The HMM Command Wolf AC & LC Marking Plus Version has just released, compiling all of the Command Wolf weapons into a single box complete with additional clear colorless parts. A post by one of Kotobukiya's stores also revealed its box art, depicting a mid-battle wolf pack scene by Mercy Rabbit!

 Story segments and concept art have been added to the HMM Geno Breaker Raven Ver. and the HMM Iron Kong! There's a few more of these in the works at varying degrees of complete, so hopefully soon.

 Another wave of HMM reissues have been announced, so keep an eye on your favorite hobby stores if you missed any of them earlier! This includes a wave of all the Republic Zeroes, which is great.

 HMM Liger Zero Marking Plus Version (June 2025 / 7,480 yen)
 HMM Dibison Marking Plus Ver. (June 2025 / 12,100 yen)
 HMM Geno Breaker Repackage Version (August 2025 / 11,220 yen)
 HMM Liger Zero Jager Marking Plus Version (August 2025 / 9,020 yen)
 HMM Liger Zero Jager Unit Marking Plus Version (August 2025 / 4,180 yen)
 HMM Shield Liger DCS-J (August 2025 / 8,800 yen)
 HMM Blade Liger AB (September 2025 / 8,800 yen)
 HMM Liger Zero Schneider Marking Plus Version (September 2025 / 9020 yen)
 HMM Liger Zero Schneider Unit Marking Plus Version (September 2025 / 4,180 yen)
 HMM Liger Zero Panzer Marking Plus Version (October 2025 / 9,460 yen)
 HMM Liger Zero Panzer Unit Marking Plus Version (October 2025 / 4,620 yen)

 The prototype of the upcoming HMM Salamander was finally revealed at the All Japan Model Hobby Show! A stream showing off all of the articulation was also held a couple weeks ago. During the stream they teased the recently announced HMM Molga (posted somewhere below). I'd also recommend people not be too terribly concerned about how loose the parts look in the video. This has been the case for all of the 3d printed prototypes shown off on stream, but the final versions have been more solid.

- Preview Video

 Discussed way back during the Guysack stream, Kotobukiya has announced an HMM Molga Full Option Set! This is essentially like the Command Wolf Repackage, featuring one Molga with the weapons from all releases. So for example, AA and Carrier gear. The kit has a new molding color, new decals, and clear colorless plastic. It also includes the older cap design from the HMM Redler. It's scheduled to release in May 2025 for 7,150 yen (tax included.)

 A new Command Wolf has been announced! This kit is effectively the Repackage (hmm, maybe it should have also been called Full Option Set??), including the AC & LC gear. The cockpit also comes with clear colorless plastic, a first for a Command Wolf kit, as the only other release of this colorless canopy was through the Customize Parts, which have long since been out of production. Like other MPVs it also comes with new decals, and includes old-style caps from the HMM Redler. The kit is scheduled to release in April for 7,700 yen (tax included).

 The HMM Guysack Old Republic Ver. is up for pre-order now, as a Kotobukiya Shop Exclusive! Guysack looks surprisingly tough in these new colors, like a tiny little tank. The kit is scheduled for release in April 2025 for 6,160 yen and includes clear colorless parts.

 The HMM Dark Horn is finally up for an MPV release! This kit has abstained from updating its price point for a number of years, which is quite respectable for how many parts it is. Now it's finally time, however. With this new release the decals, which have been expanded quite a bit are being converted to waterslides and the kit will include clear colorless parts.

 A number of re-releases have been announced, including the Redler Zenebas Ver. (April 2025, 6600 Yen), Redler Guylos Ver. (May 2025, 6600 Yen), Sturm Tyrann Berserk Unit Set (May 2025, 18150 Yen), Godos MPV (June 2025, 5940 Yen), and Storm Sworder (February 2025, 10120 yen.) This is the first time the Berserk Unit set has ever been rereleased, which is exciting for those who missed it the first time around!

 The HMM Garantula now has its own page on Kotobukiya's website! This little guy is scheduled to release in December for 4,500 yen and is a Koto Direct exclusive. It should be a nice, simple kit, sharing some sprues with the HMM Guysack. It's also nice seeing OJR Zoids get some much-needed love.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 The HMM-060 Fire Fox MPV has gotten a LABO Article. The previous version was released as a limited distribution product. Since this a standard release, no longer limited, its designation number has changed.

 In addition, we've got some reissues! The Gun Sniper WW, Zoids Customize Part Dual Sniper Rifle & AZ 5 Launch Missile System Set, and König Wolf are all up for rerelease in November! This is quite a lineup, and I know some people out there lost their pre-orders due to issues with distributors falling through. So, hopefully this upcoming pre-order window provides some peace of mind on being able to obtain this Zoid. The best Zoid. No bias.

 We have three new lore updates for the HMM series! The Liger Zero Schneider, Psycho Geno Saurer, and Shadow Fox. Shadow Fox has the same lore (mostly) as the Fire Fox (which is the same but has a couple extra sentences.) As such, it does not depict the sketch pages at the moment. You can view the lore by visiting their model kit pages.

 So, yesterday morning Kotobukiya held a livestream to introduce the upcoming HMM Guysack. The video is worth a watch because man, the articulation that they managed to squeeze into this tiny little bug is impressive. All of their recent kits have been, really. Aside from that, though, there was a lot of interesting discussion going on during the stream. This is all relying on machine translations, so please take with a huge grain of salt.

 Exhibition!
 Kotobukiya will be holding an exhibition in Japan on February 12th, starting at 1pm. Here, they're showing off displays and all of the recent HMM artwork in beautiful quality. This comes one day after Wonder Festival.

 Upcoming Releases!
 They've announced that the next two kit rereleases will be the Lightning Saix MPV and the Berserk Furher Repackage! As someone who hasn't picked up the standard Saix yet, this is tempting.

 New Releases!
 Aside from that, Kotobukiya announced its intention to release the RMZ-012 Guysack, the original OJR! This is a nice surprise, as the OJR color schemes have always had a classic funkiness to them. Pre-orders are expected to open in July as a Kotobukiya Shop Exclusive with its final release planned sometime in Spring 2025. This kit will include clear colorless parts in addition to the orange pieces. If you want the red canopy pieces you'll need to pick up the upcoming Guysack (the first release) being released in July of this year. It's currently expected to be the same price.

 Updates!
 The Salamander they hope to release sometime around or after Summer of next year. It's about the height of an Iron Kong, but has a huge wingspan.

 Fun Facts!
 Apparently when they chose Guysack, they were choosing between it and Helcat, the top voted small Zoids.
 Death Saurer scored the highest in the end-of-year survey this year! The hype surrounding the AZ is real.
 Apparently Redler and Raynos have roughly tied in votes over the years

 

Economic Decisions For Small Zoids?

 Kotobukiya took a few minutes of the stream to discuss the current economical climate of producing these kits. This weighs in especially hard with small kits like the Guysack. Small kits are harder to produce because the profit is quite small compared to something like a Liger kit. They still have to pay for brand new molds, which are quite expensive, but the kits sell for much less. This leaves Kotobukiya often asking themselves about the feasibility of continuing to release small Zoids. Like the Rev Raptor, they are calling for people to order the Guysack to help them determine if it is a worthwhile endeavor.

 This conversation got pretty in depth. They mentioned that a major factor of current Zoid prices is that the average wage where the kits are produced has doubled in the past 10 years. The kits have been struggling to maintain their current production cost, and are finally reaching the point of inching upwards in price. We've seen this in kits like the Red Horn (6800 yen, tax not included) to the Red Horn MPV (9,240 yen, tax included) and Fire Fox (4800 yen) to MPV (6000 yen ish.) They threw out some calculations of what kits would cost to produce today. While some are reasonable (Command Wolf Repackage from 4800 > 6800 yen) others were surprising. Dark Horn, originally 6800, was estimated at 18000 yen if they had to start from scratch.

 To Molga or to Molgas?
 This line of questioning brought up an interesting question. In the past, Kotobukiya released Molgas in a two pack, with different variations. These Zoids are small, they should be cheap, theoretically, but with production costs climbing, staff asked what people thought of releasing them in a different way. They estimated that the cost of producing the Molga & Molga Canory (formerly 4200 yen) would be around 6800 yen now without tax, so if it were released again, it would be released as an MPV at the new price.

 This brought up the question of what people would think if the MPV were released as a single Molga (not a two set) with the weapons of all three variations included, like the Command Wolf Repackage? The full set would contain the Canory Unit, Anti-Air weapons, and Carrier equipment, and would shake out to roughly 6000 yen. There's still a lot of support for releasing the two Molga sets, even at the increased price, and Kotobukiya was clear that this didn't mean they wouldn't release the two-packs anymore. However, there are still many '1 Molga' releases we could have. Rokurou, what with the other web comic Zoids released over recent years, and the NJR color scheme to name a couple.

 It was an interesting stream, with interesting questions and insights. These dilemmas are also why we haven't gotten Gilraptor yet, which was estimated to cost 20,000 yen to produce in the current climate. I look forward to seeing where Kotobukiya goes, and I hope they can continue to attract good sales through these difficult times.

- Guysack Stream

 Pre-orders for the HMM Guysack are now live! The kit is scheduled for release in July for 5,940 Yen. It's nice having these small kits, and Kotobukiya is urging people to pre-order, so that the company knows these small kits are worth producing.

 A LABO Article has been posted going over the Guysack. For the first time ever, Kotobukiya is testing the waters for a photography backdrop as the Kotobukiya Direct bonus! They released a photo setup product a while back for a premium price, and it's interesting seeing these make their way into the kits as bonus items. The background will feature a desert theme. It's A2 size and measures 297 mm x 420 mm wide, which is large enough for Liger-sized Zoids.

 In the LABO article linked above we also got our first look at the box art for the Redler BC! This one really snuck up on me. It's scheduled to be released this month for 8,030 yen (tax included.) The box art features the Second Full-Scale Battle, in which the Empire attacked Rob Base during a terrible storm. This battle made use of the Redler BC, which were the first Imperial Zoids to fight their way through the Republic's front lines.