OJR: Reddra
This supersonic-speed battle machine beast is the Imperial Army's latest weapon. It's capable of vertical takeoff, and boasts high maneuverability. With its extraordinarily strong wings and body, awesome tactics like slicing an enemy clean in half using its Cutter Wing while passing them in an air battle are its specialty. Its nose can bend downwards to maintain its forward field of vision when landing.
Reddra is what Redler was before they took the obvious "red dragon" English-smush and gave it a romanization that better rolls off the tongue. Nonsense word or not, I like the name Redler better (especially because it opens up the opportunity to call the NJR release Purpler), but it's an easy way to differentiate in text.
Our dragon friend hails from the same era as the once far rarer (but now rereleased) Lidier, and they served duty as Death Saurer escort together. Long before Raynos and eons before Storm Sworder, the Reddra was master of the air, and it still saw occasional service after Zenebas' fall alongside Gilvader...in other words, its pilots were never the main attraction, but they led an interesting life. Reddra's market price reflects that, as while it's not the most popular old-school model out there, you can still expect to pay a decent chunk of cash for a boxed example. Thus, mine wasn't a boxed example: it was built and sadly lacking in packaging goodness, though as it came with a Japanese manual, I was able to place it as a Reddra and not an (otherwise identical, but OERtastic) Zolkon.
The stickers were a bit wonky and so, they went the way of rubbing alcohol...I do wish I'd better tried to save the Zenebas emblem, but such is hindsight. The Reddra itself proved to be in quite nice shape for its age, complete, unyellowed, and with its clear bits uncracked. I'm afraid I can't remember the eBay seller now, but whoever they were, they took good care of it.
And here's one of the main differences between this sucker and its younger bretheren: Reddra's wings are made of slightly harder, much clearer smoke plastic. The NJR's are gooey, almost, and a rich charcoal with hints of purple and/or red depending on the batch. On a purple Redler, the dark is good, but on Reddra, the smoke is very striking, showing off the silver pilot and all the molded detail in the otherwise simple-seeming wings.
As an aside, there was a red Redler released in the NJR as a bonus with a Playstation game. From photos and asking round, I've detirmined it sports Reddra's colors with Redler's squishier, darker transparent wings. Don't shell out for one as a proper Reddra rerelease, because you won't get the proper smoke clear bits, the silver pilotman, or the stickers. You might as well just paint a purple one unless you're a variant chaser.
I won't comment on the build much here (I'll save that for the Redler review when I redo it), but Reddra follows the large windup trend of doing things beyond a simple walk. In its case, it's the wings. They're rigged with a series of clever folding supports, moving them both up and down and in and out as the Redler pads along. Unlike the later Raynos (which, to be fair, opens and closes its mouth instead), the Redler's wings move quite a lot, and none of it gets in the way of its slow but steady walk. It's a nice piece of engineering.
Final observation: Reddra is old-school Zenebas red. That is to say, it's...not pure red. You're looking at a vivid color a bit pinker than Dimetrodon or Iron Kong PK. The overly manly-yet-insecure threatened by other pink Zoids may wish to steer clear ;p.
So is a Reddra worth your money? I'd say yes, if you're already fond of the Redler mold and want something with a lot of old-school class. It's also the most affordable not-purple Redler, considering your other options are the Black Redler and the Genesis lucky draw (how it mocks me with its clear blue!). It also shows up built decently often, and Reddras don't easily lose pieces other than foot armor and pilots. If you just want to experience the build, get yourself the NJR and then decide.
Written early 2009
