The Valga is a state of the art mecha, which was developed and deployed as the main force of the Guylos Empire's army after the Grand Catastrophe. Made using the analyzed super-technology from the wreckage of the recovered King Gojulas, it's said to be a mecha of many mysteries. Its special move, "Gravity Attack", is […]
New Stuff
Fuzors (model line)
The Fuzors line was...well, a whole lot of recolors, all to go with the anime Zoids. But aaah, so much metal flake plastic. It also had, in my opinion, the most appealing and stylish boxes in the newer Zoids line. I wish I'd bought more of the kits.
Genesis (model line)
It came, it went, it...didn't do very well. Alas for you, Genesis! The Genesis line was part recolor and reissue (including the most awesome Gilvader recolor ever and Cannonfort/Houndsoldier in more sensible colors), part new kits. The new kits...well, they were either prebuilt Ligers (two of which had perpetual parts/quality issues) or Bio Zoids.
Kotobukiya HMM
Short for "High-End Master Model", the HMMs are Kotobukiya's highly-detailed and posable Zoids kit line. I'm more about the motors, but if you're after more Gundam-style or proper model-style kits with less toy, they'll be right up your alley. They're also the only still-running line in the franchise.
Limited
Zoids sold under some kind of limited edition banner, be it "you must order from this magazine, limit X pieces total" or "we'll call this limited and then do another run of it anyway", which seems to happen to Command Wolves and Ligers.
Monthly Zoids Graphics
Sorta overlapping with Rebirth Century, the Monthly Zoids Graphics line brought us reissues from the 80s (well, and 1990), pacakged with cool booklets and bonus pieces. Like Rebirth Century, it didn't last long. On the other hand, it still managed to release Orudios and Gungyarados. And Lidier.
Neo (and Legend) Blox
Short-lived and actually...not really that much like the Blox line, the Neo and Legend Blox featured a cool jointing system (with none of the Blox floppy issues) and were easy to customize/combine. Sadly, they had two major problems: uninspired new designs and a very short run. Which is a pity, as imo they had the potential to be pretty fun.
New JP Release
The largest Zoids release since the 80s. I'm counting the Fuzors and Genesis lines separately and lumping all the battle story-tied stuff here until Graphics/Rebirth Century, but a lot of fans also count anything from Japan and not the 80s as part of this. Yeah, toylines are fun that way.
New US Release
As championed by Hasbro. They did some things wrong (odd distribution and some weird assortments that stuck stores with too many unpopular Zoids) and a lot of things right (some really awesome exclusives, some Japanese limiteds as regular releases). Whatever you think of them, theirs is the only recent non-Japanese release that actually managed to last a good amount of time...and they may well have designed a number of Zoids themselves or alongside Tomy.
Rebirth Century
The battle story came back, briefly, in 2008 (the 25th anniversary of the line). Containing some long-awaited reissues and some very interesting new designs (including some of the first new windups since 2001), Rebirth Century was over far too quickly. Its story was set in the period between the meteor disaster of the old Japanese Zoids line and the war restarting for the new releases in 1999, but sadly didn't last long enough to fill all the gaps...such as how Elena came to be president, or where the hell Rosa went.
Toy's Dream Project
Toy's Dream Project produced a number of Zoids limited editions, with a focus on reproductions of older kits that hadn't seen rerelease. Most were recolors (like the assorted Mk.II Zoids), but they also did a few 1/24 Zoids and a Deadborder possibly salvaged from Hasbro's attempts to revive the mold as Battle Rex.
All Posts
(in this category)
Blade Liger BI
Blade Liger is one of those Zoids I find myself collecting variants of for reasons I can't quite explain. It's not an absolute favorite, but there's something appealing about its sleek lines and white-trimmed fins that keeps me coming back. Add in a liking of Fuzors and gunmetal, and it's no surprise I'd be after […]
Leogator (Hasbro Fuzors variant and NJR)
Leogator was one of three designs that were both Blox and motorized. This was a strange concept, considering the entire point of Blox was "static but posable Zoids you can take apart and put back together weird ways", and much of the era's regular motorized designs already integrated Blox to high degrees (see Seismosaurus, Liger […]
Blue Command Wolf (and CP-04 Attack Unit)
With added shiny pilot! Command Wolf is one of the ubiquitous windups of the NJR, appearing everywhere in various limited and regular releases. They're often customized, they show up in lots of teams, and not a single main anime pilot has kept his alive for the whole series other than Helmut. In other words, there's […]
Brave Jaguar (with Metal Hopper)
Apologies for the randomly fluctuating quality/color of the building pics. I was playing with camera settings without paying attention and paid the price...) Neo Blox have received a mixed reception in the fandom, just as much (or more) than their original Bloxy brethren. I was on the side of the "bleh" responses, and I still […]
Dekalt Dragon (Genesis)
aka Decalt, Decalto, Descarteswhatsitfredpotato...I'll just go with Dekalt. I was never quite sold on Death Raser and Parablade, alternating between liking them and wanting other stuff more. The other stuff always won. Dekalt's moment came when the Genesis line produced one in pearl white, metal flake bronze, Prussian blue, gold and clear/metallic blue, Gildy-style. Gimme, […]
Gildragon
Almost every model fan knows Gilvader, if only by name. It's near-impossible not to if you hang out in the community or cruise the net, even for a little while. A monster-sized Grade-Up from hell, it snacked on Saly F2 and took on Mad Thunder, the ultimate tank of the time...and won. Its undoing as […]
Bio Megaraptor Glearmd
Released midway through the Genesis line, Nudist Raptor here was announced along with a "Commander" Bio Raptor, which many thought would be the black and red one from the first Genesis episode. Disappointingly, there was little difference in color (the two were even hard to tell apart in some lights), but Glearmd delivered on its […]
Clear Molga
As I covered with Clear Horn: no, it's not Crystal. For the fluff-curious, the Saber Tiger and further Holotech critters claim their funky plastic is a form of beam reflecty armor that sometimes grants doom stealth...whether this would apply to the Clear Molga via Retcon Magic or not is anyone's guess. Now that that's out […]
Gojulas HT
Fans of the original three Clear Zoids have often wished for a matching Republic set, and while I doubt we'll see another similar promotion (the last Z-point drawing involved a Murasame in colored clear plastic and the much-sought-after Genesis Redler colored to match Gildy and Dekalt), we will at least see a rival for the […]
Jäger Unit (original and chrome)
My favorite of the Liger Zero armors...in regular, and in chrome. SHINY TEAL.
Siegdober (Zeekdober)
This mecha belongs to the directly-controlled force of the Dark Continent Army. It packs two photo particle guns showing terrific power, and in melee it slices up enemies with the Hell Blazers on its back. With its excellent mobility, it's at its strongest in high-speed shock warfare. Furthermore, its body has stealth abilities, letting it […]
Helcat
While the Helcat was developed early on in the era of the central continent war, it runs at high speed on any kind of treacherous road with its general-purpose build, and is a high-performance Zoid offering a lot of military gain. Thanks to the silencing feature built into its legs and because it's equipped with […]
Diloforce
Diloforce is one of the oft-neglected non-motorized critters from the mid-latter part of the new line. While Demantis and Maccurtis would show in /Zero, most of them were shoved into the background of fans' minds as mediocre designs that didn't do much in continuity. They even lost their place as controversial thanks to Blox, the […]
Gun Sniper (and CP-13 Wild Weasel Unit)
"This velociraptor-type Zoid was born from the partially-analyzed data of the "Organoid System", and got quick wits and vitality far beyond the ordinary. It's an all-rounder sort of design, easily handling everything from logistical support to assault." - Gun Sniper's box, on Gun Sniper "This toy takes the dinosaur concept and gratuitously adds a sniper […]
Blade Liger (Hasbro Red)
Hasbro's slightly odd but mostly worthy release of the Leonblade...which never, in any release, is even remotely the same red as Leon's Blade Liger in the anime.
Blade Liger (NJR blue)
The Liger of many tiny variations, the hero of an entire animated series...it's blue. It's got blades. It's the blue Blade Liger.
Berserk Fury
Renowned as one of the most complex models in the NJR, BF comes in an accordingly large box. Beyond differences in batch (the lavender varies, the eggbeaters may be less or more squishy, and some BFs seem more prone to falling on their arses regardless of country of origin) and a slightly modified sticker sheet, […]
Gordos (OJR and NAR)
Gordos, aka Gordosaur and Great Gorgon, is in my opinion one of the most underrated Zoids. Don't miss its 80s stegosaur action.