MGUniversal Century

MS-09R Rick Dom

A hulking Zeon dinosaur that finally got joints worth posing.

MechaGrade Score

3.9/5

Rick Dom · 1/100 · 2022

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2022

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the 2022 refresh done right, and I mean that as a compliment with an asterisk.

Bandai took the old 1999 MG Rick Dom, kept a chunk of its original tooling, and grafted on new hips, thighs, and hands so the thing can actually act out its own battles now. It is not a ground-up modern engineering showcase like a lot of recent MG releases, but for a suit this old to feel this alive in hand is a genuine win.

Best for: Zeon collectors and One Year War fans who want a big, mean Rick Dom that can actually hold a saber pose

The full review

What it is

The Rick Dom is Zeon's spacefaring answer to the aging Zaku II, and this kit leans into that bulk instead of hiding it. The barrel torso, the flared skirt, the stubby legs built for hovering rather than walking, it all reads exactly like the anime silhouette. What surprised me was how much personality the 2022 retooling adds. The new swiveling thighs and reworked hip joints let it settle into a proper lunge with the heat saber raised, which the original 1999 kit could never quite pull off. The molded color is dead on for that dusty purple-grey Zeon hull, and holding the finished kit just feels appropriately heavy and mean in a way a lot of slimmer MG suits do not.

The catch

This is a partial update, not a new kit from scratch, and it shows. A fair amount of the frame and detail work is recycled from the 1999 mold, so some surfaces feel a full console generation behind the crisp panel lines Bandai puts on brand new tooling. The elbow only bends to around 130 degrees and the forearm rotation is limited, so certain saber poses fight you a little. Backpack and rear skirt thrusters are nicely detailed but fiddly to clip in clean, and because this is an older frame stitched to new parts, fit between old and new sections is not always smooth, expect a few spots that need careful test fitting before you commit glue or cement.

Who it's for

Grab this if you already love the Rick Dom's silhouette and want the best version Bandai has put out, or if you are building out a Zeon lineup and this suit is next on the list. The improved hips and hands make it worth the upgrade over the ancient 1999 release even with the recycled tooling. Skip it if you want the sharpest, most modern engineering MG has to offer right now, there are newer suits in the line with fully fresh frames and better elbow range. This is a kit for people who want the character, not people chasing the newest tech in the MG catalog.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

The build itself moves at a steady clip once you get past the torso, which is where the old and new tooling meet and needs the most patience. Gate placement on the newer thigh and hand runners is clean, but a few of the carried-over 1999 parts have nub marks in more visible spots than I would like on a modern MG, so plan on extra sanding there if you want a fully clean build.

Where this kit earns its keep is the hands and lower body. Fully articulated fingers with ball and socket joints make weapon handling genuinely secure, no loose grip city, and the manipulators hold the heat saber or bazooka without drooping. The skirt armor lifts out of the way for leg clearance instead of just looking busy, and the reworked foot soles with mechanical vernier detail pay off nicely once the kit is standing under light. For the price band it lands in, three weapons plus a real articulation upgrade over the original is solid value.

Lore & trivia

01The Rick Dom was built by the Zimmad Company as the spacefaring version of the ground-based MS-09 Dom, meant to plug the gap left by delays in the MS-14 Gelgoog program.
02Its heat saber trades the older heat hawk's compact blade for a larger heated surface, giving it more range and melting power against enemy armor at the cost of faster blade degradation.
03Ace pilot Anavel Gato flew an MS-09R Rick Dom during the Battle of Solomon on December 25th, the fight that earned him the nickname Nightmare of Solomon.
04This 2022 release is a partial remaster of the original 1999 MG Rick Dom rather than an all new mold, reusing select frame components while adding new hip, thigh, and hand parts.