MG Rick Dias Quattro’s Customize – Completed

My first kit after four years is finally done! I started this all the way back in 2009, back before I moved into a tiny apartment where I couldn’t paint anything. So I present, Master Grade Rick Dias, Quattro’s Customize unit, completed October 2013.

I’m quite pleased with the final result. It’s good to see that I actually still know how to handle an airbrush, mix paint etc. No parts went missing this time which was nice for a change.

The brown ended up alot brighter than I thought it would, also I wished it was a bit redder but oh well. I also put a tiny piece of aluminium foil behind the monoeye so it would look brighter. The decals used are the official Gundam Decals for the kit, unfortunately they are no longer in production.

Review

Construction

Back in 2004, Bandai released 2 variants of the Rick Dias, the blue mass production one, and Quattro’s red version (which would go on to be mass produced anyway). You should note that the red version comes with the parts necessary to build the blue version as well, so unless you’re not planning to paint your kit, get the red version.

Being a rather old kit, the internal frame is minimal, with only the chest, shoulders and lower leg having internals. Seam line wise, if you’re the type of person that MUST fix all seam lines, there are a few major ones which require modding or masking if you’re planning to fix them, with the most obvious one being the one on the head.

Weapons wise, you the kit comes with a clay bazooka, two beam pistols, and a beam saber.

Painting

All of the parts included in the kit are moulded in correct colours, with the exception of the power cables near the side skirts, these are part of the lower torso frame, and you’ll have to do some masking if you want to paint them in the right colour.

As for the colours, here’s what I used:

Red – Red Madder, followed by Red Madder + white (becomes a very hot pink), followed by light coat of Red Madder
Grey – Intermediate Blue + white, added more white for shading
Internals – Medium Grey + Black, added more Medium Grey for shading
Brown – Red Brown + Black, added Red Brown + White for shading
Black – Midnight Blue, added white for shading

Posability

Being a rather bulky kit, the Rick Dias doesn’t really have much posing capability. The large feet and bulky external armour prevent the double jointed knees and elbows from contracting fully. The clay bazooka also has to be equipped in an underarm fashion, which can feel a bit clunky. The other arm can barely reach it if you wish to have the Rick Dias hold it with two hands. The beam pistols which are normally mounted on the backpack are also pretty much impossible for the hands to hold properly, due to the backpack locking mechanism clashing with the forearm.

The head can move up and down about 30 degrees, however you only get about 5 degrees of horizontal movement, which really hurts if you’re going for a dynamic pose.

On the plus side, the large feet make this kit extremely sturdy when standing upright. The kit also has individually moulded fingers, a rarity for a kit of it’s time.