Zoids model kits

There have been a number of different Zoids model lines over the years, both in Japan and other countries. Between these lines, over 200 different designs have been released, some several times over. For a full list of released Zoids, see the "List of Zoids" article.

Mechabonica

Released in 1982, Mechabonica was technically not a Zoids line, but is counted by collectors as it consisted of three models that would later be re-released as the first three Zoids, (Garius, Elephantus and Glidoler). The line was not very successful, and quickly dropped by TOMY.

tarzeta

Starzeta was the Spanish version of the Mechabonica line. Since Tomy had no direct marketing power in Spain during the 80s the models were released under licence by a smaller company (Feber) but unfortunately the line performed even less well than its Japanese counterpart. The same 3 models were released but bizarrely they were given new color schemes; grey parts became silver and the dark blue caps became bright blue. The models were not given names but are listed as Starzeta I, II and III.

SZ IV (Garantula), SZ V (Aquadon) and SZ VI (Gorgodos) were supposedly planned as a continuation of the series but their release status is currently unknown.

The models are incredibly rare (even more so than the Japanese Mechabonica) and demand is boosted even further by their unique color schemes.

Original American Release

TOMY re-released the Mechabonica line in the United States and Europe in 1983, under the name Zoids. The line was far more successful than Mechabonica, which led TOMY to reintroduce the line in Japan under the new name.

Later, a pair of original Zoids were created exclusively for the European and North American markets, the Power Zoids Tank and Serpent which were never released in Japan. Other Zoids like the Bigasaur (renamed to Giant ZRK) were also released. Radio Shack released the Mammoth Zoid in the US at the same time. While not a part of the release, it is generally counted with them.The Original American Release is commonly abbreviated as OAR by fans and collectors.

Original Japanese Release

In 1983, following the success of the OAR, TOMY reintroduced the Zoids line in Japan. The relaunched Japanese line, now entitled Zoids was a success, running from 1983 until 1990. The Zoids line had its own story that was told on the backs of the model boxes and in catalogues, known as the Battle Story.

Initially, the Zoids were divided into two distinct factions, the Helic Republic and the Zenebas Empire. In 1989, the Zenebas Empire was replaced with the Guylos Empire.

The Original Japanese Release is commonly abbreviated as OJR.

Grade-Ups

At the same time as the change from Zenebas to Guylos (1989), TOMY introduced a sub-line of Zoids, called Grade-Ups. These Zoids featured special motorised connection ports on their backs that allowed them to connect to extra weapons systems with motorised features.

Transfighters

A second sub-line was released alongside the Grade-Ups line. The Zoids in the line were not motorised, but rather were designed to connect to the Grade-Up Zoids. When connected, the Grade-Up Zoid's motor activated action features on the Transfighter. The line was unsuccessful, and only 3 Transfighters were released.

Original European Release

Zoids were also released in Europe, (and to a limited extent in Australia and South-East Asia), from 1984 to 1987 by TOMY. The models in this release were a mixture of ones directly ported over from the OJR, as well as recoloured Zoids, including the rare "Ghost Zoids" line. Additionally, the Tank and Serpent Power Zoids from the OAR were released. Most of the Zoids in the line were renamed.

The Zoids in the release were divided into two distinct factions, the Blue Zoids and the Red Mutants. The line had its own story, told in the UK Zoids comic.

The Original European Release is commonly abbreviated as OER.

Robo Strux

Robo Strux were released in the US and Canada by TOMY, in 1985-86. All the Zoids in the line were recolours of OJR Zoids, however, some were directly copied from OER versions. The Zoids were divided into two factions, the Blue Guardians and the Red Mutants. However, there was no accompanying story or media.

Due to the lack of marketing and the relatively high prices of the models, Robostrux was rather short-lived.

Robostrux is commonly abbreviated as RS.

1:24 Scale Zoids

In 1988, TOMY launched a sub-line of the OJR, featuring larger-scale Zoids. The 1:24 line featured Zoids of similar size to existing ones, but scaled for larger pilots. Each kit came with a 3 inch tall action figure of the pilot. Like the regular Zoids line, the Zoids were divided into Helic and Zenebas factions.

The 1:24 Zoids were not a success, and discontinued after a year.

Zevle

In 1990, TOMY re-released several of the 1:24 scale Zoids in a new line called Zevle. The Zoids were recoloured from the OJR versions, and came with detailed, fixed-pose pilot figures instead of the action figure ones of the OJR. Zevle featured its own "Battle Story" on the boxes, but was unrelated to the Zoids battle story.

Like the 1/24th Zoids, Zevle was a failure and quickly discontinued.

Technozoids

Kenner acquired the rights to release Zoids in North America, releasing the Technozoids line in 1995-1996. The Zoids in the line were all recolours of earlier Zoids released in the OJR, although some were directly imported from the Zoids2 line. There were no distinct factions for the Zoids, and no backstory was given.

The Technozoids line was a failure, lasting less than a year before being discontinued. A number of Zoids were left unreleased at the end of the line.

Technozoids is commonly abbreviated as TZ.

Zoids 2

TOMY released another line of Zoids in the UK and Europe (with a re-release in Australia and South-East Asia) in 1996. The Zoids 2 line featured very bright colour schemes, with all the Zoids having at least some chromed parts. The Zoids also had unique stickers with odd swirling designs. The Zoids 2 line did not feature distinctive factions for the Zoids, but did have a backstory loosely based on (but not a continuation of) the UK Zoid comic, with the Zoids invading Earth and humanity's last hope being to turn the Zoids against each other.

Like Technozoids, Zoids 2 was quickly discontinued. A fire was reported to have broken out at the production plant around this time which may have had something to do with it.Verify source|date=July 2007

Zoids 2 is commonly abbreviated as Z2.

New Japanese Release

In 1999, TOMY relaunched the Zoids line in Japan, with subsequent releases elsewhere in Asia. Initially, the line consisted of recoloured re-releases of older Zoids, but TOMY quickly began producing new Zoids designs. The Zoids were divided into Helic and Guylos factions, with the Zenebas Empire returning later. The OJR battle story was continued on the NJR boxes, with the Zoids Anime and Manga drawing on alternate versions of the New Battle Story's events.

The line was abruptly halted in mid 2004. By the end of the line, there were still thirty-three Zoids from the OJR that were yet to be re-released.

The New Japanese Release is commonly abbreviated as NJR.

Customize Parts

Along with the re-launch of the Zoids line, TOMY also launched a sub-line known as Customize Parts or simply CP. The line consisted of additional weapons and equipment that could be added onto Zoids models. The line was a mixture of new parts and re-issues of parts originally included in various OJR models.

The Customize Parts line was abruptly halted in 2001.

Blox

In 2001, TOMY introduced a new sub-line of non-motorised Zoids called Blox, which featured flexible construction. Blox Zoids can be easily disassembled and combined with each other, as well as with regular Zoids.

Cyber-Drive Zoids

TOMY introduced a second sub-line in 2002, known as Cyber-Drive Zoids. This line was centred around partially pre-built Zoids that were remote controlled. Additionally, the Zoids could be operated via an infrared adapter attached to a Game Boy Advance unit.

The line was rather unsuccessful, mainly due to the high price per unit and the pre-built nature of the models. Only three Zoids were released, one of which was a recolour bundled with the Cyber-Drive video game.

Panzer Tier

In 2003, Panzer Tier began re-releases of some of the 1:24 scale Zoids. These re-releases also featured the box art and model kit pilots from the previous Zevle versions of the Zoids. The line appears to have been unsuccessful, and was halted after only half of the Zoids had been re-released.

Toys Dream Project

In 2004, Toys Dream Project began a line of limited Zoids releases. The line consisted of a mixture of new recolours of existing Zoids, as well as re-releases of older versions of some Zoids in their "OJR" colours, as well as some moulds that had not yet been re-released.

New American Release

Following the launch of the "NJR", Hasbro licensed Zoids for release in North America and South-East Asia in 2001. Like the "NJR", the line was divided into Republic and Empire factions, with the Anime providing the backstory. Initially, the Hasbro line consisted of just re-releases of Zoids from the "NJR". However, they later began developing their own Zoid designs, as well as co-developing others with TOMY. Additionally, Hasbro had planned to re-release several "OJR" Zoids that had not been released in the "NJR".

Although it was initially successful, Hasbro suspended the line in 2004, due to poor sales. The cancellation of the line left a number of Zoids unreleased, including most of those not yet re-released by TOMY. Much of the leftover stock was later released by Hasbro in Australia and the UK. The line is still, however, the largest and most successful non-Japanese Zoids line.

The New American Release is commonly abbreviated as NAR.

Z-Builders

Any Blox Zoids that were released by Hasbro were sold as part of the sub-line known as Z-Builders. Most of the Z-Builders were re-releases of the "NJR" Blox sub-line, but the line included several Hasbro-designed Zoids, as well as individual releases of Blox Zoids that did not occur in Japan. The Z-Builders line was based on the "" anime, and its cancellation is often attributed as a cause of the failure of the anime series in the United States.Verify source|date=July 2007

New Pacific Release

In parallel to the "NAR", TOMY began releasing Zoids in Australia and South-East Asia. The Zoids released by TOMY in these countries were identical to Hasbro's "NJR" Zoids, but were TOMY branded and manufactured. While the line mirrored the "NAR", a number of Zoids scheduled for release in the "NAR" only came out in this line. Similarly, a lot of Zoids released in the "NAR" were never released in the Pacific region. The line was effectively dead as of 2004, with leftover stock appearing on shelves throughout 2005.

The New Pacific Release also had a "Z-Builders" sub-line, identical to the "NAR".

New English Release

In 2003, TOMY began releasing Zoids in the UK. Like the Pacific release, the Zoids were identical to Hasbro-released ones, save for the logos on the boxes. The UK release featured several Zoids designs and colour schemes that were not available in the "NAR".

The line was cancelled in mid-2004, due to poor sales. This was largely due to very poor marketing, very high prices for Zoids and the Zoids anime never showing on terrestrial UK television.

The New English Release is commonly abbreviated as NER. It is sometimes referred to as the "New European Release" (despite never having been released outside of the UK).

Fuzors

In late 2004, TOMY launched a new Zoids line to tie into the "" anime that was then showing on Japanese TV. The line was composed entirely of recolours of older Blox and Zoids. Some models were altered slightly, or packaged with additional parts, mainly to allow different Zoids to connect (or "fuse"). The line also featured a number of Zoids that were previously only released in North America.

The line was abruptly halted in early 2005, with several items unreleased.

Fuzors is commonly abbreviated as FZ.

Genesis

In early 2005, another new Zoid line was launched, to tie into the "" anime. The line consists of a mixture of old designs, new designs and older designs with new parts. The line is most notable for the much-anticipated reissues of Houndsoldier and Gilvader)

Reactions to the line were mixed; the re-releases (which included several Zoids not previously re-released) were well received. The new designs have not done so well, having been plagued by quality control issues and production errors. There has also been a lot of criticism of the substantially "pre-built" nature of a lot of the new models.Verify source|date=July 2007

The line has suffered from poor sales, and was effectively cancelled as of November 2005, although a small number of models were released after this date.

Genesis is commonly abbreviated as GZ. An alternate abbreviation, GB, is used for the Bio-Zoids released as part of this line.

Neo-Blox

Released in May 2006, the Neo-Blox are an improvement on the previous "Blox" line, primarily due to the greater range of poseability the 'Blox and peg' connection system has.

Two sublines have also been released. The first is the "Legends Series", which features Zoids from previous releases, but redesigned to be the same size as the Neo-Blox Zoids, and modified to use the same connector system. The second are the "Custom Blox"; small Zoids that use more traditional Blox, and which can be combined together or to the larger Neo-Blox.

By the end of 2006, the main line appeared to be on hold, with Tomy instead focusing on the Legend Blox sub-line. With the cancellation of all unreleased Neo-Blox in early 2007, the line was effectively dead.

The Neo-Blox is abbreviated as either NBZ or NB. Alternate abbreviations are used for the Legends Series (LB) and the Custom Blox (CBZ).

High-end Master Model

Released in late 2006, the High-end Master Model line, commonly abbreviated HMM, is a joint effort between Tomy and Kotobukiya. The line consists of high-quality, highly detailed, poseable 1/72 scale model kits of existing Zoids. As of July 2007, Shield Liger and Command Wolf have been released, with Blade Liger, and Geno Saurer sets to be released in the future.

So far, every released (or soon to be released) kit has had an alternate, limited edition color scheme released (or that will be released) as well, after the standard is released. Whether this will be a normal trend for this line has yet to be seen.

Evo Drive Zoids

Miniature Zoids that are either wind-up or motorized. So far there are only two different molds, with six kits being released. Exclusive parts are also available.

Original Japanese Reissues

Released in Summer 2007, the OJR are reissues of the original model kits leased in the 1980s. They feature the model kit, a box and booklet with battlestory information.

So far, only three have been released, with another three slated for release.

Zoids: Rebirth Century

To be released in September (approx.), this new Zoids line will be a motorized series consisting of both re-releases and new designs. So far for this line, King Gojulas, Gilvader and Helidgunner have been officially announced. Three new designs, a Neo-Godos, Spider and Gustav-like Zoid designs have been shown.

In March 2008 two photos of Denkagi Hobby Magazine were posted on 2chan featuring a number of new design sketches, and mechanism prototypes. Labeled on the design sketches are "Raptor," "Power Up," "Frog," "Futabasuzukiryu" as well as other indistinguishable text. The prototypes seem to be of a crab, frog, lobster, elephant, futabasuzukiryu as well as some sort of battery unit. There seems to also be a sketch of a dragon type.

Upon the release of the magazine, better scans have been made available.. [cite web|url=http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/7580/zoidssomethingnew1vg7.jpg|title=zoidssomethingnew1vg7.jpg: Zoids Something Starts Scan 1|accessdate=2008-04-04] [cite web|url=http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/4172/zoidssomethingnew2qu9.jpg|title=zoidssomethingnew2qu9.jpg: Zoids Something Starts Scan 2|accessdate=2008-04-04]

References