Please help... THE HORROR... THE HORROR...

[ultimateultrasaurus]

Hello dear fellow Zoidians. This is sadly going to be a long rant, but
was hoping to hear tips tricks, or other advice. Any help would be
greatly appreciated (as you will later on read, the horror...is
horrific..)

I have been a Zoids fan since way back when (my first was Cosmozoid, yup stupid name, but Europe huh). I have collected a lot like many people here and I normally build Zoids for rest and relaxation (and I have no problems with 21 hours of HMM Death Stinger, no issues with HMM Blade Liger parts, yeah broke a tooth of CW AC like some other people here too..did not even do much to do that..) But normally I don't have problems with building.

By the way, which genius ever thought of making Gordos/Gorgon and Zoidzilla/Gojulas walk around with a really heavy piece of metal (I know
for the weight balancing thing) BUT attach that tail with a crappy
connector that has to bear all that weight..!!?? Are there any people (I
have never done anything weird with either of them) that don't have a
broken or semi broken connector? That was just a poor decision design
wise..(and I will keep my mouth shut on floppy Blox, the awkward years,
DIE Deantler DIE and other plastic mishaps that came along)

Anyway, so yesterday I decided to check my Zoids. (a lot has been
carefully put in crates long ago, because I don't have the space to
display them all.. common problem with many people I guess). But was
beginning on checking to see if they still walk and such (hearing all
about Fire Fox and other horror stuff..)

Well the whole Bio line... I was thinking about glueing all crap (that
falls off by looking at them..) Anyone allready tried that and what were
the results? I mean even though I actually liked the Bio Megaraptors and
such (even though most of that stuff did not resemble Zoids whatsoever),
they keep falling apart. So glueing, good idea or bad temporary
solution? And is it just me but I actually can't recall them ever making any sounds (as there are speakers on the side..they do glow, but nothing else)

But then the real horror started....(and just to be sure, got brand new
batteries and no corroded contacts and such, did not leave batteries in.

Most Zoids were built, stored or displayed and always handled with care, 
no humidity or other weird stuff to make them deteriorate) And mind you
all Zoids were bought new.

I have Death Raser (have 3, 1 for Dekalto, which walks, one in box and 1 yes...that does not do anything..at all..

Gairyuki (god I hated to hear them call him "Guy Rickie" all the time in Fuzors) which is deader than dead..(I remember he did walk when I built
him years ago, cause his mouth is open, I stopped him in a cool pose so to speak). Nothing at all...

Rainbow Jerk has a broken leg (did nothing with him to break it
myself..)
Deantler...(well yeah..moving on.. and you Storm thing..piece of brittle
crap..and Styluarmor..)
Salamander (blue) does not walk..

Saicurtis (Hasbro) does not walk, wings flap (but I think because the
legs aren't attached to anything (I only have one so can't compare, but
the round rotating disc on the bottom, I was guessing it should have a
peg to move the legs?
Dead Border TDP.. never walked..
Liger Zero (in this case my Schneider but it's the Zero base of
course..no walkies..)
Dibison (did walk someday, dead...)
Dark Spiner (walks, as long as it's in the air....)
Rayse Tiger, lights work, no walkies...
Brastle Tiger...same crap (I thought I remembered it did walk way back when)...nothing now..

Berserk Führer, have one that walks. Have 2 chrome ones (blue built and
walks, black chrome in box so no clue yet)
Had another for my Sturm unit.. And no matter what I do (switched legs
and power packs and such with the blue chrome one, works fine. All sorts
of combos, but with the Sturm unit.. It just keeps staggering..(and I
know the arm caps are not really well thought of, because well they just
don't sit well because of the length of the rods as with all Berserks..
But my others don't have issues like this. Is it because of the extra
weight of the Sturm unit?

Geno Saurer... (and you can guess how pissed I was by now with all the
previous stuff..) well he walked for a few seconds, then started to make
a nasty eeeeeeeeehhhhh sound.. So I deciced to take him apart (and for
the first time ever look at the motor (and I am not a mechanic or
something, but well he was dead I guess so let's try something..). First
time opening one up like that. And eventually saw that one of the small
cogs was flying out (if anyone ever opened this one, it's the first one
you basically see, a thicker one than the other ones, next to that is a
"kebab stick" with multiple cogs and such. Put it back, repaired the
kebab thing (2 small ones that keep it in place were walking around
because of the first one.) Fix that whole crap thing, rebuilt Geno. And
presto he was walking fine again.. Yes finally.. And not much
later....eeeeeeehhhhhhh. Back to square one...

I dread to check my other crates or boxes now but I have to (I fear for 
Fire Fox for instance)...but will probably find others with issues
too..)

But is this just extreme bad luck or do more people have random dead
motors without having done anything weird or anything, dead motors
straight from the package or other similar issues? And even more so, what can I do?

Sorry for the long story but as you can understand, no rest and
relaxation since yesterday...

[Hanyoutai]

I can't give any advice on fixing them. Vig commented on another thread recently that if they have power, sometimes moving the legs manually can make them go again, since it loosens up anything that might have solidified over the years. Or something to that effect.

For the Tyrann, mine never walked particularly well, and the Tyrann parts sit on the ground. For loose parts, including Bio Zoids, you can try something like modpodge or clear nail polish. Modpodge is probably the safer option. Dip the pegs in and let it dry, to make them thicker. Not sure how these two items would react to the unique rubber/plastic stuff of the Bio Zoids in particular, though.

The Fire Fox... uh, good luck. The feet are more brittle than the red plastic on the old BLOX Zoids... broke every foot on mine, purchasing it MIB.

Unfortunately, motors just break down over time. I imagine it is possible to frankenstein them, but, well... they're 20 years old now. They may simply degrade from time. I have no experience soldering/replacing parts, but I'm sure someone here can be of more help.

[ultimateultrasaurus]

Thanks Han, I did try that moving thing but did not help sadly enough..

Well I still have to check my Fire Fox, but I built it when it came out and had no issues then, but I also read tha tpeople saw it spontaneously disintigrate on their shelf.. So when I find him I will see in what stated he will be in...

Thanks for the Bio tip, but would glue really be an issue? (I mean I normally only use glue when neccessary in HMM stuff where they just did not think the kit thoroughly through (like stupid tabs on Blade Liger, barely hloding up the back part to torso thing..) or just small stuff like Liger teeth, just to be sure.

Yeah but the weird thing is, I have much older stuff (I was there since age 4 in '85 with my Cosmozoid and Zoids fan ever since) nd those still work.. Did they cheapen out on the motors, were some lines crappier or something like that? I mean it's weird that both Rayse and Brastle, Gai and Death Raser don't work (all around the same time for instance) or did I just really have the crappy wrong end of the Zoids stick?

[Hanyoutai]

No, I don't think gluing the bio Zoid armor would be an issue. Lots of people do it. It's just that something like modpodge is a less 'permanent' solution. But, in this case, you may want permanent. I wanted to mention it because it is also good for parts that can't be glued, like pegs that are used for rotating joints in both old 'figure' kits and in HMMs with loose joints.

I wouldn't doubt that plastics used in them change throughout the lines, there are so many of them. I also don't think you're cursed, you just have a very expansive collection of Zoids, it seems~ These kits are breaking down a lot in recent years, and a lot of other members are feeling the same anguish when they go back and check their Zoids. There are too many variables to say why for sure certain ones are worse than others, but hopefully you'll be able to repair some of them.

If they're dead anyway, you might open the motors like you did the first one to see what you can tinker around with. I know a lot of them come down to broken gears.

[ultimateultrasaurus]

Thanks again Han for the helpful info and yes for the Bio ones permament would be better then they might stay in one piece (Volcano shed 6 parts of stuff only by picking him up just now.. And all tested, no sounds whatsoever.. Only the blinking lights..correction, one blinking light (he should also have the chest spike lighting up..)

And as suspected... Just tested Gordos...and he is not walking and he did. The really stupid thing is.. Gorgon (which of course is way older is still walking like it was still 1985... And Zoidzilla is well walking but hey no lights...

It's really really sad to see so much Zoids fans finding this more and more.. I know most stuff like phones and fridges etc don't last long nowadays (because they all make them so that they break down after a few years, sounds old fashioned, but stuff used to last longer back in the days..

And I almost don't dare say it out loud.. Just picked up Fire Fox and...uhm he is still alive and kicking (well did not check the windup thing, but don't think that would have any issues) but the weird part is the kicking part. As in no issues yet after 15 years..
Hmm weird as almost evryone has issues with him..

Yeah might do a Frankenstein with some (or try to get new ones) but then again they might break down as well..

[Hanyoutai]

Yeah, I would definitely assume that any new ones you buy are only a matter of time. Repairing would be the better way to go, because at least then you know where you're at. Already broken, not much left to lose. Plus, if you're into the motorized features, it'd be priceless knowledge to get an idea of how to fix them.

Congrats on the fire fox! The problem in particular with this Zoid is the dark yellow plastic, which much like the red BLOX Zoids you mentioned has started to just crumble under any pressure. If you do test the wind up, I highly recommend testing it only by hand cranking, as the dark yellow tail missile is likely to snap. And never take the dark yellow parts off, haha. Mine just... detached- with virtually no pressure when putting the foot covers on.

[ultimateultrasaurus]

Yeah hopefully I will become Dr Zoid cause it does make me (and a lot of other fans really sad to see them dying one by one..)

Oh yeah that's just really good advice.. I would have been enthousiastic and just used the missile (because I did not expect it to be..well not dust..

[cougan]

I could get allmost every zoid run by turning the motor itself some times after opening the gear box.
Mostly the problem was that the brushes of the motor had abit rust or corrosion. This worked on every old type of zoid i have from the OER line like Gordon, Zoidzilla, Krark and zabre. Also worked even with Z-Knights. Wish you luck hope your zoids will all move again!

[Snowflake]

Stuff like this makes me feel so old..

[Gojulas Omega]

From what I have read so far, looks too me just most of your motorized Zoids been put away too long without running. Just take them apart, put battery inside the gear box and try to turn the peg. If not work, then just open the gear box and turn the gear right on motor back and forward a bit. If the motor is not dead or wire been disconnected for some reason, it should be run again.

For Gairyuki and Berserk Führer, sound to me that one of the gear inside the gear box is broken like many of the others. You can try to find a similar gear on ebay, convert it a bit and replace that broken gear.
(I did replace 2-3 of those broken gear already)

For the small windup motor(like Saicurtis' one), they are easy to have problem, and so far I don't see anything we can do to fix windup motor yet....

[ultimateultrasaurus]

Thanks Cougan and Gojulas Omega for the tips and tricks. Haha Snowflake, yeah me too

Well update...

Rainbow Jerk has a broken leg (did nothing with him to break it
myself..)
Deantler...(well yeah..moving on.. and you Storm thing..piece of brittle
crap..and Styluarmor..)
Salamander (blue) does not walk..(REVIVED)

Gairyuki...still nothing
Berserk..nothing..
Geno Saurer.. bleh..

Saicurtis (Hasbro) does not walk, wings flap (but I think because the
legs aren't attached to anything (I only have one so can't compare, but
the round rotating disc on the bottom, I was guessing it should have a
peg to move the legs and that is missing, prob broken off at Hasbro factory..?
Dead Border TDP.. never walked..
Liger Zero (in this case my Schneider but it's the Zero base of
course..no walkies..)
Dibison (did walk someday, dead...)
Dark Spiner (walks, as long as it's in the air....)
Rayse Tiger, lights work, no walkies...
Brastle Tiger...same crap (I thought I remembered it did walk way back when)...nothing now..

AND... the list goes on..

Battle Cougar.. not walking..
Zoidzilla, walks but no light..
Gordos... doesn't walk
Mammoth (red)..nothing..
Dark Horn.. nothing
Elephander.. nothing..
Gungyalado.. nothing..

I also had the same issue with
Sabre Tiger Yellow and Red
Gustav
Dimterodon
Shield Liger
Saber Holo yellow
Whitz Imitate
and Gunbluster....

BUT (those and Salamander, LZ Schneider) are working again! I put batteries in, let them sit there and whilst checking other Zoids, they did a "Chucky" and just started walking again, some after a few minutes, some after more than half an hour... Startled me (cause when you're focussed on checking other Zoids and suddenly something starts walking

So here's hoping (maybe with the tricks mentioned above) that more will start working again...

But with all this I do dread the fact that I also have 3 Ultras, Madthunder, Death Saurer and 2 Seismo I still have to check... fingers crossed..

Even moreso...I still have my Gilvader and King Gojulas in box to be built (no space..) worries me though... (and some other Zoids too in box..)