The Zaku I was the very first Zaku model to be mass produced. It was soon replaced by the Zaku II as the main mobile suit later on in the war.
The Zaku I was lighter in armor, smaller in frame and designated as grunt labor and training models behind enemy lines. But as the war progressed and the Zeon losing more of their main mobile suits, demand for the Zaku I increased.
Zaku I's returning to the field were often procured by veterans who were already comfortable with the first mobile suit model they ever piloted, and most became specialists either as sniper models or recon teams. This particular model was custom painted to suit the jungle terrain of the South East Asia battlefield, and its smaller frame made it more agile in the tunnels it was built to travel on.
This Zaku I was a sniper model, but lost its gun during the battle and continued on using its standard Heat Hawk in hunting down the discovered Federation GM Recon Team. But the Heat Hawk's glowing blade became its undoing, as it advertised its position in the darkness and fell victim to sniper fire.
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Again, the glowing Heat Hawk blade was done post production, as its bright yellow color did not glow well enough as expected. The overall view was blurry to suggest movement and I like how the green laser seemed to bore right through my skull.
Im particularly proud of my red mono-eye, which used a red LED light and a powder make-up cup, with Lego parts to make it swing left and right to simulate eye movement.