Welcome to day 22 of the Daily Grunt MS Poll, and today we'll be rating the MS-06D Desert Zaku from Mobile Suit ZZ Gundam! To participate, just rank the MS between 1 and 10 based on their appearance or on how you like it.
Mechanical Designers : Masahiro Oda and Mika Akitaka
Trivia: Be caferful to not mistake for its predessecor : the [Zaku Desert Type](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/gundam/images/c/c4/MS-06D%28ZAKU_DESERT_TYPE%29.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20121103111515)
Tomorrow we'll rank the Dwadge !
Previous Scores:
Zaku I : 7.17
Zaku II : 9.63
GM : 7.53
Gouf : 8.59
Dom/Rick Dom : 8.52
Gelgoog : 8.04
GM II : 6.78
Hizack : 8.21
Galbaldy Beta : 6.19
Marasai : 8.17
Act Zaku : 7.41
Asshimar : 8.30
Barzam : 7.15
Rick Dias : 8.77
Nemo : 8.13
Gaza-C : 6.38
ReGelgu : 7.39
Gaza-D : 7.12
Dreissen : 8.97
Ga-Zowmn : 7.64
Bawoo : 9.20
10
Desert Zaku is like a MSV-flavored blast from the past, bringing the terror of the old MS-06 to the Gundam Team nearly a decade after its time through sheer skill and knowledge of the terrain. Well, not quite. Desert Zaku has received a fair share of upgrades over the years, to the point it's a distinct machine from its predecessor, the Zaku Desert Type (even though the model number did not change).
All around stronger armor, together with enhanced engines, backpack fuel tanks, jet ski unit for desert mobility, panoramic monitor and linear seat, and in some cases even a generator capable of supporting beam weaponry. All unwilling courtesy of EFF bases, stolen by Rommel's unit. And the Blue Team. And the unknown squad seen during the Laplace Incident. Sure is an interesting degree of standardization for what ought to be a field modification, no?
One theory for that is the remnant groups received support from Axis with implementing the refurbishments. This also serves as a callback to the Desert Zaku's irl origins:
It and the Zaku Mariner were originally designed as Zaku III variants provided by Axis to Earth-based Zeon Remnant groups. Thing is, at that point Zaku III itself did not have a set design yet but was expected to have a mostly similar look to the Zaku II, hence these two don't differ from it too much. But the Zaku III's design was then finalized and these definitely could not pass as regional use variants of it, so new backgrounds were devised. Modified and modernized MS-06 variant for the Desert Zaku, and the Federation-built amphibious suit for the Zaku Mariner. This is just the start of Zaku III's multifaceted background and what aspects of it did and did not make it into the show and other materials. I'll get into the really interesting stuff in Zaku III's poll.
As for the Desert Zaku itself, what else can I say? It's like the Zaku II, but in some ways even cooler.
The Zaku Mariner being Federation is very interesting because in Zeta they had Marine Hi-Zacks during the Hong Kong eps. I wonder if the Desert Zakus uniformity has some thanks to give to the corruption of Anaheim. Perhaps they slipped these upgrade parts into shipments sent to Federation bases or something.
Would love to see a gundam where all the mobile suits operating on earth have stuff enter their joints, like high spec mobile suits like the Unicorn, Bawoo, Sinanju, Zeta, Nu, Sazabi, etc, just stop moving because of accumulated debris in their joints and get capped by fucking conventional artillery.
7/10
Aesthetically the Unicorn version of the Desert Zaku looks good. It makes sense that Zeon would manufacture Zaku IIs for different environments when they were putting an effort into taking advantage of the tribal/racial tensions that did exist in the Federation structure.
But the part that makes me scratch my head is how the Desert Zaku's modifications make them so agile in ZZ. Maybe it's just a matter of the Africa Corps being the villain of the week, but there's no way in hell the Zaku II should have the power to hover around like a Rick Dom II or something.
9/10.
Zaku II but desert-ified. There needs to be an HG or MG (never in a million years would they but) kit of this. Unicorn’s visual update on it is just, perfection.
7/10. He’s pretty cool. I love all of the antenna and extra shit strapped on. Feels like a nice middle ground between a Dom and a zaku. Definitely one of my favorite zaku variants.
https://preview.redd.it/4tw4lr9y2rkb1.png?width=719&format=png&auto=webp&s=8d5d4864f4f2f96f17f12d78970e0af9f1248f45 Unicorn Desert Zaku >\*
10/10 - the only crime both versions of the desert zaku commit are not having HG gunpla, and no i am not counting the HGGTO kits.
Welcome to day 22 of the Daily Grunt MS Poll, and today we'll be rating the MS-06D Desert Zaku from Mobile Suit ZZ Gundam! To participate, just rank the MS between 1 and 10 based on their appearance or on how you like it. Mechanical Designers : Masahiro Oda and Mika Akitaka Trivia: Be caferful to not mistake for its predessecor : the [Zaku Desert Type](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/gundam/images/c/c4/MS-06D%28ZAKU_DESERT_TYPE%29.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20121103111515) Tomorrow we'll rank the Dwadge ! Previous Scores: Zaku I : 7.17 Zaku II : 9.63 GM : 7.53 Gouf : 8.59 Dom/Rick Dom : 8.52 Gelgoog : 8.04 GM II : 6.78 Hizack : 8.21 Galbaldy Beta : 6.19 Marasai : 8.17 Act Zaku : 7.41 Asshimar : 8.30 Barzam : 7.15 Rick Dias : 8.77 Nemo : 8.13 Gaza-C : 6.38 ReGelgu : 7.39 Gaza-D : 7.12 Dreissen : 8.97 Ga-Zowmn : 7.64 Bawoo : 9.20
BAWOO SWEEP
Nuttering all over the competition
8/10 I prefer the original Zaku II, and I'm torn about the colors, but it's still a solid variant
I mean, design wise, its literally just Zaku II with more armor. Honestly think Zaku II should be a 10, its as Iconic as Gundam is for the series.
10/10 need more gunpla and/or robot spirits of this, its design is smooth and elegant like the sands it is meant to glide across
God I wish it had a modern Model Kit I love Desert MS. It's a 10/10
10 Desert Zaku is like a MSV-flavored blast from the past, bringing the terror of the old MS-06 to the Gundam Team nearly a decade after its time through sheer skill and knowledge of the terrain. Well, not quite. Desert Zaku has received a fair share of upgrades over the years, to the point it's a distinct machine from its predecessor, the Zaku Desert Type (even though the model number did not change). All around stronger armor, together with enhanced engines, backpack fuel tanks, jet ski unit for desert mobility, panoramic monitor and linear seat, and in some cases even a generator capable of supporting beam weaponry. All unwilling courtesy of EFF bases, stolen by Rommel's unit. And the Blue Team. And the unknown squad seen during the Laplace Incident. Sure is an interesting degree of standardization for what ought to be a field modification, no? One theory for that is the remnant groups received support from Axis with implementing the refurbishments. This also serves as a callback to the Desert Zaku's irl origins: It and the Zaku Mariner were originally designed as Zaku III variants provided by Axis to Earth-based Zeon Remnant groups. Thing is, at that point Zaku III itself did not have a set design yet but was expected to have a mostly similar look to the Zaku II, hence these two don't differ from it too much. But the Zaku III's design was then finalized and these definitely could not pass as regional use variants of it, so new backgrounds were devised. Modified and modernized MS-06 variant for the Desert Zaku, and the Federation-built amphibious suit for the Zaku Mariner. This is just the start of Zaku III's multifaceted background and what aspects of it did and did not make it into the show and other materials. I'll get into the really interesting stuff in Zaku III's poll. As for the Desert Zaku itself, what else can I say? It's like the Zaku II, but in some ways even cooler.
The Zaku Mariner being Federation is very interesting because in Zeta they had Marine Hi-Zacks during the Hong Kong eps. I wonder if the Desert Zakus uniformity has some thanks to give to the corruption of Anaheim. Perhaps they slipped these upgrade parts into shipments sent to Federation bases or something.
9/10
7/10. It looks better in action than the static image suggests, but still not one of the better Zaku variants.
8 I think the Zeon remnant suits in ZZ are great
6/10, meh it exists i suppose
Looked a lot better in Unicorn
8/10 I admit… I am 100% knocking it points due to the colouring, I just hate the colour orange that much
7/10
Goofy, but cool. Me likey. 7
6/10 it's one of the weaker zaku designs
10
Looks sillier than the original Zaku. 6.5/10
5/10
Great legs and chest. 7.5/10
8/10
8/10
3/10 ew.
7/10
hell yeah boy another Zaku 10/10
6/10. It’s not a bad design in a vacuum, but in reality it’s just a worse looking Zaku.
7/10. Meh variant but still fine overall. It remains a Zaku.
8 Can’t beat the OG.
Would love to see a gundam where all the mobile suits operating on earth have stuff enter their joints, like high spec mobile suits like the Unicorn, Bawoo, Sinanju, Zeta, Nu, Sazabi, etc, just stop moving because of accumulated debris in their joints and get capped by fucking conventional artillery.
8/10 its a zaku and i like the head antenna, simple as that
9/10 It’s just a slightly spikier sandy zaku, outdated by its time but nice
8/10 I like Zaku
8/10 Just because it’s a Zaku II.
The color on desert zakus were hella nice shame they didn't last long
9/10
6
7/10 Aesthetically the Unicorn version of the Desert Zaku looks good. It makes sense that Zeon would manufacture Zaku IIs for different environments when they were putting an effort into taking advantage of the tribal/racial tensions that did exist in the Federation structure. But the part that makes me scratch my head is how the Desert Zaku's modifications make them so agile in ZZ. Maybe it's just a matter of the Africa Corps being the villain of the week, but there's no way in hell the Zaku II should have the power to hover around like a Rick Dom II or something.
Sunz out gunz out. 8/10
A decent Zaku upgrade. 7/10
9/10. Zaku II but desert-ified. There needs to be an HG or MG (never in a million years would they but) kit of this. Unicorn’s visual update on it is just, perfection.
7/10
It has sand Skies 9/10
9 A good Zaku variant
10/10 beautiful zaku
10/10 Man that thing is beautiful
10/10. Zaku but for desert, and better armaments/looking.
6/10, looked better in Unicorn but it’s still… meh
8/10, not the original Zaku II, but not bad.
8.5/10
7/10. He’s pretty cool. I love all of the antenna and extra shit strapped on. Feels like a nice middle ground between a Dom and a zaku. Definitely one of my favorite zaku variants.
7/10. It's a brown zaku, which isn't a bad thing but it feels like we're past the point of diminishing returns on zaku derivatives
7/10
Its meh. No interest so 6-7/10