OJR: Kingliger
Back in 2005, the Zoids rebirth of 1999 was many years in—and, in fact, fizzling. But it had done its job on the Gradeups and their rarity, moving them from those funny ones nobody wanted to "you want how much?" Kingliger had always bounced just out of my reach with its curious sleek lines, it and the (then even rarer) Lidier the only cat-types I didn't have in some form.
For those big on their model history, it was the first Zoids cat to do the blades thing, though it shares the "first bladed Zoid" title itself with its rival, Siegdober. Amusingly enough, I got mine right about the same time as Murasame Liger was first out. Not amusing was the price. Thanks to their apparently smaller production runs, old-school Gradeups were (and still are, for the ones not graced by Graphics/Rebirth Century love) hella tricky to find. Very few of them ever made of it out of Japan, but mine did, and had been sitting around all lonesome inna box since.
I freed it, of course—because Zoids are meant to be built and enjoyed, etc etc. The box contained the usual suspects of frames (in pure white, silver-grey, metal flake deep red, and chrome gold), instructions (larger and more booklet-like, no folding), caps (small black), and assorted bits. The assorted bits are the most interesting in an old-school Gradeup, in that they include the motor, various metal parts, and some gears.
In other words: you get to build your motor box, sticking little gear-y and battery contact-y bits together, and giving you some insight into how the various spinny and metal things make your Zoid go. While some people railed against Hasbro prebuilding this for Battle Cougar, I find it rather understandable (if disappointing): my motor box was easy to put together, but it was also cranky. One of the metal bits was a bit warped, necessitating a quick and slightly odd fix: wedging a piece of paper above it so it'd be held in place when I closed the top on the body. While fun for me, this is not the sort of thing you want kids building your kits to have to do!
Gradeup Zoids also take flak for having relatively simple construction and one-piece legs. While this is true, I suspect part of the hate comes from prices they sell for now. People are expecting more engineering and bulk for their 60-plus dollars, but they're actually around the size of a large wind-up. Their original prices in the 1000-1500 yen range reflected this better. Kingliger hovers between the Command and Whitz Wolves in size, and is a little bigger and pokier than the more readily available Houndsoldier. Not small, but not very big either. Go in expecting simple windup at small battery-op size, and you'll have more fun. If you want actual engineering-fu, go for Gungy or Orudios..or better yet, Gilvy or King G.
Back to Kingliger itself! Other than the motor, the build is simple as mentioned, the main difficulties being the cockpit bit with the eyes liking to escape until the white cover is on and the chrome blades being tricky to get entirely in. I can't speak for the rerelease, but the plastic quality on my old-school one was fantastic, as is the color scheme. I love the mix of colors, the deep metallic red...while red is a color one normally associates with the Empire, Kingliger sells its role as a Republic Zoid thanks to the gold chrome. If one wanted to do a faction-swap repaint, a bit of paint-stripping to make the gold silver and exchanging white for black or another red would make a very attractive Zenebas critter. Either way, Kingliger is best summed up with "classy", a sharp contrast to the awesome-tacky bling of its Kingbaron brother. Not that I'd say no to one of those now, as I've warmed to its excessive gunnery.
Walking brings up the one advantage to Kingliger's odd, stiff legs: its wibble is a bit stiff, but it's straightforward, meaning no wobbling or heading off-course. You can stop it at any point in its walk cycle without it listing to one side. Assuming you can actually track down a gradeup weapon, it'll also spin or move the additional upgrade bits of your choice. Gungy's pulse cannon is a particularly nice match, which makes it a pity you can't put the hyper CPC on Gungy without it. Another fun option, in my opinion, are the Wind Dancers from the Genesis powerup line, which look nice stuck on the standard pegs below the front shoulders via the little adapters you get in every early Blox kit. They clash horribly in the color department, but that's nothing a little paint won't fix.
Old-school Kingligers will run you at least a hundred (MIB, anyway), so I'm hesitant to recommend a vintage Kingliger to all but the most discerning of kitty Zoid collectors. The good news? Since I reviewed my OJR, Rebirth Century has rereleased it. And like the original release, it's not super-popular right now, meaning that you can pick one up for a very reasonable chunk of moneys. The only differences are the sadly par-for-the-course prebuilt motor box and a peg on Kingliger's head, part of the minor changes to the mold to make it Kingbaron back when. Count it as a chance to add more guns. So long as prices stay reasonable, Kingliger is quite worth picking up, both for its originality and for its wonderful colors.
Rewritten July 2009 
