HomeRaynos (Funky Dino Expo Museum Thingy version)
There is something about Doctor Who that lends itself to building Zoids. Perhaps it's the slower yet entertaining pacing of the older stories, perhaps it's nostalgia-whatever it is, it works. Raynos here got assembled because I wanted to watch The Invasion and that made me want to build something. While the actual building was quite easy, it was the panel lining that took most of the story.
In fact, not only did I panel line the little bugger, I cut off its balls.
The ones on its wings. You know, the safety tips?
...don't look at me like that, they are ball-shaped.
Right. What's up with the "funky Dino Expo Museum Thingy variant title"? This Raynos is from a set of four matching Zoids, released only at a dinosaur exposition in Japan, hence the name. They consisted of a Geno Saurer (arguably the best Geno variant of the lot), a Not-Red Horn (a miss for me-I like mine Red or Dark only), a Raynos (this guy), and a Snipe Master (the least popular of the four, but I suspect also quite cool if panel lined). They were initially pretty rare, but pulled a Cheese Whitz and showed up in far greater numbers elsewhere. Mine's most likely from that first lot, being from a set from amenbo I split four ways with other people. I don't know how much this matters.
Raynos comes in a rather nice museum-y box, telling a bit about the critter it's meant to be and about the Zoids line. Not a battle story fragment or the usual Raynos fluff text, its info is about the kits and how they're moving models of critters you put together. It seems to be marketed at people who would be visiting the exhibit, not just Zoid fans, which is kind of neat. The one thing bringing the neat boxes down is that they've got some rather interesting errors-Snipe Master, for example, is called a Geno Saurer at one point, and they spell velociraptor correctly twice only to bungle it the third time. Somebody really needs to get Tomy's Zoid line a new English proofreader dude. I'm sure plenty of us English-speaking fans would do it in return for free samples...
When you poke open the box, you're greeted by the usual Raynos-y bits and instructions, plus a little piece of paper telling about the dino-y Zoids. "The usual Raynos-y bits" means five frames of parts (two bone-colored, one silvery grey, and two brownblack), a cockpit piece (clear orange), a motor, a pilot (still grey), and a few caps (dull reddish brown). I had this guy off the frames and panel lined before I thought of taking photos of the sprues, so just the box and the finished product will have to do.
My tools of choice for panel-lining? Two fine Gundam Markers (grey for the bone, black elsewhere), one chrome silver Gundam Marker for the teeth (not to be mistaken for the regular silver, this is the one that makes for a near-chrome finish), and lots of those little rubbing alcohol swabs. Rubbing alcohol is good for cleaning up mistakes, and unless you have very steady hands you will be making them-plastic is surprisingly slippery when you're trying to draw even lines on it. Also (as I discovered by mistake), the alcohol dilutes the markers, making for a semi watercolor/ink effect with a lot more control. This trick is also exceptionally fiddly and rubbing alcohol is drying to skin, so it may not be good for saner people. Other options include ink (I found it too messy), microns, and extra-fine Sharpies. Get a Zoid you're not particularly attached to and find out what works for you, then come back to the bonecritters. You won't regret it.
The plastic quality was rather nice, especially on the bone-y plastic, and Raynos went together smoothly. The best part? They fixed the wing error, so I didn't have to cut off part of the one piece to get them to lay level. They're not perfect, but it's quite an improvement over the downright skewed NJR and Holobirdy. I've heard other Raynoses from the same lot still have the wing issue, though, so it looks like I lucked out.
The most interesting thing you'll encounter building Raynos is the moving jaw (or rather, moving head above a static jaw), which works off a fairly clever little bar mechanism that may make you flashback to Ligers. It's rather straightforward: once the main body's together, you add armor, head, legs, wings, and guns. I recommend sticking on the wings before the legs to see if the right wing movey bit is uneven-then you can take it off to trim without having to pop the leg on and off. Beyond that flaw, Raynos doesn't have any bits to frustrate, and would be a nice critter to give to a beginning Zoider. It's also more amusing than it should be, because when you poke it in the head its wings flap and it snaps it jaws as if squawking in protest...not that I've spent time poking Raynoses and snickering. I'd never do that.
In motion, Raynos shuffles along, its wings flapping a little and its mouth opening and closing with them. It's not a dramatic flap-if you want that from a windup, get yourself a Redler. It looks nice standing around, but isn't poseable other than the tailguns and the wings. They can be folded slightly at the middle, though not enough to keep it from eating shelf space like the dickens. Unlike bigger space hogs (read: Gildy), you can't fit anything but tiny Zoids underneath. I've found the best home for a Raynos is thus on top of a larger Zoid, making it easier for other things to squeeze alongside them both. Shieldy and Bladey work well, though Raynos can also hang out on Ultrasauruses, Gilvaders, and anything its little feet and tail can keep level on top of. It also has multiple tubey details on its neck and tail to string fishing line through, so if you're the type to hang your flying Zoids you won't have any problem.
If you're looking for a classier Raynos and don't want to turn to paint or the OJR (which still fetches prices that are far from sane), look no further. From what I've seen of photos, the Museum Raynos is a bit dull before panel lines, but it's a peaceful earth tone sort of dull that doesn't scream "shoot me" like bright green does. Holobirdy's still my favorite of the non-pricey ones (clear teal green looks freaking cool), but with the prices of the museum critters still in the sane range, this guy is very worth grabbing if you're wanting Raynoses.
written May 14, 2006