Kit Review

Straight build + Partial paint + Panel lining + Decals

The universal yardstick — size comparison with a cigarette pack.

MG Dom - The MG Dom's arsenal is second to none. 90mm machine gun, 360mm GB03K bazooka, 880mm RB-T27 bazooka, Sturm Faust, he

The MG Dom's arsenal is second to none.
90mm machine gun, 360mm GB03K bazooka, 880mm RB-T27 bazooka, Sturm Faust, heat saber, and more..

MG Dom - The larger weapons all come with pegs that fit into holes in the palm to lock them in place. The grip strength is a

The larger weapons all come with pegs that fit into holes in the palm to lock them in place.
The grip strength is a bit weak, but thanks to these pegs, you'll almost never drop anything.

The cockpit hatch looks pretty small for the overall size..

MG Dom - You can open the head hatch and move the mono-eye around. It can move in all four directions — up, down, left, and r

You can open the head hatch and move the mono-eye around.
It can move in all four directions — up, down, left, and right.

Similar styling to the Gelgoog — the verniers on the rear and back of the legs are really impressive.

MG Dom - Attention to detail extends all the way to the inside of the armor — inner skirt, inner shoulders, inner legs, etc.

Attention to detail extends all the way to the inside of the armor — inner skirt, inner shoulders, inner legs, etc.
Separate red parts with interior molding are used to line the inside of the armor panels.

MG Dom - The verniers on the backpack are small relative to the Dom's overall bulk, but they're on ball joints so they can mo

The verniers on the backpack are small relative to the Dom's overall bulk, but they're on ball joints so they can move in any direction.

There's a part on the back for mounting the heat saber.

A peg on one side of the machine gun can be extended to lock it onto the body.

To mount weapons onto the Dom's body, you need to remove the side pieces of the waist belt.

With the machine gun attached.

With the Sturm Faust equipped.

With the machine gun magazine attached.

Armor removed. A huge number of panels come off...
Though attaching and detaching them is quite a pain ;;

Internal frame.

On the torso, there's essentially only a frame at the waist section.

The frames on the back of the torso.

The leg frame. The thighs are a bit bare, but the lower legs are quite complex.

The ankle has a double-joint structure, so it bends forward quite a lot.

In frame-only state, the articulation is incredible!

Squatting pose achieved!

MG Dom - The legs do fold up completely, but the lower legs are so thick that the rear end lifts up quite a bit. On the plus

The legs do fold up completely, but the lower legs are so thick that the rear end lifts up quite a bit.
On the plus side, there are three exhaust nozzles back there -.,-; Pick whichever direction you want...

On the lower legs, there's a layer of red vernier guards sandwiched between the armor and the frame.

MG Dom - Surprisingly good articulation for that bulk..! Not quite as good as in frame-only state, but those thick lower legs

Surprisingly good articulation for that bulk..!
Not quite as good as in frame-only state, but those thick lower legs still fold up as far as they can go.

When the knee bends, a separate knee section moves independently to maximize leg articulation.

The ankle joint flexibility really stands out. The effort to overcome all that chunkiness..!!

MG Dom - Fortunately the front skirts open all the way up — just looking at the skirt shape, you'd think there's no way they

Fortunately the front skirts open all the way up —
Just looking at the skirt shape, you'd think there's no way they could move like that...

The front skirt connection joint. It's a uniquely U-shaped ball joint, which is what allows it to move so well.

The double ball-joint waist also bends sideways to a decent degree.

It bends forward and back about this much too.

Slight as it is, the elbow joint can also move laterally.

MG Dom - One of the highlights of the MG Dom! For the first time in MG history, all 5 fingers are individually articulated an

One of the highlights of the MG Dom!
For the first time in MG history, all 5 fingers are individually articulated and each knuckle bends.
Thanks to that, you can get some really natural-looking finger poses.

On top of that, the wrist is more flexible than it looks. It bends up and down at a pretty decent angle.

It almost looks like a fixed head, but it does move.
Just a little bit up, and a little bit side to side ;;

90mm machine gun action pose. Note the relatively flexible leg articulation.

MG Dom - Sturm Faust action pose. Looks kind of like he's doing rhythmic gymnastics on a diet; (Yeah, you could stand to lose

Sturm Faust action pose. Looks kind of like he's doing rhythmic gymnastics on a diet; (Yeah, you could stand to lose a few pounds!)

Heat saber action.

360mm GB03K bazooka action.

880mm RB-T27 bazooka action.

The front of the 880mm RB-T27 bazooka has a shield and a grip handle.
Makes for a nice natural hold~

Dual cannon (?) action.

Each of the two bazookas has a hook, so you can pose the Dom carrying them both like this;

Looks like a laborer heading home after a long day's work;;

The Dom really does have a presence all its own!

Included 1/20 figure of Ortega from the Black Triple Stars.

MG Dom - Together with the other two mass-production Zeon suits — Zaku II and Gelgoog. The Dom is rounder, but the Gelgoog is

Together with the other two mass-production Zeon suits — Zaku II and Gelgoog.
The Dom is rounder, but the Gelgoog is actually bigger overall.
That said, nobody can touch the Dom when it comes to foot size-

MG Dom - Finally, all three Black Triple Stars figures — Gaia, Mash, and Ortega — are together! To collect all the Black Trip

Finally, all three Black Triple Stars figures — Gaia, Mash, and Ortega — are together!
To collect all the Black Triple Stars figures, you'll also need to pick up the Black Triple Stars Zakus (notorious for their rough molded colors) ;;

The Dom is known as the MG kit that Bandai spent the longest development time on and put the most effort into. It's a relatively early release — somewhere in the 20s in MG numbering — but as befitting a kit that the developers really poured their hearts into, the overall feel is simply "fantastic." ^^

First of all, even by today's standards, it's remarkable just how much effort went into hiding seam lines — and you can see it clearly throughout the kit. The large single-piece head, waist belt, forearms, lower legs, and other oversized parts combined with clever parts separation mean that even a straight build brings out that smooth, clean look of a big, hefty suit.

The molded colors faithfully capture the look of the original, and despite the large plastic panels, they come out smooth with almost no flow marks. The purple-ish molded color might not be everyone's personal taste, but it's definitely not a bad look.

The MG Dom's basic skeleton is similar in style to the MG Gelgoog, but the detail work is far more refined. The arms don't have much of a frame to speak of, but the legs have a full inner frame, and with the large verniers and even larger red vernier guards, the detail is impressively intricate. The torso essentially only has a frame at the waist, but the detail there is solid too. Either way, once you strip all the armor off, this kit gives you a pretty stunning frame shot. The one downside is that the armor removal system is a bit fiddly — especially around the torso — so it can be a bit of a struggle ;;;

Given how chunky the Dom is, articulation was the last thing I expected much from — but it delivers fantastic poseability for its build. Sure, it's not on the level of a slimmer kit, but those fat legs fold up with the knee section moving independently until the upper and lower armor panels nearly touch each other. (In frame-only state, they fold completely.) On top of that, those ridiculously large feet also bend forward quite aggressively thanks to the double ankle joint structure. This gives the Dom rock-solid ground contact in action poses that nothing else can match. The elbows don't fold all the way, but the flexible wrists make it easy enough to hold the weapons. The waist also moves naturally within a decent range thanks to the double ball joint. And even the head — which looks practically fixed with no neck to speak of — still manages to move up, down, and side to side to some degree ;;

One of the Dom's standout features in particular is that it was the first MG to move away from the standard rock-paper-scissors swap hands and adopt double-jointed fingers. All 5 fingers are individually articulated, and 4 of them each bend once, which gives the hands a very natural appearance. The trade-off is that the fingers tend to pop off fairly easily due to this structure, and the grip strength is a bit on the weak side. However, the Dom's large weapons are designed to lock in place with pegs and holes, so they hold on nice and firm. ^^ The machine gun doesn't have a locking peg, but it's light enough that holding it isn't a problem. The one weak spot... the grip is just ever so slightly lacking when it comes to firmly holding the heat saber.

Joint strength is also solid overall, though the heavy torso and legs do put some strain on things. That's an unavoidable structural issue, but at the very least it won't wobble and topple over. ^^ Given the bulk, you might wish the joints were even stiffer, but compared to the first-release Gelgoog, the joints here are in a completely different league — night and day.

The weapons loadout is also very generous — it gives off a similar vibe to the MG Zaku II mass production type. Beyond smaller accessories like the Sturm Faust, you get two different bazookas, making it feel like a proper gift set. Everything you'd want is in there. And as a bonus, the 1/20 figure of Ortega — the last of the Black Triple Stars — is included as well. Collect him alongside the Black Triple Stars Zaku I and II figures, and you'll have the complete Black Triple Stars figure set.

At ¥4,000, when you open the box the parts count might look a little sparse. The box itself is thin too... Part of that is down to the efficient parts separation keeping the count low, though more parts doesn't automatically mean a better kit. Still, in terms of volume-to-value, ¥3,500 might have felt more appropriate — but given how much development cost likely went into this one, ¥4,000 seems to be where they landed. That said, it's absolutely worth every yen of that ¥4,000. ^^

The MG Dom is a very rare kit where you can feel both the passionate craftsmanship of the early MG developers and the refined quality of modern MG releases at the same time. Early MGs were full of ambition but lacked the engineering and manufacturing precision to back it up, while recent MGs are polished but somehow feel formulaic — like they're leaning on advanced production techniques rather than genuine creativity. The MG Dom, however, had enough development time for ambition and execution to come together in just the right way, earning it a place among the all-time greats. The fact that so many Japanese Gunpla experts consistently name the Dom as the best MG ever made is likely because it's one of the few kits where both of those qualities coexist. The bottom line? If you've been eyeing the MG Dom, don't waste time second-guessing the quality — just go ahead and grab it. ^^

MG MS-09 Dom
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★★	Every possible effort made to hide seam lines!
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★★	Perfect color separation. Faithful molded colors.
Proportions	★★★★★	That hefty, imposing build perfectly recreated.
Articulation	★★★★☆	Articulation is fantastic for its build! The finger joints and double ankle joints in particular are excellent.
Joint Strength	★★★★	The weight puts a lot of stress on the joints, but the joints themselves are pretty sturdy. The grip is a little disappointing though.
Internal Frame	★★★★	The arms look a bit bare, but everything else is quite impressive.
Detail	★★★★★	You can clearly see the developer put a lot of thought and effort into this.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★★	So many that it almost feels like too much.
Parts Count / Price	★★★★	293 parts total. Parts per ¥1000: 73.3. Efficient color separation keeps the part count low.
Uniqueness	★★★★★	A true masterpiece — you can really feel the soul the developer poured into it.
Dalong's Point : 93 pts.

MG Dom | 1999.6 | ¥4,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.