I found that this kit required about the same amount of putty that a standard issue Revell or Monogram aircraft kit would need, which is quite a bit. Most major seams had to be filled in, and a lot of elbow grease was needed to get the parts fitting nicely together. I think I went through a couple of sheets of sandpaper on this one, since the plastic is very hard, especially the blue.

Earlier I said that this kit comes before the revolution of full-colour molding. However, the ZZ does come molded in colour - just the wrong ones! This is a bare bones injection molded polystyrene kit, with no trace of photo-etching (Gundams don't seem to be big on that). There are no clear parts at all, not even for the saber blade, although there are some rubber washers for the major joint connections, to minimize the amount of wear on the 'bendy parts'. My incarnation doesn't have any aftermarket or custom goodies on it either.

While the MS itself is one of the most Lego-like Gundams in terms of its bright and blocky colours, the kit comes molded almost entirely in mint green! Those parts that aren't green are molded in a blue that is totally incorrect. The end result is that significant amounts of paint are required to get this kit looking like it should. I used my standard approach to paint and finish this model, which is to use Testors Model Master Acrylic paints for the white and blue, and Badger Acrylics for the red and yellow. 

The beam saber was painted with Testors Day-Glo orange oil paint over white primer.  Engines are all orange on the inside (another Badger), with thrusters being done in Jet Exhaust.

I wanted the kit too look like an anime come to life, so I used Testors Acrylic gloss coat to make it nice and shiny. The instructions that come with the kit are typical of a Bandai mech kit, including full colour painting guide and simple, clear B&W assembly diagrams. As always, they're completely in Japanese except for the part numbers, which is all you need anyway!

The order of assembly on this kit is about as horrendous as it could possibly be. Almost no subassemblies can be completed separately, and there are rampant cases of "build around". This means that some assemblies have to be completely finished (paint and all) before you can begin building the next piece around them. This provides plenty of opportunity for paint and glue spillage, and to make things worse, the ZZ is not set up to be easy to mask off.

Considering its age, the ZZ has a good amount of detail on it, and the molding is extremely precise in this context. If you like Gundammarkers, then this is a good kit for you to flex your muscles on. The ZZ has a plethora of vents and verniers as well, which adds to its already quilt-like patchwork appearance.

Unfortunately, the ZZ is not all that flexible. Despite the use of primitive polycaps, the ZZ's heavy skirting and the weird wing/shields on its arms tend to limit its poseability. To make up for this, the ZZ has some kick-ass weapons, including a double barreled beam rifle and what is surely one of the largest beam sabers ever! The only problem is all that the weapons can only really be convincingly held at attention. This is fine for me, since I wanted a museum pose anyway. However, for those who like to pose their kits, this one is pretty much a brick, so don't say I didn't warn you.

The original kit was issued by Bandai in 1986, and despite years of pressings, the molds still seem to be holding up well. This kit isn't seen much these days, although that's not really a great loss when you look at all the fancy new stuff coming out of Bandai's factories. I paid $15 for mine, and I wouldn't say it was worth much more.

In the end analysis, the 1/144 ZZ kit is neither an easy, nor a forgiving kit. It requires a considerably higher level of prowess than most other kits, and is not intended for beginners. However, if you have the patience and skill to see it through, it does build up into a nice looking, well detailed and remarkably futuristic looking MS.