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Post by dchan on Mar 28, 2020 14:27:56 GMT -5
I had some issues with my camera, so I ended up having to spend a while troubleshooting. On the bright side, I did put together the Shi-Ryu purple Death Rex as my test subject:
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Post by Maethius on Mar 30, 2020 11:06:35 GMT -5
Ooooh... still a wicked looking kit.
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Post by dchan on Apr 6, 2020 22:15:18 GMT -5
I feel like I am spamming this thread, so please let me know someone if it'd be better to start a separate topic. I got the re-release Dark Horn put together: It's pretty cool! A couple thoughts on the build and the look. Visually, I feel there's not too much to say if you're familiar with the Red Horn/Dark Horn design already, seems like they took fewer liberties with re-imagining this Zoid compared to the Saber Tiger or Godos, for example. Pretty close to the classic design without adding too many embellishments. The big difference I saw is that the weapons are HUGE. Which I think works great since it's supposed to be this hulking tank artillery unit.
Putting it together was not without its problems though. For the most part, it's well made. The body is pretty good, the legs are fine, the tail is excellent and has great articulation. But there's a few instances of parts not fitting together that well, resulting in a lot of exasperation (looking at you, feet and green cockpits!) as well as stuff that seems over-complicated. For example, the head's canopy opens to reveal one of those classic tapered cockpits (think Iguan's head). But as far as I can tell, it's pretty impractical to actually be able to open that inner cockpit to see the pilot. Similarly the body has a bunch of cool construction going on-- the Zoids core, these plug-through cable parts-- but you'd almost have to disassemble it to see them. I'm definitely glad Koto tried to do so much, but it does feel like it would be nice if all these neat concepts were showcased more effectively.
Pictured above: my greatest foes in putting the kit together, featuring exploding feet, exploding cockpit, exploding cockpit housing, and doesn't-stay-on-well kickstand thing. The second photo shows an important area. The asymmetric part there is for either the cockpit or the weapon array. I found it pretty tough to switch out that piece, so I'd recommend being very sure which look you want to go with before adding that last part on.
I don't want to end on all negatives though. Here's one of my favorite details. Look at its little styracosaurus toes!
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Post by Hanyoutai on Apr 7, 2020 2:44:37 GMT -5
Don't worry about spamming, it's what the thread is for! And always nice to see people's new builds~
The HMM Dark Horn looks good. Always liked the black and silver. Shame about the exploding feet, etc. though. Did they stay together ok once they were actually built? Or are they still loose?
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Post by dchan on Apr 7, 2020 12:16:24 GMT -5
Thanks Hanyoutai. They are fine once I got them on the legs. It's just this thing where sometimes parts are formed with left and right halves but aren't quite stable. So I end up trying to furiously hold them together while trying to attach them to another section, which inevitably results in having to do it all over again. Well, that's just my experience at least; I'm sure others have had better or worse luck too with the same kits.
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Post by Maethius on Apr 7, 2020 12:34:59 GMT -5
Always loved that kit... the original toy design and the Koto re-imagining of it.
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Post by RPZ41 on Apr 16, 2020 17:00:14 GMT -5
This boy.
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Post by Leon35 on Apr 16, 2020 22:40:47 GMT -5
So is this a custom or an actual kit?
I love Wild Liger's design with a GOOD weapon
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Post by dchan on Apr 18, 2020 11:43:51 GMT -5
Nice build Legna! Nice outdoor photos too, the last one is especially convincing. As an aside, thanks for scanning the ZW Fanbook on your site-- I was interested in getting it but could find almost no information or even preview pics. Finished putting together the Shield Liger DCS-J. Here's some quick thoughts with photos: I don't have much to compare it to, since this is the first Shield Liger of any kind I've built. I guess I'm not that into ligers as I've also never had a Blade Liger or any of the Genesis/Wild Ligers. The design is quite nice though and feels consistent in its old-school-ness, with a lot of the shapes being very angular or mechanical. This aesthetic lends itself especially well to areas like the forelimb shoulder area, where the construction articulates in a believable and functional way.
As for the build, there's a couple small speed bumps here and there in addition to what was for me a single big issue. For example, it's a little annoying that some of the runners have no apparent order to how the numbers are placed:
Also... I'm embarrassed to say that I only now realized that the caps are keyed to specific orientations. There's a small indent inside each cap and a small raised line on each peg that I just never noticed before. Then I went back and checked all the other HMM kits to see just how careless I've been. Results-- Saber Tiger and Dark Horn yes, Godos and Sturm Tyrann no. Felt pretty silly that I'd built 2 other kits already without realizing this!
But the big problem area I found was the back part of the torso. The entire rear portion-- including the hind legs and mount for the the backpack/weapons platform thing-- is only attached via these two small rectangular pegs. As expected, it's easy for this connection to loosen or come apart while assembling or posing, and it's even more annoying if the cannons are connected with the ammo belts.
Couple other notes: -the tail is a series of pipes and rods. So sections can spin around, but there's no ball joints or even hinge joints.
-the ammo belts are a VERY soft rubber, to the point I'm a little surprised it holds the detail as well as it does. I wonder how well it takes paint.
-the metal springs are a nice touch. I'm not 100% sold that the real metal looks correct for the scale to me, but they work great and present no problems.
-the shield parts are all well-articulated. Four around the head, and one double hinged vent on each of the legs.
Overall I'm impressed; I thought it might be rougher to build being the earliest HMM mold, but I'd say it's noticeably smoother to build than the Tiger or Dark Horn on the whole. Very curious now to compare it to the upcoming Wild Liger, with nearly 14 years of Koto Zoids experience in between.
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Post by Maethius on Apr 20, 2020 15:05:29 GMT -5
LOVE the Shield Liger Mk2 in all of it's renditions. I was wondering about the power cables; how do you keep them from cracking, or is that an issue with these kits?
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Post by dchan on Apr 21, 2020 17:52:13 GMT -5
I think that may have been a big issue before. The re-release even includes this notice that I think says something like "these parts are now rubber":
Also forgot to note that it comes with four clear dome stickers for the cannons. I didn't put them on in case I disassemble and paint this sometime down the road.
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Post by dchan on May 2, 2020 17:22:40 GMT -5
I bought the Core Box set from Leon35 here, which he said had a couple flaws so he'd get replacement parts for. Unexpectedly the replacement pieces are basically a second nearly complete Mammoth! So after a little restoration: Zero to two Mammoths in one week!
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Post by Leon35 on May 3, 2020 12:59:57 GMT -5
AW THEY LOOK AMAZING <3
I never expected either of them to end up looking that good. So happy they are in excellent care
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Post by Charlie on May 3, 2020 15:59:00 GMT -5
I bought the Core Box set from Leon35 here, which he said had a couple flaws so he'd get replacement parts for. Unexpectedly the replacement pieces are basically a second nearly complete Mammoth! So after a little restoration: Zero to two Mammoths in one week!
I'm glad Leon35 was able to find a good home for this. COVID-19 keeps the money tight, or I would have jumped in.
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Post by dchan on May 4, 2020 21:06:40 GMT -5
I did feel absurd making a big toy purchase during this time, but I cancel a couple other things I was planning on ordering instead.
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