Deadborder (OJR)
I bought Deadborder right before the rerelease was announced, and for a lot more money (though that had become standard for the day). I don't regret it, however, having seen comparisons with the TDP...besides, my rule with Zoids is to not regret pre-rerelease purchases. Nothing quite beats the feeling of setting something free after so many years of it locked away in a box (and finding it's gone a bit peculiar.)
From what I've heard, the TDP versions come with a battery case that screws shut instead of clicking open, larger foot stabilizers, more blue-tinged clear bits, sparklier tubes, less sparkley silvergrey bits, and possibly a more anemic glow, something my TDP Horn certainly supports. Also, the gravity cannons are missing the little wibbly tubes on their backs: think Gunbluster's back-to-guns tubes for another example. Like Gunbluster, this doesn't look weird until you've seen an older Deadborder. It's then you turn to the newer version, pondering for a moment why something appears missing...
In other words, they're noticably different, but the changes are minor at heart. On to Deadborder itself!
Mine was MIB in a reasonably mint box, a rarity for me and old-school Zoids. Said box is around the size of Shield Liger's, and is happy to imform me in bright green Japanese that Deadborder has GLOWY BITS. It also shows off its stats and weapons for the kana and basic kanji-inclined, complete with fluff text and a snippet of the battle story for that era, and tops it off with a few nice diorama pics from the days before impossible poses and Photoshopping aplenty.
Pop the box open, and what do we have? Deadborder bits! The tail and and sides had escaped their sprues, but the whole thing was thankfully intact. The sprues were black (a wonderful easy to trim black, none of that flaky stuff), glow in the dark neon green (#00FF00-level eye-searing type), clear smokey charcoal (like Hologeno, but cooler), and a shade of charcoalsilver that's surprisingly metal-flake. The resulting color has a shine to it that I can best describe as pencil lead with a twitch more brown and a more speckley sparkle.
The tubes are a sprue you'll recognize if you have a Heldy, but seem to be sturdier stuff. My old built Heldy and Rick's old built Deadborder don't have the tube-cracking problems NJR Heldies tend to, and my Deadborder has held up wonderfully so far. I still wouldn't leave one in the sun.
The caps are black, the pilot black Guylos chrome (not to be confused for Zenebas silver), the stickers glowy green, and the catalogue Dark Horn Vs. Gunbluster. One would think I'd get the catalogue with Deadborder on it, but nope...Dark Horn Vs. Gunbluster, same as Kingy. Either they were trying to get me interested in then-upcoming models, or there were multiple runs of Deadborder and mine's on the newer side.
It's been a while since I built Deadborder, so I can't cover exact details. What I can point out, though, are the highlights:
The legs are simple but effective, managing a layered effect without a bunch of excess. They go together with minimal fiddle, and are easy to trim despite being shades of plastic that are often headache-inducing. The level of molded detail on these pieces is downright fantastic, contributing to Deadborder's organic look while still making it clear it's a machine. And it's got two fingers!
The head is a thing of beauty, with an equally insane level of molded detail half-hidden under that charcoal shield the puts Death Saurer and Gilvy's facemasks to shame. It's not just lots of lines in the plastic, it's all sorts of raised pieces at different levels and depths. Whoever sculpted it must be nuts.
The coolest thing about building a Deadborder, though, is the way they used the other clear pieces. They don't just sit there and be clear, they're layered over the glowy green. Not only does this give a striking stripey depth to those places, the real treat is when it's glowing: the clear bits scatter the light and look all eerieshiny. All of Deadborder's green is well-patterned, mind, giving an idea of flowing power more than decoration. The only Zoid that's come close to this level of cool glowy is Rayse Tiger...and it's not still neon green when the lights are on.
Overall, Deadborder makes for an engaging build with a very satisfying end result. The Gravity Cannons and legs suffer from hollow on the reverse side syndrome, but even that is positioned in a way that looks pretty neat, so I don't really mind. The foot stabilizers are very unobtrusive, but its walk is as solid as the rest of it, and it gleefully shuffles along without falling or dancing. Like Aro Saurer, it has the look of something that'd actually run in a proper dinosaur stance, with the walking upright more for the model's stability (and begging for food).
While Deadborder is simple shapes to start, it's waiting to drive artistic types insane with its detail...and that's why I love it. Like many Zoids of its era, it's very aesthetically pleasing yet obviously well-armed, as if its creators spent that little extra bit of time getting it to look kickass too. It's a complete contrast to the pratical skeletal Republic look that I also love, emphasising the then-alien feel of the Dark Zoids.
So is it worth getting an OJR Deadborder now? They usually sell for less, so if you've got the money to burn, give it a shot. Otherwise, pick up the TDP and enjoy the awesome design. In a world where the theropods mostly use a variant on the same legs we've all built a thousand times and "organic" means "pointed cat with swords", it's something different in a very good way.
Written some unknown time, updated April 14th, 2006
