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.

 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.

 Three prototypes of additional kits were shown at the Shizuoka Hobby Show, starting with the RMZ-03 Command Wolf. This guy looks quite tough. Normally Command Wolves are more slender, but this guy looks like he's ready to brawl. It's a cool take.

 The fourth kit is the RMZ-04 Helcat. There are a lot of Helcat fans out there who've been waiting for an HMM for a long time, and now we finally have a new, posey Helcat! This product looks amazing. Helcat isn't an easy design to articulate. There's a lot of points where you have to make hard choices on where to cut, and divide the design, but I think they did an amazing job. The first two kits had effect parts, but I'm not sure if that's feasible for every kit. Many of us are waiting to see if the stands displayed (and seemingly cast from the same plastic as the prototypes) will fill that gap for these smaller kits.

 The fifth kit in the series, and the final prototype shown off in Shizuoka is the RMZ-05 Molga! Articulation is fun, especially with smaller kits like this. If the stands are included it adds a lot of fun play possibilities for display. The rearing up pose is cool. The third Molga prototype, displayed in front confirms that we'll have pilots even at this scale. It also shows off the classic "clamshell" or "whitehead" cockpit of many older Zoids.

 The AZ-07 Death Saurer, which is closing pre-orders on the 9th* has received an updated commercial that uses the original Deathy's commercial audio! There was also an interview video which discusses the Zoid's development, echoing a lot of thoughts we saw in earlier interviews. The kit was also displayed in a diorama setting at the Shizuoka Hobby Show.

 * Pre-orders in Japan regularly close earlier than elsewhere, so don't worry about this.

- Updated CM

- Updated CM

 The Wild Liger Kokuoh, a Zoids x Fist of the North Star collab first teased at the Big Zoids Expo is finally gaining some traction with a new product page. Interestingly it varies quite a bit from the original painted concept seen at the Big Zoids Expo. I like the direction they chose to take it, which better represents the source material. The kit is scheduled to release in late December 2024 for 6,600 yen, though other sites like Amazon JP and AmiAmi have it for a slightly discounted price.

 This kit will come with an acrylic standee of Roah, the man who rides Kokuoh, the black horse that the Liger is based on. A second mini standee including the 40th anniversary logos for both series was shown in the product photos, but isn't specifically mentioned, so may not be included. This kit will also come with a Fist of the North Star themed backdrop for you to display the kit on. Last but not least, the box art features custom manga-style artwork for the Liger!

- Preview

 We heard earlier that these guys would be getting reissues, but now we have specifics. HMM Berserk Führer is scheduled for July for 10,450 yen and HMM Lightning Saix is scheduled for June for 6,380 yen. The image for the Old Republic Guysack was also teased again at the Shizuoka Hobby Show, though as far as I know, there's no new details.

 A couple days ago Hobby Watch posted an interview with Takashi Nakase of Takara Tomy, a key figure of their Zoids projects. This interview also included our first look at the AZ Death Saurer kit in motion, with a video of its motorized walking features. The interview is full of interesting details, a few of the talking points being:

• When they first started talking about the next kit to commercialize, both Gojulas and Death Saurer were recommended. Ultimately, Death Saurer was chosen for commercialization.
  
  
• The interview contains numerous pieces of concept art in a nice, clear viewing size as well as a photo of the prototype.
  
  
• Advanced Zi will continue as a model kit series, and they're considering many different options. For example, they're obviously looking at popular antagonist Zoids, but also as kits that didn't get a chance to appear in the animes of the past.
  
  
• They've also expressed interest in tackling some of the wind-up Zoid designs, with the idea that they'd be reimagined and released under Advanced Zi as now-fully-motorized kits instead of relying on main spring power.
  
  
• The closing statement included a vague mention of exploring new categories of products, so we'll see what comes later! This is an interesting note since they have a section for various 'brands' on the new website that currently only holds AZ. (This is purely speculative, but it's fun to think about what might come next!)

 After the interview, they posted a commercial of the kit that recreated the classic advertisement from its original release! Just tonight, a Review Video was also posted featuring Zoiko. This shows us more of the finished product and its motorized features, including the Display Mode, and gives us our second look at a size comparison. This new comparison seems to place it at about the same size as Death Saurer (it appears smaller in the video because it is leaning forward for its firing pose.) One thing I quite liked about the video is the inclusion of the old motorized kit, showing off how various sections have been updated in design. This highlighted lots of details I hadn't noticed before.

- Advanced Zi Commercial

- Original Tomy Commercial

- AZ-07 Review Video

 Over the last day or so the AZ-07 Death Saurer has gone up for pre-order! You can find it on other sites, too, not just on Amazon Japan. This kit is scheduled for a late November release for a retail price of 33,000 yen (though many sites are getting it for closer to 27,000) and what a beast it is. There's an overwhelming amount of information to cover on this thing, so let's get started.

 First, the product page. This is the largest product page we've gotten for AZ kits yet, and wow does it go into detail. There's tons of concept art images displayed, discussions about the development process, and beautiful images compiled into a huge gallery. This kit looks amazing. Another concept art image was shown on Twitter a while back.

 Now let's talk features. The AZ Death Saurer comes with a seated Prozen pilot as well as a standing one. Standing pilots are a nice addition for the AZ line. It also comes with a standard pilot, to be seated in the cockpit in the stomach. The Zoid design is updated with more realistic details including a more dinosaur-like posture, the body raised off of the ground, etc. The hydraulics of the legs all move as the Zoid does. It contains LEDs in the core and the Charged Particle Cannon. The Charged Particle Intake Fan has an option part to change it into the Charged Particle Converter as seen in the anime. There's a forward-leaning firing pose meant to mirror the anime.

 The kit also has a Display Mode, which allows you to display it with the LEDs on. This is an awesome idea that I'm really excited about, and will make enjoying the kit so much easier. I've been keeping the AZ kits on my desk, with batteries alternating between my favorites just to swap them on every now and again. I have so much appreciation for the engineering of these kits, as well as how up front staff is about the development process (which is always a fun read.)

 * Some details in this news post have been updated to fix mistakes.

- PV Video