Dibison

The Dibison is a Bison-type Zoid, one of over 200 species of biomechanical lifeforms depicted by TOMY's "Zoids" model, toy, and media franchise. Zoids
Zoid_name = Dibison
ImageName =
Caption = A trio of Dibison open fire.
Model_number = RZ-031
Faction = Helic Republic
Zoid_type = Bison
Crew = 2
Weight = 230
Length = 20.6
Height = 10.8
Speed = 130 km/h
Weapons = 105mm 17-Shot Mortar Cannon, Crusher Horn, Crusher Metal Spike Hooves, 8-Shot Missile Pod x2, AZ 3-Barreled Shock Cannon, 35mm Anti-Ground Cannon x2, Pulse Beam Gun
Equipment = GPS 3D Radar Antenna

Overview

The Dibison is a heavily armoured, heavily armed Bison type Zoid, though it more closely resembles an Aurochs.

The Zoid was designed with a single intention, and that was to fight the massive Death Saurer that had so far dominated the Helic Forces. To achieve this, the designers loaded it with one of the heaviest weapons loads ever seen on a Zoid. The Dibison's principal weapons are an array of seventeen 105mm mortars mounted on its back. Long-ranged and capable of indirect fire, the weapons can be used to saturate an area or focus on a single target.

Additionally, the Dibison's super-heavy Crusher horns are one of only a few weapons capable of penetrating a Death Saurer's armour, while its Crusher Hooves can be used to trample enemy Zoids underfoot. While not very agile, its speed and mass allow it to effectively charge down enemy Zoids. The Dibison's armour is very thick, allowing it to wade through enemy fire. Finally, the Zoid is fitted with an extensive sensory system, allowing it to detect and engage enemy Zoids at long range.

Battle Story appearances

The Dibison was developed by the Helic Republic during the ZAC 2040s as a counter to the Zenebas Death Saurer, and to be used in reclaiming the Republic's capital. Alongside the newly developed Madthunder, Arosaurer and Raynos, the force succeeded in retaking the capital and defeating the Death Saurers there, a feat that no Zoid had yet achieved.

The Dibison remained an integral part of the Republican army, being used to spearhead assaults on the Empire's troops. its design was so successful that a smaller-scale derivative, the Cannonfort, was developed from it.

The design appears to have been retired following the ZAC 2056 meteor disaster, possibly due to the destruction of all the extant Death Saurers. Instead, the rebuilt Republic army used the older Gojulas and Gordos as their heavy Zoids. This changed, however, with the reintroduction of the Death Saurer in ZAC 2100. In response to this development, the Republic began to produce new Dibisons to counter it.

Media appearances

Anime

Guardian Force

The Dibison appears in the Guardian Force episode "The Steel Bison", where it is piloted by Thomas Schubaltz, the brother of Karl Schubaltz. Despite it being a Republican Zoid, Thomas is a member of the Imperial army; Thomas came into possession of the Dibison as a result of the technology exchange between the Guylos Empire and the Helic Republic after the war. Van Flyheight was placed under his command and the two of them investigate and defeat a gang of bandits. Thomas becomes smitten by Fiona and acts haughty and antagonistic towards Van early on out of jealousy. However, Thomas grows to respect Van and the two pilots become friends.

The Dibison appears in nearly every Guardian Force episode after that- probably the most notable episode featuring the Dibison is "The Devil's Maze", where Thomas must fight his own brother and his Iron Kong while the latter is under the mind control of Reese. The Dibison would not be seen during the final episodes of the series due to being disabled by the Death Stinger, and would not participate in the final battle against the Death Saurer.

Thomas' Dibison is augmented by a special AI system called "BEEK". Designed by Thomas himself, Thomas compares its performance to that of an Organoid. BEEK is capable of uncovering an opponent's weaknesses and exploiting them, among other abilities, (such as tracking stealth Zoids by footprints and gunfire). He communicates to Thomas via robotic beeps, whistles, and warbles, similar to those made by R2-D2 of Star Wars fame. BEEK is integrated into the combat system of the Dibison, but can also be carried portably by Thomas via a multipurpose device that also serves as the Dibison's steering wheel. Thomas boasts that his BEEK AI system is superior to a real Organoid.

Despite its supposedly high performance, the Dibison had a tendency to be easily defeated by enemy Zoids, Irvine's Command Wolf and Raven's Geno Saurer being among them. The majority of the battles during the series' run would begin with Thomas being incapacitated, allowing Van to save the day. This became a trend of sorts, and subsequent Dibisons would appear ineffectual as well.

New Century Zero

A Dibison would be piloted by Leena Toros of the Blitz team in the early episodes, accompanying Brad's Command Wolf and Leon's Shield Liger (and later, Bit's Liger Zero) in battle. Like Thomas's Dibison after her, Leena's Dibison was often easily defeated, though it performed exceptionally well in Episode 3, claiming all the battle points in the match. The Dibison would briefly be piloted by Jamie as well when Leena was kidnapped in episode 4.

Eventually, Leena's Dibison would be the first victim of the Elephander in episode 6, "The Dark Giant: The Invincible Elephander", where it would be destroyed by a single shot from its Hyper Laser Gun. The Dibison's remains would be sold off for scrap and traded for Leena's new Zoid, the Gun Sniper LS.

Also of note is that Leena's Dibison has the same multipurpose steering unit as Thomas', although it is unexplained if hers has a BEEK AI as well.

A few other Dibisons also appeared in minor roles. Harry Champ's sister Mary had a small herd of Dibison; these were not used for battle, but instead merely to drag her caravan.

A trio of Dibison were also used by a cannonfodder team simply called the "Buffalo Team". They appeared briefly to fight Doctor Laon's Neo Wardicks; unable to breach the Fuma team's powerful E-shields, they were each effortlessly destroyed with a single shot.

A single wrecked Dibison would also be seen during the Royal Cup, having been destroyed off-screen by the Berserk Fury.

Manga

Chaotic Century

A lone Dibison named Gungho appears in the Chaotic Century Manga and is piloted by Lieutenant Paris of the Republic. Gungho was previously piloted by Colonel Rob Herman and could take on a Sabre Tiger when Colonel Herman was the pilot.

Models

Original Japanese Release

*Assembly required. (Snap-together, no glue needed. Scissors or X-acto knife recommended for trimming off excess plastic bits.)
*The model's colours are moulded into the plastic, and it does not need any paint.

The Dibison kit comes on five frames, along with a battery-powered motor, a semi-transparent canopy cover, sixteen rubber caps, two small chromed pilots and label sheets. The Dibison's hooves and horns are made from metal, rather than plastic. The Dibison is moulded in black and green, with silver weapons, and orange canopies.

The Dibison’s construction isn’t overly complex or difficult, putting it roughly in the middle of the range for Zoid complexity. The Dibison uses a pair of “AA” sized batteries for motion. Once activated, the Zoid walks forwards while raising and lowering its head. The weapons on its back can be manually raised or lowered, and the back can be opened to reveal a radar antenna.

Like several other Zoids of the time, the Dibison could use a number of different optional weapons that were included in the Republic Customise Set. The Dibison was released in 1986, and was produced up until about 1988.

New Japanese Release

The Dibison was re-released as a part of the "New Japanese Release" in 2000. The new Dibison's colour scheme was similar to the originals, with the green trim being noticeably darker. The motor was changed to work off a single AA battery with no loss of performance. The battery lid was also modified to have a screw-down cover, rather than the clip-down one of the original.

New American Release

The Dibison was re-released in North America by Hasbro in 2001. This version of the Dibison is identical to the "New Japanese Release" version, except the metal horns and hooves were substituted with plastic equivalents and different packaging.

The Zoid was also released as a part of the "New Pacific Release" by TOMY. Despite the Zoid's prominent role in the anime, the Zoid sold poorly.