By Loran
Towards the end of Double Zeta Gundam, I have to wonder if there was some sort of budget crisis with the model kits. In the series, you start seeing old suits and variations of them appearing in the latter half. Suits like Gelgoogs, Desert Zakus, and of course, the Gazu R/L. But there was one variant that appeared in one episode—quite prominently, if I may add, that was the simplest of variations and never got a kit until recently. I’m talking about the Schuzrum Dias. What could have been nothing more than a Rick Dias with two big binders thrown on its back just ended up getting ignored. I always wondered why.
Until I got one, that is. Taken at face value, the Schuzrum Dias isn’t anything exciting, really. In fact, it’s exactly what I said it was: a Rick Dias with two big binders thrown on its back. Heck, even the color scheme is pretty much the same as Quattro’s Rick Dias. Of course, Bandai still gave us our money’s worth with a few elements of the kit, but it’s really the kind of thing only completists would be interested in, or crazy people like me who dig crazy obscure mobile suits.
By and large, the kid has all the same features of the Rick Dias. It has the same articulation, same translucent green parts as the original. Of course, that means one thing: it’s horribly outdated. The articulation was great for 2000, but for 2009, it’s really crude.
There are a few small cosmetic changes Bandai made from the original that were probably done for the kitbashers. The first is the “hat”. This one has a more pronounced visor that extends out more. I like it a lot, and it still gives you the chance to use the original one.
The next is the new backside. Everything’s more angular and more pronounced. I like it. However, this came at a price: there’s no more mount for the beam saber.
Lastly, and more interestingly, are the new boosters in the legs. These just go on top of the existing boosters, though they don’t stay in that well. All of these elements combined would make for a great Quattro’s Rick Dias kitbash, since a lot of people were upset that the kit was a straight-up recolor with no new parts. I might actually grab a second one and a second Rick Dias to make a proper Quattro Custom unit… but I probably won’t.
The big binders are neat, but unfortunately they’re just two big halves with a polycap. I’m not looking forward to the amount of glue I’m going to need for these. Still, it has a lot of nice detail and doesn’t completely weigh the kit down.
The weapons are all the same from the Rick Dias, and they all store just as well. Save for the Beam Saber, that is. There’s no more mounting point for that.
My favorite inclusion is the sticker sheet. It comes with stickers for Zeon, the AEUG, Karaba, the Federation, Anaheim Electronics, and even Amuro’s personal emblem. I’ll probably use some of these at some point. It also comes with stickers for Quattro… unfortunately they use the bad spelling. I’ll just ignore those for now.
So overall, if you own a Rick Dias already and you just want a new kit to buy this one isn’t going to offer anything new or exciting. The stickers are cool, yes, but nothing special. I’d recommend it to completists or people who like weird designs. If you want one for your own, check out FPNYC!
