Eric has kept a few Zoids with him from his childhood days. Cannon Tortoise is to his liking and recently under the influence of Guy 'A' & I, Eric now go for HMM (High-end Master Model) kit produced by Kotobukiya. We have been searching for this locally but to no avail. Our last resort, was to order it from HJL as soon as the stock were available.
Eric did the snapfit which took him around 7 hours. We first thought snapfit of a tortoise would be easy however it proof otherwise. There were many small parts and probably unfamiliarity to Kotobukiya instruction manual.
I never like snapfitting so I did the pasting of stickers, some minor paint jobs and spraying of overcoat.
HMM Cannon Tortoise takes on the design of a military tank with extra armour plate. Awesome outlook which totally reminds me of 'Full Armor Gundam'. The kit comes with optional parts like different choice of colour to the cockpit cover & lamp covers. The inside the tortoise is a Zoid core at the center. The side of the body can be opened up and flipped over like a ram for soldiers access. The head can retract just like tortoise protecting itself. The front legs can bend side ways and hind legs curl up so the tortoise could anchor itself to the ground.
i have always loved robots in almost all their forms (it’s just like my love for cars...) and i saw some chapters of the Zoids series (in the local TV) but i was never very involved with the story... if not for the kindness of a fellow collector, i wouldn’t have known about these figures which i found amazing in person, they have even a little motor (i guess not in all the cases) to move them... the Takara version of this Tortoise is not as impressive as the Koto and the color scheme of the latter, makes it look more like a military vehicle... my sincere congrats to the owner =)
ReplyDeleteThat's really cool! I remember the Cannon Tortoise a little bit :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you liked Zoids as well :0 Do you have a favorite model? I'm a big fan of the Brastle Tiger and the Mirage Liger myself :P
Appreciated that you shared your thoughts with us. Like you, I have watched a few episodes of Zoids Chaotic Century but didn't really follow it. To me it's the nicest Zoids anime so far. Loved the battles between the Republic and Empire. Correct me if I'm wrong. I completed watching Zoids Genesis which is quite to my liking as well. The Zoids that captured my interest is really the Command Wolf.
ReplyDeleteI loved the Zoids and got introduced to them at a 2nd hand toy store. I have some of the larger ones and really miss them.
ReplyDeleteI had the ones that looked like Godzilla one and Rodan. The Rodan was by far the coolest as it walked, flapped the wings and made a screeching sound each time the mouth opened.
Basically I'm impressed with the mechanics of Zoids which were ahead of time during my era. The mega size of some Zoids are amazing and like by collectors. When I was a kid, my dad got me an Iron Kong which thrilled me. Of course, he built me for me then.
ReplyDeletei used to collect Zoids as well during their Tomy days, but not anymore. i somehow prefer the old cannon tortoise compared to the HMM ver. :D
ReplyDeleteI guess it's like the old-school TF fans' still going for G1 toys. There's always strong attachment to the toys we once like during childhood. Personally, when it come to Macross toys, I'm rooted deep to the vintage 1/55 valkyrie toys.
ReplyDeleteConceptually this is an awesome unit. The Cannon Tortoise possesses great fighting power and can also adopt a defensive position when necessary by withdrawing the head portion and stabilising its legs. As the old Chinese adage goes 留个青山在，不怕沒柴燒.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it would take a really prudent military commander who is able to consider the big picture, to harness the full capabilities of a unit like this.
I know your English literacy is good but didn't know your Mandarin can be so profound. Chim.... Lol.. The design of this design makes it practical and realistic as a backup unit though the limelight is mainly on the Liger. Ha! Ha!
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