Hobby Japan has posted digital versions of its article from the September 2024 issue, featuring a customized HMM Guysack based on Blu's from the Anime. They've also posted an article on the Tokyo Toy Show 2024, with photos of the various booths.

 During Kotobukiya's build stream for the HMM Guysack they hit us with a surprise announcement that nobody was expected, the HMM Garantula! Everything that follows is drawn from my understanding of the auto-generated subtitles, so please take with a grain of salt.

 This new kit will be hitting pre-orders on July 23rd, the same day that the HMM Guysack releases, as a Kotobukiya Shop exclusive. It's expected to be released in December, and sounds like it'll come with a clear smoke canopy as well as clear red for the various sensors. They showed off a few images including this familiar impression, and a classic spider splay to show off the articulation of the legs. Check out the stream for more stills as well as them showing off the test shot.

 They briefly discussed a variety of other topics. Evidently, the HMM K Wuf's initial release reported the highest sales in HMM history. As an unashamedly biased K Wuf fan, this was exciting to hear. Updates on HMM Salamander also list it as working through the prototype stage. They expect to display it sometime this year at an event.

 Breaking away from stream details, I'm happy to see Kotobukiya maximizing their mileage towards making small Zoids by lining up kits that could share common parts. It's an interesting solution to the challenges small Zoids face. (It's also a funny detail, because it matches the HMM lore, which leans into standardizing parts shared between Zoids to make them easier and faster to repair.) Garantula was a big surprise, and a nice shoutout to our OJR fans out there.

 Two new videos dropped for the RMZ Blade Liger and Geno Saurer, featuring voice overs by Zoiko. If you've already seen the earlier RMZ videos that introduced the articulation, you've probably already seen most of this, but it never hurts to get more coverage.

- Blade Liger

- Geno Saurer

 Hobby Search has posted a new product interview with Katayama, a major player in the Zoids franchise, and Naito, who's in charge of marketing! They brought up a lot of interesting details about the development of the Realize Model line, and some insights about their choices on it. I highly recommend giving it a read. Here are some of the key talking points.

• Planning for RMZ began around winter 2021. They surveyed fans from all eras, finding an even split of older fans who wanted motorized kits and younger (anime) fans who wanted poseable kits. Though they tried to combine motorized actions into a movable kit they found that trying to do both eliminated the best aspects of both.
  
  
• Geno Saurer and Blade Liger were chosen as the first kits to honor the 40th Anniversary's focus on fans who entered during the anime phase.
  
  
• Realize Models focus on making the kits simple, requiring only the number of parts needed for all of the articulation points. The RMZ Blade Liger has around 200 parts.
  
  
• The series is named "Realize Models" with the hope of bringing fan's dreams for their kits to reality. They want the model kits to closely resemble the anime they remember, expressing all of the gimmicks from the series, while even including effect parts that compliment what people imagine when they think of these Zoids, such as the Blade Liger's blade effects.
  
  
• 1/100 scale was chosen to better suit Japanese residential environment, making these kits small and easy to collect without having to worry as much about space. Compared to 1/72 kits, Realize Models aim to fit several kits in the same amount of space while being able to assemble and even detail them in the same amount of time. Their goal is for RMZ to be assembled in less than an hour.
  
  
• Because they want to keep these kits as affordable as possible, they've currently opted not to include display stands, but they're hoping to release them at a later time.
  
  
• Gimmicks have a focus on being functional even at this small scale, without the need of replacement parts. (The obvious exception being option parts like Geno Saurer's nose guns, of course)
  
  
• They've already planned this line out fairly far into the future, mentioning that they do indeed plan to release kits of the silhouettes displayed in teasers before now. They also hope to release more kits that never got to be made into poseable models.
  
  
• They hope to be able to release something almost every month.
  
  
• Though the series starts off with anime-specific kits, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Zoids, they're also looking to include products for people who got into the franchise through the Battle Story, Games, and Zoids Wild.
  
  
• They've contemplated releasing Customize Parts such as Iron Kong SS's gatling gun, but haven't yet decided if this'll be doable. It would, however, allow them to bridge the gap for anime-specific variants that may not be worth releasing a whole new kit for, but could be sold as option parts. One example given is the Command Wolf Urban Warfare Spec.
  
  
• They mused at someday even dreaming of releasing anime scale Zoids such as Ultra Saurus and Death Saurer, sold as separate parts such as the head or torso. This is not confirmed for the series.
  
  
• Other Zoids that they'd like to eventually release include different scale kits that could be displayed (in scale) alongside the original Zoids, such as Zoids Wild or 1/24. A couple names dropped were Wild Liger and power up forms such as Murasame Liger's evolts.

 Pre-orders for the first two RMZ kits are up, starting with the RMZ-01 Blade Liger! Bladey here is scheduled for February 2025 for a retail price of 4,950 yen (tax included, about $30 USD.) You can find these on all your typical pre-order sites. AmazonJP, HLJ, AmiAmi, USA Gundam, and more. The official page for this kit (linked above) contains a couple pieces of concept art and a heaping ton of images. Blade Liger will come with effect parts for the Dual Laser Blades. It'll also come with sitting pilot figures of Bang (Van) and Fine (Fiona) as well as a general pilot figure.

 They've also released a video on the RMZ Blade Liger narrated by Bang's VA, detailing its various points of articulation. This stood out as an especially cool video to me. Moveable gimmicks tend to be broad stroked, focusing mostly on a few key poses and the actual equipment. After all, covering all moving pieces would take forever. Seeing a video that puts the articulation itself on display is a breath of fresh air and makes me nostalgic about doing Zoid kit reviews. I look forward to seeing more of these going forward.

 Zoids Waiting Room
 About a month ago they also held a Zoids Waiting Room discussion corner where people involved in the Zoids series got together and talked about the new line. It shows off a lot of stuff, such as staff members interacting with the AZ-07 Death Saurer and size comparisons of the RMZ kits with the traditional motos. Prototypes of the next 3 RMZ Kits, RMZ-003 Command Wolf, RMZ-004 Helcat, and RMZ-005 Molga also get shown off in the video.

- Preview Video

- Zoids Waiting Room

 The next up in this 1/100 scale poseable model kit line is the RMZ-02 Geno Saurer. Scheduled for February 2024 alongside the Blade Liger, its got a retail price of 6,600 yen (about $41 USD.) The Geno Saurer's page has two pieces of colored concept art, comparisons of movable gimmicks to the anime, and a ton of pictures. The kit will come with effect parts for both the Charged Particle Cannon and the Long Range Pulse Laser Rifles. It'll also include a seated Raven figure and a generic pilot figure.

 Honestly, this may be the best-proportioned Geno Saurer we've ever gotten. The poseability of this kit is something else. The joints are so well hidden, and the tail movement in particular looks so fluid with no unsightly gaps. The tail vents are also a neat design, and its good to see this often-forgotten feature included on a smaller scale product. The video is likewise narrated by Raven's VA.

- Preview Video

 Molga was first teased with this diorama image. Well, the kit has now officially been posted on TakaraTomy's website! (Does AZ not have a dedicated page on the TT website?) The page has a piece of concept art and goes over all the new features of this kit. Pre-orders are already up. The kit is scheduled to be released in February 2025 for a retail price of 4,950 yen (about $30 USD.)

 First and most noticeably is that the AZ-08 Molga comes with a brand new piece, the Jamming Horn. This is a part original to Advanced Zi. It is not seen in any other canon. The part itself is based on the osmeterium organs of swallowtail larvae, which release a foul-smelling chemical repellant to ward of predators. The kit also has a surprise motorized function: Forwards and backwards movement. A rotating gear on the back adds an extra detail during movement and the kit has all of the manual gimmicks expected of a Molga.

- Preview Video

 In a surprising turn of events, the first stand-alone recolor variant of the Advanced Zi line has been announced! It's Leon Toros' Blade Liger! This kit looks beautiful already, with a nice shade of red. It's scheduled for Late February 2025 for 11,000 yen. It's a Takara Tomy Mall exclusive, so as a reminder to everyone, you can order from the TT Mall through Buyee if you've got their Add To Buyee add on. Just navigate to the page and refresh while the add on is active.

 Details on the upcoming Zoid Core box continue to drop! A new variation of the Stealth Stinger, recreated as a custom for the diorama revamp of Fan Book EX has been posted. This version incorporates Sniptera wing parts to make a new tail blade. It's seen again in this teaser. An intriguing image of the Zero Falcon's shattered cockpit eludes to us seeing a conclusion to the results at the end of the final Fan Book EX. CoroCoro also posted an image showing off a figure of Wolff Muroa in front of the Neo Zenebas Army! This is interesting. We'll probably be seeing these in the book, then.

 Additionally, we've got the box art for the AZ-02EX Liger Zero Ray Greg ver. This shows off a scene inspired by the old box art for the Tomy Liger Zero Phoenix kit. Finally, as a last detail, it looks like we'll get to learn more about the legendary Leomasters.

 The HMM Guysack is releasing this month, with the OJR version expected to open pre-orders soon as well! Kotobukiya posted a LABO article in celebration, introducing the Guysack and its various details. There'll be a live broadcast (which we'll stick below) just before its release, where they hope to build it in just under an hour. In the article we also get to see the box art, which looks absolutely amazing. There's even an early sketch concept for it, that would've been based on the Tomy box art from back in the day. (There's a lot of Zoids in this box art, and they're all doing something interesting. It's particularly dynamic!)

- Assembly Broadcast

 Fans waited for the König Wolf for quite a few years, and it looks like initial sales must've been great because Kotobukiya has announced their plan to rerelease all three Wolf kits! The basic, Heavy Arms, and CP Unit. The Wolf and CP Unit are expected to release in November and Heavy Arms in January 2025.

 Finally, information about the upcoming Zoids Core Box has dropped! An article was posted by Tower Records, a popular store for Japanese media. The box is scheduled to release mid-to-late December for about 27,500 yen. It's available on Amazon JP as well. Don't forget to factor the AZ Death Saurer into your budget schedule, as it releases only a couple weeks before the Zoid Core box! So, without further ado, let's get into it!

 Zoids Official Fan Books Reprint: Volumes 1 ~ 4 are being reprinted as part of this box!

 Zoids OFB Volume 5! The original story published through CoroCoro and other media is being compiled into a new Zoids Official Fan Book volume 5, which is suggested to contain new information about the story that we've never seen before! It'll also include diorama style images to match the other Official Fan Books, such as this image which is a recreation of the events in the second Official Fan Book EX.

 AZ-02EX Liger Zero Ray Gregg Spec. (Republic Color): The kit being released with this Zoid Core Box is the blue Liger Zero piloted by Ray Gregg. For those who aren't familiar with the battle story, he was one of the most important characters of the NJR era (what this box is based on) and important to the story's conclusion. The kit will come in a blue color, while also including a Ray Gregg pilot figure.

 Panoramic Seismosaurus Poster: A poster originally released through CoroCoro is also being reprinted! It's a neat one to have. The poster is quite small height wise, but still neat. At least, if it's printed at the same size.

 Perfect Visual Clips: Are making a return! This was a DVD in the old Core Box containing commercials and promos. Now, NJR era commercials will be accessible through a code found in the box.

 Big Zoids Expo 2023 Archive Footage: Footage of the Big Zoids Expo will be released in a 3D AR-style format.

 We've officially begun work on the Zoids Battle Story, which you can find in the Books section! For those who don't know, this is the OJR era of the battle story, pre-dating the Official Fan Books. We've got the first 3 sections (plus the bit of stuff at the beginning) done and are already well into work on another update.

 Some people have been curious about why the OFBs / EX were done first. This is because the Zoids Battle Story books came with the Zoid Core Box. I'd known for years that the Core Box was high on my list of holy grails. I knew I'd have it someday, it was just a matter of when, so I refrained from buying the books separately when I knew I'd have good copies of my own eventually. (There being another core box is pretty exciting-)

 Zoids Official has posted some new images of their upcoming Realize Models, including a size comparison with the original Tomy motos and a battle against the AZ Death Saurer! This seems like a fun play size for these kits, and they're still more than hefty enough to have good detail and articulation. Looking forward to more!

 As a minor aside the Links page (up at the top) has been updated to switch to a new format and now includes all of the new official websites. There's a lot to keep track of, but you can now watch news and other upcoming events through the Zoids Official website!

 We knew some sort of announcement was coming on the 8th relating to a mysterious logo that Zoids Official (and other brands like Transformers) posted on Twitter earlier this week. I'm sure none of us expected it to be quite such a large announcement, however! Takara Tomy has announced their new brand label T-Spark, a larger project that covers a wide variety of brands and franchises. This includes the new Adamas Machina (Steel Machine God), Realize Model, and Metamor Verse brands. More on them below.

The 62nd Shizuoka Hobby Show (2024) was just held, and these projects were all put on display. See photos of the event in Dengeki Hobby's coverage.

- Project PV

 The first major announcement is Adamas Machina, a brand of diecast alloy model kits. This series will branch out to different franchises beyond just Zoids. They first announced the AMT-01 (Adamas Machina Transformers) Rodimus (Prime) and the AMT-01 (Adamas Machina Zoids) Berserk Führer. This line seems to celebrate the history of Zoids lore, creating alloy models with interchangeable forms.

 The first form, Wild Mode, includes armor meant to resemble wild Zoids of the past. Though not the original designs featured for these Zoids, it's a neat nod in that direction, with armor meant to mirror a more natural look.

 The second form, Frame Mode (mistranslated as Flame Mode in some of the supporting media) features what looks to be an unarmored form of the Zoid. We're used to this with the Berserk Führer, but it'll be interesting to see their take on other Zoids.

 The third form, Weapon Mode has the Zoid all geared up with armor and weapons. The final forms as we know them. This line looks like it takes a lot of inspiration from their earlier Chogokin collab with Bandai, with edgier design language.

 At this time we do not have a price. Pre-orders are scheduled to open in fall of 2024 with the product aiming for a 2025 release. Zoids Official posted photos of the actual product shown in Shizuoka, which also shows us the bare body that's underneath of both the wild and frame modes.

 The second figure in this lineup has already been revealed as the Blade Liger! This comes as a surprise to some as Liger Zero would've been expected, being the rival and all, but I think it's just too close to the release of the Chogokin Liger Zero. Blade Liger will challenge the concepts set forward by the Berserk Führer, and it'll be interesting to see how they reimagine things like the Wild Mode and Frame Mode.

 The second brand launched under the T-Spark label is the Realize Model series, a series of highly poseable 1/100 scale model kits with a huge potential lineup for Zoids. Unlike the Adamas Machina brand, this one seems focused on the Zoids series. Two painted samples (Blade Liger, Geno Saurer), three prototypes (Command Wolf, Helcat, Molga), and a variety of other Zoids have been teased, including Shield Liger, Command Wolf LC (Irvine?), Saber Tiger, Great Sabre / AT, Iron Kong, Red Horn, Dibison, Hel Digunner, Red Horn BC, Lightning Saix, Storm Sworder, and most excitingly, Trinity Liger.

 These silhouettes are at this point just teasers. We don't know if these are final decisions for the line (after all, we saw other silhouettes that never manifested as kit products before, such as Command Wolf being teased at the start of Zoids Wild.) The potential of getting game Zoids is a thrilling possibility, and with enough support for this series, we may just get there!

 For those curious about the size, 1/100 is the same scale as Kotobukiya's (not Supernova's) Zoids Aggressive (ZA) action figures.

 The first model kit teased is the RMZ-01 Blade Liger, with pre-orders opening in Summer 2024 and the finished product expected to release in 2025. The Blade Liger is the first Zoid to introduce Effect Parts in this series. It'll come with optional energy effects for the Laser Blades. I like how true these are to the show, increasing not only the length of the blade but fitting over top of it instead of replacing it outright. These kits exhibit a higher level of detail than the old kits, focusing on poseability. One thing that's shared between the products thus far is the ability for the legs to lean inward under the body, a more natural pose for animals.

 The second kit lined up is the RMZ-02 Geno Saurer. Genos can be a challenge, and we've seen no shortage of funky proportions on Geno products in the past. I feel like the RMZ series strikes a great balance, giving the Zoid the bulk it deserves while still keeping its stance raised up for natural standing poses. It has lots of the typical part functions and newly designed tail vents, which are an interesting take. Like the Blade Liger it'll come with effect parts for a orb to go on the end of the Charged Particle Cannon. We've been asking for particle effects for decades, so it's awesome to see this come to fruition! Like the Blade Liger, pre-orders are expected for Summerr 2024 with a release in 2025.