We might as well start off by building the standard/original/basic/whatever-you-want-to-call-it Dilanza:

Spoiler Preface!!!

This post contains spoilers for Witch from Mercury. You may want to skip it if you haven’t watched the show.

Here is what the Gundam Wiki has to say:

With the Dilanza, Jeturk Heavy Machinery set out to develop a cumulative, universal design. By modifying elements of standard Mobile Suit designs, they arrived at a new standard; a perfect balance between power output and durable armor.

To compensate for the Dilanza's decreased mobility due to its large frame and heavy armor, it is equipped with high-output thrusters and hovering units. The development process, which sought to do away every possible weakness of the MS by adding counter measures could be seen as overkill. However, it resulted in an MS with balanced capabilities.

As a result, the all-purpose Dilanza is Jeturk's most famous MS. The Astacassia School of Technology's Jeturk House is home to several Dilanza's, with the house's former deputy, now current leader; Lauda Neill, possessing a customised variant.

One thing to note is that it’s probably not accurate to call this the “basic” version of the Dilanza. Rather, I think it’s more appropriate to say this is the version that’s used at Astacassia for school duels. I say that because we never see this variant officially engage in real world military operations outside of the school. That job is instead for the Dilanza Sol.

(that being said, we do see it engage in an unofficial military operation, but more on that later)

Furthermore, both the base unit and Lauda’s unit are equipped with a crest on their head, which is only necessary for the purposes of dueling. I don’t think you’d see anyone outside of the school rocking either of these variants.

Weapons and Stuff

In addition to the beam vulcans embedded in their chests, there are two weapons that are standard across all Dilanzas; a basic beam rifle, and a “beam torch” (which is just a beam saber by another name). These are the only two weapons the base model gets, in addition to a single shield on its left shoulder.

Meanwhile, Lauda’s custom unit is equipped with two large, circular shoulder shields, as well as a massive axe.

About the Visual Design

It wasn’t until I started building these kits that I realized just how much the Darilbalde looks like its sibling:

Their heads and chests are extremely similar, and I’d say that the upper legs, front skirts, arms and shoulders are at least vaguely similar. You can definitely tell these are made by the same company, while not being carbon copies of one another. I really appreciate that sense of visual cohesion.

And while I do think the Darilbalde is the coolest of the bunch, I very much appreciate how bulky the Dilanza is. It isn’t uncommon for a Gundam faction to have multiple grunt suits, some of which are bulky. But it’s rare for a faction to have one grunt suit that also happens to be a big boi. But I think it’s a smart choice; if this is going to be the “face” of the company, you don’t want it to look like a pushover.

The Desultor

Technically speaking, the Dilanza is not the only grunt suit made by Jeturk. There is an older model called the Desultor, which is much less bulky (and also looks an awful lot like Master Chief from Halo):

However, during the events of GWitch the Desultor is considered outdated and obsolete, with the implication being that it's not even sold anymore.

PS - There isn't a Gunpla of this thing. Not yet at least. But I'm hoping that will change eventually (even if a potential future kit ends up being sold on Premium Bandai).

As for the color of the Dilanza, I’m on the fence. You don’t see that many teal mobile suits, so from that perspective I think it’s a refreshing change of pace.

But it also kind of feels … blagh. The Darilbalde is a bold, deep red. The Dilanza Sol is a serious looking blend of dark blacks and gunmetal grey. And Guel’s custom Dilanza is a bright, over the top pink. They all convey a certain mood through their color schemes. But the teal and grey of the Dilanza falls somewhere in the middle, where it doesn’t make quite as strong an impression.

At least that’s where my head is now. Who knows if I’ll come around to it once the build is complete.

Apperances

I can’t quite recall all the times that the standard Dilanza shows up in GWitch. I do know it appears in a few scenes in Episode 14 during a schoolwide Battle Royal:

It does get at least one moment where it gets to show off some cool moves:

It also shows up near the very end of the show, where it participates in an unofficial military operation (in a non-combat role):

As for Lauda’s Dilanza, it too shows up during the Battle Royal. In fact, this is the only time we actually see it piloted by Lauda himself:

But it first shows up quite a bit earlier, in Episode 5. Lauda’s brother Guel takes it out for a duel, despite being banned from dueling after taking two straight losses:

Hoping to regain his honor, he manages to put up a tremendous fight:

Sadly though, he was up against yet another Gundam, and if there’s one thing about Gundams in GWitch, it’s that they have the mobile suit equivalent of “cheap hax”, so Guel is once again humiliated in defeat:

To borrow a concept from professional wrestling, Lauda’s unit in particular manages to look strong in defeat. The animators do a good job of making it look fast despite its size, and despite carrying around such a large axe. The fact that it put up such a good fight against a Gundam is proof that despite being a grunt, it’s not exactly cannon fodder.

About the Model Kit

This kit has all the parts needed to build either the standard Dilanza, or Lauda’s custom unit. From reading the manual, it looks like it’s designed so you can easily swap between the two, which is appreciated.