MS-05 Zaku I is the first series of practical mobile suits in the Universal Century, built by Zeonic for the Principality of Zeon. It appears in Mobile Suit Gundam (1979, U.C. 0079) as the machine the Zaku II has already pushed off the front line, and Zeon is still finding work for it when the war starts.
What it does in the story
By the One Year War the Zaku I is a second-line suit, escorting supply fleets and holding garrisons, and it stays in the hands of pilots who would rather not give it up. Zeon pulls the survivors back into the line as the war turns against them, and the Zaku I is at the Battle of A Baoa Qu, fighting alongside the far newer Gelgoog.
What makes it different
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It is the machine that made mobile suits practical.
Zeonic completed the MS-05A Early Type in U.C. 0074 and rolled out the combat-ready MS-05B soon after, and the series is where the Zeon layout settles into the shape everything later copies: mono-eye head, cockpit in the torso, weapons in the hands.
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It entered service because its rival fell apart.
In the U.C. 0075 adoption trial the Zaku competed with Zimmad's EMS-04 Zudah, which out-flew it and then broke up during a flight test. The Zaku was adopted on the strength of finishing the trial at all.
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The Zaku II did not retire it.
Production moved to the MS-06, but when Gihren Zabi split Zeon's military into a Space Attack Force and a Mobile Assault Force the demand for mobile suits doubled, and Zaku Is went back to the front. Zeon later rebuilt B types into the MS-05Q with an improved reactor.
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The loadout is a heat hawk and a machine gun.
The MS-05B carries a heat hawk and a 105mm machine gun, with a shoulder shield on the options list next to a 120mm machine gun, a 280mm Zaku bazooka and a sturm faust.
How big is it?
- Head height: 17.5 m for the MS-05B, the mass-production type
- 1/144: roughly 12 cm
- 1/100: roughly 17.5 cm
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Frequently asked questions
1. Is the Zaku I the same as the Zaku II?
No. The Zaku I is the MS-05 and the Zaku II is the MS-06, a later and larger design. The Zaku I came first and was pushed into escort and garrison work once the Zaku II took over the front line.
2. Which Zaku I do most of the appearances and kits use, the A type or the B type?
Mostly the B. The A is the Early Type completed in U.C. 0074, while the B is the combat mass-production type that followed, and it is the version most appearances and kits are based on.
3. Which Zaku I variants exist?
The MS-05B Land Warfare Type, the MS-05S commander type, the MS-05Q with an improved thermonuclear reactor, and the MS-05L sniper type.
4. Why did Zeon keep such an old suit in service?
Two reasons. Splitting the military into two forces doubled the demand for mobile suits, and the Zaku I had pilots who did not want to see it retired even as Zaku IIs were being handed out.
Background sources: MS-05 Zaku I — Gundam Wiki · ザクI — 日本語版 Wikipedia
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