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Japanese high school student builds giant, moving Gundam robot in his free time【Video】

Casey Baseel Dec 2, 2021
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And this amazing Zaku II isn’t the only awesome 3-D anime fan art he’s made.

Like a lot of Gundam fans, Japanese Twitter user @roa27379771 became filled with the desire to build a mobile suit of his own after watching the anime. His particular mecha muse was the custom Zaku II piloted by the mysterious and charismatic Char Aznable during the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin portion of the franchise.

But rather than mosey to his nearest toy or anime specialty shop and grab an official Gunpla model kit off the shelf, @roa27379771 decided to build his Zaku from scratch. Once he had the basic design sorted out, the next thing he had to do was choose how big to make his mobile suit, and he decided on a 1:10-scale.

“Wait, Char’s Zaku II is 17.5 meters (57.1 feet) tall!” you say, displaying both your encycoldpeic knowledge of Gundam lore and calculator-like proficiency at converting from metric to imperial-unit measurements. “Doesn’t that mean that @roa27379771’s Zaku is huge?”

https://twitter.com/roa27379771/status/1456572494563844096

Yes, yes it is. It’s a massive piece of fan art, created with the use of CAD tools and 3-D printing processes, resulting in astounding levels of detail. It’s not just an empty shell, either. Peel off an armor panel, and inside you’ll see all sorts of wires and motors.

https://twitter.com/roa27379771/status/1456563559341576192

And those aren’t just for show, because @roa27379771’s Char’s Zaku moves!

https://twitter.com/roa27379771/status/1463061952150728707

Given how ambitious the project is, it’s naturally taking an extended period of time. @roa27379771 has been sharing updates over the last several months as his moving Zaku inches closer to completion.

1/12スケール動くザク製作
可動!!!!!#ガンダム #GUNDAM #THE ORIGIN #オリジン #シャアザク #シャア専用ザク #シャア・アズナブル #アムロ #作ってみた #3Dプリンター #動くザク #動くガンダム #動く #ザク pic.twitter.com/VMC1x3kM7c

— Roa 18 (@roa27379771) June 3, 2021

https://twitter.com/roa27379771/status/1459170559040770055

With such impressive skills, you might guess that @roa27379771’s day job is as a mechanical engineer or industrial designer, but you’d be wrong on both counts. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t have a day job of any kind. During the day he’s in class, because he’s still a third-year high school student!

Oh, and if you’re more into giant monsters than giant robots, he’s also crafted a replica of Attack on Titan’s 3-D Maneuver Gear that fires what appear to be magnetic grappling cables…

https://twitter.com/roa27379771/status/1453343221916975113

…and if you prefer American comics to Japanese anime and manga, he’s also made a pretty slick Spider-Man web shooter.

https://twitter.com/roa27379771/status/1453343521713184770

It’s the Zaku that’s really getting attention online, though, with comments like:

“That’s astonishingly well made.”
“Thank you for sharing this amazing creaiton with us.”
“When it’s finished, are you going to take it to Odaiba [the Tpkyo neighborhood with a life-size Gundam Statue]?”
“I thin Zeon is going to be calling to recruit you.”

We can’t wait to see how @roa27379771’s Zaku turns out, and if the anime’s Principality of Zeon somehow does enlist his services, hopefully they’ll feed him something other than Zeon emergency rations.

Source: Twitter/@roa27379771 via IT Media
Top image: Twitter/@roa27379771
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