Post by Deadborder on Jan 1, 2006 3:43:54 GMT -5
DEADBORDER!
Ahem.
When I heard that the TDP Deadborder was confirmed, I was over the moon. While I’d had a DB for ages (In fact, it was my first evar vintage Zoid) I’d never had a chance to actually build one. And besides, since I’m an obsessive variant chaser, I had to get one.
The TDP Deadborder was a unique case. It was the first TDP Zoid not based on a mould that hadn’t been previously reissued as a part of the main NJR line. While there had been the 1998 pre-release Deadborder and the unreleased Battle Rex (With bizzaro appearance in Fuzors notwithstanding) there was no mass-release of the Zoid. Until now.
Of course, the big question was… how would it be? The Prototype Battle Rex had a number of moulding flaws, and was indicative of a mould that had either been heavily repaired or even recreated. So I got this particular eerily glowing Tabrosaurus (Not a Tyrannosaurus, please!) and took a look…
Glowy Good:
For those of you who don’t have Deadborder, I’m gonna cover him in a bit of detail here. So what is good about DB? Well, frankly, everything.
Deadborder is a pretty unique Zoid. The second last all new non-gradeup Zoid of the OJR (Gunbluster was conceived as a Grade-up and Darkhorn was based on an older mould), it’s at a very interesting point. It doesn’t have any of the stylistic or construction elements of the Grade-ups (like Gunbluster does), nor is it much like any older Zoids. Instead, it has its own rather unique style, a mixture of slab sides with odd, almost organic touches. In many ways it is similar to Heldigunner and Gilvader; both share a lot of its design elements, like the eyes hidden under the canopy and the almost organic chest projections. The mess of tubes on the back of its neck are interesting and very unusual.
DB’s most noticeable feature, however, is its colour scheme. One of the “Dark Zoids” DB has a rather distinctive colour scheme, being largely black and grey with clear bright, neon green areas. It’s a colour scheme that works well and makes the Zoid stand out, giving it a rather sinister look that compliments its design. And DB did black and green long before it was popular, all you poseurs.
The colours have their own gimmick; one shared with the (original) Darkhorn and Heldigunner. The Neon green parts glow in the dark, albiet softly. The result only makes the Zoid seem even more eerie.
The Zoid’s construction is pretty odd. It is similar in many ways to the Deathsauer, only scaled down. The Zoid features “layered” elements, with gapes in pieces that allow other colours to show through. This is most notable on the back where neon-green sections are partially covered by the transparent sections; its an interesting and attractive effect.
The Zoid uses only a single AA battery for power; when it’s started, it walks forwards at a moderate pace, waving its arms and chomping its jaws. The main cannons themselves can be elevated both at their base and their connections to the supports. They can even be rotated to face backwards.
Speaking of which, Deadborder is packing serious heat. It has two cannon pads, each with two weapons; the dreaded Gravity Cannons and a pair of smaller (!) 150mm beam cannons. A quartet of cannons on its neck, another pair on its side, a cluster of barrels on its chest and a missile launcher round out its fearsome arsenal.
So yeah, he’s pretty good.
Sinister Bad:
Deadborder’s motion is only average; its not that outstandingly good or anything; yet at the same time its not bad or anything. Beyond that, there’s no real problems with it…
Okay, some people may find it ugly. But I think it’s an appealing ugly.
The ground cracked, the water dried up, plants withered, animals died and islands… went… out Ugly:
There’s no real “ugly” with the Deadborder itself. There’s more to that, but I’ll cover it in a minute.
So, what’s the differences with the TDP version?
I’m glad you asked!
(OJR on the right, TDP on the left)
The TDP version has a number of changes from the OJR one. The most immediate is the colours. The TDP Deadborder is a slightly shinier black then the OJR version, while the transperancies are a noticeable touch more blue and the grey less sparkly. Finally, the flat grey tubes are now shiny silver.
The mould itself has undergone several changes, however. The most important is the addition of a screw shut cover on the chest in the place of the original clip-shut cover. This is a bit of a negative; the screw being somewhat obtrusive and breaking up the Zoid’s non-green chest.
There are several other changes, although you have to wonder how deliberate they are. The foot supports are a lot wider on the TDP Deadborder then they are on the OJR, which as to be a deliberate change. Another one is the moulded “ON-OFF” on the TDP version’s back, which is not found on the OJR version. Finally, a small tube has been deleted from the back of the Gravity Cannons. Whether this is deliberate or not is unclear, but a similar change was also made to the Gunbluster. Interesting.
(OJR on the right, TDP on the left)
(OJR on the right, TDP on the left)
(OJR on the bottom, TDP on the top)
There are numerous smaller changes, but they are mainly in minor details and largely irrelevant. The only annoying touch is that the mould has a lot of flash on it; I had to trim away a lot of gunk before I was happy with it. Blaugh.
Finally, the sticker sheet is similar but clearly new. Some of the stickers have actually got more detail or clearer linework, however the Guylos “Black Dragon” logo actually looks less distinct.
(OJR on the left, TDP on the right, jsut to be difficult)
The Battle Rex Conspiracy:
Time for a RickRant.
When Darth Tom acquired his Prototype Battle Rex, he noted that the mould had clearly been damaged and/or recreated. The Zoid had a number of moulding errors that were indicative of a new mould that hadn’t been completely worked out. Now while none of these errors is present on the TDP Deadborder, there are some interesting observations.
- The TDP Deadborder lacks the small tubes on the top of the cannons. The same tubes are absent from the Battle Rex Prototype.
- The TDP Deadborder has an updated copyright moulded into its chest, dating it to “1983-2002” and made in Thailand. The same copyright is on the Hasbro Battle Cougar and Genesis Houndsoldier, both moulds that had been clearly recreated and altered.
- None of the mould changes on the TDP Deadborder are present on the pre-release Deadborder.
Now this leads me to suggest that the TDP Deadborder’s mould is, in fact, the new mould Hasbro created for Battle Rex, but was never used. Clearly wanting to make back the money that they’d spent on it, Tomy instead decided to re-issue Deadborder. Thus we only have a TDP Deadborder because of Hasbro.
So how is it already?
All up, TDP Deadborder is helluva cool. If you don’t have an OJR (or pre-release) Deadborder, then I would strongly recommend it to you. It’ll be a lot cheaper, and the small changes don’t really effect it overall. And if you already have a Deadborder and want more (like, well, me) then I also recommend it lots.
Rick R. ([glow=green,2,300]Glowy Green[/glow])
.
