Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Various angles (1/8)

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Various angles (2/8)

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Various angles (3/8)

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Various angles (4/8)

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Various angles (5/8)

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Various angles (6/8)

Various angles

With the tail lowered, the total length extends to around 45cm.

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Detail shots (1/6)

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Detail shots (2/6)

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Detail shots (3/6)

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Detail shots (4/6)

Detail shots

Underside view

Torso/head and left leg armor removed.

The torso and head only have armor covering the top.

The head frame looks downright sinister.

The torso frame molding has excellent depth and dimension.

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Individual armor removal shots for the legs and tail section. No mechanical molding here — ju

Individual armor removal shots for the legs and tail section.
No mechanical molding here — just a skeletal frame structure.

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Left side frame exposed. (1/5)

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Left side frame exposed. (2/5)

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Left side frame exposed. (3/5)

Left side frame exposed.

The upper frame shape looks really cool.

Only 3 leftover parts.

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - You can flip open the head cover and then open the cockpit hatch on top of the frame to revea

You can flip open the head cover and then open the cockpit hatch on top of the frame to reveal the pilot.

To expose the Zoid Core inside, you need to remove the upper body cover.

All four thruster hatches on the underside of the body open up.

The linear cannon inside the arm section can be exposed and extended.

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - The weapon cluster at the tip of the tail can be deployed like this — the large barrel in the

The weapon cluster at the tip of the tail can be deployed like this —
The large barrel in the center is the charged particle cannon, flanked on both sides by the AZ 120mm Hyper Beam Cannons,
and the outermost ones are the AZ 120mm Hyper Laser Cannons.

The six covers attached to either side of the tail open up...

Spreading out the side armor like this recreates the tail in sea scorpion mode.

The claw at the tip of the tail can also be deployed.

The four fang-like laser fangs each move individually.

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Arm articulation and inner claw detail. Officially, it goes by the rather lengthy name "

Arm articulation and inner claw detail.
Officially, it goes by the rather lengthy name "Strike Laser Bite Scissors".

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - The small claws on the sides of the tail can also open and close — though technically they're

The small claws on the sides of the tail can also open and close —
though technically they're not claws at all, but rocket boosters.

The eight small legs articulate quite flexibly,
and the tips can be spread open as well.

The E-Shield generator on top of the head can tilt open slightly upward.

The head can rotate just a little to either side,
but bends down quite a bit.

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Legs fully extended, lying completely flat. (1/3)

Legs fully extended, lying completely flat.

And with all eight legs raised up high, it gets this tall.

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Action pose leaning to one side (1/4)

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Action pose leaning to one side (2/4)

Action pose leaning to one side

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Front raised up high, firing the linear cannon pose (1/5)

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Front raised up high, firing the linear cannon pose (2/5)

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Front raised up high, firing the linear cannon pose (3/5)

Front raised up high, firing the linear cannon pose

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Crouched forward pose (1/5)

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Crouched forward pose (2/5)

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Crouched forward pose (3/5)

Crouched forward pose

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger - Together with the previous kit, Gojulas. Gojulas is overwhelmingly bigger in terms of sheer v

Together with the previous kit, Gojulas.
Gojulas is overwhelmingly bigger in terms of sheer volume, but they take up a surprisingly similar amount of floor space.

Together with Iron Kong.

The Death Stinger — the kit Zoids fans have been wanting most — has finally been released as an injection plastic model in Kotobukiya's HMM series. And it comes with a pretty brutal price tag of ¥14,800. What's a bit of a shock, though, is that the box itself is just a standard medium-large box of the kind used for ¥6,000–8,000 kits. ^^;

Open up that smaller-than-expected box and pull out the runners, and sure, given the price there are a lot of them — but spreading them all out on the floor, it's honestly not that different in quantity from a Zoids kit in the ¥7,000–9,000 range, which is another disappointment. My first impression, setting aside the kit's quality entirely, was that the value for money on the parts count is absolutely terrible. If this were Bandai, it probably wouldn't even cost half the price — under ¥7,000.

But as you build it piece by piece and watch it come together, you'll find yourself gasping in admiration. This kit is on a completely different level of quality compared to any previous Kotobukiya Zoids. For starters, it goes together solidly with snap-fit alone, and that characteristic stiffness during assembly has been greatly improved, making the build much more comfortable. The plastic itself is softer too, so cleaning up gate marks is easier, and above all, the satisfaction of layering armor piece by piece over the internal frame structure is just incredibly rewarding.

The body has so many joints that joint strength was a real concern going in — but even after completion, every single one is tight with no looseness anywhere, and you can't help but be impressed. Not too stiff, not too loose — just perfect joint strength across the board. Previous large Zoids kits often had key joints that couldn't handle the weight and felt unstable, but the Death Stinger's joint strength is nothing short of "perfect". ^^

Built on that solid joint strength, the claws, all eight legs, and the tail joints all move flexibly, making it easy to pull off a wide variety of poses you'd expect from a scorpion mech — and once you've got a pose set, it holds it reliably too. I've built most Kotobukiya kits over the years, but the sudden jump in quality here is honestly a bit disorienting. Did they swap out the injection machines at the factory for new ones? ;;

Feature-wise, the kit faithfully recreates a whole range of gimmicks — the linear cannon deployment inside the claws, the opening head cover, the Zoid Core, the tail weapon cluster deployment, and more. Check the review photos above for the full details. But beyond all those features, I really want to give big points to the full-body frame structure and especially the precision and depth of the torso frame detailing.

In terms of build experience, finished looks, articulation, and joint strength, I think it's fair to call this the best kit in Kotobukiya's HMM Zoids lineup. In fact, it might just be the most satisfying plastic model kit Kotobukiya has ever put out, period. Ironically, though, when it comes to value for money relative to what's in the box, it's probably the worst kit they've ever released.

The one and only problem is the price — ¥14,800. No matter how good the quality is, it's hard to deny that it's steep for what you get. T_T Was it confidence in the quality that led to this pricing? In my case, from opening the box and shooting the info photos, through the build, all the way to the finished review shoot, it only took about 8 hours total — which is pretty short for the price. That's less than half the time it takes me to review a typical ¥4,000 MG kit.

Anyway, the price is steep, but the quality of the finished product is undeniable — so if you just go ahead and pull the trigger, I think you'll be more than satisfied with the result. Come experience a sense of solid, sturdy satisfaction that you just couldn't get from other pricey HMM Zoids like Gojulas or Iron Kong. :-)

Zoid HMM EZ-036 Death Stinger | 2015. 12 | ¥14,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.