Series: Mobile Suit in Action!! (MSiA)
Title: MS-09 Dom (2nd ver)
Release Date: 05/2004
Suggested Price: ¥ 1500
No. of Parts: 1 Dom figure+ 19 parts
Plastic colors: purple, red, gray, gunmetal blue, pink, black, yellow
Gimmicks: giant bazooka, 880mm Raketen bazooka, 880mm Raketen bazooka ammo clip,two heat Sabers, Sturmfaust, Sturmfaust rack, bazooka rack, spare hands (9)

Introduction

Contributor: hydrogenizedsoy
Date: July 4, 2004

The Dom was the fourth Zeon mass produced mobile suite to appear in the original anime, and it has had a previous first generation MSiA incarnation. Ver. 1 was a fairly mediocre offering, claiming 14 points of limited articulation, a set of five hands, two heat sabers, and a giant bazooka. Ver. 2 offers a mind blowing 40 points of articulation and 19 accessories! This is by far the epitome of MSIA evolution. Rather than prattle on, here’s the breakdown.

Head

The head is a solid piece of plastic attached to the torso by a double ball joint. It’s a gorgeous sculpt. Having popped off the head to examine it more closely I discovered that even the bottom was covered in details. Hoses and wires are lovingly sculpted onto the bottom of the head, which you can’t see until you take the head off! Even the neck and shoulder bits which are covered by the helmet like head have tons of panels and small details. The head can swivel and be raised/lowered into a number of positions. Truly, there is a god.

Torso

The torso on Ver. 1 was unmovable, completely lacking in articulation. Ver. 2’s torso has more bendy bits than my own body. The waist consists of a ball joint that has a full range of motion, you can even rotate it all the way around and back again. It can also be moved so that it can bend forward, to the side, and backward. On the back the two thruster nozzles are able to rotate a full 360 degrees in their sockets. Even the heat saber’s storage rack on the back is detailed and has a ball joint. The skirt is partitioned into five movable pieces, there are three discrete holes in them, one on the back and one on each of the sides that allow for the bazooka and sturmfaust racks to be attached. Peering up the Dom’s skirt you can see that there’s more detailing, along with more veneers which are once again attached by a ball joint. The scattering beam gun built into the chest is a detailed as it could possibly be.

Arms

The arms are jam packed with articulation (7 points altogether). The elbows feature the 2nd generation double joints. The shoulders have three points (!) of articulation: a ball joint, a two way swivel joint, and moving shoulder armor flaps. The hands are attached by ball joints that boast an impressive range of movement. There are a staggering set of nine hands. Two closed fists, two trigger fingers, two saber hands, one bazooka hand, one dramatic reaching hand, and one set that has the fingers interlaced to reenact the part where a Dom destroys a Medea transport by pummeling it.

Legs

Coupled with the amazing skirt articulation, the legs are capable of being placed into (almost) any pose that can be imagined. It can do the splits, a pseudo lotus position, and can kick up to waist height. The knees have the 2nd generation double joints. The feet are jointed in a manner similar to the Zaku ver. 2. The bottom of the feet are attached to the rest of the foot by a ball joint, which is then attached to another ball joint that attaches to the rest of the leg, allowing for a wide range of movement. I felt a flutter of excitement when I peered under the foot cowls. Instead of nozzles like in ver.1, there are actually hover jets that rim the underside of the cowls. This detail is executed in absolute exquisite detail, an extra double layer of frosting on the cake.

Weapons and Accessories

880mm Raketen bazooka- This bazooka is well rendered. The trigger is movable to allow for a number of possible poses. The level of detailing is extraordinary.

Detachable ammo clip- The ammo clip is fully detachable from the bottom of the 880mm Raketen bazooka. When you take it off you can see the individual shells, locked, loaded, and ready to go.

Giant bazooka- The beam bazooka received a sizable length and bulk upgrade from the ver.1 incarnation. It’s a full two cm longer. Unlike ver.1, ver.2 can actually hold it without looking awkward. The stand on the end can now move up and down and the secondary hand grip can also rotate.

Bazooka rack- The bazooka rack plugs into a hole on the rear skirt armor. It serves it purpose admirably.

Heat sabers- The two heat sabers have here again received an increase in size. There’s a deactivated one (white) and active (yellow). They can be stored on the back. The amount of detailing on them has increased.

Sturmfaust- The Sturmfaust is bulky and sorta clumsy looking. I think it would look better smaller and slimmer, but then it would have looked ineffectual in comparison to the rest of the Dom’s arsenal. It attaches to the body by a Sturmfaust rack.

Sturmfaust rack- The rack is rather a ring that plugs into the sides of the Dom’s skirt armor. It looks okay.

Conclusion

All I can say is WOW. So much consideration was put into this design I think that it can almost be deigned “perfect.” The coloration is perfect, and I mean perfect. It looks better than the anime. The beauty of the figure is that is isn’t overly painted. What could be molded with the correct color of plastic is molded with the correct color of plastic. The Dom is a fairly uncomplicated design and the paint job remains simple and sublime. The body is well proportioned and everything looks in scale with itself. I’d say the proportions are even better than the Master Grade model. It’s slightly larger than the ver.1 Dom, but right in scale with the ver.2 Zakus and RX-78. Everything, from the ridges on the veneers to the individual vents on the hover jets is painstakingly rendered. The only flaw I could find is in the Sturmfaust design being slightly, minutely, oversized. Another small concern is that with the insane amount of articulation it is somewhat difficult to keep the Dom in one pose without it trying to shift to another. This is not to suggest that the joints aren’t snug, because they are. This thing is absolutely gorgeous, this is an absolute must have for even the casual gundam collector. Get this, you won’t regret it. You may even start sleeping with it. As close to perfection you can get without having a sixty foot robot.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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