Power Mammoth

In the OER, the Power Zoids Tank and Serpent were two bizarre and exclusive designs, the sort of thing people tend to love or hate and acknowledge the uniqueness of regardless. Fast-forward, if you will, to the new release and the fall of Hasbro, which left a great many pieces unreleased, both advertised and not. Unsold stock clogging warehouses was shipped off and sold elsewhere, mostly in England. This was first seen in the flood of black Seismos, Jet Falcons, Leogators and sundry that hit in 2005, but something odder happened in 2006...these guys, previously thought to be phantom.

At first, Power Mammoth and its more popular Mantis cousin commanded insane prices, their numbers being apparently restricted to just a few examples from heaven knows where. They sold for literally hundreds of dollars, even hundreds of pounds...until from somewhere, someplace, a veritable plastic stampede of them hit. The prices did what prices do when a flood of something only selling on its rarity before hits in a rush: they went splat.

Now, Power Mammoth has more going for it than obscurity. Really. It's no secret I prefer my Zoids motorized, but between my love of things weird and Hasbro and Wikd's excellent construction photos I was quite intrigued. Forgive my own lack of photos along the way, my memory card decided mid-build would be a good time to implode, refuse to save further pictures, and eat what I'd already taken. How kind, eh?

The box is a typical late Hasbro affair and of similar size to Blox like Dimetra Ptera or Fire Phoenix, except square and lacking the "look at the Blox!" display window so often crushed. The contents are anything but Bloxy, beyond the two included as an obvious tie-in so kids can stick their previous kits on Mammoth. In fact, they consist of a good number of interesting-shaped parts, including some long narrow pieces, enough legbits to rival basic motorized kits, and a rubber band. Not a crappy rubber band, either (Death Saurer, I'm looking at you), a nice black tough one that should stand up to a lot of Plug -n- Atak!. The colors...well, the colors aren't so hot. Royal blue, bright teal, and grey could work, but add in a dark peach? Oy, McCougar's revenge. The most unique thing, though? A frame of pieces (the teal one, to be specific) that amount to large pegs with flat cap-styled tops, which are used to hold Mammoth together much like their squidgey cousins.

Construction goes in a somewhat Bloxy way in that you build limbs and the head before the rest of the Mammoth, but the feel isn't Bloxy in the least. The head and trunk have levers and moving bits that are tied to the tail, and the legs are interlocking and held together by solid plastic peg-caps. There can be no other word for them...imagine if instead of the squidgey and droop-prone rubber washers, Blox had been built by you connecting solid pieces with removable pegs, cross that with a decent amount of complexity for the size, and you have a good idea of what the Mammoth's legs are like. Once all the pieces are ready, they get held together by and put on a body frame, and you then fit in some very clever slidery bits responsible for moving the Mammoth's ears along with its trunk, securing them with its skeletal "rib" pieces. I figured they'd be decorative only, but it turns out the middle one on each side is actually important. Nice.

The finished Mammoth is a decent size, similar to Leogator or a large windup but bulkier. It stands with curvy tusks at the ready, and while most of it is static the legs bend slightly at the ankle, a lot (mostly backwards) at the knee, and a good amount at the hip - Kotobukiya Shieldy this ain't, but it's not Leogator either. With work, Mammoth can be made to be running, stomping, or mule-kicking things. Does it pass the poseable Zoid test of a headstand? Yes and no: yes in that it balances on its front feet, no in that its tusks are so long it ends up leaning on them too, so whether it counts is debatable (and I'm not prying them out to test otherwise - this thing is solid other than the escapist ears!).

What about the action feature? Those who remember the Hasbro action figures are probably expecting an anemic wobbly wave thing like the Liger Zero's Strike Laser Bug Squish, but this is much better. The whole motion relies on solid plastic pieces that move in one smooth motion - the rubber band is only to pull them back. Push down on the tail, and pieces slide about, swishing the Mammoth's ears back and stabbing its trunk forward with enough force that it can successfully poke people in the eye (not a recommended activity, kids) or type. Say hi, Power Mammoth!

typing one letter at a time is very annoying, you know...

Conclusion? If this guy had been given better colors and released under the Tomy banner, I suspect people would be giving it a lot more of a chance. As it is, it stands as one of my favorite motorless designs, and unless you have some raging hatred of things without motors or are really hung up on aesthetics (let's face it, Power Mammoth is a bit of an ugly bugger), you'll probably find something to like at current prices. Get one before they're gone. If you hate it, send it to me.

Written February 1st, 2007