Alright, so now we’re getting into it. Here we have the second zoid, and already I’m having an issue ordering these things. I said Garius was first, but there are some people who consider this the first zoid instead, as there is apparently some evidence that I have never seen that Glidoler was released before Garius in the Mechabonica line. But who cares, right? Garius feels more like the original zoid and when they were released in the OJR release in 1983, Garius was RMZ-001 (Republic Motorized Zoid-001) and Glidoler was RMZ-002, so that’s what I’m going with.
Either way, Glidoler, or Mechatoros, or Terrazoid, or Terrared, is definitely the first flying zoid, and weirdly it’s supposed to be a duck. At this point of course there is no precedent for what animals flying zoids should be based on, but the line would pretty quickly settle into a standard of basing them on pterosaurs, with very few exceptions. I’m not 100% sure, but I think this may be the only zoid based off a bird.
Probably the most striking thing about Glidoler is the design similarities to Garius. Both have the same skeletal grey frame with blue and black accents and the same white cockpit. Glidoler and Garius, along with eight other small windups that released around the same time, are commonly referred to as whiteheads, for obvious reasons.
I doubt if the reference is intentional, but Glidoler is one ugly duck. It looks appropriately primitive for the original aerial zoid, but it also looks like it would never fly, let alone at MACH 2.3, as it apparently can. Zoids tend to have small wings in comparison to their size, but Glidoler’s are absolutely tiny, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a plane that is taller than it is long. Like, maybe, MAYBE it sort of.....tilts? forward as it flies? And the wings rotate and the cockpit pivots so its all in line? But also it’s got that air intake on the front that would then be pointing downward, so who even knows.
This Glidoler is accessorized with parts from the Zoids Remodel Set, which is a set of guns that can be equipped on the white head zoids. Glidoler is sporting two cannons on the sides of it’s face.
This angle also accentuates Glidoler’s most distinctive feature, it’s large....feet? They move up and down as the zoid moves, imitating a sort of walking motion, though the actual motion is provided by wheels. I wouldn’t have guessed unless I had read it, but apparently those are supposed to be pontoons, allowing Glidoler to land and take off from water, like a real duck. It’s an appropriate design decision that makes Glidoler feel more duck-like. Most of the time zoids really only inherit their shape from the animal they are based off, so it’s nice to see a touch like that so early in the line.
Glidoler is also the first zoid to have major color variations. I don’t intend to attempt to cover every variation of each zoid, as some zoids have frustratingly numerous variations (I’m looking at you, Molga), but I’ll look at some interesting/important variations. The one above is Terrared, which is our first zoid from the original European release (OER). Zoids had a story behind it, which we will talk about in more depth later, but most international lines totally ditched this and just released kits with nothing connecting them.
The OER release was a major exception to this and was released along side a comic series, giving this line more story than even the Japanese lines. Instead of the Helic Republic and Zenebas Empire, the OER zoids were divided into the heroic Blue Zoids and the evil Red Mutants. Terrared here is clearly a Red Mutant and the cockpit traditionally used with early Republic zoids has been replaced with the one associated with early Empire zoids. It looks appropriately menacing. It’s the only change to the design, but it serves to make Terrared look less silly than Glidoler, though a change in cockpit is hardly enough to fix its weird design. The color scheme is a bit on-the-nose, but giving zoids individualized color schemes, rather than coloring them based off their faction wouldn’t become a thing in the OJR line either until later. It seems the decals in this kit have been printed with different graphics and I quite like the look of the silver on the pontoons.
Glidoler was also released in the American Robostrux line, which kept the OER factions, now called Blue Guardians and Red Mutants, though this line was very short-lived and didn’t carry over any of the story from the OER line. This release was only available through mail-order and wasn’t named. It appears to be the same kit as Terrared, although it has been recolored to be a Blue Guardian. The colors here are similar to the original Glidoler and look appropriately heroic while being less bland than the original coloration. I’m not sure about the decision to maintain the orange though. Due to the darker colors, the orange stands out more and seems more out of place than on Glidoler. The new decals indicate that they tried to lean into it, but I just don’t feel great about a blue/green/silver/orange color scheme.
Like Garius, Glidoler is a nice little set that, taken in the context of later zoid models, feels appropriately primitive. However, while the goofiness of Garius’ design worked in its favor, I feel like it hurts Glidoler as I have a hard time imagining this thing flying through the air, let alone faster than sound. It has the same dorky appeal as the other white head zoids, but Glidoler is one of my least favorites of that group. It’s just too awkward and weirdly proportioned.
I like to envision a retired combat pilot, living on a farm, crammed into a cockpit, teaching their child how to pilot a zoid by dusting off the old Glidoler they keep in the barn. 2/5
