 Gojulas
RZ-001 Dinosaur Type
Zoids Motorized Toy Kit
Item No.: No. ????
Manufacturer: Tomy
Includes: Stickers, 1 pilots
Action Feature: Walks via battery-powered motor, lights up, claws on hands open
Retail: 3000 yen
Availability: ca. August 1999
Other: Side of Helic Republic
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As a recent-ish reissueof one of the most famous 1980s Zoids kits, Gojulas is now very expensive. I'm seeing kits in the $250 range, and if I were Tomy I'd just reissue it again - it's good! Kotobukiya has made new ones, but they seem wider, and they aren't motorized. They're just not the same. This goofy guy was sold as "Terox" in America's RoboStrux line, and as Zoidzilla in some markets in the 1980s or 1990s. Those were in different colors. This one with the orange visor was, as far as I know, never actually widely distributed in the United States or much of the non-Asian model kit world.
For roughly $30 in 1999, the 11-inch not-quite-a-Tyrannosaurus Rex kit was a really good deal. If you look at the 1990s in toy collecting, it's kind of amazing just how many old brands and old molds made encore appearances at prices that seemed pretty low when adjusted for inflation. Hasbro would sometimes float G.I. Joe and Transformers, Kenner brought back Star Wars vehicles of old (with better deco) for nearly the same price as the 1970s, and it was just nice to be able to do a victory lap collecting the same - or similar - toys that we wanted as children. Nobody makes cheap toys with few to no changes anymore, not when they can do premium versions to take more of your adult paycheck. I do miss the era of "let's cash in on these old molds," which really made for a lot of fun at the turn of the century.
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The silver plastic from this release feels like it could be getting brittle. I'm a little concerned with its longevity, so I'm not going to fire it up - it's just going to look nice on the shelf from here on out. His claws open and close manually, but when motorized the eyes light up, the arms move, and the legs go forward. There's a little give on the tail, so it doesn't quite sweep but it does help to balance this mech as it plods along. There's even a bar with little wheels to ensure it doesn't get stuck, and the interiors of the feet have those bars that help keep wind-up toys stable. If there's a term for them, I never learned it.
With the hefty battery compliment it was really quite impressive to see these big kits take shape and march along. Assembling it wasn't difficult, and getting the big stickers on larger flat surfaces went a lot easier than the little ones.
While not the earliest Zoids kit, this one came along early enough that it just had one pilot and no real action features beyond the typical motor and lights. There are no rocket launchers, or slide-out cannons, or fancy escape vehicles - it's just your typical off-braind kaiju mech that is legally distinct from another mechanized kaiju from another toy company. Or maybe it's not, after all we haven't seen a heck of a lot of toys of this guy in recent years.
You'll notice that the figure's back has two larger dark pylons sticking up with big pegs on them. These were for add-on kids, like the CP-10 Gojulas Cannons. They were huge, and when this kit came out, sold separately for a few bucks. Tomy also made variants like the Gojulas the Ogre Gojulas MK II, and Gojulas Mariner recolors that included matching cannons right in the box. Tomy really cashed in on this mold with all sorts of color variants, so you can easily get other ones. If you have the money. So, maybe not "easily" per se. I still wish I could have had the blue 1985 RoboStrux Terox, but who knows if it's even still going to work at this point?
This is a fun build, and it's a classic. If Tomy ever reissues this kit I'd strongly recommend it just for the experience of putting together something that's big and not remotely frustrating. It might be $60 or so in today dollars, but I'd buy another one (in different colors, at least) just to do it again. If you want something smaller, they also made a Zoids Legends Blox kit in different colors - but it's a tiny, non-motorized Gojulas with a metalized pilot. I have that one, and will probably write it up next time we look at Zoids, which is probably going to be next year.
Given the high price of the set and how the plastic feels today, I would probably steer you from buying a sealed one to assemble. One of the other versions might be the way to go, but for all I know all model kits start to feel a little fragile after 25 years. If you can get an assembled one delivered (and insured) at the right price, it's well worth owning and is pretty gorgeous. Treasure it if you have one, and be very careful with it if you track one down.
--Adam Pawlus
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
Day 3,139: Tomy Zoids Iron Kong Figure Kit
Day 3,149: Tomy Zoids Gojulas 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
Day 3,139: Tomy Zoids Iron Kong Figure Kit
Day 3,144: Hasbro Zoids Venomous Viper Figure Kit
Day 3,149: Tomy Zoids Gojulas Figure Kit
