The Expo isn't the only curious teaser, however. A second teaser, featuring a hollowed out street melted away by, presumeably, a Charged Particle Cannon has been posted! There's one Zoid that I'm sure will jump to everyone's mind~ For now, we are awaiting more information.

 The traveling Traveling Exhibit has been going for a while now, and man, the amount of products coming out of this is insane. Acrylic Standees from every anime and a wide variety of other products. Some have been surprising, such as standees featuring battle story characters (Arthur, Ray, Anna, and Wolff, featuring their existing art), or standees of Bio Tyranno and Volcano showing them in a cel-shaded style instead of their typical fully 3D look. There are so many products to cover that I don't know if it's feasible for a news post, so I'll work on a dedicated page for this event soon.

 There are several posts covering the event and its displays. Part of the event was a series of dioramas featuring anime scenes reimagined through model kits, including a rather impressive Hover Cargo. There were plenty of products, and some character cutouts. Even a bit of concept art.

 Some of the products specifically shown off on Twitter, including character acrylic standees for Arthur, Ray, Anna, Wolf, Bit, Zero, Zoiko (Who was the twitter mascot during the MPZ days!), an Irvine Eye Mask, T-Shirts including a Geno Saurer and a Blade Liger shirt, a 40th Anniversary Stainless Steel Mug, a Rainbow Jerk Fan themed after its tail feathers, a Fiona/Fine Mug, and a Postcard Set. A lot of products are to be expected, such as the standees and can badges, but some of them are also just really cute ideas, such as Irvine's Eye Mask and the umbrella that looks like you're looking out of an E-Shield Generator at the Saber Tiger.

 Photos and product information for the AZ-03 Murasame Liger have dropped! Several details have been pointed out about the kit over on Twitter. The Pile Bunkers on the front legs are movable. The eyes and core have LED lights. The cockpit has been modeled after the anime, including a forward-leaning Ruuji figure. The Murasame Blade, which will be chromed, features a telescoping joint and can extend to both sides, unlike the former motorized kit, where it could only extend to the left as part of the spring-loaded gimmick. This kit is scheduled to release in Late January 2024, for 14,300 yen (tax included.) An article from Dengeki Hobby features some additional photos. Earlier on, we saw a teaser of the Murasame Blade which, aside from having the script normally seen along the edge of the blade, also features the 'Murasame' kanji at the base of the blade! Other prototype shots included a face view, a 3/4 view, and a shot with the blade extended.

Bikkuriman Collab

 On April Fools, Zoids Official also posted about a collab with Bikkuriman, a product line from Lotte that focused on collecting stickers that are typically packaged with wafer snacks. During this announcement they mentioned a sticker that showed off Murasame Liger and Super Zeus, Bikkuriman's mascot character. Looks like this sticker will be packaged together with the AZ-01 Murasame Liger when buying through TakaraTomy Mall!

- Review Video

- Preview Featuring Ruuji's VA

 Zoids Official has announced that the RZ-007 Shield Liger and the EZ-016 Saber Tiger will be released as part of the Anniversary Zoids line! Once released as the Masterpiece Zoids, these two kits saw significant price increases after their short release period. We currently don't have any additional information on them, but it's a welcome rerelease, especially for the Saber Tiger, which has ranged from 250 ~ 400 USD over the years. We do not yet know if they will include all original features, but it's currently speculated that they'll lose the roaring features from the previous release. I'd love to see them released in anime colors, though, and will await further information!

 There were various posts going over the now-released AZ-01 Blade Liger. People have started posting their built photos, and this model is gorgeous. To start off, Hobby Japan posted a beautiful painted sample article featuring this kit, as well as a short video. Zoids Official posted an image of a customized Blade Liger based on Arthur Borgmann's destroyed Blade Liger. This image also showed off Arthur's acrylic standee, sold at the traveling Zoids Exhibit! Next, Hobby Watch posted a nice article regarding the Anniversary Zoids. Last but not least, a video was posted by Plaban Gunpla Build Ch featuring a custom painted Bladey, which Zoids Official showed off.

 Zoids Official has announced several collaboration projects, including Zoids x Patlabor, another mech series! For this collab TakaraTomy will be releasing the Hunter Wolf Metropolitan Police Department Spec.! We're awaiting further information.

 The second collab will involve Shirakami Fubuki, a Japanese Hololive Vtuber! Zoids Official has announced a Gatling Fox for this collab, but we don't have much information yet.

 The final collaboration announced is Zoids x Fist of the North Star, a Japanese manga/anime series. The Zoid announced is the Wild Liger Kokuoh, named after a massive black horse ridden by Raoh. We don't yet know much about this kit.

 When Stand River was hosted I was, unfortunately, rather busy handling things offline. There were a few new kits announced though, and the first one we'll be mentioning is the HMM Guysack!

 This kit was announced to have a Normal version and a Heavy Armor version. Many of us grew up with the Zoids anime series, so to us, the most recognizable Guysack is the Heavy Armor version, which will feature additional tail armaments including additional weapons, radar, and a gun seat, as well as featuring an angular cockpit and tanks on the sides of the body. This will likely reuse the same whitehead style cockpits already established in the Godos variants. The Normal Type featured in the battlestory used the more rounded cockpit, simpler tail equipment, and what looks to be an additional cylinder/gun/missile on the sides.

 While fans of the series had many ideas about what might be announced or revealed at Stand River, nobody was expecting this one! Kotobukiya announced its intentions of making and HMM Salamander, an absolute monster of a flying-type Zoid with a huge wingspan. Though we don't have any pictures of this kit or its overall design yet, the Salamander is already packed with details, so we're looking forward to seeing what liberties they take with its design. Hopefully it has better luck than the MSS Salamander!

 Kotobukiya has announced an upcoming HMM Redler BC, which will be packaged with the Booster Cannon CP! When the HMM Redler variants released, a lot of people turned a curious glance to the lack of clear colorless parts, which have become a standard of most Kotobukiya releases. Well, now we know why! This combined variant will include the clear colorless parts people have been hoping for. This kit will be a Kotobukiya Shop exclusive.

 After the initial release of the HMM Gojulas, the next release was the Ogre, followed by the Gunner. The original Gojulas itself, however, never actually received a rerelease. Kotobukiya has announced that they'll be rereleasing the limited Gojulas Marking Plus Version!

 The HMM Green Horn pre-orders are well underway, with the model kit expected to release in October of this year for 12,000 yen (13,200 with tax.) The kit is estimated to have 400 ~ 600 pieces, and will include new frill pieces and the new updated version of the Attack Boosters (which will be releasing as a separate CP as well, scheduled for October at 2,400 yen.)

 In addition, Kotobukiya posted a LABO Article going over this kit. For those who aren't aware, the Attack Boosters are based on the Delusional War Record (web comic) appearance, where the Horn was equipped with Attack Boosters as an equipment test. "Wouldn't boosters be useless on a Horn?" Not if you need a durable Zoid to make sure they don't blow up first! The blog points out the Anti-Charged Particle Shield Generators that replace the frill pieces, the additional tail parts, the new composite sensor on the back, and the variety of connection points that the Attack Boosters use.

 During their discussion of the Attack Boosters, they mention that there were two reasons for remaking this equipment. One was to introduce additional connection points, allowing them to be installed to more than just the Blade Liger. The second was to remove the seam lines in the top of the booster cover, while also redesigning the internal mechanisms. In doing so, they reduced the restrictions on how much the part could move and reduced the risk of parts breaking. The boosters can open wider and have additional movement points (diagonal or horizontal deployment). Both the AB and the Green Horn AB will come with clear colorless parts in addition to the clear colored pieces.

 Several new reissues have been announced! These include the Saber Tiger Marking Plus Ver. (December / 7,200 yen), the Buster Tortoise (November / 4,800 yen), and Sturm Tyrann (October / 13,500 yen).

 As an aside, Kotobukiya has posted a notice addressing what a lot of people have been noticing as of late, a significant increase in prices. It's quite obvious what lead to these price increases, but to summarize, a rise in the price of crude oils, infection preventative measures taken in their manufacturing bases in China affecting material supply, and the rapid depreciation of the Yen have all made it far more costly to procure everything needed to output a finished product. Kotobukiya has thus had no choice but to significantly raise the prices of products, starting with their own original IP products being released in July. Hopefully matters will calm down in the future~!

 As we approach the release date of Bandai's Chogokin Liger Zero we've been seeing more and more updates. Tamashii Web posted a blog about the Liger Zero, going over some of the specifics and showing off the box art. It looks like the main box is actually, in a surprise twist, inspired by the original Tomy box art! This is a cool shoutout. The main box is covered by a black dust sleeve which features images of the figure. The amount of articulation in this kit is insane, more than I could cover here, so I highly recommend checking out the article!

 Some highlights include that the Zero is covered in a coat of gloss, with metalics used for key parts. The pilot is gold chrome, the eyes light up using LEDs, it includes a metallic red removable Zoid Core, and by replacing the pilot seat with clear parts, you can increase the brightness of the eye glow. The figure comes with its own stand as well. Dengeki Hobby Web posted an article about the Tamashii Nations World Tour Tokyo event, where these figures (the CAS and frame) were on display.

Twitter Campaign

Tamashii Web is also holding a twitter campaign from June 8th until July 18th, where they'll be giving away a variety of items, including 15 Chogokin Liger Zeroes. This event is for Japan residents only.

 The Tamashii Web article linked above also showed off some images of the CAS units for the Chogokin Liger Zero. What was a big surprise though is that the armors will come with their own suspension stand, allowing you to display one of the armors as if it were still in the hangar. This is an incredibly cool inclusion, as it means that, even if you can't afford 4 Chogokin figures, you can still put some of your armors on display rather than packing them up in a box. These armors are expected to ship out in January 2024 as a full set of armors (Jager, Schneider, Panzer) for 29,700 yen (tax included).

 In addition, a Liger Zero (Frame Mode) has been announced. This means you'll be able to order just the bare Liger Zero without any CAS units (including the basic Zero armor) attached. For those who aren't able to pick up the first release, this is a great opportunity. The Liger Zero (Frame Mode) is also scheduled to release in January 2024 for 27,500 yen. This Zero will also come with one of the suspension stands. If you happened to miss the earlier pre-order window for the full Chogokin Liger Zero, you may be happy to hear that it's also getting a second run, with some scheduled to ship out around August.

 Zoids Official posted a video featuring the Ankyrox Rare Bone Ver. in motion. As a funny aside, it seems the boxes for the Ankyrox shipped out with it being marked as an Ankyrox type instead of an Ankylosaurus type~

 As part of the Zoids 40th Anniversary Project Zoids Official has announced that it'll be posting the first four animes online! This includes the classic Zoids series, Zoids New Century /ZERO, Zoids Fuzors, and Zoids Genesis. These have mostly started airing already, and will be publicly posted on the TAKARATOMYHOBBY youtube channel! Only the first episode is available for a longer span of time. Otherwise, each episode will be available for 1 week, until the next one 'airs'. We'll try to stay on top of posting here when new episodes are available. For those curious, Zoids Official has said they're working on making the series available in more countries, but this may take extra time, so please be patient as they jump through the technical hoops!

 As they've been posting more about the upload date of each series, they've also been posting some nice high-quality art, starting with a Bang image. Otherwise, each series has been posted with its blu-ray box character art, including Chaotic Century, New Century /ZERO, Fuzors, and Zoids Genesis. Chaotic Century has been airing for a bit now, but we'll post what's currently available. As a final note, voyager_vision on Twitter, who seems to have worked on some of the anime storyboards, posted images of the covers!

- Chaotic Century Episode 7

- New Century /ZERO Episode 1

- Fuzors Episode 1

 There's a lot going on this year, and as usual, Mercy Rabbit is enthusiastic about the developments, sharing various works from over the years! Here is a closeup of the Shield Liger Bang HMM art, showing the pilots. There's another showing Irvine from the Command Wolf Irvine box. The classic Murasame Liger art has also been reshared in celebration of the AZ-03 Murasame Liger.

 Throughout the 40th Anniversary Project Animareal has been involved in creating dynamic promotional images to spark the imaginations of fans. Modeler SigemikanZ on Twitter has been sharing quite a few photos of the custom model kits that go into creating these images! As well as others.

 40th Anniversary Key Visual & Logo: Link | Link | Link | Link | Link
 40th Anniversary Key Visual - Blade Liger: Link
 40th Anniversary Key Visual - Liger Zero: Link | Link
 40th Anniversary Key Visual - Murasame Liger: Link | Link | Link
 Additional Customs: Link | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link