Weapons of the One Year War part 2-Zeon

By Loran

Now that the Federation weapons have all been covered, it’s time to dive into the Zeon weapons. Early on, the Zeon weapons were very abstract-looking, but as time went on, they gained the German influence that almost defines the Zeons as we know them today. The Zeon weapons are far more widespread than their Federation counterparts, most of them appearing on multiple suits depending on the media. Having an arsenal of Zeon weapons is a heck of a lot of fun. Once again, this article deals exclusively with the HGUC models.

Principality of Zeon Weapons and Armor:

Zaku Machine Gun (old style): The older model of the Zaku Machine Gun, used by the Zaku I. Not seen on too many suits other than the Zaku I, but it has a nice design that fits into the hands of plenty of kits, and can be held with both hands with little difficulty.

Available with: Any incarnation of the Zaku I.

Zaku Machine Gun (standard): The first weapon we ever see in Gundam, the Zaku Machine Gun gets used by every class of standard Zeonic mobile suit up until the introduction of the Gelgoog. All incarnations of this gun feature a removable ammo drum.

Available with: Any incarnation of the classic Zaku II, Zudah.

Zaku Machine Gun (grenade launcher): A rarely-seen variant of the gun introduced in Gundam 0083. The version of the gun included with the HGUC Gouf does not have a hinged handle, making it harder for kits to hold.

Available with: MS-07B Gouf, both versions of the MS-06F2 Zaku F2.

MMP-80: Quite possibly my favorite weapon in all of Gundam. It’s very realistic-looking and looks intimidating in the hands of any Zeon mobile suit. All versions have a removable clip aside from the ones included with the Gelgoog Marines. The desert colors Dom Tropen even has extra clips that can be mounted on the kit.

Available with: Both versions of the Gelgoog Marine, both versions of the Zaku F2, Dom Tropen (desert colors), both versions of the Rick Dom II (slightly different style).

MMP-80 (with grenade launcher): The first version of the MMP-80, introduced in Gundam 0080. It’s slightly larger and more intimidating than its standard counterpart, yet for some reason I don’t like it as much…

Available with: Zaku FZ.

Zaku Bazooka (old style): A really odd “older” version of the Zaku Bazooka that I can’t quite place the origin of. It’s a neat design, but I honestly don’t think I’ve seen it in any animation…

Available with: Zaku I, Zaku I Black Tri-stars version.

Zaku Bazooka: Like its machine gun counterpart, the Zaku Bazooka is the most widespread weapon in this category as well. It’s a very easy to get other kits to hold it, too, ever since they got rid of the retcon that added the giant magazine to the back of it…

Available with: Any incarnation of the classic Zaku II.

Giant Bazooka: The Dom’s trademark weapon. It’s really big and nasty, and got some surprising exposure later on in the original anime, seeing some use by Goufs, and on one occasion in Gundam ZZ, a Gelgoog.

Available with: Any incarnation of the classic Dom.

Giant Bazooka II: The second version of the big bad ‘zooka is slightly less… giant than its previous counterpart, but still pretty cool. It looks especially nice on the designs from 0080.

Available with: Both versions of the Rick Dom II, Kaempfer (x2).

Raketen Bazooka: Once again, Gundam 0083 delivers one of my favorite weapons. Just about EVERY type of suit is seen using one of these in Gundam 0083. The model version includes a removable magazine, and the kits that come with them have “extras” that can be stored on its skirt armor. It’s a big, nasty, rapid-fire bazooka that’ll make the Feddies shudder in their cockpits on any mobile suit.

Available with: Both versions of the Dom Tropen.

(no picture)

Beam Bazooka: This weapon made its debut in the novelization of the original Gundam. It’s huge and almost unwieldy, but looks very nice in the hands of a Rick Dom. The “Arch Enemies” action figure line had it as one of the Gelgoog’s weapons, for some reason. No picture because I don’t actually own a regular Rick Dom yet…

Available with: Standard release Dom/Rick Dom, Char’s Rick Dom.

Magella Top Cannon: The Zeon’s premier artillery weapon is actually a cannon pulled from a tank! The “Journey to Jaburo” video game established this as the signature weapon of Garma’s Zaku. It’s also the only weapon primarily held in the left hand of a mobile suit. It’s great for kitbashing Zaku J-types when combined with the leg missile pods.

Available with: Garma’s Zaku, some limited edition versions of the Zaku II.

Shotgun: It’s… a shotgun. There’s nothing really special about it, other than the fact that it’s pretty cool. This weapon was introduced by the Kaempfer in Gundam 0080 and was featured on several Goufs and Zakus in Zeonic Front.

Available with: Kaempfer.

Sturm Fausts/Panzer Fausts: A futuristic take on Germany’s classic RPG. These are usually handheld, and can be carried by any suit and still look pretty sweet. They’re also the easiest weapon to acquire on HGUC kits because of how many come with them.

Available with: Dom Tropen (Desert Colors, x4), Zaku I, Zaku I Black Tri-stars, both versions of the Rick Dom II (x2), Kaempfer (x2), Zaku II Ground War (x2), Zudah.

Leg Missile Pods: Nice little alternate weapon for the Zaku II, especially ground combat versions. The pods included with the classic Zaku actually feature removable missiles.

Available with: Zaku II (standard release only), both versions of the Zaku F2.

Heat Hawk: The nasty electric tomahawk is the Zeon’s number one melee weapon, and it’s seen a variety of different shapes and sizes. It’s cool and versatile, and now all kits that come with one have a mount to store it when not in use. Some like the Zaku FZ have a two-handed model, while Garma’s includes a more customized one.

Available with: All versions of the Zaku II, Zudah, Zaku I, Zaku I Black Tri-stars.

Heat sword: The Gouf’s close-quarters weapon is an elegant heated sword made to slice through suits like butter. Pictured here is the one included with the Gouf Custom-I seem to have misplaced my classic Gouf sword at the moment…

Available with: Gouf.

Heat Saber: The next closest thing to the Federation’s beam saber. This is the Dom’s trademark melee weapon, as demonstrated during the Black Tri-Star’s “Jet Stream attack”.

Available with: Any version of the Dom.

“Punch Shield”: I’m not sure if this is the official name but I’ve heard it used a few times before. It’s basically a Zaku shield with spikes added to the front of it, carried in the left hand of a suit. Zeonic Front had almost every Zeon suit carrying one of these, albeit minus the spikes. The one included with the Zaku I has small mounts for carrying around Panzerfausts.

Available with: Zaku I, Zaku I Black Tri-stars, Gelgoog Marine.

That wraps up the weapons special. As I mentioned in the first article, unique weapons weren’t covered, so most of the Gelgoog’s stuff was left out. I hope this article’s been helpful in any way, shape, or form. Now go out and make some custom Zakus and Doms and Goufs and stuff!