The Hi-Zack

[Laughmaker]

Is there an explanation for why the Titans and Federation decided to base the Hi-Zack off of the Zaku II? I would've expected their new mass produced units to have been based off the GMs but instead they use their enemy's old design.

The only explanation I could muster up was an out of universe one which was simply that it made identifying the Titans' mobile suits from AEUG's easier.

[Duraham]

IIRC it was done to try to attract ex-Zeon soldiers to the EFF side. other spectulations that have been posted from time to time include the cheaper cost of maintainence and production.


out-of-universe explanation is the simple concept of "plate-eyes good, mono-eyes bad"

[Hyakushiki]

The way I understand it, the Titans and Federation bought MS from Anaheim Electronics who in turn bought out existing Zeonic companies to get jump start on MS production. It was more economical to adapt existing Zeon designs with technology that met the specifications of both the Titans and Federation forces.

[neolordmaxwell]

why not? With the war long over, why not choose the most cost effiecient, venerable design currently available for mass production? Zeon barely existed at the time, and all of their designs had long since been siezed and were property of the earth federation. Zakus were hardy, easy to construct and maintain, and were not difficult to train new pilots on. That sounds like a clear winner for mass production no matter how you look at it. I recall reading that some pilots were a bit miffed at the choice of a Zeon design for the standard production model, but it was a fine MS for the time, so ultimately there wasn't much problem in adopting it wide-scale.

[young_oldtype]

Many Zeon engineers defected and worked for the Federation and companies like Anaheim Electronics after the One Year War. I am certain that they are the ones that designed the Hizack and other Zeonic-inspired mobile suits for the Titans and the AEUG alike. Point is that these ex-Zeons chose to base the Hizack on the design they are most familiar and comfortable with--our old friend, the Zaku II.

[Sulendil Zeta]

Just a question of mine: of all people who will use a Zaku-like machine, why Titans? I thought that Titans' job is to eliminate those Zeon? Wouldn't using Hi-Zack hurt their image somehow?

But then, we're talking about the same guy who would join Axis to fight AEUG...

[domino]

Well, for us viewers, the Titans were using the more 'evil-looking' Zeon-inspired designs because that made them more identifiable as the enemy.

I believe a more in-universe explanation would be that Anaheim was using Zeon designs (Hizack, Marasai, Gabaldy to name a few) because of the Zeon engineers which defected (as mentioned above) and the number of Zeon MS on which new Federation pilots were training (see 0083).

Additionally, I think the Titans used the Hizack's Zaku resemblance as a pyschological weapon against the Zeon renegades. Imagine the anger felt by those Zeon soldiers who were being hunted by Feds piloting upgraded Zakus (Hizacks). We saw some of that anger from the Dom pilot who sliced the Fed Zaku in half in 0083

[neolordmaxwell]

Uh, A lot of you are forgetting that Anaheim Electronics had nothing to do with the development of the Hizack. The Titans were big on developing their own MS, and the Hizack was designed and manufactured by the Earth Federation Military independently of Aneheim. So it really has nothing to do with any pro-Zeon sentiments within that company.

Aneheim didn't actually provide very many designs to the Titans at all, with the notable exception being the Marasai- during the Gryps conflict, Anaheim primarily supplied the AEUG.

However, as of this point in the timeline the EFF development board has had ample time to pour over Zeon's Pezun designs, some of which they decided to produce on their own. It seems to really be more a matter of effieincy than anything else.

[toysdream]

Some of the answers here are kind of heavy on the speculation. I don't think there's any evidence that the Federation was trying to attract ex-Zeon soldiers, and the notion that the Hizack was developed by Anaheim Electronics hasn't been officially endorsed anywhere outside of Advance of Zeta. In fact, the Zeon-esque machines developed by Anaheim, such as the Rick Dias and Marasai, tend to be based purely on Zeon technology and thus avoid the compromises that crippled the Hizack.

The books and kit manuals and whatnot generally don't go into a lot of detail about why the Federation adopted an upgraded Zaku as its standard machine. For the most part, it seems to have been chosen for exactly the same reasons that the Zaku was successful - it's easy to operate, and easy to produce in large numbers. The only more elaborate explanation I can find comes from the MG Hizack kit manual:

...It was also necessary for the Federation Forces to maintain the captured factories that had produced Zaku-series machines, and to prevent the loss of their engineers. Also, the Federation Forces had many pilots who preferred the Principality machines, thanks to their use as pilot trainers and aggressors immediately after the war. In fact, even purebred Federation Forces aces weren't that picky about Federation versus Principality machines, saying they wanted to "try them out" for themselves. It also appears that some Federation engineers wanted to pass on this ease of production and Zaku construction knowhow to all future mobile suits, and there's no telling how great an impact their analysis of fundamental Principality mobile suit technologies such as the fluid pulse system and monocoque construction had on the development of later machines.

So there are a few more rationales. It was a way of keeping former Zeon engineers and factories employed; the Federation's pilots, many of whom were now using captured Zeon machines, didn't mind; and the Federation's own engineers welcomed an opportunity to master the enemy's technologies. The fact that the resulting machine could be cheaply mass produced by a cash-strapped Federation probably clinched the deal.

-- Mark

[Sulendil Zeta]

Well that's interesting, Mark. That also means that the portrayal of the hatred towards Hi-Zack by the Titan pilots in AoZ is at best a creative invention by the author himself, since earlier sources suggest otherwise.

Slightly out topic, but I wonder how long does Hi-Zack production runs before being replaced by Marasai? And how much of it is produced?

[fieal]

Well that's interesting, Mark. That also means that the portrayal of the hatred towards Hi-Zack by the Titan pilots in AoZ is at best a creative invention by the author himself, since earlier sources suggest otherwise.

Slightly out topic, but I wonder how long does Hi-Zack production runs before being replaced by Marasai? And how much of it is produced?

I remember reading somewhere the RMS-108 Marasai was originally developed by Anaheim under model MSA-002. Its development was leaked to the Titans and in order to please them it was offered as Marasai to the Titans.

[Zeis]

I have a little theory as to why the Titans decided to use a Zeon-style MS like the Hizack...

Just think about it. Less than ten years earlier Zeon was using their mono-eyed Zaku to gas and nuke billions of spacenoids. Now the Titans are the guys busy suppressing those same spacenoids. It seems like a good way (to me anyway) to scare and intimidate them would be to use an MS that closely resembles the Zaku, the terror of the One Week Battle and the Battle of Loum.

After all, using Gundams had a definite psychological impact on Zeon forces...I don't see why it couldn't work in reverse as well.

[toysdream]

I suppose the fact that the regular Federation Forces didn't mind using Hizacks doesn't guarantee the Titans felt the same way. In any case, up until the Gryps Conflict begins in earnest, they're not a big enough organization to justify developing their own mass production mobile suits, so they probably have no choice but to use whatever machine the rest of the Federation Forces are using. (That's how Advance of Zeta explains it, anyway.)

Of course, when the Titans begin developing their own mobile suit in earnest, the first thing they do is kick out all the Zeon engineers and develop it using only pure Federation technology. So I think we can assume that, given their choice, they probably wouldn't be using Hizacks if they could help it.

Meanwhile, Sulendil Zeta wonders how long the Hizack stays in production. As far as we can tell from the animation, it remains the mainstay of the Titan forces all the way through Zeta Gundam; the Marasai is an excellent machine, but they never seem to be able to produce it in large quantities. This is supposedly one of the main reasons why the Barzam was developed - unlike the Marasai, it can be quickly rolled out in large numbers - and for a few episodes the Barzam almost replaces the Hizack outright. (I suspect its abrupt disappearance may be a result of the shifting political situation, but that's a whole other topic.)

-- Mark

[FinalSin66]

In fact, the Zeon-esque machines developed by Anaheim, such as the Rick Dias and Marasai, tend to be based purely on Zeon technology and thus avoid the compromises that crippled the Hizack.

How exactly was the Hi-Zack crippled in compariosn to Rick Dias and Marasai

[Hyakushiki]

For one, it couldn't use more than one beam weapon at a time it could either carry a beam rifle or a beam saber but not both.

[mcred23]

More to the point, the Hizack is said to use a mix of both Federation and Zeon techonology, but it doesn't work out and ends up as the good-but-flawed suit we all know.

[FinalSin66]

oh yeah, forgot about that. Well it certainely makes sense then why they kept producing GM II along with the Hi-Zack, and why the Barzam was developed

[Genocide]

Well, for us viewers, the Titans were using the more 'evil-looking' Zeon-inspired designs because that made them more identifiable as the enemy.

The Rick Dias and Dijeh (and the Zeta Zaku) would disagree with that statement. While it's definitely true that it's usually the bad guys who end up using monoeye machines, in the case of the Hizack I'd say it was more of a homage.

On a somewhat related note, has it ever been stated how the Hizacks performance compared to late-OYW machines like Gelgoog and GM variants?

[young_oldtype]

I don't know if there is any but I've been comparing the Gelgoog Jager and the Hizack's mecha profiles in MAHQ earlier. Yes the Gelgoog Jager, because as far as I remember it, the Gelgoog can be considered the most powerful mass-production mobile suit in the late One Year War, and the Jager variant has a similar profile to the Hizack so I guess that should make a good comparison.

To begin with, the Hizack weighs less than the Gelgoog Jager. The former also uses 4 16200 kg main thrusters and 10 vernierss, whereas the latter uses 2 24500 kg main thrusters, 5 21000 kg secondary thrusters and 25 verniers. In terms of acceleration, the Hizack accelerates at (please correct my Math if ever) 1.09 G (10.682 m/s^2) while the Gelgoog J does so at 2.22 G (21.756 m/s^2). So then, in terms of thrust, maneuverability, and acceleration, the Gelgoog is superior to the Hizack.

Power output is similar in both machines, but the Gelgoog J, like any other Gelgoogs and unlike the Hizack, can carry two beam weapons at a time (beam rifle and beam naginata). So the Gelgoog still has the better reactor.

Hizack vs. Gelgoog J conclusion: Gelgoog>Hizack.

Now when compared to late OYW Feddie MS, the Hizack's MAHQ profile states that the Hizack is up-to-date with mid-0080s technology, so I guess it's safe to assume that the machine is superior to late war GM models (LOL, lazy me). That's it, my longest post in years.

[Calubin_175]

IIRC, the only four 2nd generation Mobile Suits with no Gundarium armor were Hizack, GM II, Galbaldy Beta and Gundam Mk-II.