Bandai Announces US Re-Release for Gundam Missing Link’s Exclusive HGUC ZII Travis Kirkland Color Gunpla Kit
Image by Charlotte DavisAn exclusive Gunpla kit based on the ZII piloted by Travis Kirkland in Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: Missing Link has officially returned to the US as part of Bandai’s latest wave of restocks.
The “HGUC 1/144 ZII TRAVIS KIRKLAND COLOR” recreates the mobile suit’s distinctive gray color scheme, complete with its signature weapons and the ability to transform into Waverider Mode.
Originally released in 2014 for PlayStation 3 as part of Mobile Suit Gundam Side Stories, the Missing Link story follows a group of Federation and Zeon pilots whose stories unfold during the One Year War and its aftermath.
Travis Kirkland is the leader of the Earth Federation’s Slave Wraith unit, a special operations team made up of former prisoners who undertake dangerous missions during the conflict.
His story eventually continues into the later Universal Century timeline, where he pilots a specially colored version of the MSZ-008 ZII, a transformable mobile suit developed from the Zeta Gundam.
The ZII was originally introduced through the Zeta Gundam Mobile Suit Variations (Z-MSV) project, which expanded the designs and technology associated with Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam.
Its development took the Zeta Gundam’s transformation concept in a different direction, producing a more streamlined machine capable of switching between a humanoid mobile suit and a high-speed Waverider configuration.
Bandai first released a standard HGUC 1/144 ZII in September 2014, followed by the Travis Kirkland Color version as a Premium Bandai exclusive in April 2015.
The exclusive kit uses the original ZII model’s construction with a different set of molded colors, replacing its familiar red, white, and blue appearance with the darker navy-gray and light gray armor associated with Travis’s machine.
Additional Tetoron stickers reproduce the intricate panel markings seen throughout the game’s design, creating contrasting sections and mechanical detailing across the arms, legs, and torso.
These markings are reproduced using the included stickers rather than newly sculpted panel details, with Bandai retaining the same underlying parts as the standard ZII release.
The kit also preserves the original model’s transformation mechanism, allowing builders to convert ZII from Mobile Suit Mode into its aircraft-like Waverider Mode by rearranging and replacing selected parts.
Its weapons include the oversized Mega Beam Rifle, a standard Beam Rifle, two Clay Bazookas, and Beam Sabers, offering several options for recreating the mobile suit’s combat appearances.
The long Mega Beam Rifle is one of ZII’s defining weapons, with a dedicated connection system allowing the large firearm to be held securely in either hand.
The two Clay Bazookas can also be equipped simultaneously, giving the completed model an alternative heavy-weapons configuration.
For aerial displays, the kit is compatible with the separately sold Action Base 2, which can support ZII in either of its two forms.
The restock follows several other Universal Century Gunpla re-releases, including the return of Zeta Gundam’s exclusive Wave Shooter kit announced in September 2026.
That version recreates an alternative transformation system developed for Kamille Bidan’s Zeta Gundam, replacing its conventional Waverider configuration with a flight-oriented design featuring redesigned wing binders.
Bandai also recently confirmed a US re-release for Gates Capa’s exclusive HG Baund Doc, another transformable mobile suit from Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam that returned after almost five years without a US release.
The exclusive “HGUC 1/144 ZII TRAVIS KIRKLAND COLOR”, priced at $35, is currently available through the Premium Bandai US online store while stocks last.
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