- MZ-003 Sabre Tiger
Number of Pieces: 170 | Number of Frames: 10
Sabre Tiger is third in the line and second to Shield Liger on my favorites list. He's quite a cool looking kit and the photos on MSS' official site don't really do him justice. Overall he has less parts and frames than Shield Liger but this doesn't let down the detail at all.
Like other Zoids in the line he is following the OJR color scheme, with eyes that are an almost solid gray, brown-tinted color (which is hard to capture in photos). The 'fight' photos have saturation increased for dramatic effect but the Sabre Tiger's color is a faded red like most of the review photos.
There's a sprue of painted pieces like the two earlier kits, which includes things like the silver vents and pipes in the shoulders and thighs. Some decals are painted directly onto the armor, like the Empire logo, and "Empire" stickers on the shoulders.
The diaroma can be seen in the last of the photos below, right before the Sabre Tiger Vs. Shield Liger ones. It is an extra wide like the Liger and is almost all grayscale.
Build wise I recommend being careful with the teeth, still. The other pieces aren't that fragile. The legs stay on easier than the Shield Ligers do, without the rear legs constantly falling off. There are still problem parts, though. The weapon assortment on the back is constantly falling off, and is very difficult to put back in if you have large hands, because the piece that connects to the back is on a hinge joint that wants to bend upwards as soon as you try to push down. Make sure it's aligned /exactly/ before trying to push it in. The arch that goes over the neck/shoulder/back with the two laser guns also comes off easily, but if you try to avoid putting pressure on it, it's not quite as bad.
Pros:
-Very high quality with many pieces
-OJR concept art on the box
-Accurately painted pieces add depth, and attached in areas where cut marks won't be visible
-Excellent poseability
Sturdier build than Shield Liger
Cons:
-Very tiny pieces can be hard to hold, and may be breakable
-Teeth tips bend very, very easily
-Very small size for the price
-Some loose pieces on the back
- Box Art
- Decals
- Instructions
- Battle Story Information
Imperial Army
Armored Type for High Speed Battles | Fighting Mechanical Beast "Sabre Tiger"
[Fuselage Summary]
Sabre Tiger is a medium sized type that ranks second to Red Horn; it's smaller and more lightweight than the Red Horn. Accordingly, it has less power output and more mobility than the Red Horn. It could be said it has a fuselage for grappling.
[Technical Data]
Overall Length: 15.6 m
Highest Point: 9.1 m
Overall Width: 5.7 m
Weight: 78 tons
Max Speed: 200 km/h
[Weapons]
Triple-barreled Shock Cannon x1
Beam Cannon x1
Beam Cannon for Close Combat Use x2
High Speed Cannon x2
Large Infra-red Laser Searchlight x1
High-pressure Concentrated Sulfuric Acid Jet Propulsion Cannon x1
Weather-proof Self-Guided Missile Launcher x1
Weather-proof 3D Radar x1
Laser Saber x2
*Data based on the original setup.
Fuselage Variation:
[Forest Specifications]
When it appeared in the Imperial military review with camouflage, there were actually many unknown points when it made its entrance. And its equipment was due to be modified.
[Nighttime Specifications]
Its radar sensor was strengthened; however, since its output power couldn't be increased, part of its armaments were removed because of the weight increase.
Gimmicks
Jaws:
The jaws open and close, but because of his longer upper teeth it can be a little hard to get ahold of the jaw once they are closed entirely. Once you do, though, the jaws open to the same distance that is often depicted for Smilodons in art! It is awesome~
Cockpit:
The cockpit also opens. Surprisingly it has a separate part to make the interior black, instead of just being molded into the red plastic of the head. The eyes are brownish-gray like the OJR. This is all the further it can open, though. The range of motion isn't that great.
Head and Neck Articulation:
Sabre Tiger's neck can swing up and down at the base (where it connects to the body) and at the back of the head! Furthermore, if you have the head in the right position it's on a ball joint that allows the head to tilt.
Shoulders:
These photos don't really show the full range of motion, but the legs can rotate freely and the front legs, at least, don't have many obstructing pieces. Be careful not to knock off the laser guns on the upper shoulder.
Lower Leg:
Because the front of the leg juts out it's a little difficult for it to rotate very far.
Paws:
The paws act just the same as the Shield Ligers, really. They rotate up and down, and are attached to a ball joint that allows them to twist, but they push against the bottoms of the legs when twisting, so it's easy to pop them off if you try to turn them at the wrong angle.
Chest Guns:
Technically I didn't show both of these moving, but technically they can, and are only obstructed by the legs. They're attached to a peg so as long as you move the legs they can usually rotate 360 degrees.
Shoulder Laser Guns:
The plate that goes over the top of the shoulders has two laser guns attached that rotate up and down. The legs can sometimes push against the guns, and force this plate to pop off of the back.
Rear Leg: Middle Section
Rotates up and down. The pipe on the back doesn't really hinder movement since the shape of the leg would stop it from moving upwards much more anyway.
Lower Leg:
This part rotates up and down like the other leg pieces.
Tail Guns:
Guns on the tail can rotate 360 degrees, pretty much, and the tail itself can move up and down with a relatively small range of motion. Be careful not to pop the top of the tail armor off by trying to move it upwards too far.
Body Articulation:
The body is split into two sections, with each half able to rotate both sideways, and up and down. This can create an extremely exagerated back arch for those classic Smilodon poses.
Back Mounted Weapons:
The weapons on the top of the back come off extremely easily, which is covered in greater detail in the main profile description at the top of this page. They are on a hinge that is supposta let them extend slightly, but I was unable to photograph this without the piece popping out.
The antenna on the left side can rotate forwards and backwards, and has the 'laser sensor' part painted green. The silver gun on top can rotate, and the rocket launcher ontop of that can rotate separately too! All in all this weapon has a pretty cool range of motion.
