James Boren  wrote:
Mark Simmons consulted on the text accompanying my Zaku I drawings on
MSA. So I'd like to think it is fairly authentic, or at least as one

But our conversation is on a very different level to Mark Simmons'.
His interest, and his job responsibility, is to translate authentic
materials into English. Our discussion here is to analyse (with an
obscene speculation-to-facts ratio, unfortunately) and criticize (in
good faith) that authentic materials.

can get in gundam canon. Apparently Zaku Is were used to defend Au
Bau Au Qu so it would make sense that they would have panzerfausts
and late model weapons to use.

Hmm... over 800 Zaku I's (all variants) produced.  So I am dying to
know how many Zaku II (all variants) were produced?

Firstly let me preface my argument by saying how much I like your
work.  I am going to make a criticism on the "canon" but I don't have
issues with fans who create works of art (or game rules :) within or
without the confines of the "canon".

"The Zaku I--the first mobile suit, stood alongside Zeon's last and
most advanced, the Gelgoog. The First and the Last died together at A
Baoa Qu on New Years Day 0080."

THAT IS JUST   W R O N G !

It's wrong on the level of grafting Hayden Christensen's head on
Sebastian Shaw's body in the force ghost scene at the end of ROTJ.
No... it's worst.  Adding Zaku I in ABAQ is like adding AT-ST onto
Tatoonie in A New Hope (because DUDE how come the Storm Troopers are
riding beasts from the Middle Earth 20 years _after_ they deployed all
these kickass mechas in multiple combat theatres?)

From 1979 to mid 1990s the Zaku I was a forgotten obselete mecha that
belongs to obselete transport ships and MS museum (ZZ?).  It appeared
in two scenes for a total screen time under 10 minutes out of 3600+
minutes (counting only 0079, Z, ZZ, 0080, 0083, about 4200 mins if you
count the movies).  Tomino/Okawara took the trouble to add an extra
Guncannon and a new Core Booster to take out Guntank and G-Armor in
MSG3.  So NOT adding Zaku I's in MSG3 and CUTTING it out of MSG1should
be a pretty clear message on the role of Zaku I, at least for early
1980s.

Then suddenly (1996) someone decided to give all the underdogs a big
scene in 08MST so Topp uses one in late 0079 and colony gassing was
attributed to Zaku I (oddly Cima was the only named commander ever for
gassing ops but info as of 1992 she supposingly was using a Zaku II
prior to Gelgoog).  Then the hobby division said (1999) hey we can
milk the fans by sticking big names on the Zaku I, which obviously
worked so we get a Ranba Zaku I the next year.

All of that is ok by me, seriously.  I didn't complain about Mass
Produced Gundams and MG Char's Gundam.  Hey I actually loved the
battles in AOTC/ROTS outdazzling ANH/ROTJ.  ROTS and 08MST violated
continuity with ANH and 0079.  In an ideal world that wouldn't happen.
But it did, I'm ok with that.  Just PLEASE don't fix little problems
in the side story by adding big ones in the main story.

Look Bandai can do with Zaku I what they want.  Make an Amuro custom.
Or put an all Zaku I vs. Mass Produced Zeta Gundams side story in Sri
Lanka for all I care.  Just don't invalidate the main events in the TV
series and MSG3 movie in the process.

--
Dr. Core
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