Review – Zoids Shield Liger Artstatue

Manufacturer: Tomy * Year: 2003

I’ve obviously been into opening the toys I bought while in Hong Kong, because this Zoids Shield Liger Artstatue is another blind boxed buy that I just had to pop open after reviewing the K-T Figure Optimus Prime (review here). And while it may not be nearly as cool as the diecast Shield Liger I pointed at back in October (mentioned here), paying less than $3 for this statue means that it was a hell of a lot more affordable than that diecast metal toy. But how is it? Keep reading to learn why I regret that I bought only one of these boxes while I was in Hong Kong.

Blind Boxed Toys

You’re familiar with blind boxed toys, right? Basically, a series of toys uses one box and when you buy a box you have no idea exactly which piece you’re getting in the box. Sure you can see the assortment on the packaging, but until you pop the box open you’re never sure which piece you got. Some people absolutely hate the idea of blind boxing — they want to step into a store and walk out with the exact piece they want — but I personally find it kinda fun. It can get annoying if you go after an entire series, but if you just want a few random pieces from one series blind boxing is fun. Fun for me at least. You may hate the idea.

A Tiny Liger

At 3.5-inches tall, this soft plastic Zoids statue is small enough for almost any desk or computer but big enough that you can see some nicely sculpted details in the design. As I mentioned it’s not as cool as the $225 Shield Liger at Entertainment Earth*, but it’s damn well awesome for $3. Of course it wasn’t until I started poking around online after I got home that I realized what a good deal $3 was, and I can say that when I get back to Hong Kong I’m going to keep my eyes open for more of the statues in this series. It’s a great character design and the quality is excellent.

Very Soft Plastic

If you’ve ever bought any pre-painted collectible miniatures from the Dungeons & Dragons line then you know how this guy feels; soft, very flexible, and as if something fragile is about to snap off at any second. But as long as you don’t do anything stupid these figures are a lot more durable than you would expect. And if this plastic keeps the costs down then I’m fine with it.

Sculpt and Paint

Both are remarkable, far superior to what I expected when I paid $3 for the box. The machined, robotic Shield Liger is covered in tiny hoses and mechanical details that really bring out the robotic nature of the design. And while there are very few paint apps on the statue, what we get is clean and just enough to bring out the sculpted details in the design. This is definitely a lot better piece than I expected when I paid $3 . . . but of course searching online shows these selling for $8 to $10/each so I got an awesome deal. Can someone tell me why I didn’t buy more boxes when I was in Hong Kong?

Closing Thoughts

Excellent! This Zoids Shield Liger Artstatue looks great, was an awesome price, and makes me want more in the series. Worse yet, the Shield Liger looks so lonely on the shelf that it makes me question whether or not I can find some other versions of the character at decent prices. Probably not, but I’m still gonna take a little time to poke around online and see what’s out there.

And a quick search pointed me to this thread at ZoidsPoison where you can see more statues in this series. Scroll down and check out the Whale King statue; damn, that looks fantastic and I want one. No, not the statue. I want a real one. Then I could terrorize everyone with my robotic whale. And who wouldn’t enjoy driving a robotic whale around the seas?

Philip Reed must not look at that upcoming $225 Zoids Shield Liger because he’s not exactly a Zoids fan. But a 17-inch, articulated, diecast metal version of this design does sound like a hell of a lot of fun. Maybe he’ll find it cheap the next time he’s in Hong Kong.