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.

 These 1/100 scale figures are a collaboration between TT and Kotobukiya, and like the Adamas Machina line will branch out to other franchises besides Zoids. Designed by Nidy-2D- this series has shown two Zoids girls so far, Blade Liger and Fine/Fiona wearing armor from Sieg/Zeke. We don't yet know much about this series, how the products will be packaged, or what all will be included. It's slated to begin in 2025. So, let's look forward to learning more in the future!

 Zoids, the classic TV anime series is celebrating its 25th anniversary and it seems Takara Tomy has plans to do a variety of projects for it. We don't yet have images of any of it. However, this includes a collab with Wixoss, a card game in Japan that formerly collabed with Zoids Wild, which produced some rather cool art. (Fun fact, the same artist who worked on the Wild cards does a lot of Digimon stuff too, for those Digimon fans out there.)

 A special talk show is also planned for around September 14th, which we're looking forward to. There's also a pop-up tour which we don't know much about yet, but is planned for August 29th ~ September 18th. Paid streaming of the series is expected to begin this summer.

- Project PV

 Another text-only teaser was posted for the upcoming Machine Beast New Century Zoid Core Box, with info expected to drop on the 11th. Info will apparently also be displayed at the Shizuoka Hobby Show, which if I'm not mistaken is running until the 12th. The Core Box was a holy grail for years, so it's exciting to know we'll finally be getting some info on this. (It's worth noting that Machine Beast New Century is a term for the NJR model kit line, not Zoids New Century /ZERO the anime.)

 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.

 I posted a review of the 40th Anniversary Encyclopedia over in Assorted Books. This doesn't contain the full book, but gives an idea of what to expect. The book is still up for sale on Amazon JP and other sites, so if you're interested in what it has to offer, you can still pick up a copy!

 A small batch of concepts have been uploaded to the New Century /ZERO anime section, courtesy of Kuzann! There's quite a lot more of these to get through but I'm trying to take my time with them to provide as much information as possible. The section has also been updated to match our more recent standards for concept pages (one or two sections haven't been updated yet due to time constraints.) New concepts include:

 Characters: Altair, Armed Guardsman, Ballad Hunter, Benjamin, and Bit Cloud (2 new.)
 Zoids: Hover Cargo

 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

 Official Fan Book 4 has received its next and final update! This includes the BLOX segment at the end of the book which looks over BLOX lore, history, the various kits, and functionality that developed over time. There's also a final epilogue page featuring a touch more of the story.

 Avenge of Proitzen, a sort of "3.5" book that came out with the Zoid Core Box before OFB4 was released has also been added to the Official Fan Books page! The story segment is more or less the same as OFB4 so has been excluded from the book's page. The additional images can be found at the start, and all remaining book content (the fact files for Helic, Guylos, and Zenebas Zoids) has already been posted. This includes basic stats and descriptions for kits that didn't get to get profiles in OFB4, such as some of the Yuji Kaida Zoids and some of the customized model kits.

 From here it's finally time to move on to the Zoids Battle Story books, which many of you will know better as the "OJR" Battle Story! Work on this is already underway, and there'll be another news post once a solid update / section is prepared for it.