custom Zoid: Demon Dragon

(Aerial Bombardment)

(completed June 2004)

After the success of my first custom Zoid (the Centaur ) in February of 2004 I was confident I could replicate that success in other projects. However after two ambitious but unsuccessful attempts I became more cautious. Scaling back, I had a minor success combining a Cannon Spider with CP-15 to create my Gun Spider in April 2004. It would be another month before the Darth urge would be awakened once more...

Darth inspiration came from this custom on a Japanese site linked from Zoids Fans (see pic at right) made up mostly of a Pteramander. I remember thinking to myself, "Hmm, I have an extra Pteramander, and an extra Gojulas tail. I wonder if I could do something like that?".

May 2004. I partially assemble my spare Pteramander, then hold the Gojulas tail next to it as a neck in order to try and visualize the final result. I also ask my son if I can examine his completed Pteramander. Right away, I have concerns about my custom being balanced when walking, because as built right out of the box, Pteramander tends to pitch forward and fall flat on his face. I decide to use a shorter neck (to combat the imbalance problem) and a bigger head (to give a more brutish look). With my direction decided, I begin to gather parts. Buster Eagle legs and (modified) feet are temporarily added on as arms and hands. Then it was time to find a suitable head. The heads from Brachio Zilla and Buster Eagle are considered but rejected because they seem too small. I begin to try and piece together a head from spare Liger Zero armor. Although the size is about right, it seems like too much work, especially since I'll have to add a lower jaw and teeth. Desperate, I begin to prowl the Walmart and Target toy aisles, looking for suitable heads. And then, I find it: Demons Head Blox at ToysRUs! I happily buy two and make a beeline for my workbench.

Working the extremities

After I assemble the Demons Head, I am surprised at how narrow the head is, almost like an alligator. Also I see that the lower jaw starts narrow at the chin but opens and widens towards the throat, such that it ends up being wider than the head. I am disappointed, because the combination of crossbite teeth and mismatched jaws do not allow the mouth to close very well. Still, it's a start, and better than making a head from scratch.

After a bit of contemplation, I decide to widen and modify the Demons Head for my custom. First I modify the lower jaw by shortening the chin and cutting grooves to receive the fangs in the upper jaw when the mouth is closed. But the grooves prove to be insufficient, and I end up slicing off the fangs and moving them outwards.

Next comes the head widening work. After determining the desired angle, I cut the liner from a CD case to fill in the void in the back of the head. The Demons Head "cap" is modified by removing the "ears", trimming flanges, and covering up the slot. The completed upper head and lower jaw are glued to the modified Pteramander neck. Some advance planning was done to allow disassembly for painting after final fit.

At this point, it dawns on me that the modified Demons Head is a natural for a dragon. A winged dragon, in fact. So I retrieve my "saved" Pteramander wings and add them back in, which also makes any potential arm movement much simpler. I make a test run and my dragon promptly pitches forward, and falls flat on his face. As I feared, there is too much weight forward. I set aside my modified Buster Eagle feet, and instead modify Demons Head feet for use as hands. They are smaller and lighter, and allow me to use a single arm per side (Buster Eagle uses two per side). I modify the arms, then attach them to the Pteramander wing levers, such that the arms will swing down as the wings are raised.

Weight issues

I then start to work on the tail and try to tackle the weight imbalance issue at the same time. First I try stuffing sheet metal inside of Pteramander's tail section and also add washers onto the cap shafts in the tail. It helps, but the model is still unstable and tends to pitch forward when walking. A good night's sleep brings the answer: a longer tail! The Demons Head tail is first stuffed with paper clips, then it is grafted onto the modified Pteramander tail. A test run of the assembled model shows much better stability when walking.

The dragon theme continues: on the new longer tail, I add spine fins and tail spikes (from plastic knives and forks) and also add spine fins on the neck. I modify the Pteramander back missile launcher mount to accept a Siamesed CP-09, and move the missile launchers to the legs. (Not my choice, but due to the volumes swept by the wings and arms, there aren't that many places that the missile launchers can otherwise go.) I add two matching small caliber guns (from a Mammoth and a Gojulas) to the neck. Lastly, I fill in some gaps with epoxy cement.

Masking and Painting

After a few trial fits to ensure proper assembly and walking behavior, I make a trip to Home Depot to purchase some Flat Black spray paint. Although these general purpose spray paints do not work as nicely as Testors they are cheaper (about 50%-70% less cost, and you also get more paint). I mask off all pivot points, spine fins and spikes with drinking straws or tape, then spend the next day spraying and waiting for the paint to dry.

Final Assembly

Final assembly is uneventful and actually fun, although some parts fit together very tightly because the spray paint has covered the alignment holes. I used the Pteramander black caps. The Demon Dragon walks fine, he opens his jaws, and moves his arms, wings, and tail. It is a very different animal than what I first envisioned, but I am very satisfied with the result.

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