The HMM-060 Fire Fox MPV has gotten a LABO Article. The previous version was released as a limited distribution product. Since this a standard release, no longer limited, its designation number has changed.

 In addition, we've got some reissues! The Gun Sniper WW, Zoids Customize Part Dual Sniper Rifle & AZ 5 Launch Missile System Set, and König Wolf are all up for rerelease in November! This is quite a lineup, and I know some people out there lost their pre-orders due to issues with distributors falling through. So, hopefully this upcoming pre-order window provides some peace of mind on being able to obtain this Zoid. The best Zoid. No bias.

 So, yesterday morning Kotobukiya held a livestream to introduce the upcoming HMM Guysack. The video is worth a watch because man, the articulation that they managed to squeeze into this tiny little bug is impressive. All of their recent kits have been, really. Aside from that, though, there was a lot of interesting discussion going on during the stream. This is all relying on machine translations, so please take with a huge grain of salt.

 Exhibition!
 Kotobukiya will be holding an exhibition in Japan on February 12th, starting at 1pm. Here, they're showing off displays and all of the recent HMM artwork in beautiful quality. This comes one day after Wonder Festival.

 Upcoming Releases!
 They've announced that the next two kit rereleases will be the Lightning Saix MPV and the Berserk Furher Repackage! As someone who hasn't picked up the standard Saix yet, this is tempting.

 New Releases!
 Aside from that, Kotobukiya announced its intention to release the RMZ-012 Guysack, the original OJR! This is a nice surprise, as the OJR color schemes have always had a classic funkiness to them. Pre-orders are expected to open in July as a Kotobukiya Shop Exclusive with its final release planned sometime in Spring 2025. This kit will include clear colorless parts in addition to the orange pieces. If you want the red canopy pieces you'll need to pick up the upcoming Guysack (the first release) being released in July of this year. It's currently expected to be the same price.

 Updates!
 The Salamander they hope to release sometime around or after Summer of next year. It's about the height of an Iron Kong, but has a huge wingspan.

 Fun Facts!
 Apparently when they chose Guysack, they were choosing between it and Helcat, the top voted small Zoids.
 Death Saurer scored the highest in the end-of-year survey this year! The hype surrounding the AZ is real.
 Apparently Redler and Raynos have roughly tied in votes over the years

 

Economic Decisions For Small Zoids?

 Kotobukiya took a few minutes of the stream to discuss the current economical climate of producing these kits. This weighs in especially hard with small kits like the Guysack. Small kits are harder to produce because the profit is quite small compared to something like a Liger kit. They still have to pay for brand new molds, which are quite expensive, but the kits sell for much less. This leaves Kotobukiya often asking themselves about the feasibility of continuing to release small Zoids. Like the Rev Raptor, they are calling for people to order the Guysack to help them determine if it is a worthwhile endeavor.

 This conversation got pretty in depth. They mentioned that a major factor of current Zoid prices is that the average wage where the kits are produced has doubled in the past 10 years. The kits have been struggling to maintain their current production cost, and are finally reaching the point of inching upwards in price. We've seen this in kits like the Red Horn (6800 yen, tax not included) to the Red Horn MPV (9,240 yen, tax included) and Fire Fox (4800 yen) to MPV (6000 yen ish.) They threw out some calculations of what kits would cost to produce today. While some are reasonable (Command Wolf Repackage from 4800 > 6800 yen) others were surprising. Dark Horn, originally 6800, was estimated at 18000 yen if they had to start from scratch.

 To Molga or to Molgas?
 This line of questioning brought up an interesting question. In the past, Kotobukiya released Molgas in a two pack, with different variations. These Zoids are small, they should be cheap, theoretically, but with production costs climbing, staff asked what people thought of releasing them in a different way. They estimated that the cost of producing the Molga & Molga Canory (formerly 4200 yen) would be around 6800 yen now without tax, so if it were released again, it would be released as an MPV at the new price.

 This brought up the question of what people would think if the MPV were released as a single Molga (not a two set) with the weapons of all three variations included, like the Command Wolf Repackage? The full set would contain the Canory Unit, Anti-Air weapons, and Carrier equipment, and would shake out to roughly 6000 yen. There's still a lot of support for releasing the two Molga sets, even at the increased price, and Kotobukiya was clear that this didn't mean they wouldn't release the two-packs anymore. However, there are still many '1 Molga' releases we could have. Rokurou, what with the other web comic Zoids released over recent years, and the NJR color scheme to name a couple.

 It was an interesting stream, with interesting questions and insights. These dilemmas are also why we haven't gotten Gilraptor yet, which was estimated to cost 20,000 yen to produce in the current climate. I look forward to seeing where Kotobukiya goes, and I hope they can continue to attract good sales through these difficult times.

- Guysack Stream

 In an exciting turn of events the HMM Fire Fox is up for rerelease in the form of a Marking Plus kit! It'll be rereleased in March for 6,820 yen. The Fire Fox was released back in April of 2013, so its rerelease has been a decade-long wait for many members of the franchise.

 Starting on December 15th, Kotobukiya began giving away HMM Zoids Package Art Special Desk Calendars with every purchase of an HMM Zoid from their store front. This campaign is until supplies last, so I'm not sure if it's still ongoing.

 The HMM Green Horn has gotten its LABO Article, which features example sketches of early box concepts and a look at the decals. It isn't the only one, though. There's a blog for the Red Horn MPV released on January 18th. It covers the differences, such as the inclusion of the round parts from the Green Horn / Dark Horn, the inclusion of clear colorless parts, and the transition from stickers to water slide decals. This blog also gives some insight to development, such as their move away from decal guides to prevent the kit from needing to be delayed further simply to make these charts, and how they strive to make decal sizes match those of old Tomy Zoids, making them cross compatible with the old motorized kits wherever possible. Supposedly, the next blog will introduce their latest completely new item.

 Last but not least, the HMM Death Stinger is up for rerelease in May for 16,280 yen (tax included) and Pteras Bomber in June for 5,280!

 The HMM Konig Wolf released over the last couple of months, sporting some of the best articulation we've seen in years among traditional Zoids! Hobby Japan published an article looking at this amazing kit I'm not biased you're biased. Kotobukiya Akihabara store has a display featuring the default wolf and the Heavy Arms version, and also posted a Heavy Arms photo shoot. A LABO article shows off even more photos.

 The HMM Geno Saurer was also announced to be rereleased in February 2024.

 During the stream, Kotobukiya announced the upcoming Red Horn Marking Plus! This was an interesting choice, because Red Horn was released as recently as 2020 with a box art and design that have both stood well against the test of time. It seems that the Marking Plus will also be including a brand new sprue, which'll contain the Search Light parts for the head seen in Dark Horn variants. Normally these are part of a much larger sprue, but Koto decided to make a tiny 4-part sprue just for these to better match Katahira's gorgeous concept art (seen in the banner above.) This is a lovely shout out to one of their contributing artists.

 There's a number of other kit rereleases that've been announced through various sources over the past while. Here's what we've got coming up!

 October: HMM Sturm Tyrann (13,500 yen)
 November: HMM Buster Tortoise (4,800 yen)
 December: HMM Saber Tiger Marking Plus Ver. (7,200 yen)
 Firm Release Not Decided: HMM Gojulas Marking Plus Ver.

 A variety of HMM kits are up for rerelease in the following months, including the Storm Sworder (March / 8,800 yen), Shadow Fox (April / 5,400 yen), Iron Kong PK (May / 19,000 yen), Customize Part Gojulas Cannon Set (June / 5,400 yen), and the Dibison Marking Plus Ver. (June / 11,000 yen).

 Kotobukiya has posted the final product pages for the HMM Redler "Zenebas Empire Ver." (February 2023, 5800 Yen), the HMM Redler "Guylos Empire Ver." (March 2023, 5800 Yen), and the HMM Zoids Customize Part "Booster Cannon Set" (March 2023, 2200 Yen) ! Scheduled for early next year, they're already available for pre-order in most stores.

 On top of the product pages, Kotobukiya also live streamed a first look at the two Redler types, exhibiting their articulation. It was quite impressive to see how many points of articulation there are, as well as how well hidden the joints are. There's so much to these kits that doesn't quite get noticed in still photos, so I highly recommend checking it out!

 As a final note, Kotobukiya has announced a reissue of the HMM Shadow Fox Marking Plus Ver.! It's scheduled for April 2023, at a price of 5400 yen.

- HMM Redler Video

 Kotobukiya has announced a reissue of the HMM Storm Sworder! This iconic air combat Zoid will be rereleased in March for 9,680 yen retail (tax included). A pre-order link has been included down in our preorders table.

 First, let's get to older news. As mentioned in an earlier post, Kotobukiya has had the HMM König Wolf and Redler on display recently, along with their associated Customize Parts. An article by Hobby Watch gives a good view of this display. An older couple of twitter posts also showed off a look of the out-of-the-box Shield Liger Marking Plus Ver., which comes in a box closer to Liger Zero size than the classic Shield Liger box.

 Other recent rereleases included the Command Wolf Repackage (February 2022), the Iguan Marking Plus (March 2022), the Gun Sniper Wild Weasel Spec. (April 2022), the Dark Horn (June 2022), the Berserk Furher Repackage Ver. (July 2022), Great Sabre Marking Plus Ver (July 2022), and the Pteras Bomber Marking Plus Ver. (July 2022).

 The HMM Liger Zero Marking Plus Ver. is scheduled to be rereleased in October, for 6,930 (tax included).

 The HMM Gojulas the Ogre is scheduled to be rereleased in November, for 32,780 Yen (tax included).

 The HMM Iron Kong Marking Plus Ver. is scheduled to be released in December, for 15,400 Yen (tax included).

 The HMM Geno Breaker Repackage Ver. is scheduled to be rereleased in Jan of 2023 for 11,220 Yen (tax incl).

 There was also a long-overdue LABO article introducing the Death Stinger ZS. This is such an interesting kit, color wise, and I highly recommend it. If you're concerned about the degree of green, it may help to know that this kit includes multiple colors for some of the sprues, allowing you to choose between green and red!

 Soon after, a second LABO Article was posted for the HMM Rev Raptor, which also included early concept sketches for the box art. The other concept shown featured the Empire's landing on Ergyle Beach, shortly after the Rev Raptors had taken care of the defense forces and, ultimately, their Gojulas.

 Kotobukiya's Shield Liger Marking Plus is now popping up for pre-order, retailing for 6,000 yen with a May release date. A recent LABO article talks about the kit. It'll come with new decals, including those from the Masterpiece Shield Liger. Clear colorless parts will be included in addition to the clear orange canopy and such. The kit will be released in newly molded colors, with a darker blue closer to the Tomy Shield Liger, silver claws and teeth, darker gray (nearly black) for the legs and gray for the body.

 Koto also announced a rerelease of their Dark Horn! The Horns really are a cool kit to build. It'll be released in June for 6,800 yen. Pre-order links have been added to the table at the bottom of the page.

 In a suiting turn of events, the first new Zoid announced at Stand River is the Shield Liger Marking Plus Ver.! Shield Liger was also the first HMM Zoid to be announced, and according to Koto's website, it hasn't been rereleased since the launch of the series in 2006. From first glance it looks like the MPV might be a slightly darker, richer blue, closer to the original Tomy motorized kit, but this is hard to confirm with photos alone.

2022?1???????????HMM?????RZ-007 ???????? ????????Ver.?
????????????????????!#?????#HMM???#??????·????? pic.twitter.com/IzUIziESuL

— ?????_??????? (@kotobukiya_p) December 18, 2021

 Godos Marking Plus Ver.:A LABO article back in September mentioned an upcoming RZ-014 Godos Marking Plus Ver. This kit will feature the common cockpit introduced in the Former Republic Ver. in a new, darker color. Both styles of canopies will be included in clear colorless versions. It'll include new decals, and is also able to carry the new Pile Bunker. This kit is available on AmazonJP for 4,267 yen, scheduled for a January 31st 2022 release. It's available domestically on Amazon for $49.99 (shipping included), with a further out release date of March 30th, 2022.

 Iguan Marking Plus Ver.:Since then Koto has also announced an Iguan Marking Plus Ver., sporting metallic gunmetal and a slightly darker red color. It'll also include clear colorless parts, added decals, and will be able to hold the new Pile Bunker as a weapon (not included). It's available on HLJ for 4,275 Yen, scheduled to be released in March. It's available domestically on Amazon for $44.99, with a later release date of May 25th.

 Command Wolf Repackage Ver.: Last but not least, Koto announced a reissue of the RHI-3 Command Wolf Repackage Version. Wufs are popular so this good boy is selling out fast. You can still pre-order one domestically on Amazon for $49.99 with a pre-order date of April 27th, 2022. The JP release seems to be mostly sold out, but will be releasing in February.

 Kotobukiya's upcoming Liger Zero X kit has finally been added to the website, and they've posted an in-depth article taking a look at what all the kit has to offer. The kit is scheduled to release in December for 9,680 yen. It'll be released alongside the Liger Zero Empire Marking Plus Ver. (6,930) and the X CAS Unit (armor only) for 4,200 yen.

 So what do you need to know? First, the Empire will include a couple changes from the original release. It'll now include clear colorless parts for the eyes and such. However, since the X CAS will now include black armor pieces for the jaw, the P runner will now only be molded in gold.

 Second, since we have a lot of Donner fans out there, it's worth mentioning that Kotobukiya's site only lists clear colorless shoulder armor for the Kotobukiya Direct X CAS Unit (armor only) set. These pieces aren't listed for the full X kit that includes a base body. Thankfully, it seems these exclusives are now reaching US distributors, such as USA Gundam Store! So it is much easier to obtain them than before.

 As a closing note, we've also seen the HMM Death Stinger ZS Box Art. The HMM Lightning Saix Marking Plus Version is also scheduled to be rereleased in January for 5,200 yen.

 A LABO Article was posted earlier this month to discuss the newly released HMM Shadow Fox Marking Plus! This kit, which features a color-faded version of the original Fox box art, now comes with a ton of new decals. The decals are also in colors that will work well with the HMM Fire Fox.

- Blade Liger AB Reissue!

 This article also announced the reissue of the Blade Liger AB Version, which released in February 2020! This kit will be re-released in October of this year, so if you missed it the first time, grab one now!

 Kotobukiya has announced a rerelease of their HMM Sturm Tyrann kit for July, sold at 12,000 yen! This kit has been highly anticipated in spite of only being rereleased a short time ago.

 Kotobukiya made a rather exciting announcement this week, the Death Stinger ZS! Also known as the Zarka Spec., this is a new addition to the ever increasing Yuji Kaida lineup. The kit will feature slightly pink-tinted pearl armor, Zenebas red, clear green eye parts, and metallic green rings. The rings are an interesting addition. Some love it, some hate it, but it certainly makes the kit look unique on the shelf. It'll also include clear colorless parts similar to the MPVs, and a brand new set of decals for both the ZS and original. Since the original Death Stinger didn't have decals, this is a nice bonus. It's scheduled to be released in July, for 14,800 yen.

HMM Rereleases!

 We've got a good bunch of kit rerelease announcements! Scheduled for May, we have the Liger Zero Marking Plus Ver. for 6,300 yen and the Molga & Molga Cannory Unit and Molga AA & Molga Carrier for 4,200 (for each set). For July, we have the Cannon Tortoise for 3,200 yen and the Geno Saurer Repackage Ver. for 8,200 yen.

 Kotobukiya has released a LABO article discussing the upcoming Shadow Fox Marking Plus Version. The kit shows off new decals, including Ray Force and Team Shadow decals, and as usual, will come with clear colorless parts, which were first released with the chrome CP unit for the original fox kit. The article announced that it will be released in May 2021, with pre-orders open now.

 For other kit releases, we have the Liger Zero Schneider Marking Plus Ver. and Iron Kong PK coming up in March 2021. Liger Zero Panzer Marking Plus Ver. and Berserk Furher Repackage Ver. are scheduled for April 2021, and last but not least, the Gojulas Gunner is currently undergoing a rerelease! This massive kit is a Koto Direct exclusive, so you'll need a proxy to order. It is being rereleased in May 2021.

 The blog warns that just because they rereleased it this time, does not mean that they'll rerelease it again! Koto Direct rereleases are extremely rare, so if you want one, you might want to jump on this opportunity.

 In an unexpected update, Kotobukiya announced that there would be a new Saber Tiger variation released at the Zoids Concept Art Exhibit! This unique "Saber Tiger CA Color Ver." is based off of the Concept Art Book iteration of the design, complete with black-red color separation. To achieve this look, the kit has several sprues cast in both black and red, similar to how the Liger Zero EM was handled earlier. You can use the all-red sprues to create a Saber that looks quite close to the original motorized colors!

 This kit is being handled similarly to the Bone Zoids. It'll have an early pre-sale at the venue starting December 24th, and will then be made available on Kotobukiya Direct at a later date. This means you'll need a proxy to order. It's also worth mentioning that the CA does not include decals.

- HMM Release and Re-Release News!

 Hobby Japan Magazine posted a nice, short video looking at the HMM Wild Liger. It's a fully finished example with custom painting and detailing.

- HJM Video

- Pteras Bomber Article!

 Kotobukiya has posted a blog entry detailing the Pteras Bomber released in October. They show off an early concept sketch for the box art, as well as a completed example of the kit itself.

- Rerelease Information!

 Kotobukiya has confirmed a few rereleases recently! This includes the HMM Liger Zero Schneider Marking Plus Ver., scheduled to be released in March for 8,800 yen. While the CAS-specific kit was already confirmed, we now know the full unit will also be available. Similarly, the Liger Zero Panzer Marking Plus Ver. was announced for April, for 8,400 yen. Also on the list are the Iron Kong PK, released in March for 16,800 yen, and the Berserk Fueher Repackage Ver., released in April for 8,800 yen.

 Now that Stand River has concluded, we'll be covering all of the new product details that were published during the stream. It was an amazing event, and it was so cool to see everyone's customs! You can view the entire gallery here. Definitely give it a look!

 In the meantime, this post will be organized by the order that things were revealed during the event. If you missed the livestream, no worries, Kotobukiya is arranging to post videos to youtube soon! So don't mind the livestream link being broken.

- Zoids Key Charms!

 Just before Stand River, Kotobukiya announced their decision to release a set of Zoids Key Charms. The full set of metal charms consists of Wild Liger/Arashi, Gannontoise/Onigiri, Scorpear/Penne, Triceradogos/Gyoza, Hunter Wolf/Salt, and Spideath/Youkan. The set is scheduled for a January 2021 release as a Kotobukiya Direct Exclusive, for 2,000 yen each. It is not sold as a set! We have pre-order links down at the bottom of the page. Be sure to place your pre-orders by October 28th, as after that, they'll only be selling the remaining unsold stock before closing pre-orders.

- HMM Box Art Reveals

 Stand River also featured a reveal of several box arts, including the digital version for the HMM Wild Liger, the Pteras Bomber, and the Geno Breaker Repackage Ver., featuring a beautiful scene from Official Fan Book 2.

- HMM Revamps!

 Kotobukiya started off with a couple of new rerelease announcements. A new release of the HMM Panzer CAS, now in Marking Plus version, and a new Shadow Fox Marking Plus Version! So for all those who've been waiting for Fox, now's your chance!

- Wild Liger Guren Chrome Reveal!

 The final Wild Liger Guren was shown off in the event, complete with its chrome parts, clear caps, and clear purple eyes and Wild Blast parts. The camera's white balance caused most of the details to be washed out, so please excuse the lower detail.

- HMM Fangtiger Prototype Reveal!

 We got our first look at the Fangtiger model kit tonight! While we saw concept art earlier, I never would have guessed how many movable parts this Zoid has. It's really impressive. During the Wild Blast, the Panthera Armor folds out (like the moto kit) and the blades come forward. The blades are articulated so that they can take that 'spread out' pose that's used in the anime, and the pits of the blades (the lines) are also separate pieces! In other words, the blades can stretch slightly for the Wild Blast. The armor on the upper rear legs opens up to reveal some vents, a feature new and exclusive to the HMM verson of the kit.

 Like the HMM Wild Liger, the Fangtiger comes with a pilot figure. Bacon looks highly detailed. The reveal of Wild Liger's box art noted that the Zoids Wild kits will have their own designation, with Wild Liger being "W001".

- Rev Raptor Prototype Reveal!

 Fangtiger isn't the only prototype shown off. Rev Raptor's prototype was also revealed! There's a lot of detail crammed into this tiny kit, and it sports the same amount of articulation we've come to appreciate from Kotobukiya. The claws and blades also look quite sharp.

- HMM Customize Parts Pile Bunker Unit!

 The Rev Raptor is going to coincide with a release of a new HMM Customize Parts set, the Pile Bunker Unit! The unit has a movable pilebunker that can slide quite far forwards and backwards, as well as a mount that lets it tip up and down, and small movable panels on the top of the unit that can stand up or tuck back.

- HMM Raven Raptor!

 Kotobukiya also posted on Twitter that we'll be getting an HMM Raven Raptor! Many of you may recognize this as a Yuji Kaida variant. We've had several others appear in the HMM line, so this is an expected (and welcome) update. The Raven Raptor will be packaged with the Pile Bunker, just like the original motorized release.

- HMM Gilraptor 3D Model!

 Kotobukiya showed off the HMM Gilraptor's 3D Rig, in place of a prototype (as it's not quite ready yet). Although it's awesome to see, it's hard to see some of the details. So, for those who may have forgotten, here is the artwork for it that was posted at the last Stand River! It'll be full of beautiful details. You can see the X-style zig zags on the armor in the 3D model, a custom detail of the HMM.

- HMM Death Rex Reveal!

 As fans have pondered for many months, Kotobukiya has now announced an HMM Death Rex! The initial artwork looks amazing, and you can see that this kit is full of anime-accurate details. This includes the brown on the large Jaws and even the anime accurate sharp claws! It also looks like it'll have a rather intricate Uvula Drill, which, if the kit matches the artwork, can completely retract and also extend quite far past the jaws like in the show.

 The Death Rex Purple Dragon Form was also confirmed as a store exclusive, though there were no images shown for it during the event.

- HMM Liger Zero X!

 As Kotobukiya wrapped up their live build of the HMM Wild Liger, they dropped a final surprise reveal on us! The HMM Liger Zero X! This kit looks amazing, and it's one that people have been wanting for a long, long time. It was great to see a prototype, and it looks to really honor all of the X's design scheme.