Robot Damashii MS-09 Dom ver. A.N.I.M.E. by Bandai – Available From HobbyLink Japan
By Cacophanus from Mecha Damashii
Bandai is continuing on with its excellent anime-themed Gundam figures as part of the Robot Damashii line, the latest of these being the MS-09 Dom from Mobile Suit Gundam. Like the previous entries in this sub-line, Bandai has done an excellent job as the sculpt and articulation are very good indeed.
To give a bit of backstory, the MS-09 Dom was like many of the later Zeon mobile suits specialized for a specific task. This was to be able to skim across the ground at high speed. This was facilitated by its thrusters in the feet, around the ankles, and in the skirt armor itself. This made the Dom an incredible mobile, and difficult, enemy to face off against.
The other big thing about the Dom is that it was memorably used by the Black Tri-Star team. This were a trio of Zeon ace pilots by the name of Miguel, Ortega, and Mash. Given purple and black Zaku I’s at the Battle of Loum, they created their signature move: the Jet Stream Attack.
This had the three mobile suits line up behind one another to attack a target, the result being a triple barrage of attacks in short succession that was almost inevitably devastating for their target.
So when the Black Tri-Stars got the Doms they not only had it used their signature paint scheme, but also improved upon their Jet Stream Attack. This was because the Doms came fitted with Beam Scatter Guns which would visually stun enemy pilots, making the resultant attacks even harder to counter.
In this instance I have only one Dom to play with but the figure itself is beautifully done. Again, like the other toys in this line it has retained the original Kunio Okawara sculpt but also has some ingenious articulation and gimmicks tucked away.
Keep an eye out for the review, as that will be up shortly!