2nd Worldwide Release

I must say, this guy looks a hundred times better with stickers applied! But not good enough to keep it from being sold when I got the HMM version.

Godos is sort of an all purpose trooper (The OER version was even called “Trooperzoid”), with lots of extra parts.

I really waited too long to get one of these, especially given how much I like bugs. I want to paint it gloss black and do a zoids version of the album art from Massive Attack’s Mezzanine.

If you bought the Hasbro release, you would know this guy as Venomous Viper.

One of the early “brand new” designs of the NJR. Very sleek and the jet turbines everywhere are a nice touch.

Released in 2000, one of the first brand new designs since the OJR days, and sadly it’s a turkey. The main problem is the poor molding, which pretty much ruins ol’ Gunsnipey. A year later, this was one of the first Hasbro releases, which meant it could be purchased right off a shelf, instead of paying an arm and a leg for shipping from overseas.

Does poor Dibison get any love? I didn’t like this one until seeing one in person. Now it’s one of my favorites. As it walks, the head points down to reveal even more firepower. The Japanese version had metal horns and hoofs, but Hasbro cheaped out on its release.

And no one seems to like poor Hammer Head (inexplicably renamed “Sledge Head” by Hasbro) either! Well, I do. I took the bar that controls the “swimming” movement out of mine, so I could do a “circling around for the kill” pose. This is about as articulated as the poor guy can get.

The hero of the /Zero anime, and probably Tomy’s biggest cash cow, what with all the variants and CAS (changing armor system) units that have been made. I originally amassed four ligers—one for each CAS, and one to be “stock”—but the thought of building four sets of those complex legs (with individual claws) was too much, and I sold off the extras.

How many Command Woofs do you need, anyway? Yes, but this one has a blue metal-flake finish, and comes with CP-04. Plus I have an affinity for the number 42.

Spinosapper is a utility zoid and chock full of accessories. I like the saws the best, but the excavator isn’t bad either (although walking is impossible when it’s deployed). This was known as Spinosnapper in the NAR, since they probably thought kids couldn’t look up “sapper” in a dictionary (combat engineer). It was called Spinosappa in the dub of the anime, because… zuh?

MIB for now. The OJR version has chrome guns and a cooler color scheme, but also costs ten times as much, so I’ll stick with this one. Bummer that neither version had clear eyes.

People seem to either love or hate this woof, but it has a special place in my heart, since it was the first zoid I got after a zoidless year of abject brokeness. For silliness, see the Hasbro box: no umlaut, and “fart cannons” facing forward! Semi-silliness: why does a giant mechanical wolf need giant “night vision” goggles? Night jiggling? I guess because of the cardinal rule of anime/mecha: it looks cool!

Having a name that is also a description for the side-effects of chili, Mad Thunder is from the golden age of ginormous zoids, reissued for the NJR in early 2002. Having the same colors as the OJR, there was much rejoicing in the land. The computer screen was made from part of a Zoids 2 sticker.

Before this was released, it was referred to as “Gun Sniper MK-II”, which made me think (and hope) they would have redone GS with decent molds this time. Instead it was a complete redesign. It comes with red or blue caps, plus matching stickers for each.

Hasbro Chameleor, aka Megaleon in the NJR. This one came out in 2002, but I didn’t know until very recently that it had clear parts, or I would have gotten it a lot sooner. The last pic is an attempt at the ol’ action shot that the boxes always have.

A wee fella. I lost the original pilot in a shelving accident, so I’m borrowing one from Guntiger.

Gojulas Giga has a ton of parts, a ton of features, and was an absolute joy to build. Also one of the coolest zoids in my collection. When this one came out (10/2002) it was rumored to be the last new model kit design. Thankfully that wasn’t true.

I mainly got this one for the swapping potential. When it first came out, I saw the box before the actual kit, and was in a state of panic until it was confirmed that the orange parts were actually clear, the way the Good Lord intended.

Update, 01/2010: A fellow zoider was saddened that I raided this guy for parts, and sent me a spare. And here it is! A lot of people complain about the colors, but they do look a lot better in person. Thanks, zoidmagnite!

MIB for now. For some reason, this one’s box art (like the box art for Gorhecks) shows an opaque canopy. This filled my heart with fear when they came out, but rest assured the canopy inside the box is clear.

I swapped out the white caps for black ones, and also painted the feet black, to give it more contrast. The figure is prepainted and came from a gashapon set I got off Yahoo Japan.

This is one of the odder zoids out there. It’s a pillbug that pulls two trailers, for carrying other zoids, or spare parts, or smeat. The armor contracts as it rolls, and the radar dish spins. The kit comes with a sprue of anime characers, but you have to paint them yourself. Or get the gashapon figure set!