Technozoids

Technozoids was the third incarnation of a range of plastic toy models (known as Zoids) to reach America and was the first not to be issued directly by Tomy. The range was released by Kenner (or Irwin in some parts of America). The line contained several Zoids that hadn't previously made it to the US as well as a couple of Grade Ups that had never been seen outside of Japan before. Colour schemes were generally bright and garish but there were a few surprise hits such as Evil Pegasus and Demon Lizard. The unreleased Mammoth is shown to be identical to the OER version, whether the red-and-silver colour scheme was the final choice for release is unknown.

The models were given no apparent factions and the sticker sheets were generally identical to those that came with OJR models. Unusually, Storm Tiger included a bonus Grade Up unit that has not been included with any other version of Battle Cougar. The same would have applied to the unreleased Doberman (Zeekdober).

Considering the relatively small size of the line, it contains a surprisingly large amount of unreleased and limited-release items. Of all the prototypes, Small Battlesaurus is the only one not to be shown in the 1995 Toy Catalogue and it is unclear whether the name came from an official source or is just fan fabrication. The Venom Snake (Stealth Viper) is the most curious of these; a single production example is known, but it is unclear if it was actually released.

Bizarrely, Evil Pegasus is easily the most common of the Technozoids but is also the most valuable. This is in part due to its desirable colour scheme and the rarity of its OJR version.

Some of the Canadian Technozoids were directly imported from the UK's Zoids 2 line. These shared the same names and colour schemes as their Z2 counterparts but were repackaged with Technozoids box art and instructions.

Despite sharing its name with the Zoids2 version, Demon Lizard was issued in a colour scheme almost identical to its Japanese counterpart Heldigunner. The only noteworthy difference between the TZ Demon Lizard and OJR Heldigunner is that the Technozoids version's green parts do not glow in the dark.

The Models

Standard Release

*Armored Gator (Barigator)
*Evil Scorpion (Guysack)

*Demon Lizard (Heldigunner)
*Dragon Fly (Redler)
*Strike 'Zilla (Arosaurer)

*Storm Tiger (Battle Cougar + GU-01 Unit)
*Claw (Shield Liger)
*Saber (Saber Tiger)
*Iron Kong (Iron Kong)
*Zoidzilla or Super 'Zilla (Gojulas)
*Battlesaurus (Ultrasaurus)
*Evil Pegasus (Orudios)

Unconfirmed Release / Prototypes

*Venom Snake (Stealth Viper)
*Small Battlesaurus (Brachios)
*Doberman (Zeekdober + GU-02 Unit)
*Mammoth (also given as "Mega Mammoth", Mammoth)
*Thunder Tritops (Madthunder)

External links

Official Sites

* [http://www.tomy.co.jp/zoids/ Tomy's Zoids Page]
* [http://zoids.hasbro.com/ Hasbro's Zoids Page]

Information

* [http://www.pheno.zoids.org.uk Phenotype's Zoids Site (The largest English-based Zoids Site)]
* [http://www.kitty-bot.com/offline/models/models.htm Alteka's Zoids (with prototype Gashapon)]
* [http://www.bloodforthebaron.com/Blood/Zoids/Index.html Blood For The Baron!!!] Marvel UK Zoids comic scans
* [http://kryptotoyz.com/goj/ Gojulas' Lair (Fan site with vintage collection photos)]
* [http://www.creativeinsanity.net/zoids Tilly's Zoids Page]
* [http://www.zoid.us Zoid.US (Large collection of new and vintage Zoids with photos)]