 |
| MS-05(S?) Zaku I |
| ` |
|
| This illustration was drawn with painstaking care by Mark Simmons of the Gundam Project. All credit is due to him entirely. |
| Information: Model Number: MS-05B Name: Zaku I Unit type: old mass production Armaments: ZMP-50D 120mm rifle heat hawk MIP-B6 Cracker grenades Mission specific armaments: H&L SB25K 280mm bazooka G3 gas launcher Weight: 65 tons (maximum) Armor: High-tensile steel Thruster acceleration: .63 G's Remarkable pilots: Topp Head height: 17.5 meters Sensor range: 2900 meters Operator: Duchy of Zeon First deployment: U.C. 0075 Cockpit: Standard type in torso |
| Four years before the Gundam saga began, the Duchy of Zeon created the first combat-worthly mobile suit, the MS-05 Zaku. In U.C. 0075, this was |
| this was their general purpose mobile suit. However, by the time U.C. 0079 rolled around and the Zeon's "Operation British" was in effect, research into the area of mobile suits had been continued, and after the completion of the MS-06A,C and F Zaku II, the old Zaku I was obsolete. However, some pilots, who had become excellent warriors during the time when the Zaku I was top of the line, such as Ranba Ral and a female team leader known as Topp, continued to use the old Zaku I's, usually heavily customized, until they were either forced to use a new model (such as Ranba Ral with the original Gouf). Topp, however, was allowed to keep her Zaku I and continue to customize it. When it was first fielded, the Zaku I was armed with a 105mm rifle, a close-combat heat hawk weapon, a primitive bazooka, and cracker grenades. However, once the Zaku II had came around, Zaku I's that were still being used in combat were outfitted with the new larger caliber 120mm rifle, a heat hawk and the standard-issue 280mm bazooka. The Zaku I bears a much more sleek, streamlined look than the Zaku II, lacking conduction cables around the head, legs and waist. Most grunt Zaku I's were scrapped or upgraded into Zaku II's by U.C. 0079, but some remained in the form of officers who refused to give up the suit they'd been familiar with, as well as non-combat duty. For example, Zaku I's can be used to outfit a coloney with boosters for staging a colony drop, or to deliver the poison G3 nerve gas into enemy colonies. Although the average Zaku I is inferior to a Zaku II, the customized Zaku I's used my nostalgic officers are usually slightly better equipped and have marginally higher performance. Tie that with an excellent pilot and a Federation MS could have some serious trouble. In terms of design, Zaku I's are very similiar to their successors, but the Zaku II's head has been completely redesigned, only keeping the egg-head shape. Aside from lacking head conduction cables, the Zaku I can also be |
| recognized by a bar which spans between the top and bottom of the mono-eye slot and a somewhat more prominent "snout". Zaku I's shoulders are also visably different. The Zaku I's shoulder armor lacks the spikes of the Zaku I, and it carries no shoulder shield, although a few units have ben known to be equipped with a hand carried version of the Zaku shield, only mounting three spikes on the bussiness end, thus enabling the shield to be used for blocking or as a bludgeoning weapon. Once again, the head spike determines a commander's unit. As with the Zaku II, Zaku I's armor is weak, but they also travel in packs to make up for their armored weakness. |
 |
|
 |
| the most powerful mobile suit in the terms that none other existed. While the Duchy of Zeon planned and schemed, |
