Gun Blaster

The Gun Blaster (also written Gunblaster, Gunbluster in the Japanese release) is a type of Zoid, a race of mechanical lifeforms from the fictional Zoids universe.

Gun Blaster
Old Japanese Release "Gunbluster"
RZ-052 Ankylosaurus Type Helic Republic
Crew	1
Weight	125 tons
Depth	19.0 m
Height	8.1 m
Maximum Speed	120 km/h
Weapons	Bombardment Cannons (2), Pulse Guns (2), Electromagnetic Launcher, Thundercannon, Multi-barrel Accelerated Beam Gun, Accelerated Shock Cannon, Plasma Cannon, Beam Cannon, Tri-barrel Rapid-fire Rail Cannon, Multi-barrel Pulse Beam Gun, Shotgun
Equipment	Electromagnetic Shield Horns (24), Energy Charger, Heat dissipaters (4), Rear-security Radar, Coolant sensor

Overview

The Gun blaster is an Ankylosaurus-type Zoid used by the Helic Republic in the various wars on Zi.

Designed for fire support, the Gun Blaster's most distinctive feature is the array of twenty-two cannons built into its back. These weapons are designed to be fired as one mass assault, allowing the Gun Blaster to wipe out most anything that it faces. The Zoid is strong on defense as it is offense, being equipped with thick armour and a powerful omni-directional energy shield built into the twenty-four spikes along the side of its body. In addition to protecting the Zoid from weapons fire, the shield also provides protection against Electronic Warfare and jamming.

While slow and bulky, the Gun Blaster is surprisingly agile and able to traverse difficult terrain. In addition to its massive array, the Gun Blaster can use electro-magnetically charged teeth and its horn when forced into close quarters combat.

Battle Story appearances

The Gun Blaster saw service in the early battles of the Helic Republic invasion of the Dark Continent. Shuu and the Republic forces were pinned down by Störmer's force of Dark Horns, and the Gun Blaster was sent in to turn the tide of the battle, its overwhelming firepower forcing Störmer to adopt another plan. He drew the Gun Blaster into narrow terrain where its cannons would be less effective, and the battle ended in a stalemate, Störmer's Horn charging the Gun Blaster and both Zoids fighting to a standstill.

The design was not destroyed in the meteor shower of ZAC 2056, and the Republic rebuilt the Gun Blaster prior to the ZAC 2101 invasion of the Dark Continent. Gun Blaster also showed to rescue the Ray Force from Berserk Fury and Grounchar's attacks, using its cannons to break down the Berserk Fury's shield and drive it back.

Media appearances

The Gun Blaster does not appear in any of the anime series'. It is acquirable in the Zoids Saga Game Boy Advance games under the name Gun Blaster.

Models

Original Japanese Release

• Assembly required. (Snap-together, no glue needed. Scissors or X-acto knife recommended for trimming off excess plastic bits.)
• The model's colours are moulded into the plastic, and it does not need any paint.

The Gunbluster (as it was originally known) kit comes on five frames, along with a battery powered motor, four gears, fourteen rubber caps, a pilot figure, a cover for one of the gears, a rectangular spacer to support the motor, and a label sheet. The Gunbluster is moulded in dark blue, white, light silvery grey, and chrome gold.

The Gunbluster's assembly is not overly complex, with the most difficult part being the assembly of the weapons and the gears that cause them to rotate. When activated, the Zoid also walks forward, opening and closing its mouth while the weapon barrels spin. The motor is powered by a single "AA" battery.

The Gunbluster was first released in July 1989. The Zoid is similar in design and appearance to other Grade Ups Zoids, having three (3) Grade Up bars itself, but does not possess a Grade Up connector port.

Several other versions of the Gunbluster have been released. These are detailed below.

New Japanese Release

NJR Gunbluster

The New Japanese Release Gunbluster is almost exactly identical in design to the original, except two small conduits moulded onto the body frames were removed. However, these conduits are depicted in the instructions and on the box art. The Gunbluster was recoloured in dark blue, grey-blue, dark grey, and gold. As the original model did not feature clear eyes, the pieces of the eyes were painted orange on this version.

A chromed version was released by Leoshop of Taiwan.

The Zoid was also re-released in Australia as a part of the New Pacific Release.

New American Release

Renamed the Gunblaster, this Zoid was released in the United States in 2002. The only changes to the model were made on the packaging. While called "Gunblaster" on the box, it was named Gun Blaster on the instruction manual.

Holotech Gun Blaster

Gunbluster Holotech

Before the NAR line was cancelled, plans were made to release a Holotech Gun Blaster. This model never reached production, and probably never advanced beyond a single prototype shown at a convention. A picture of the model is shown on amazon.com (currently out of stock) that shows this variant, however anyone who bought it only received the standard NAR version despite the picture shown.

List of Zoids

A-F

G-L

M-R

S-Z