Hammer Rock 0056 Gorilla Type Zoids Wind-Up Toy Kit Item No.: No. ???? Manufacturer: Tomy Includes: Stickers, 1 pilot Action Feature: Walks via wind-up motor Retail: 600 yen Availability: ca. December 2001 Other: Guylos Empire
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While one of the bigger and more famous Zoids kits is a giant gorilla known as Iron Kong (or Badox in Robo Strux), Tomy also put out a smaller, cheaper kit called Hammer Rock. The first version came out around 1986 and even got a 21st century reissue - but in between was this 2001 edition. Curiously, the colors are very close to the UK Super Zoids Zore kit and not the Japanese original. The twist-bolts on this kit are a pinkish red rather than blue, but the black and gray colors are pretty close. The original Japanese release had a red face, limbs, and rear-firing blasters with gray for the other parts. Which is nicer? I'd say "whichever costs you less."

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This one uses the clamshell head we saw in Robo Strux a lot, and I'm very partial to it. Some of the blasters look similar to other kits, and it's pure 1980s Japanese kid-drive robo fun. It's also unpopular and somewhat inexpensive - you can probably get one of these kits for $30-$60, depending on the box condition. That's a fair amount above the initial $6 asking price, but that was also 25 years ago.

For some reason Hasbro didn't bring this over to the USA for its line, but importers had it in abundance at the time. Sadly, collectors of the line weren't necessarily super employed yet so a lot of younger (and some older) fans couldn't enjoy the bounty that could have been at their fingertips. The figure has a big gorilla head-shaped helmet that goes over the cockpit and can rotate back so you can get the little blue pilot in or out. Because of the helmet, you're not going to get much movement out of the gorilla head.

The stickers are a little big, and I should have trimmed them down more before applying. (This is one reason I'm less fond of the 1999-2010ish kits.) At least the plastic is still good - he walks on his knuckles, and each leg is one big piece. The gray plastic makes it super easy to see all the vents, cables, and other flourishes. The black plastic on the torso makes those details harder to see, but he's got chest vents and even robot butt cheeks on the back. They did a nice job with it.

The kit's cannons don't rotate with the motor, but you can position them a little on your own if you like. He's also set up for custom parts set CP-25, which I didn't buy, and looking at pictures I don't think I miss it. His armaments are pretty great by default.

I wish they'd bring these old molds back, but most collector brands are intent on more expensive toys for the nostalgia audience. Maybe you get a better motor, or more articulation, or a bigger toy, but it gets away from the fantasy of buying your childhood toys at fair prices with an adult's salary. I guess you have to get your collecting ya-yas out before you turn 30 or 40, whatever brand may be your poison. I was lucky enough to get it when it was cheap, and I felt like I was getting away with something. If this were $15 or $20 today, I'd still feel like a bandit. But I'm a big fan of wind-up toys, and if you are too? Go get this before it gets more expensive.

Additional Images

See more Tomy toys in Figure of the Day:
Day 170: Tomy Zoids Wardick
Day 263: Tomy Zoids Gorgodos Action Figure
Day 364: Tomy Robostrux Brutox Figure Kit
Day 382: Tomy Robostrux Slithor Figure Kit
Day 406: Tomy Zoids Twinhorn Action Figure
Day 484: Tomy Robostrux Brox Figure Kit
Day 486: Tomy Zoids 24 Scale Neptune Figure Kit
Day 1,352: Tomy Robostrux Batlar Figure Kit
Day 1,422: Tomy Zoids Gator Figure Kit
Day 3,099: Tomy Zoids Sinker Figure Kit
Day 3,119: Tomy Zoids Raynos Figure Kit
Day 3,124: Tomy Zoids Iguan Figure Kit
Day 3,129: Tomy Zoids Brachios Figure Kit
Day 3,134: Tomy Zoids Hammer Rock Figure Kit

See more Zoids, Robostrux, and Techno-Zoids in Figure of the Day:
Day 170: Tomy Zoids Wardick
Day 263: Tomy Zoids Gorgodos Action Figure
Day 364: Tomy Robostrux Brutox Figure Kit
Day 382: Tomy Robostrux Slithor Figure Kit
Day 406: Tomy Zoids Twinhorn Action Figure
Day 484: Tomy Robostrux Brox Figure Kit
Day 486: Tomy Zoids 24 Scale Neptune Figure Kit
Day 1,352: Tomy Robostrux Batlar Figure Kit
Day 1,422: Tomy Zoids Gator Figure Kit
Day 1,471: Takara-Tomy Zoids Masterpiece Shield Liger
Day 2,000: Takara-Tomy Zoids Wild ZW-05 Gannontoise Figure Kit
Day 2,008: Takara-Tomy Zoids Wild ZW-01 Wild Liger Figure Kit
Day 2,013: Takara-Tomy Zoids Wild ZW-03 Kabtor Figure Kit
Day 2,017: Takara-Tomy Zoids Wild ZW-04 Scorpear Figure Kit
Day 2,039: Takara-Tomy Zoids Wild ZW-06 Gabrigator Figure Kit
Day 2,075: Takara-Tomy Zoids Wild ZW-07 Kuwaga Figure Kit
Day 3,089: Takara-Tomy Zoids Wild ZW-13 Gusock Figure Kit
Day 3,094: Takara-Tomy Zoids Wild ZW-14 Stegosage Figure Kit
Day 3,099: Tomy Zoids Sinker Figure Kit
Day 3,104: Hasbro Zoids Dark Horn Figure Kit
Day 3,109: Hasbro Zoids Molga Figure Kit
Day 3,114: Kenner Zoids Armored Gator Figure Kit
Day 3,119: Tomy Zoids Raynos Figure Kit
Day 3,124: Tomy Zoids Iguan Figure Kit
Day 3,129: Tomy Zoids Brachios Figure Kit
Day 3,134: Tomy Zoids Hammer Rock Figure Kit

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