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- HMM-034 Shadow Fox
Shadow Fox was released in 2012 and is quite an amazing build. They really went the extra mile with the articulation and as an entirely new build following their recent progress in stability the Shadow Fox has been very sturdy. I've had no falling parts except for the gun itself, which game loose every now and then, and the Zoid is still standing strong several months later.
Unfortunately they couldn't be bothered to fix nose issues. The motorized fox had them, with the cockpit unable to close all the way. They fixed that, but now the two halves of the face/nose will not stay together, leaving an ugly gap that is only held shut when the cockpit is shut.
Overall this is an excellent kit. I definitely recommend it over the older ones, as it has much better stability and a very appealing look.
Pros:
-Pre-painted reflective gold pieces
-Excellent articulation
-Secure build with few falling pieces
-Custom Brad Hunter pilot
Cons:
-Nose pieces do not close properly when cockpit is open
-Gun occasionally comes loose
- Box
Gimmicks:
- Cockpit
The Shadow Fox's cockpit flips open and reveals the pilot inside. Unfortuntely the nose has a rather obvious malfunction in that the two halves of the face part here. You can see the crack very obviously in the second image. If you close the cockpit it holds it together fairly well.
- Jaws
Fox's jaws can open, but not too far. His upper teeth are very oversized.
- Head and Neck
Shadow Fox had a pretty advanced ball joint system. It can rotate far upwards and downwards, and combined with the joint of the neck can turn so far sideways that it looks as if Shadow Fox is looking back, instead of it always being in a fixed forward facing position. You can see in a photo the ball joint that's attached to a PC part, which lends much of the articulation to the part.
- Laser Vulcan Gun
The previously-boasted customizable vulcan gun has been changed up a bit. It now attaches to the bar over the shoulders and has two major points of up-down rotation. It can also tilt and lean, and swivel sideways, but no longer has the bar attaching to the back.
- Main Body
Fox's body has a sideways twisting frame that bends pretty far.
- Tail
The tail is articulated at two points: The base and where the silver transitions to black. This is a welcome change from normal static wolf tails.
- Net Gun
Shadow Fox still retains the neck gun, which flips open from the silver piece of the tail.
- Front Legs
Argh, I forgot to picture the ball joints. Shadow Fox has an excellent ball joint system in the main body, where the joint is actually meant to pull out slightly, so that the legs can turn further inwards without being obstructed by the body. This still allows for a wide range of motion rotating forwards or backwards. Both front legs are also rotational at the 'elbow'.
- Paws
Each paw is attached to a ball joint that allows wide rotational abilities. The claws themselves can also flip up and down a little bit for better stability. Behind the feet there are anchors in the legs.
- Back Legs
The back legs have the same extending body joint as the front legs. They are also articulated at the 'knee' and 'heel', with a pipe on the middle section being able to flip upwards to avoid obstructing the pose. This means it looks good extended and can fold up completely.
