I acquired this new MG Rick Dias in a trade. I liked the design, but I wasn't sure how I wanted to color it. I really didn't know much about the Rick Dias before I saw Zeta Gundam. Even after that I needed more information to build this kit as it's been a year or more since I saw the series. I went to MAHQ for more details and found the following:

Originally intended to be called the "Gundam γ" ("γ" being the Greek symbol "gamma"), the MSA-099 sported a more Zeonic look, so it was named "Rick Dias" instead ("Rick" is derived from "remake", and was a term first used on the MS-09R Rick Dom to distinguish it as a space-use remake of the MS-09 Dom; "Dias" was the name of the discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope on Earth). --MAHQ

Having read that I decided to base my decal designs on the "Gamma Gundam" idea. I also decided to keep a similar look to my Type 100 Afterburner as I thought it'd work well here. I also decided to make Jeep styled mods so enhance the look. Shiny metal parts.

About the Build »

The kit itself is pretty nice and goes together well. It's rather big and bulky as well, but is still quite posable I found. Below is what I did to modify the kit:

* Scribed additional panel lines on forehead, chest, skirts, feet, hands, and elsewhere.
* Added 1.5mm MechaSkunk balls on rear skirt.
* Added small MechaSkunk screws to skirts and legs for detail.
* Added various 1mm MechaSkunk beads to detail the armor and simulate small vernier.
* Spun all thruster bells on my drill (used like a lathe) and sharpened the edges with a razor to create thinner looking walls.
* Painted bells with Alclad Polished Aluminum and then with Tamiya Clear Blue.
* Added details to all verniers in the way of additional bells, beads, and tubes.
* Detailed bazooka barrel using aluminum tubing.
* Replaced beam-gun barrels with aluminum tubes.
* All aluminum tubing polished to a shine using drill and steel wool.
* Custom Color Scheme
* Custom Decals designed by me.
* More!!!