Sinker Guylos Empire 032 Zoids "NJR" Series Item No.: No. ??? Manufacturer: Tomy Includes: 1 pilot Action Feature: Wind-up motor, cockpit can look around and be pushed back Retail: 600 yen? Maybe? Availability: ca. 2000 Other: Also sold as Z-Ray, Sea Striker, and Stunra in various countries and markets
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I got this Sinker a long time ago - a while after it was released - so I am not sure of its exact release date. I vaguely remember its wind-up motor not working so good, so I should probably tear it apart and see if I can set it right. (Far more likely: will make things worse.) This set came out around 2000, and was a remake of a kit from roughly 1983 with new stickers and colors. I always wanted to get my mitts on an original, but it wasn't in the cards. Thankfully, this ray-type was cheap and I got it in one of my import orders.

This one came out in America from Hasbro as the "Sea Striker," but the Japanese release was a little cheaper. The 1980s version has brighter, more silver, and more saturated with fanciful foil stikers. The turn-of-the-century remake was darker, with clear stickers that needed trimming to fit. And if you ask me, they didn't fit in quite as well as the old ones. They aren't bad, but the foil stickers were just superior.

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This is a small kit, roughly 7-inches wide and 6-inches long. If all of the mechanisms were behaving, you'd have a little wind-up key on top turn and power a motor that would propel the kit forward with its wheels. Along the way, it would flap its wings and a little motor under the tail would spin, allowing it to float and move around in the water. Being afraid of getting anything with a motor wet, I've never tested it but there are videos on YouTube demonstrating the action. As far as I know there are no easy reproduction motor replacement services, plus some of the rubbery bolts are kind of difficult to remove - so it might just be a cool thing to look at.

The toy is not without its charms - there are two giant torpedoes with foam blocks to help him float. There are four small rockets under the wings. Each wing has two joints, but they don't have a big range of motion and the main joint is designed to work with the motor. There's a rudder near the spinning blades, so you could impact direction. There's also a cockpit in the mandibles, and it can pivot up or down while sliding back into the body.

The design is a real mix of eras. The stickers and colors feel like a militaristic G.I. Joe vehicle with various serial numbers, faction markers, and the requisite "NO STEP" and "Caution" markings. The coloring is very much like some Joe vehicles of the time, like the Man-O-War reissue. The lines are smooth, the plastic is hard, and of course you get all the vents and greeblies you might expect for a 1980s-era Japanese mech toy. Tomy was very fond of shared parts, so the Manta Ray head doesn't open on its own, or have its own eyes - the oft-reused "Side of Empire" head was deployed instead. It puts it in line with other kits of the era like Malder/Slithor, Zatton/Brox, Geruder/Batlar, and a lot of those early Zenebas kits.

Since I don't recall the motor in mine working correctly, I'm hesitant to recommend anyone spend real money on this one - but hey, if you find a used working one? Go for it. It looks cool, and I love the creative use of that Zenebas cockpit. (See also, Molga.) The 1980s era of kits - around 1985 - is what got me interested in this kind of toy, so I'm obviously more than a little in love with the general vibe. If this got reissued at a fair price with the original motor, I'd say give it a spin. Otherwise, I'd be worried about getting it to work. As a display piece, I dig it, but I wish I got it working and when I was young enough to really play with it.

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See more Tomy toys in Figure of the Day:
Day 170: Tomy Zoids Wardick
Day 263: Tomy Zoids Gorgodos Action Figure
Day 364: Tomy Robostrux Brutox Figure Kit
Day 382: Tomy Robostrux Slithor Figure Kit
Day 406: Tomy Zoids Twinhorn Action Figure
Day 484: Tomy Robostrux Brox Figure Kit
Day 486: Tomy Zoids 24 Scale Neptune Figure Kit
Day 1,352: Tomy Robostrux Batlar Figure Kit
Day 1,422: Tomy Zoids Gator Figure Kit
Day 3,099: Tomy Zoids Sinker Figure Kit

See more Zoids, Robostrux, and Techno-Zoids in Figure of the Day:
Day 170: Tomy Zoids Wardick
Day 263: Tomy Zoids Gorgodos Action Figure
Day 364: Tomy Robostrux Brutox Figure Kit
Day 382: Tomy Robostrux Slithor Figure Kit
Day 406: Tomy Zoids Twinhorn Action Figure
Day 484: Tomy Robostrux Brox Figure Kit
Day 486: Tomy Zoids 24 Scale Neptune Figure Kit
Day 1,352: Tomy Robostrux Batlar Figure Kit
Day 1,422: Tomy Zoids Gator Figure Kit
Day 1,471: Takara-Tomy Zoids Masterpiece Shield Liger
Day 2,000: Takara-Tomy Zoids Wild ZW-05 Gannontoise Figure Kit
Day 2,008: Takara-Tomy Zoids Wild ZW-01 Wild Liger Figure Kit
Day 2,013: Takara-Tomy Zoids Wild ZW-03 Kabtor Figure Kit
Day 2,017: Takara-Tomy Zoids Wild ZW-04 Scorpear Figure Kit
Day 2,039: Takara-Tomy Zoids Wild ZW-06 Gabrigator Figure Kit
Day 2,075: Takara-Tomy Zoids Wild ZW-07 Kuwaga Figure Kit
Day 3,089: Takara-Tomy Zoids Wild ZW-13 Gusock Figure Kit
Day 3,094: Takara-Tomy Zoids Wild ZW-14 Stegosage Figure Kit
Day 3,099: Tomy Zoids Sinker Figure Kit