The MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type is a mobile suit introduced in Mobile Suit Gundam.
Technology & Combat Characteristics
After repeated engagements since the start of the One Year War, the regular Zaku II had already become insufficient for ace pilots. In order to make effective use of the mobile suit's reserves of power, this mobility-enhanced Zaku II for commanders was hastily developed. The Zaku II Commander Type has an antenna on the head for enhanced communication capabilities and to visually distinguish squad-leaders or higher ranking pilots from other squad-members or lower ranking pilots. Commanders are also allowed to paint their machine in personal colors.
It also features a powerplant with higher output that gave the Zaku II Commander Type greater thrust and acceleration. This allows it to move at speeds 30% higher than that of the standard Zaku II. However, since the amount of propellant has not been changed from the standard type, it would naturally run out of propellant quickly when maneuvering at full speed.[1] Despite this limitation, the Zaku II Commander Type proved to be incredibly dangerous in the hands of the ace pilots it was assigned to, such as the "Red Comet" Char Aznable, who sank five Magellan-class battleships in the Battle of Loum.
Armaments
- Shoulder Shield
- A large composite armored shield on the Zaku II's right shoulder. When the machine is in the optimal attack posture, where the frontal projected area is the smallest, the corners of the shield are in front, maximizing the defensive area and forming sloped armor to reduce damage from ricochets.
- M-120A1 120mm Machine Gun
- A standard firearm for Zaku type MS. It has a large drum magazine located at the top, and features a scope and foregrip to enable highly accurate shooting. It can switch modes between single-fire and automatic fire. Although useless against Luna Titanium Alloy, it can still destroy weaker armor material with multiple shots.
- M-120AC Machine Gun
- A model of machine gun with a heat bayonet equipped on the barrel. A limited number of these weapons were produced and used by Zaku II Commander Types for operational testing.
- MMP-80 90mm Machine Gun
- A small caliber machine gun for mobile suits developed under the United Maintenance Plan. The overall shape and mechanism of the Zaku Machine Gun, which was previously deployed, has been changed. The magazine has been changed from a drum magazine to a box magazine, and a 197mm grenade launcher is available as an option. The caliber has been reduced to 90mm, but as a result, the hit rate has improved, and the 90mm shell used is also excellent in initial velocity and anti-MS firepower. The number of bullets loaded is 32 in the standard single magazine and 100 in the triple magazine. The late production model features a different barrel and hand guard, resulting in a more compact shape.
- H&L-SB25K/280mmA-P Zaku Bazooka
- A portable, physical projectile-type firearm. It is primarily for anti-ship combat and displays its power in hit and run attacks. It can also be used against enemy mobile suits, but it is harder to hit a constantly moving target. Can be stored on the rear waist armor when not in use.
- Heat Hawk
- An axe-shaped close combat weapon, it uses a super-heated blade to cut through the armor of enemy MS or vehicles. The thermal energy is generated by the power output of the Zaku II's thermonuclear reactor and relayed through the MS' hands.
- ZIM/M·T-K175C 175mm Recoilless Rifle
- The main gun of the HT-01B Magella Attack main battle tank, it is remodeled as an MS artillery weapon. It is mainly used for long distance attacks in ground combat, and can be loaded with HEAT or APFSDS rounds.
- Sturm Faust
- A simplified, disposable rocket launcher that is good for a single shot. As the warhead is not equipped with a guidance device, it is extremely hard to use the Sturm Faust to hit a moving target accurately. However, it is still a highly destructive portable weapon.
- MIP-B6 Cracker Grenade
- A multi-warhead grenade. After being thrown at the target, the six protrusions on the cracker's body explode in different directions, dealing damage over a wide area. A flash-type variant also exist, which can temporarily paralyze the sensors of enemy MS.
- Double Bazooka
- A combination of two 280mm bazookas into a single weapon. However, this is not just a joining of two bazookas, it only has a single grip located on the the left barrel and an additional sight is added to improve shooting performance. It has two magazines located at the bottom, increasing the ammunition. Around ten units were produced and used by Black Tri-Stars among others, but it was not officially adopted.
Special Equipment & Features
- Container Backpack
- Equipped on the back of Ortega's machine. It is used to store a machine gun and a spare bazooka magazine. It can be discarded with explosive bolts even during combat, and the sides can be mounted with bazookas and heat hawks.
History
The Zaku II Commander Type was one of the many variants of the Zaku II that were created to meet the needs of the Zeon forces on the battlefield. The exact production number of the Zaku II Commander Type is unknown, with different sources giving different numbers. One of the more credible figure is that approximately 100 units were produced.[2]
The most well known Zaku II Commander Type was piloted by Char Aznable. It was said that through Char's clever use of terrain and debris to boost off of, his custom colored Zaku II Commander Type was able to reach speed three times that of regular Zaku while saving fuel.[3] Char's Zaku II Commander Type was also known to have fought the Federation's RX-78-2 Gundam, piloted by Amuro Ray, several times. Despite Amuro's evident talent, he was still a novice whose piloting skills simply did not match up to Char's during their early battles. The only reason Amuro survived was because the Gundam greatly outperformed the Zaku II Commander type in terms of both offense and defense.
Variants
Gallery
Lineart
Container Backpack (Ortega use)
M-120AC Machine Gun (Johnny Ridden use)
MS120-AC 120mm Zaku Machine gun w/Heat Bayonet
Double Bazooka (Black Tri Stars use)
Heat Hawk (Black Tri Stars use)
280mm Zaku Bazooka (Johnny Ridden use)
Char's Zaku II's as seen on Mobile Suit Gundam TV series
The famous "Red Comet Kick" (MSG)
Gadem's Zaku I being stopped by Char's Zaku II Commander Type (MSG)
Char's MS-06S with the Zeon Fleet (MSG-UC)
The 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit's Observation Boat being confronted by Char's Zaku II during the Battle of Loum (from MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War OVA)
Rear view of Char's Zaku II, attacking a Salamis cruiser (MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War)
Black Tri-Stars Zaku II Commander Type (Gundam Legacy)
As featured in MSV-R: Rainbow's Shin Matsunaga
Zaku II Commander Type (Char Aznable Custom) art by Naochika Morishita
Zaku II Commander Type (Char Aznable Custom): artwork for MG model release by Naochika Morishita
.jpg "Zaku II Commander Type (Gaia custom).jpg (89 KB)")
Zaku II Commander Type (Gaia Custom): MSV illustration by Kunio Okawara
MS-06S Char's Zaku II (from Gundam Perfect File)
.jpg "MS-06S Char's Zaku II (Mobile Suit Bible Vol 02).jpg (2.66 MB)")
In Mobile Suit Bible
Red Comet Kick: artwork
Char's Zaku II as featured in Gundam Battle Assault
Char's Zaku II (Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3)
Zaku II Commander Type (Battle Operation 2)
As seen on the game Gundam Online.
Gunpla
1/250 Iropla MS-06S Char's Zaku (1983): box art
Original 1/144 Char's Zaku (1980): box art
FG 1/144 MS-06S Zaku II (Char Aznable custom) (1999): Box art
HGUC 1/144 MS-06S Zaku II (Char Aznable custom) (2002): Box art
HGUC 1/144 MS-06S Char's Zaku II (2020): Box art
HGUC 1/144 Zaku II EneKey Ver. (Enekey exclusive; 2020): Box art
HGUC 1/144 Char's Zaku II [Metallic] (The Gundam Base Tokyo exclusive; 2021): Box art
RG 1/144 MS-06S Zaku II Char Aznable Custom (2010): Box art
RG 1/144 MS-06S Zaku II (Char Aznable Custom) Ver. GFT (Gundam Front Tokyo exclusive; 2013): box art
RG 1/144 MS-06S "Char's Zaku II" Ver. Gundam Docks at Singapore (2015): box art
Original 1/100 Char's Zaku (1981): box art
MG 1/100 MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type (Char Aznable Custom) (1995): box art
MG 1/100 MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type (Char Aznable Custom) (Ver. 2.0; 2007): box art
_Ver._2.0_Real_Type_Color.jpg "MG Zaku II Commander Type (Char Aznable Custom) Ver. 2.0 Real Type Color.jpg (319 KB)")
1/100 MG "MS-06S Zaku II Ver. 2.0 (Char Aznable Custom; Real Type Color)" (P-Bandai exclusive; 2012): box art
_Ver._2.0.jpg "MG Zaku II Commander Type (Black Tri-Stars) Ver. 2.0.jpg (1.24 MB)")
MG 1/100 "MS-06S Zaku II Ver. 2.0 (Black Tri-Stars Custom)" (P-Bandai exclusive; 2012): box art
MG 1/100 "MS-06S Zaku II J.Ridden's Custom" (P-Bandai exclusive; 2013): box art
.jpg "MG Char's Zaku II Ver. 2.0 (Mechanical Clear Ver.).jpg (79 KB)")
MG 1/100 "MS-06S Zaku II Ver. 2.0 (Mechanical Clear Ver.)" (The Art of Gundam Exhibit exclusive; 2015): box art
_Ver.2.0_-Solid_Clear_Standard-.jpg "MG Zaku II (Char Aznable Custom) Ver.2.0 -Solid Clear Standard-.jpg (250 KB)")
MG 1/100 "MS-06S Zaku II (Char Aznable Custom) Ver.2.0 [Solid Clear/Standard]" (Banpresto exclusive; 2019): box art
Machanic Model 1/72 Char's Zaku (1981): box art
Original 1/60 Char's Zaku (1980): box art
PG 1/60 MS-06S Zaku II (Char Aznable Custom) (1999): box art
PG 1/60 MS-06S Char's Zaku II [Mastermind Japan Ver.] (STRICT-G Diver City Tokyo exclusive; 2018): box art
Mega Size Model 1/48 MS-06S Char's Zaku II (2010): box art
Mega Size Model 1/48 MS-06S Char's Zaku II (Ver. GFT) (2012): box art
SDBB MS-06S Char's Zaku II (2002): box art
SDCS MS-06S Char's Zaku II (2020): box art
_-Clear_Color-.jpg "SDCS Char's Zaku II (Cross Silhouette Frame Ver.) -Clear Color-.jpg (49 KB)")
SDCS MS-06S Char's Zaku II (Cross Silhouette Frame Ver.) [Clear Color] (The Gundam Base Tokyo exclusive; 2020): box art
SDCS RX-78-2 Gundam & MS-06S Char's Zaku II (2020): box art
RG 1/144 MS-06S Zaku II Char Aznable Custom - Illustration
RG 1/144 MS-06S Zaku II Char Aznable Custom - Illustration detail
Char's Zaku
Limited edition HGUC 7-Eleven Zaku II
Action Figures
Mobile Suit in Action (MSiA / MIA) "MS-06S Char's Zaku II" (Asian release; 1999): package front view
MSiA / MIA "MS-06F Zaku II" (Asian limited "Tetsu Toys" edition; 2000): package front view
MSiA / MIA "MS-06S Char's Zaku II" (North American release; 2001): package front view
MSiA / MIA "MS-06S Char's Zaku II (Second Version)" (Asian original; 2002): package front view
MSiA / MIA "MS-06S Char's Zaku II (Second Version)" (Asian re-issue with MS data card; 2004): package front view
Extended Mobile Suit in Action (ExMSiA / EMIA) "MS-06S Char's Zaku II" (2005): package front view
ExMSiA / EMIA "MS-06S Char's Zaku II" (2005): package rear view.
Robot Damashii "MS-06S Zaku II Char's Custom Model Ver. A.N.I.M.E." (2016): package front view
Robot Damashii "Tamashii Stage Ver. A.N.I.M.E. [Earth Federation Blue Color & Principality of Zeon Red Color]" figure stage sets (Tamashii Web "Earth Federation vs. Principality of Zeon" Campaign exclusive; 2017): product sample with Gundam (Ver. A.N.I.M.E.) pairs with Federation's blue stage (left) and Char's Zaku II (Ver. A.N.I.M.E.) pairs with Zeon's red stage (right)
Kado Senshi "MS-06S Char's Zaku" (1999): box art
Gashapon
Real Type color
Real Type color
Notes and Trivia
- In the original series, there was no visual difference between the standard Zaku and the commander type aside from the color and horn. However, the Master Grade and Perfect Grade model kits depicted the commander type as having larger thrusters and attitude control verniers.
- In Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3, the S-Type has a special ability called Triple Speed which enhances the speed of the Zaku II, interestingly, it is only activated if Char Aznable is chosen as the pilot, a possible reference to his abilities to push the Mobile Suit to its maximum capabilities.
- In Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 and 3, Lunamaria Hawke defaults to this Zaku due to the fact that neither her Gunner ZAKU nor the Impulse Gundam were brought into the game. With Dynasty Warriors Gundam Reborn, she has both and thus will most likely not default to this suit any longer.
References
Information on Black Tri-Stars Zaku II from MSV-R
Profile of Black Tri-Stars Zaku II from MSV-R
Backpack and weapons of Black Tri-Stars Zaku II from MSV-R
- ↑ Futabasha, Common Knowledge of Gundam: Mobile Suits of the One Year War, p. 47
- ↑ Gundam Officials Encyclopedia, p. 320
- ↑ Extra feature that came with the Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team DVDs
External Links
- MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type on MAHQ.net
- MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type (Black Tri Stars Custom) on MAHQ
- MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type (Johnny Ridden Custom) on MAHQ
