Zoids were released in the UK by Japanese toy manufacturer Tomy between 1984 and 1987, in what has become known by collectors as the Original European Release. All Zoids in the OER were designed in 1/72 scale and were released in kit form, often with pieces held together with rubber caps, and featured some range of movement, usually powered by wind-up or electric motors.
Three models were originally released in Japan under the name 'Mechbonica', before being re-released as part of the Zoids line. These were Mechagiras (Tyrannazoid), Mechaphantos (Protozoid) (Both pictured here), and Mechatoros (Terrazoid).
UK Zoids had their own back story, which featured in the Marvel UK comic 'Spider-Man and Zoids', as well as other marketing material (which could usually be obtained by collecting and redeeming tokens on Zoids boxes). Set on the planet Zoidstar, Zoids were split into two factions; Blue Zoids and Red Mutants. More posts on this later...
In this picture you can see some of the earliest Zoids released, from left to right, giving their OER names, followed by their Japanese release names in brackets, they are: Giant Zrk (Bigasauru), Protozoid (Elephantus), Brontozoid (Hidocker), Spiderzoid (Gurantula), Stegazoid (Gorgodos), Tyrannazoid (Garius)
I'll cover each of these Zoids individually, in more detail, in future posts...
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