Kit Review

Straight build +
panel lining

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Front shot in Rick-Dom configuration.

HGUC Dom / Rick-Dom - The Dom and Rick-Dom only differ in the back verniers, rear skirt, and foot soles. This kit includes pa

The Dom and Rick-Dom only differ in the back verniers, rear skirt, and foot soles.
This kit includes parts for both the Dom and Rick-Dom, so you can choose which one to build.

The sole detail is seriously impressive!

The difference in backpacks and rear skirts.

HGUC Dom / Rick-Dom - This kit is packed with some seriously clever seam line hiding techniques. The arm parts structure comp

This kit is packed with some seriously clever seam line hiding techniques.
The arm parts structure completely eliminates seam lines through MG-style parts separation.

HGUC Dom / Rick-Dom - The legs also use an MG-style parts separation structure to hide seam lines. Pay special attention to t

The legs also use an MG-style parts separation structure to hide seam lines.
Pay special attention to the one-piece thigh armor!

Even the red part inside the shoulder armor is exactly the same as the MG!

The interior of the rear skirt and the vernier detail are top-notch too.

The inside of the legs has no frame so it looks a bit bare, but the vernier detail is still pretty good.

There are 4 hand parts included in total. Both the proportions and detail are great, but...

HGUC Dom / Rick-Dom - It carries the same drawbacks seen in recent HGUC kits -_-; The hand parts connection is weak, so when

It carries the same drawbacks seen in recent HGUC kits -_-;
The hand parts connection is weak, so when you put a weapon in the hand it comes apart way too easily, which is pretty annoying...

HGUC Dom / Rick-Dom - The bazooka has a folding grip gimmick, which makes posing a lot easier. That's a feature you rarely se

The bazooka has a folding grip gimmick, which makes posing a lot easier.
That's a feature you rarely see at the HG level.

The Rick-Dom's beam bazooka has the same feature!

HGUC Dom / Rick-Dom - Amazingly, even though this is a 1/144 kit, the mono-eye moves freely in all directions using a ball jo

Amazingly, even though this is a 1/144 kit, the mono-eye moves freely in all directions using a ball joint!
On top of that, there's even a bit of a head frame in there.

The mono-eye moves freely in every direction.

HGUC Dom / Rick-Dom - The articulation doesn't look all that impressive at first glance — it seems about par for an HG — but

The articulation doesn't look all that impressive at first glance — it seems about par for an HG.
But once you actually start moving it around, it feels really good.

HGUC Dom / Rick-Dom - The ankle forward bend is on par with an MG! Despite those big feet, the ankles are flexible enough to

The ankle forward bend is on par with an MG!
Despite those big feet, the ankles are flexible enough to make posing easy.

The front and side skirts also move just like on an MG.

The shoulder swing-forward function is implemented as well.

The waist also moves quite a bit forward and backward.

Starting with a kicking pose! It's a little tricky to get right, but it comes together reasonably well.

Heat saber action

HGUC Dom / Rick-Dom - Bazooka action (1/3)

Bazooka action

The massive beam bazooka used by the Rick-Dom!

Rick-Dom beam bazooka action!

HGUC Dom / Rick-Dom - Comparison with the MG Dom. The HGUC's molded color is slightly brighter. Not that it's news, but the M

Comparison with the MG Dom. The HGUC's molded color is slightly brighter.
Not that it's news, but the MG Dom still holds up really well even today...

Bonus. Comparison with the One Year War version MG Dom. The molded colors are quite different.

HGUC Dom / Rick-Dom - Comparison with the MG Rick-Dom. Since the HGUC combines both the Dom and Rick-Dom in one kit, they cou

Comparison with the MG Rick-Dom.
Since the HGUC combines both the Dom and Rick-Dom in one kit, they couldn't give them different molded colors like the MG versions have.

HGUC Dom / Rick-Dom - Sole comparison with the MG Dom. The HGUC is far more refined -o-;; The gap in release years really sho

Sole comparison with the MG Dom. The HGUC is far more refined -o-;; The gap in release years really shows...

Sole comparison with the MG Rick-Dom. It's subtle, but the HGUC is slightly more refined.

A commemorative shot with the HGUC First. The Dom really does command presence with that backpack.

Together with its buddy, the HGUC Zaku II.

One Year War HGUC group photo. The Dom came out so late that it ended up being way too good quality. ^^;

Dom straight build shot

Rick-Dom straight build shot

Finally.. the Dom has been released as an HGUC. This is a kit that should have come out ages ago, but took its sweet time getting here. That said, coming out late turned out to be a blessing in disguise — it was born with absolutely top-tier quality. ^^

First of all, everything — the proportions, parts layout, overall style — is a dead ringer for the MG Dom. The color separation is flawless as expected, and the parts separation approach is similar to the MG, so seam lines are almost completely eliminated despite being an HG-class kit. The one-piece thigh armor in particular is a rare approach for 1/144 scale. The fact that this high-end seam line hiding technique — one that's only applied to a select few even at the MG level — has been used on a 1/144 HGUC is genuinely impressive. :-) Sure, the HGUC Asshimar had a similar attempt, but there's something strangely satisfying about seeing a standard non-transforming MS kit — and the Dom's thighs of all things — done with one-piece armor.

The joints throughout the body have just the right amount of resistance with no loose spots, and the double-jointed ankles — just like on the MG Dom — are extremely flexible, giving you solid ground contact no matter what action pose you go for. At first glance the articulation might seem average, but once you actually start moving it around, you'll find that those chunky legs and feet have a surprisingly wide range of motion. And the mono-eye that moves freely in all directions via a ball joint — on a 1/144 kit, no less — is genuinely impressive.

There are 4 hand parts included in total, and the proportions are quite good. Though if you look closely, the hands do feel a bit... oversized. It makes the poses more dynamic, but honestly the proportions do feel a little off. The annoying thing about these hand parts though is that they still have the same flaw that's been commonly pointed out in recent HGUCs. The two halves of each hand connect weakly, so when you put a weapon in them they keep falling apart, which gets really frustrating. You might think about just gluing them together for your own sanity, but... this kit has two weapons to hold — the Dom's bazooka and the Rick-Dom's beam bazooka — so if you glue the hands shut you can't hold the other weapon. A real annoying dilemma. This is something I really hope gets fixed going forward.

This kit includes parts for both the Dom and Rick-Dom so you can choose which one to build. You can select or swap between four types of parts: the backpack, vernier parts, rear skirt, and foot soles. There are two ways to look at this — on one hand, you could see it as a nice bonus letting you build either one from a single kit. But if you want both the Dom and Rick-Dom separately, you'd have to buy two kits, which means you'd end up with leftover parts from each. In other words, you're paying extra for parts you don't need -o-; Can't help but think, "Yep, that's Bandai for you!";;

Anyway, coming out late actually worked in its favor — it ended up being one of the finest quality kits in the entire HGUC lineup. Recent HGUCs are already at a high level, but this one is truly at the top of the top. I can wholeheartedly recommend it to every Gunpla fan — this is a masterpiece you won't regret. :-)

HGUC Dom / Rick-Dom | 2006. 1 | ¥1,900

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.