1/44 High Grade Char's Zaku II

Mobile Suit: MS-06S Zaku II
Release Date: July 2020
Series: Mobile Suit Gundam

Start Date: January 10, 2026
Finish Date: February 20, 2026

This is the main antagonist unit for much of the original Gundam anime, piloted by Char Aznable. While he gets a few new suits over the show, none are quite as iconic as the simple red Zaku. I love this suit, and it was a very thoughtful birthday gift from my family (which violated several self-imposed backlog rules).

This is the 2020 "Revive" of the original HGUC, created back in 2002. While it has the same name with nothing to differentiate them, it's a pretty big upgrade of that kit in engineering and overall proportions. For a while, Bandai was doing these under the "Revive" moniker, but dropped it at some point even though this kit is exactly what that line was, so... I dunno!

This kit is very accurate to the anime - no unecessary panel line details are added, and the kit is super color simple. Due to that, it's also perfectly color accurate with the exception of the cameras on the weapons and the monoeye. This gave me an opportunity to do something a little different, and I decided to try out a couple of weathering techniques I've never done before instead of a full paintjob. Overall, I'm pleased, but definitely overdid it in certain areas. Still, you only get better by trial and error, and this gives me a lot more confidence to bring these techniques forward.

Process:

1. Airbrushed dark parts black, overbrushed with Testor's gunmetal -> semi-gloss coat
2. Brush chipping (Testor's gunmetal, silver), dry brushing (Testor's silver), dust weathering (Tamiya oil stain) -> semi-gloss coat
3. Pin wash (Tamiya dark gray + Testor's light brown mix) -> semi-gloss coat

Observations:

• The overbrush step is interesting for building a brushed metal texture. Testor's gunmetal is a very subtle metallic when used this way, which I think I like - it feels like it's at scale. It also means you don't necessarily need to panel line these later, since it's already got contrast built in.
• Went way overboard on brush chipping with the shins. Easy to do since you can forget there's still two more weathering steps to do. Enamels are really, really good for this though since it's so easy to clean.
• I was concerned about pin wash over semi gloss, since so many people say you have to use gloss, but I found it surprisingly easy to clean after letting it dry for ~10 minutes. It leaves just a very, very slight residue that actually simulates a subtle post-shade. Again, enamels are awesome for this and Tamiya panel line mixes very nicely with Testor's enamel pots.
• Wanted to get better oil stain effects from the pipes. Felt very difficult to do at this scale. But again, I had an easy time correcting overzealous applications with thinner.

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