Battle Rex Shrine
There are myths of great Zoids that every Zoider Dreams of capturing. There are stories of a crazy Frenchmen obsessed with an Ultrasaurus Red, Singaporean's contemplating the possibilities of getting their hands on an Energy Saber, and then there's the story of WIKD and the Battle Rex.
Not unlike my fellow Zoiders, I have long dreamed about getting one of these Hasbro editions of Dead Border titled: "Battle Rex". Battle Rex made an appearance in episode 21 of the Fuzors series of the Zoids anime. The Zoid's presence was short lived as it was destroyed soon after. From what I can tell, the Battle Rex was manned by a security guard and was posted to defend the city from wild Zoids. Half buzzed, and still drinking the pilot sarcastically states that there would be no more wild Zoid battles. Soon after a Leogator springs a surprise attack and successfully blows Battle Rex to hell. Below are some (poor quality) screen shots of this short scene.
Finding a Battle Rex has been my ultimate "Holy Grail". It goes far beyond locating the mighty Gil Vader or King Gojulas as these were actually released. Battle Rex is somewhat of an ongoing dream, a treasure hunt, or perhaps its looking for something that I may never find.
Most people consider Battle Rex to be a god awful recolor, but there is just something about the piece that I fail to put into words that draws me to it, like a moth to a flame or a fat girl to spandex. Perhaps its the orange canopy, or the red and green (Christmas) colors. Dead Border has always been one of my favorite Zoids, it was about a year ago (2006) that late one night I was having a Zoid related conversation with a good friend from Singaporean by the name of All Prime Man, or "APM" in which he had posed the question: "If you were a Zoids pilot, which Zoid would you pilot?" It took only seconds for my reply which was "Battle Rex".
Have you seen me?
The Facts:
1. In 2003 Battle Rex was produced by Hasbro. It was during the same time the line was halted, but there were test models produced. Battle Rex was to ship with the Holotech Gunblaster and the release date was August.
2. Battle Rex may have used the same mold as the TDP Deadborder, with new and (far) different colors. Black is replaced with a metallic green, the guns are now black and not grey, the original light green parts are now black, the canopy is not clear but orange, the caps are red not black, and the hoses are pictured (on the box) in blue, but were actually finished in grey on the prototype I have viewed pictures of. Take a look at the complete Dead Border releases here.
3. Battle Rex uses the single "AA" battery compartment.
4. There are two confirmed Battle Rex's in private collections. I have had word of another three units. With a total of five, I now think I have a better chance at landing one.
Being a prototype this unit did have some flaws that were not addressed. The first of which is a pin in the head assembly which is too large.
The second major flaw is that the engine switch is incorrectly placed making it impossible to turn the unit on.
It is my guess that these units may have been deployed in the UK as this is where we found the Fuzors Shield liger. I believe Battle Rex to be the Fuzors release of Dead Border. We also came across the Power Mantis and Power Mammoth in the UK. It seems as the UK is somewhat of a dumping ground for unreleased Zoids like the Liger below.
Back in May of 2005 I attempted to see if I could duplicate the Battle Rex by dyeing the plastic. Below is the experiment:
"I recently experimented with dying the
plastic of Dead
Border
using RIT dye to try and duplicate the orange color featured on the
Battle Rex.
I had questionable
success.
I mixed the RIT according to the online color chart to form a basic
orange. The
dye is then covered with boiling
water and stirred until the dye dissolves forming the dye bath.
I attached some leftover pieces of the Gray Dead Border Sprues to a
wire and
submerged them
into the solution for different amounts of time, and at different temps.
Above is the best attempt. This was accomplished with the highest
temps, and
longest
submersion time. The sprues are very thick, and the thinner portions
seemed to
have taken
the dye well. I left the sprue overnight to dry and below are the end
results.
I then tried working with straight yellow dye, which did not produce
anything
even worth noting, save
for the weird reaction of the film that formed on the top of the bath,
see
below.
Perhaps some type of reaction? So this was my latest attempt at
duplicating the
B. Rex.
The quest for the Holy Grail does continue, and as always I would
appreciate any
emails
with information or if you have a Battle Rex I will send my left
testicle via
priority mail to you."
In conclusion I would like to thank you for reading this page. As of this date (01/02/2009) I am still working on the contact I have made that (supposedly) has three of these units. If you have any additional information on this unit, or if you happen to have one or know someone who does I would appreciate an email as soon as humanly possible. The rewards will be great. Please note that this email is reserved only for information about this unit.
This has been a Zoid.US production. No image may be used without permission. 2008 -WIKD