MG Zeta Gundam Ver.1.0 - UNBOXING and Review!

Let's go way back to 1996 for this original Master-Grade Zeta Gundam! There's pros and cons but it's definitely an interesting build!
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Thanks for watching!
00:00:00 Intro
00:01:31 Unboxing
00:09:07 Review Intro
00:13:16 Accessories
00:17:30 Articulation
00:20:45 Posing/Conclusion

[@jamesleung2450]

I remember this being the first kit I got off HLJ back in the late 90's. Back then you'd have to order off the website, then send in your payment in the form of a money order to a PO box in the midwest if my memory is correct. The early days of e-commerce were crazy.

[@yichizhang1540]

That was the general online shopping experience at the time, I still remember going to the post and buy books by shipping money to the publisher.

[@Coolio_Ash]

Wow hlj has been around for that long???

[@goosetoys]

The manual alone was worth the price of admission. Absolute gem of a booklet

[@windspear5]

There's a cool feature on all injected molded plastic that helps you determine when it was made. Basically there's two clocks with a singular hand pointing at a number. One clock will have numbers 1 through 0 denoting the year from 1 to 10. While the second clock will have numbers 1-12 but keep in mind 10, 11, and 12 may be substituted by "x", "y", and "z". So if clock 1 is pointed at "6" and clock 2 is pointed at "x" you can determine that the kit was made in October of the 6th year. Now whether that 6 means 1996 or 2006 is unclear, but what is certain is that fact it was made on the sixth year of that decade.

[@ZakuAurelius]

I totally forgot about this til I was editing the video and by then I had already binned the runners 😂 🤦‍♂️

[@darktitan3025]

Oh I always wondered what those numbers meant, thanks for the clarification

[@HybrydATP64]

They also include an extra number for years past 2010 so that Bandai didn’t have to make a new mold. In the corner of that area there will be a 1 or 2 if i’m not mistaken to indicate what Decade a kit was made in besides those numbers

[@LouieMcFly23]

@@ZakuAurelius looking closely at the runner with the hands, i think this Zeta was printed in December of 2000

[@coffeedudeguy]

I wonder if old MG kits had those photo inserts, until someone figured out they could just leverage magazines like GHL and Hobby Japan as their publishing/photography arm so Bandai can just focus on kits (and obviously cut costs). That way everyone gets to sell more kits and more magazines. Those photos do show a more classic modelling style of pre-shading and I do kinda miss them, but new kits are engineered so well (for the price) so I’m not complaining

[@casvalcat3546]

Last they do it on year 2004. Anything after year 2004 will not have these cutout cardboard anymore.

[@dylanconnelly9845]

I thought the general consensus of the Zeta 2.0 was that it aged pretty well

[@zgmfx-09a]

It comes with a bunch of stuff but its biggest issue is that for some reason the feet wont articulate enough to let it balance properly

[@pyrojinn]

The only thing that's right about that kit is the spot-on proportion, everything else is over and under engineered. I broke the arm peg and fucked up the torso joints and the pelvic hinge is completely loose, but thats beside the point.

[@thedarkfish1]

I've also found with mine that the plastic has zero bend, different parts of the wing on mine have broken so I can no longer do the transformation which is something i love about the zeta and kinda takes something away for me at least

[@borgar1765]

yeah, it's great

[@pyrojinn]

@@borgar1765 should get a 3.0 at this point tbh

[@Dr.Alligator]

The “technical drawings” in the instructions are too cool

[@landwand]

I'm so glad that you have reviewed this gem. I'll need to get another one day. I love the look of this kit. I'd say that this is much more modern-looking than the 2.0. Exceptions noted for the big head, small shoulders and short arms. This is as close to Katoki's original concept for "Z Ver Ka" as we'll ever get outside of a GK (akin to the drawing in the old 1/144 HG manual).

[@mahatmagandhiful]

Surprised to see this review up so soon after the live build (which I unfortunately missed, really enjoyed the commentary when I watched it later). For whatever reason I thought it would take longer to produce. Anyway, I'm happy to see you enjoyed it. I too found myself pleasantly surprised when I built it for the first time a few months ago; I likewise had heard nothing but horror stories about the 1.0, and it turned out to be a completely fine kit. Some warts here and there, some questionable decisions, but nothing at all approaching the disaster the community made it out to be. And the proportions I agree are extremely appealing. It's also very fun to do some pseudo archeology, go back in time and get a glimpse of what Bandai at the time had in mind, where they may or may not have wanted the line to go and where it did go, all of that stuff. By the by, there does exist the even older 1/100 kit from the show's initial run, which also features a full transformation. I've been trying (not very hard, mind you) to get my hands on it just to see what it's like. But from what I've gathered off dalong, it already managed to capture the broad strokes of the design, down to a complete transformation, which is especially impressive given the time, and it puts into perspective the sort of... diminishing returns... of the Zeta revisions over the decades. They've gotten better over time, for sure, but they were building upon what was already something of a knock out of the park. Anyway, loved the review, can't wait to hear your thoughts on the newer revisions.

[@JD-ud9qt]

This was my fathers first gunpla kit, he doesnt purely remember the expierence of building it, but now thanks to you he can relive those memories. I still have this kit stood up all next to the newer ones to provide good contrast to show how innovated gunpla has become.

[@skonp5469]

Glad I could help make this video happen! Super cool to see it get some love

[@ZakuAurelius]

Thank you thank you!

[@ApenBaard]

I appreciate the trip through master grade zeta history you are taking us on zack! Im looking forward to the next one! Did not expect to like the 1.0 but I am sold on those oldschool funky proportions haha. On the wishlist it goes.

[@ZakuAurelius]

It’s not a GREAT kit, but it’s perfectly fine I’d say! 👌

[@jackl458]

My first MG Gundam. I build it 2 time and still keep a new one now. The best looking of Zeta. More Zeta Ver KA but only this one is real Zeta Ver KA . You will not see that real Katoki style design on new Ver KA gundam Toys now .

[@BastiJesus21]

For an old MG, it was a lot better than I expected. It was also pretty cool seeing how they made Master grades back in the day, you can kind of tell that bandai gave it 100% and used all available technology to make it. Looking forward to see the other versions of the Zeta MG, awesome video!

[@royale9985]

I actually really like the proportions of this zeta than that of the hguc and ver ka! For some reason it seems more balanced/filled out instead of having a tiny chest and huge bottom half. Thanks for the review of such a (obscure?) kit!

[@ftnhungpiano]

This version was designed by Katoki himself so technically it's a ver.Ka.

[@landwand]

I adore this Zeta. The lineart is far cooler, but the MG interpretation is pretty keen. (small, short arms and shoulders, sadly!)

[@hasaki_art]

Glad you reviewed this old kit, this was my 1st MG I bought I still got it, still has one of the best Zeta looks imo.

[@michaelt.lancaster9776]

At lease to me when I've built these, the Zeta 2.0 was a joy, the 1.0 was a nightmare.

[@NjalStormcaller]

I've built the 1.0 and 2.0 and man are they ever worlds apart. They're both from around when they each came out, the 2.0 is still in one piece. I'd still say the 1.0 is a little more of a solid kit than anything that had a core fighter from that era.

[@tm2jetfire]

That box art is worthy of framing.

[@ZakuAurelius]

One reason to love VerKa kits!

[@gatchaponkei]

This was my first master grade :')

[@tinysquidwardonachair2236]

The mg zeta c1 and the a1 are sorta 1.5, but the hips are unusual in a sense that they are suppose to stay locked in place when it's in mobile suit mode, but the lock at the bottom is unreliable to the point where the hips will pull out of it's connection as if you're transforming it into the waverider mode

[@zethrenbeltran4071]

My first gundam (which was an SD) and my first MG! Def had issues, biggest would be those drooping backpack and very weak arms. So excited for ver KA!

[@ORLY911]

i do hope the ver ka includes enough part density in the robot itself to justify its high asking price, if its not going to include the Mega Launcher. The Zeta isnt particularly bulky or has big accessories outside the launcher itself, last I checked its more expensive than the ZZ Ver Ka which is insane

[@edkwon]

What a weird choice of LED placement since that part of the tail thruster never really lit up in the anime 🤔

[@KwongKan]

Looks more Ver.Ka than the actual upcoming Ver.Ka (Okay technically speaking Katoki touched up all MGs but still)

[@SM-zn6rf]

I really hope the new Zeta has a better transformation than either of the older master grades. The nightmares of those two

[@RicQuintanilla]

Man, I can't believe it's been 5 months since the last mg or FM 1/100 review. I hope you do some of the Pbandai MGs that have been released lately..

[@alternatebanana3670]

I recently received a MG Zeta 2.0 as a gift from a friend in Japan, who had nothing but praise for the kit. Strange to not hear the same being implied in this video.

[@fantasticmrnox]

@@sanictheedgehog wishing the rg zeta wasn't a hand grenade

[@masterkent1]

i like how this is also designed by katoki

[@nyfinest017]

I agree that Zeta 2.0 has aged well. The one that time has not been kind to is Physalis from Gundam 0083. The design is a dead end or Bandai really pushing that one kit at the very end of the line.

[@realtoon_]

will you be modifying this? i had so much issues on my 1.0 zeta.

[@br0k3nvf1n7]

When you review the 2.0 could you try and see if the 1.0 landing gears fit in the 2.0 slots. The 2.0 has space for them but since I got mine 2nd hand, I wasn’t sure if the 2.0 ever came with landing gears

[@ZakuAurelius]

I imagine the 2.0 comes with it’s own set but I’ll find out and let you all know soon enough!

[@redheads604]

it's near impossible to get it to hold the HML because the trigger guard is in the way.

[@sharingansasuke5]

Polycaps really suck on bigger kits. They’re perfect for the HG size kits, but man they just don’t bear the weight of bigger kits well at all

[@0Vuuk0]

the hands for this kit are like the original rg hands. haha

[@nicemecha]

Huge head 😳

[@thewingedwoods2620]

ZakuAurelius doesn't look right without his glasses

[@ZakuAurelius]

Haha I still have them without the lenses, should I wear them in for the video intros? 🤔

[@burps20]

Pleaseeee review the Daban version of the Zeta, it's so goooood

[@fantasticmrnox]

If you want him to review bootlegs then you're on the wrong channel

[@burps20]

@@fantasticmrnox he has definitely reviewed a few bootleg kits in the past, and the redesign of the Daban Zeta is enough to merit it's own review imo, especially given the theme here

[@dtejada1988]

😎👍🏼

[@ashtaron23]

Great review as always. You look like you're not getting enough rest, man. Hope you're doing well. Stay awesome

[@ZakuAurelius]

It’s been a tough time, appreciate the support 🙏

[@vustvaleo8068]

so is the LED from 1996? not a re-produced copy? if so that is impressive that it still works today.

[@ZakuAurelius]

It’s definitely old yeah!

[@Anon-yl7dl]

Waiting on a MG MK-II 3.0

[@sidratan7171]

The 2.0 is still really good, only issues are concerning long term stability with the joints (ball joints at the legs kinda suck)

[@pugwash1]

while I dont mind what the 1.0 zeta did im not he biggest fan of how it looks when think of the the Zeta Gundam I think more to say the 2.0 or the upcoming ver ka a sleek and styling variable gundam and I hope form the ver ka we get a 2.0 of the zeta plus

[@HaL3Sniping]

Will you be live building the 2.0 like you did the 1.0

[@ZakuAurelius]

Live? Yes!

[@HaL3Sniping]

@@ZakuAurelius awesome

[@somechinesedude5466]

Zeta plus C1 are not zeta gundam in anyway, its refined & simplified zeta Its basically zeta with less feature & mass produce of its "design"

[@chatspam1238]

the head looks like it was pressed in. Really doesn't look good proportion wise.

[@wewyllenium]

Katoki's take on the first MG Zeta was horrible. It deviated so far from the source material. It also looks like his take on the R1. His Early MG works are really bad.