HomeSalamander
I had thought Salamander looked kind of neat at first, but hadn't given it much thought. However, seeing it in motion (as well as some better pictures) and hearing people talk about how nifty it was got me interested in buying one...so after Christmas, I did.
Salamander's box was surprisingly small for how large it ends up when assembled...it's the same height and width as, say, Liger Zero's, but not as deep. Aside from the usual parts, Salamander comes with three springs-one that's part of the actual Zoid, and the other two for the missile launchers, which actually 'fire' the little missiles that come with it. The US one doesn't have the missile-firing springs, but I've heard of people using, say, springs from pens to replace them...I'm not the one to ask. And, of course, there's the neat little detail that Salamander doesn't just have one decal sheet and a pair of grey pilots...it also has a replica of the original decals, and the pilots are instead gold 'chrome', like the original ones. Shinyyyy...
Um. Anyway. If you're like me and put the batteries in right away and test a Zoid as you go along, don't bother testing Salamander until it's all together, as it won't work entirely, if at all, half-assembled. There's so many interconnected parts and stuff getting it to work-it was pretty cool seeing how they all fit together. The wings, especially, are cool, and the whole thing seems like a ton of thought went into it. Makes me want to learn how to do that sort of thing, but I don't think I'm spatial enough. Still, something to think about, being as I still have no idea what I'm actually going to do with my life.
Poor Salamander. Such a spiffy Zoid, and my mind keeps wandering off-topic as I'm trying to review it. In motion, the whole thing comes together, and Salamander walks, swishes its tail back and forth, flaps its wings, and lowers and raises its head/neck as its mouth opens and closes. All at once. And it 'screeches' when its mouth opens, too, the motor going vrrrrvrrrrEEEEEEER. The balance the thing has is pretty incredible, especially considering all that movement. When still, it's best balanced on one foot...really. Not that leaning-to-one-side thing...one foot's up in the air, and its weight is nicely shifted onto the other. I had Salamander on my computer table for a bit, and when I bumped into it, I sent Salamander wobbling, but it never once tipped. I moved it to my top shelf after that, where it towers over Saber Tiger and Holo Kitty and all the assorted smaller Zoids.
Salamander's definitely my favorite flying Zoid...cool model overall, looks good, and it has a flamethrower...and you all probably know I like fire-breathing critters like I do shiny things by now. If even the smallest part of why you like Zoid models is for their cool engineering/design, get one. Nowwww.