Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. (1/6)

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. (2/6)

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. (3/6)

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. (4/6)

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. (5/6)

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. (6/6)

Head

17-barrel attack cannon on the back

Waist section

Legs

If you look closely at the leg armor, you can see the interior through it.

Tail

Underside view

Cockpit hatch open

Open the mouth and there's a small 6-barrel missile pod inside.

Painted Thoma figure.
The included stand makes it easy to display upright.

The waist barely moves at all..;

Tail articulation

The head antennae move individually.

Side section articulation on the 17-barrel attack cannon.

The 9 attack cannons in the center section folded down.

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. - There's a linked gimmick where raising the upper attack cannons causes the middle sectio

There's a linked gimmick where raising the upper attack cannons causes the middle section to rise along with them.

Horizontal spread range of the legs

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. - Spreading the fixing pins at the rear of the 17-barrel attack cannon allows it to detach

Spreading the fixing pins at the rear of the 17-barrel attack cannon allows it to detach from the body.

The back section after removing the attack cannon

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. - The underside of the detached 17-barrel attack cannon has leg-like stands that can be un

The underside of the detached 17-barrel attack cannon has leg-like stands that can be unfolded.

You can open the rear cover and deploy the Raider.

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. - The 17-barrel attack cannon set down on the ground. (1/4)

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. - The 17-barrel attack cannon set down on the ground. (2/4)

The 17-barrel attack cannon set down on the ground.

You need to remove the head and legs to take out the Zoid Core.

The Zoid Core

The cover on the 8-barrel missile pod on the side of the head opens up.

Leftover parts.

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. - Action pose. (1/4)

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. - Action pose. (2/4)

Action pose.

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. - Raawr~ (1/3)

Raawr~

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. - Riding pose (1/4)

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. - Riding pose (2/4)

Riding pose

Together with the HMM Shield Liger.
The Dibison is quite a big boy.

Together with the well-built Dark Horn.
Even so, the Dibison is bigger and heftier.

After a long while, the Dibison Thoma Ver. has been released as a completely new Zoid rather than a color variant. As you can see, it's a stylish buffalo-style mech sporting a massive 17-barrel attack cannon on its back.

It's clearly a pretty substantial Zoid kit, but... it's priced at ¥9,800, the same as the Iron Kong. Compared to the Iron Kong — which holds the record for the most volume and parts of any kit — the box is noticeably smaller, the part count is lower, and the kit itself is much smaller, so it's hard to call them equals in value. I'm not sure if that much effort went into development, but it feels more like they got a bit bold with the pricing out of concern over sales, since the Dibison isn't exactly the most popular unit in the Zoids universe.

So yes, it does feel just a touch overpriced, but since this is a series where value for money was already thrown out the window (....) I suppose they're all kind of the same in that regard. That said, the parts lineup itself is very well-stocked, and the massive, satisfying build experience that HMM Zoids are known for is very much still here. And once you're done, that familiar feeling of "wait, where did all those parts even go?" is still there too lol.

With so many parts, the finished kit has an incredibly dense, three-dimensional look and sculpt quality that surpasses just about any other Zoid kit — but on the flip side, the articulation isn't great. The leg range of motion is limited, and the waist is practically fixed in place, so there really aren't many poses you can pull off. It feels like a kit that gave up on dynamic posing entirely and went all-in on precision and sculpt quality after completion.

The Dibison's biggest highlight is the spectacular 17-barrel attack cannon on its back. The 17 individual barrels can each be moved at various angles, and on top of that, the gimmick design is well thought out — the cannon can be detached from the body and displayed separately. Unlike other Zoid kits, though, getting the Zoid Core out requires you to fully disassemble the 17-barrel attack cannon, both front legs, the head, and more before you can finally get to it.

To sum it up: the value for money isn't great and the articulation leaves something to be desired, but the build process is genuinely fun and the precision sculpt quality of the finished kit is outstanding. It's a must-have for true Zoids fans, but even if you're not particularly one, it still seems like a worthwhile kit as a plastic model in its own right. I mean, it just looks absolutely killer, doesn't it? :-)

Zoid HMM RZ-031 Dibison Thoma Ver. | 2012. 11 | ¥9,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.