MSM-07 Z'Gok is Zeon's amphibious mobile suit in Mobile Suit Gundam (1979, U.C. 0079), built by MIP and produced at the California base. Char Aznable flies the red MSM-07S type during the assault on Jaburo, and that version is covered on this page as well.
What it does in the story
The Z'Gok first appears in episode 27 as an amphibious heavy mobile suit, when a unit under Chief Petty Officer Karah and a Gogg attack a Federation base at Belfast; its Iron Nail catches a Guncannon and it overwhelms the Gundam under water before the Gundam's beam saber splits it from the head down. At Jaburo in episodes 29 and 30, Char's red S type throws Type 61 tanks, knocks out several GMs and fights the Gundam until its main camera is shot out by Lieutenant Woody's Fanfan and it withdraws.
What makes it different
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It has no neck.
The mono-eye is built into the torso rather than set in a head on a neck, the limbs are bellows-like, and each hand ends in three claws. Nothing about the outline is borrowed from a ground machine.
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The shape is faired for water first.
Bandai's RG documentation describes the form as streamlined to cut water resistance for high-speed movement, and the suit is listed at 103 knots under water against 87 km/h on land.
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Every weapon is internal.
A six-tube 24 cm rocket launcher with thirty rounds sits inside the body, two mega particle cannons are built into the torso, and the Iron Nails are the hands themselves. There is no hand-held weapon in the loadout at all.
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The S type is a different machine, not a repaint.
Char's MSM-07S is listed at 19.4 m at the head against 18.4 m for the mass-production MSM-07, and its full weight is lower, 84 t against 96.4 t.
How big is it?
- Head height: 18.4 m for the MSM-07 and 19.4 m for the MSM-07S, according to Bandai's official spec
- 1/144: roughly 12.8 cm for the MSM-07 and roughly 13.5 cm for the S type
- 1/100: roughly 18.4 cm and roughly 19.4 cm on the same scaling
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Frequently asked questions
1. Why does the Z'Gok look so different from a Zaku?
It is an amphibious machine rather than a ground one. The head and neck are gone, the mono-eye sits in the torso, the limbs are bellows, and the whole body is faired to move through water.
2. What is an Iron Nail?
It is the three-claw hand. At Belfast one of them caught a Guncannon and held it, which is what the weapon is for: grappling in water rather than striking.
3. How fast is it under water?
The listed figures are 103 knots submerged against 87 km/h on land, and the hull is faired to cut water resistance rather than air resistance.
4. Which kit reproduces the submersible fittings?
The RG 1/144 MSM-07S, the sixteenth kit in the RG line, moulds the sonar and the drain holes and builds the cockpit as a sphere. Its wrist claws are shaped like blades.
5. Was the Z'Gok used anywhere other than Jaburo?
Yes. It debuts at Belfast in episode 27, and episode 28 puts five aboard the submarine Mad Angler, two towed out by a Grabro, all of them lost.
Background sources: MSM-07 Z'Gok — Gundam Wiki · ズゴック — 日本語版 Wikipedia
