MSiA RMS-099 Rick Dias (dark)

Height: 11.5cm to top of head, 13cm to top of binders.

Articulation: 20 total points of articulation: ball-jointed neck; 5 points in each arm- hinged shoulder armor, ball-jointed shoulder, pre-elbow swivel, hinged elbow, ball-jointed wrist; swivel waist; ball-jointed Binders on backpack; 4 points in each leg- ball jointed hip, hinged knee, ball-jointed ankle armor, ball-jointed ankle.

Accessories: Beam Pistols x2, Clay Bazooka, Beam Saber with removeable blade, Extra Hands x2

Colors: Molded dark blue, light blue-gray, dark gray, medium gray, and transparent yellow. Painted navy blue, red, green, gunmetal, gloss black(Binder detailing), and rust red ink (panel lines).

Release Data: Released in Japan on July 9th, 2004 at a price of ¥1500. Recolored from Rick Dias (Quattro Bageena version), released in Japan on February 10th, 2003 at a price of ¥1500. This item is no longer in production as of this review (August 15th, 2005).

Gallery: 8 images.

Author: RAC

The Figure

Before I knew much of anything about Zeta Gundam, I'd seen the Rick Dias and loved the design. It's one of my favorite Zeta MS, and just about my favorite Mamoru Nagano design. It's bulky but somehow elegant, and the back's array of binders and weapons storage is unique and functional. A really neat design all round.

Unfortunately, the figure, being a recolor of the 2003 red version, hails from a time before the Second Version articulation was standard-issue for MSiA. But that's about the only negative thing I can think to say about it.

The Head

For what it is, the head works very well. A relatively small, rounded head with a Zeon-inspired monoeye, it actually has a fair degree of tilt in all directions. Swivel is restricted to about a 90-degree arc by the cables on the shoulders- like the Dom, the head is set into the torso a bit to give that impression of bulk and power. Unfortunately, the red area of the head doesn't lift up to reveal the Vulcan Phalanx, but this would probably break so quickly (as it did on my HGUC) that it's probably for the best.

The Arms

The shoulder armor is attached by a pair of tiny ball-joints, and should not get in the arms' way under any circumstances- they can swing up by 90 degrees, plenty of range. The arm is pretty much pre-Second Version construction, lacking a shoulder hinge and a double-jointed elbow. However, the shoulder has a good range as it is, and though you can only get a bit less than a 90-degree bend in the Rick Dias' elbow, that's plenty enough for the weapons it has. The wrists, however, are the modern socket-hand on ball-wrist type, and the hands hold to the wrist most securely.

The Torso

The torso, like the rest of the Rick Dias, is chunky- it's a very solid design. The most distinctive part of the design is the back. Rather than the traditional Mobile Suit backpack, The Rick Dias' main thrusters are located in the rear skirt and the large Binders, which are mounted on ball-joints here. Occupying the space a normal backpack would use is a rack for storing the Beam Pistols and Beam Saber. It's a unique setup, and coupled with the small mounting clamp on the Clay Bazooka, it means that the Rick Dias can store its entire respectable arsenal without using its hands.

The waist joint is a simple swivel, and can turn in a full circle- but only if you apply more force than I'm comfortable with. The front skirt is thick, but has enough give to allow the legs some extra range. The rear skirt is fairly long, with three thrusters mounted on it. The two larger thrusters are ball-jointed and adjustable.

The Legs and Feet

The hips have superb range in pretty much all directions, though the rear skirt restricts backwards movement a bit. This aids in posing to make up for the knees, which sadly are pretty bad, with less than 45 degrees in range. The ankles also help compensate for this- despite their being a single-joint, they have a great range, and between the hips and ankles some great posing is still possible. The brown portion of the lower leg is also ball-jointed, and while it doesn't have a huge range, it does help the ankles do as well as they do. The thrusters in the flared part of the lower leg are also adjustable.

Paint and Decoration

This is where Rick Dias really shows up this year's crop of more flexible figures- it's just better decorated, with gunmetal used on all the thrusters and rusty red panel-inking, which makes the Mobile Suit look well-used. The only small misstep on the decoration is that the area behind the monoeye is also painted the same green as the monoeye, when it should probably be black. It's a small thing, and something that you'll probably only notice when you're really close. Otherwise, it looks really great.

Articulation gets 6/10

Sculpt and Deco get 9/10

Accessories

-Beam Pistols

Though longer than some Beam Rifles, these are much thinner- in my opinion, Nagano has a thing for delicate-looking weapons (and mecha, in his later work). Because the barrels are so slender, there's unfortunately more than a slight chance they'll already be warped by the time you get your Rick Dias. These mount on the back, and can swivel slightly when stored- though they're more likely to pop off of their mounts. The grips fit the hands pretty well, though the mounting pieces mean that they can't be held parallel to the arm.

-Clay Bazooka

Much more martial-looking than the tiny Beam Pistols, this is a comparatively large, angular weapon which seems to me to fit the Rick Dias' overall appearance very well. It's usually shown held under the arm, though that may take some positioning to avoid hitting the Binder strut. Speaking of which, here's a small light gray piece on the right side of the Bazooka which allows you to store it there when not in use. Again, I've always liked MSiA that have storage options for their entire arsenals.

-Beam Saber

One is included, which stores on the back beneath the Beam Pistols. The blade is transparent yellow plastic, and it's the older style, which means it's soft plastic. The blade is thick enough, however, that it's not really in much danger of warping, if any at all. The handgrip fits in the hands nicely.

-Extra Hands

Only two pair are included here, the fists attached in-package and a "trigger-finger" set which serves for all accessories, even the Saber. All the accessories fit the hand well enough, so that's no problem, and the hands hold to the wrist securely. Really, I don't miss the standard "open" hands at all- since there's only a single Beam Saber and no shield, they weren't particularly needed here.

Accessories get 8/10

Closing Remarks:

The Rick Dias is a great-looking figure with good accessories. The articulation is lacking, most notably in the elbows and knees, but it still can pull off some decent poses. I paid around $18 shipped from Japan for mine, and I'm quite pleased, despite having seen better deals since. If your introduction to Mobile Suits in Action was fairly recent, though, the articulation may disappoint you. Even so, I still have to rate it as a Very Good figure because of its other positive qualities.

I'm very fond of the design, however, so be warned that my bias may bump the final grade up one level. Call it Very Good if you really like the Rick Dias and/or are used to older MSiA, and merely Good otherwise.

-RAC, Zeta Project