Aquazoid (Zoids2)
Shiny froggy things go!
The Zoids2 line is a strange one, and not just for the chrome. The windups have a good deal of variation, which seems to mostly be split between Zoids2 sold in the UK/Europe and Zoids2 sold in Asia. Some differences aren't that huge (a grey cockpit versus a black one on Hellrunner), but Aquazoid here is a more striking example. Odds are if your swimmy friend hails from Europe, he'll be a bright aqua color with orange cockpit glass and if he's Asian, the aqua becomes darker and more blue, and the cockpit glass will be purple. With how Zoids2 quality control was you may well have a mix—lemme know if you do and it came out of a sealed box.
Either way, an Aquazoid box will contain a frame of aqua/blue parts, a frame in a darker blue color (even this one is slightly differing between my examples, ye gods), a frame of chrome silver ballast tank bits, a whitehead cockpit complete with glass in whichever color, and white caps. There's also the ubiquitous shiny pilot (usually some shade of gold), a motor, and instructions. More unusual? My MIB Aquazoid also had sandpaper (to file down the pointy bits left from cutting parts off the frames, the instructions claim) and two pieces of styrofoam for inside the tanks.
Assembly will be a very different thing if you're used to walking Zoids. There's no legs here, only wheels, and they're not the most conventional of wheels. Working off a gear on the motor, they're held in a frame that also gets flippers working off a metal pin on the other side. The motor's also suspended with the knob up, not to either side. It's nothing overly complex, but the early windups were all about clever simplicity, not eleventybillion parts that make your fingers bleed.
Aquazoid's rather paltry weaponry is only for looks, but its shiny ballast tanks serve the double purpose of making it float. Add in the flippers and, as the box says, it really swims! This can rust the motor and make the caps do Bad Funky Things, as my second Aquazoid can attest to...but if you just can't resist, go for it. Windups can't live forever, so you might as well enjoy that spring before it's sprung, eh? If you don't dig swimming, the wheels let it roll along on the ground while its flippers flap merrily.
My favorite extra touch, though, is Aquazoid's head. It's just a whitehead head, you say? Well, yeah, but it's on this cool swively piece. Not only can it turn from side to side, it can look downwards a little and upwards so far it's only stopped by its own back getting in the way. I would think the pilot would get dizzy, but it's more amusing than it should be. No matter where you go, Aquazoid is watching you.
Conclusion? Aquazoid's not a Zoid most people think about. It's not rare as far as whiteheads go, it's not famous, it's not one of the first three, swimmy Zoids are neglected, et cetera. On the other hand, it's adorable, it's not that expensive, and it's a nice quick build for when you're looking for something to occupy you for a few minutes...or you're after something sturdy and simple to give to a kid. Another bonus: aside from the various hugestompy critters, I find whiteheads get the most attention when I show them to non-fans, either for being cute or for the nostalgia feel of skeletal windup dinosaurs. Go on, give one a chance...and why not make that one shiny?
Written November 7th, 2006. Revised November 2008 
