MS-06E-3 Zaku Flipper

I have a deep abiding passion for the original 1983 MSV series, and a big part of that admiration stems from awesome odd duck designs such as the Zaku Flipper. This kit was very graciously gifted to me courtesy of a friend when they were clearing house when moving. The recon head and backpack made this a great build and it has become one of the most unique Zeon designs in my collection.

The majority of the work on this kit was cleaning the seams due to the age of the mold. The pose was also altered to give it a less stiff appearance - out of box, these old Gunpla can be very stiff. 

A few small modifications were made - a proper Zaku snout was added using parts from a HG Zaku Kai and the absolutely awful kit supplied hands (almost universally the worst part of 80s kits) were replaced with HG Dom hands. Gem stickers were added for the camera lenses.

The kit was hand painted and a variety of decals in addition to the kit supplied ones were used to give it the look of the "Real Type" artwork by Kunio Okawara. The base was made from a leftover base and a small worker Junior MS was added along with a figure for scale.

The original MSV kits are an absolute pleasure to build and paint if you don't mind doing a little extra. They have great proportion and a very "vintage presence" to them, I recommend them to anyone who wants to experience a little bit of Gunpla history!