So yesterday was the Shizuoka Hobby Show, a large event that almost all of the key Zoids companies exhibit at. T-Spark held their own booth as well, and Hobby Japan Web reported on some of the event's Zoids contents. Among the products announced was the AZ-12 Geno Breaker! What we've already seen from the Geno's motorization is quite impressive. This big boi is scheduled to open for pre-orders this summer.
A new variant of Liger Zero is coming to the AZ line, the Liger Zero Empire! This tough-looking model looks surprisingly good in the Empire colors. Not much is known about how it's to be released yet, but AmiAmi has a few more photos.
While RMZ Zoids made an appearance at the Shizuoka Hobby Show, the event also served to announce the newest addition, the Shield Liger Bang Special! This'll be the first Shield Liger of the set, and you can view more photos from AmiAmi. This kit is expected to open for pre-orders this summer.
The RMZ-11 Geno Saurer Raven Special also had a painted sample on display at the Hobby Show. This shows off that the kit will likely include a gimmick for its extending claws from the anime, as well as exhibiting a bluer armor color than the default version, much like the HMM. Expected to open for pre-orders this summer.
A painted sample was also shown for the RMZ-12 Hell Cat Tirol, based on the adorable Hell Cat from the original Zoids anime. The stark white is interesting, but this will also be a great painting base... Expected to open for pre-orders this summer.
In early May Takara Tomy announced a surprise box set, the RMZ-010 Canory Molga & Hell Cat Base Guards. These kits will have slightly more off-color (anime centric?) colors. This is the first release of the Canory Molga (I shall'nt be calling it Canoly) and the cannon comes with an adapter piece that allows it to connect to the Hell Cat and other Zoids that share that peg size. This set is already available as a Takara Tomy Mall exclusive, and is scheduled to release in late December for 6,600 yen (tax included.)
An unpainted/undetailed color test shot of the HMM Salamander was shown off at the Shizuoka Hobby Show, our first look at this big bird in color! Some extra unpainted prototype photos were posted on their web site showing off the excellent range of motion the kit has, especially with the legs and claws. The final picture shown on this page shows that it can equip the CP-10 Gojulas Cannons, making many ponder about a potential rerelease of the CP or even a potential Salamander Bombvern variant.
Kotobukiya has announced their next Marking Plus Version, the Cannon Tortoise! Similar to the Dibison, this kit will feature new molded colors closer to the bluer-greens of the newer models. It'll include additional decals and clear colorless plastic in addition to its typical orange, as well as the OJR small Zoid caps first released with the Redler. It's scheduled to release in September for 5,280 yen (tax included) and a LABO article has already been posted to show it off (gotta love the humor shown in this poor little guy's face!)
A new medium sized Advanced Zi kit has been announced! The AZ-11 Command Wolf will be the next to receive AZ's glorious upgrade from wind-up to motorized, and this wolf strikes a particularly bitey appearance. Extra points for the silhouette being quite distinct from your typical Command Wolf. Pre-orders are expected to open in May!
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!
Reviews have been posted for the RMZ-001 Blade Liger and the RMZ-002 Geno Saurer! These kits have really surprised me in terms of overall quality and how fun they are to play with. The addition of effect parts just makes them all the better!
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.
At the end of the recent RMZ Iron Kong video we saw a teaser for the upcoming Geno Saurer Raven Version! The Command Wolf Irvine set the precedent of variations having the potential for extra parts, so it'll be interesting to see if this Zoid comes with anything extra as well. In Chaotic Century, the initial Geno Saurer was black and purple (considered the standard, though it was still piloted by Raven) while the second one, which would later evolve into the Geno Breaker was black and red.
A big surprise announcement for the RMZ line was the Hell Cat Tirol Version! This is based on the silver Helcat from Zoids Guardian Force. This Helcat has never gotten a model kit before, so it's an exciting anime addition.
The RMZ-009 Iron Kong Guylos Color (English page) was also announced! It's currently scheduled to release in November 2025 for 9,900 yen (tax included.) Though this price may seem high, remember the scale. Iron Kong towers over Geno Saurer, with considerably more bulk. They showed off a PV as well, which I recommend watching since they went out of their way to include tons of custom animation for it rather than just using stock photos with text overlays.
We've heard a lot more about the Command Wolf Irvine Special, scheduled to be released in September for 5,500 yen. I'm sure nobody was surprised to hear this famous variant announced, including its Long Range Rifle, but this kit goes so far beyond that it's crazy.
The kit includes an Irvine pilot as well as an option part for the neck featuring the Memory Bank from Zoids Guardian Force. For those who haven't seen it (spoilers), the Command Wolf's memory banks were transplanted into the Lightning Saix after it sustained fatal injuries.
More than that, though, the kit will contain an entire optional customize parts set to deck it out in the gear from Episode 14, where it used these spear missiles to fight Raven's Saber Tiger in delightfully brutal ways. The set comes with 1 Long Range Rifle, 2 black spears, 2 white spears, the face guns, and a missile box with swappable front parts to have the doors open or closed.
Not only is it exciting to get a set thats never been released before, but it also calls back to earlier interviews. More specifically, that they'd love to include parts to make variations that aren't popular / well known enough to warrant a separate product release. This raises some exciting possibilities for the RMZ line, which is already impressing fans. It's one of the first times we've seen multi-variation sets like this that weren't just repackages of pre-existing parts. It's multiple new parts sets for different variations. Here's hoping we see more of this in the future!
Last but not least, Hobby Search posted an interview that looks at both the Trinity Liger and its many challenges as well as the Command Wolf Irvine Special. Evidently, the Spear Missile set came about because of an earlier developer's passion to see it made into a physical kit. So, thank you, developer! A nice detail is that the red shoulders are made via injection colors, with the black circles painted. This means that unlike earlier Irvine wolves, you aren't likely contending with unpainted sprue marks. The rifle also has a telescoping gimmick. The interview shows a black prototype holding the spear missile set, but please be advised the set comes with one wolf.
This is old news by now, but the Blade Liger and Geno Saurer received some unboxing and build review videos voiced by Zoiko. Reviews were also posted by Hobby Watch for both the Blade Liger and Geno Saurer. This gives you a good idea of what they look like out of the box, with all the sprues posted.