Review: S.C.M.Ex Zeta Gundam Unit 3

MSZ-006-3 Zeta Gundam Unit 3 [White Unicorn]
Gundam Series Special Creative Model Ex (S.C.M.Ex) ~ZGundam2nd~
Banpresto Prize Toys
~ Toy Review ~
warning: this 5-point review is photo-thumbnails heavy.



01. I n t r o d u c t i o n

good day to everyone. another year has passed and still i'm collecting toys. guess we can't take away that 'special child' in our hearts, huh? ;D once again, thanks for all the birthday greetings. too bad i didn't bought anything for my birthday. because i'm saving it up for the upcoming MG Unicorn in the next 2 weeks. yippie yippie! :D

i bought these Zetas 2 weeks ago. forgot to post them here before. so i just decided to extend it, post, and make the review. ;)

Zeta Gundam is a transformable type mecha, which can transform from its normal humanoid outlook to a more aerodynamic style during long distance travel or atmospheric reentry. The shield on the left hand serves as both the nose and the heat shield of the flight unit while the legs become the main thrusters. The concept of the unit is a Tail Binder which serves as the fifth limb of the unit, thus aiding in Active Mass Balance Auto-Control (AMBAC) motion. When transformed to its fighter style, it is referred to as the Wave Rider.

this specific unit appeared in episode 9 of the CG series Gundam Evolve. piloted by codename 'White Unicorn' aka Amuro Ray. it look nearly identical to the prototype Zeta used by Kamille, and was colored in an unusual white color scheme with purple stripes. however, its mobility was improved to match up the pilot's control. and yes, Amuros' the BEST! :D

02. P a c k a g i n g

standard Banpresto Prize Toys' box. with lots of tapes in it. esp on the corners. hehehe. ;D oh, and there's always that 'string' on the top flaps. front is a window type panels showing the figure, hands, weapons, and shield. back shows the 2 types of Zeta Gundam figure. the prototype blue used by Kamille and the one used by Amuro. side panels shows the features of the figure. from weapon to joints. inside you can see the figure resting on a black plastic container. with the accessories in it. no wires. which is great by the way. you just snap the clear plastic from the black plastic. just like the ones on Revoltech. you just have to remove the tapes underneath it. then that's it. ;)

>>> Rating: 4 <<<


03. P r o d u c t & D e t a i l

first, this is not a transformable Zeta (wish it was). second, it's made of ATBC-PVC with some ABS for the joints. since the joints are made of ABS, it's strong and stiff. you can play with this toy with no worries. here we see the Zeta figure along with its accessories: (1) Zeta Gundam, (4) extra manipulators, (1) beam rifle, (1) beam sabre, (1) shield. next is the turn around profile shots. i love the proportion of this figure. the waist are slim and sexy compared to my HGUC and MG kit. this one resembles the sleekiness of the anime's Zeta. take note that the purple stripes/color is a little lighter in actual. next is a close up shot of the torso and head. look at the details. they're so sweet, huh? ;) next is the accessories. notice that the beam rifle is just painted with one color. you can enhance the figure by putting some panel lines into it. maybe i'll do that in the future. because honestly, this figure is too plain for being just 'white'. sorry about that, Amuro. ;) then the manipulators for holing the weapons. i love the open-hand manipulator.

>>> Rating: 5 <<<


04. A r t i c u l a t i o n s


04.01. N e c k

first of all, i would love to say that i really love the articulations on this figure. it can rival Revoltech's articulations. but let's not forget that they're different from each other, ok. as i was saying, this figure features bendable and rotating joints. from neck, shoulder, torso, waist, and ankle. for now, we'll talk about the neck joints. as you can see based on the photos, the neck joint are so flexible. you can lean it forward, backwards, sidewards, angled. and you can even rotate it 360 degrees. one joint is from the head/neck portion while the other is from the neck/shoulder joint. that's why you can lean it more. cool huh? ;D

04.02. T o r s o

here you can see the upper torso's movement. you can lean it forward and backward. i even took a picture underneath it, so you guys can see how articulated the torso is. oppss... is this a diecast toy? how come there's screw underneath the torso? hehehe. :D

04.03. W a i s t / E l b o w

next is the waist joint. imagine all the poses that you can do with this figure by having a torso and waist joint seperately. nice huh? ;D some shots shows the figure bending sidewards. you can also see the back joints of the figure. and the ball joint for the wing (refer to the main section image). next is the double-joint elbow. somehow the elbow joints resembles those found with the latest MSiA technology.

04.04. S h o u l d e r

the articulated shoulder joints. what can i say? i'm speechless while taking some photos of this figure. do i need to say more? :D and lastly, you can also bend slightly the wrist joint inwards. i only wish that the MG ver.2.0 kit counterpart has this kind of shoulder joints. ;)

04.05. C r o t c h / T h i g h / K n e e / A n k l e

since, all the parts involve here are related to one another, i didn't made a separate sections for each. ok. first are the crotch joints. looking at it, it resembles those found on the MG ver.2.0 kit. when i first look at it, i thought maybe this one can transform. but sad to say, it's not. once again, is this a rubber toy, or a diecast toy? why? because, there's a metal shaft connecting the main crotch joint. hehehe. :D then you can rotate also the thigh part. not so sure if it's up to 360 degrees. but you can rotate it as much as what your pose needed. ;) then next is the bended knee joint. and lastly is the ankle joints.

>>> Rating: 6 <<<
what??? that's 6. hahahaha! nweiz, you get the idea WHY. :D


05. C o m p a r i s o n s

this section shows the other figures from different Gundam product. from left to right: HGUC Zeta Gundam, SCM-Ex Zeta Gundam Unit 3, GFF Gundam MKII, and MSiA TR-1 Hazel Gundam. true, right? that compared to HGUC Zeta, the SCM-Ex version is more sleeker and sexy. ;)

06. Lights. Camera. A C T I O N !
reminder: real Beam Sabre not included.

this section shows the other figures from different Gundam product. from left to right: HGUC Zeta Gundam, SCM-Ex Zeta Gundam Unit 3, GFF Gundam MKII, and MSiA TR-1 Hazel Gundam. true, right? that compared to HGUC Zeta, the SCM-Ex version is more sleeker and sexy. ;)

>>> Fun Factor: 6 <<<
6 again??? wow! :o


07. C o n c l u s i o n

this is a great figure. it's best to be displayed on your computer table or any of your workplace area. as i said earlier, it can rival the articulations of Kaiyodo's Revoltech. too bad, weapons and accessories wise, [i]medyo kulang.[/i] my only regret is why separate the weapons and accessories for each version of the Zeta? meaning in order for us to get the Hyper Mega Launcher (cannon), we also have to get Kamille's Zeta. and vice-versa on the Amuro's Zeta's Beam Rifle and Beam Sabre. now it would be awkward to use the blue-colored Hyper Mega Launcher with the white-colored Amuro's Zeta, right? and since Zeta Gundam has few weapons and accessories, why not throw it also the arm's Grenade Launcher Pack for both, right? with the rest of the accessories and weapons, i'd gladly paid an extra than not having it all. :-/

but in the end, since i also love the original color of Zeta, i decided to get Kamille's too. :D

>>> Overall Rating: 6 <<<
what??? 6??? i thought the highest is 5? hahaha! ^^,




Thanks for looking. ^^,