@HobbyClubhouse]

Thanks as always! Indeed, seams or not, there's just no substitute for true pure-blood Zeon-engineered chonky goodness:)

[@jagerzaku9160]

I want these so bad

[@HobbyClubhouse]

There's still one more Zaku III review coming, the Twilight Axis version:)

[@kidrobot.]

wish there was a red one as well

[@kidrobot.]

@@gakeeeen yeah, i just realized after watching this review lol

[@itsgab5745]

Bit late, but I love the Zaku III. Yes a bit outdated, but I love their chunky size and when you're a ZZ fan like me. They look really good posed next to other Neo Zeon suits and my boi the ZZ. Everything around that era felt like big chunky sluggers who can tank shots and I LOVE IT!!! But I do wonder though, would they ever make the Zaku III we see in Unicorn? Where the front skirt is replaced with Sub-Arms instead! The Zaku III was pretty good due to the fact that in lore, their designed for customization. So I'd love to get all the versions of the Zaku III, just to mix and match to make my own version! Plus I think that tid-bit would make it interesting for other folks out there.

[@HobbyClubhouse]

My tin foil hat senses feel that they may have done the best they could by giving us the Twilight Axis one, which was suspiciously that one all but without the sub-arms. Maybe the designers weren't given the okay to make the Unicorn one and they sent us a message (*takes off tin foil hat)

[@teknonaught]

Great review, this got me wondering tho, is there any legacy / old kits that still hold up both in looks and build process, compared with the modern HGs of today (the 2010s and up)?

[@HobbyClubhouse]

There is, actually, and I was going to review it soon too. The Nu Gundam from 2009 is a really good kit. It fits both of what you asked. I built it for the size comparison segment but ended up loving it.

[@teknonaught]

@@HobbyClubhouse ah! Looking forward to it then!

[@ShiroVtbr]

I know this is 2 years late, but I'd say the HGUC Dom/ Rick Dom kit is a contender too. It actually has great articulation for a chonky boi, the option to build the Dom or Rick Dom, a heat saber with it's own molded yellow blade, AND a moving mono eye, a feature that even recently wasn't so common. Not to mention it's a beautiful kit once complete. I liked it so much I bought a second!

[@alvarodiogolopessousa5911]

although the failures , it's a kit cool enough for fans and builders that want simple builds or bulky kits

[@RagingRobo]

I bought both just to mix parts lol. I only wanted the custom but I didn’t like how you like the joints and hoses looked so I used the white versions stuff on the green one

[@HobbyClubhouse]

The PBandai Twilight Axis kit would have been your beset friend - though I bet you buying both kits still costs less than buying that

[@Adniwhack]

I was going to ask where you got these, but when I saw the box are, I knew wherr to get them.

[@HobbyClubhouse]

The two I have here are really old ones I've had for some years now so they still have the red Bandai badge. They get reprinted quite often though so you can keep an eye out

[@YouGuessIGuess]

I like this design but the Sleeves version had the right idea when they turned those silly waist guns into sub-arms. If we ever get a revive version of this I hope that we get the Sleeves version.

[@NotQuiteAllHere]

Old vid but got a perhaps odd question for you; how viable would it be to say, take the right arm shoulder from this kit, reverse it, and mount it on the left arm, to double up the movable shields, if one had two kits? Had an idea for a custom build idea and its got me wandering.

[@MasterSwo]

As unique as these are, I will ALWAYS be of the opinion that Zeon would've been better off going back to finish and update the Act Zaku instead. From what I've read, it just strikes me as being potentially the better machine.

[@HobbyClubhouse]

The Act Zaku did seem like a really good machine since they were used as-is in ZZ (even though they mostly just got shot). Even the masterpiece that's the Gelgoog needed upgrades to survive in that era

[@MasterSwo]

@@HobbyClubhouse Well getting shot down in droves doesn't really prove how good a mass-production MS is really. I mean, look and the Leo and the Windam. Both truly fantastic machines in their settings, yet were blown to bits by the hundreds almost every episode. The Act Zaku could easily be considered much the same.

[@obicross]

I haven't watched it fully but i expect you to do kakarot joke lol 😁

[@HobbyClubhouse]

There's a little something:)

[@juandelata]

I won't stop hoping for a revive

[@HobbyClubhouse]

Even a 1.5 update would be pretty nice, which too bad it wasn't a thing yet when the Twlight Axis one came out on PBandai

[@quitethespice2049]

when the third hguc of all time has 10x fewer stickers than a modern P-Bandai. *looks at pale rider*

[@HobbyClubhouse]

It costs less too and you can walk into a store and pick it off a shelf

[@Dana_Ruiz]

If an MG Zaku-III were made based on the HG, would it be released as a Ver. Ka? 🤔

[@HobbyClubhouse]

If they dared make one, the question is, would you match their dare and buy a Ver.Ka chonky boy?

[@Dylan-jp9mr]

ENDRA BANZAI!

[@HobbyClubhouse]

Poor Mashymre...

[@Kenny_F91]

I really wish Bandai would've kept up with the left trigger hands.

[@HobbyClubhouse]

It makes too much sense so Bandai can't do it:)

[@lobozacatecas1]

The design of the Zaku III was kind of growing on me until I saw the weirdly thin waist.

[@bobojerry1798]

seams - I guess you can't expect too much from a 20 years old kit 😁

[@EonFigure]

I love zaku's...but i think the zaku 3 is disgusting lol. (flying brick, an easy big target) Which i think is the reason for it's "forgotten bloodline". It's not the model kits fault, its the design as a whole, but it was the zeta era, and ugly and tacky was the name of the game. I wish they had retcon'd this suit with a new sleeker slimmer design.