SUPREME KING GOJULAS
Chassis: RBOZ-024-X (Royal Battalion-Orientated Zoid – Ultimate Biped Class)
Primary Power Plant: DBOZ-TC4 (Dynasty Battalion Order Zoid – Twin-Core; Type 4)
Secondary Power Plant: DPC-TCX (Dynasty Power Core, Twin Class Special System)
Primary Mission: Mobile Warfare Orchestration Center
Secondary Mission: Assault Platform
Tertiary Mission: “Tynon” Weapon Deployment System
Crew: 5: Pilot (minimum rank requirement: King of Helic or designated general),
TAC-COM (TCO minimum rank requirement: Commander)3 Gunners (2 fore, 1 aft – minimum rank requirement: Sergeant)Statistics
Length: 62 meters (King Gojulas = 36m)
Width: 17 meters (King Gojulas = 17m)
Height: 28.5 meters (King Gojulas = 26.6m)
Mass: 630 tons (King Gojulas = 510 tons)
Performance
Land (Cruise): 190 KPH (King Gojulas = 140 kph)
Sea (Cruise): 10 Knots
Land (Boosted): 280 KPH
Sea (Boosted): 25 Knots
ARMAMENT (Ranged)
There are three categories of ranged weapons on the SKG; direct fire, tactical, and special. All of the direct fire weapons are of a hard-hitting energy class due to the abundant power supplied by the new deochalcum power plant. The tactical role is filled with a battery of missiles that allow for targeting multiple adversaries at any angle of attack, and to support the SKG's allies against many foes. The third category will be detailed further on.
Rocknel 35mm Cyclic Cannon (x6) – torso mounted, forward arc, fixed
The featherweight weapon system carried by the RBOX-024-X, the Rocknel cyclic cannons were included in the design for the same reason such weapons find themselves on other monstrous Zoids; they permit a massive weapon platform to engage masses of infantry or light vehicles without using heavy artillery or massive power resources. The Rocknel fires armor piercing explosive rounds at a rate of 9 rounds per second, with an effective range of 1 km. Each gun is fed by a 2,000 round armored drum; enough to last 3.7 minutes of continuous fire.
50mm Beam Gatling Gun (x8) – arm mounted, forward arc, 200º universal range of motion
Located on either side of the heavy armor protecting the Supreme's knuckles, each hand mounts a quartet of 50mm beam Gatling guns. A single BGG can tear a 50-ton armored target apart in seconds at ranges up to 2 km. The eight weapons, concentrating fire, can saw through a Red Horn in moments.
100mm Linear Beam Cannon (x4) – dorsal mounted in batteries of 2, rear arc, 180º inclination
These rear-mounted gun batteries were intended for use as a flanking maneuver deterrent, but also serve to attack rear arc avian and light to heavy land-based targets. Each gun has composite Amor penetration power up to 30cm thick at ranges up to 5 km. The guns have an upgraded cooling and power cycling system, affording them a rate of fire as rapid as 1 shot per 5 seconds. Each battery may fire as a paired salvo or as two individual weapons.
240mm Thermal Impact Cannon (x4) – torso mounted in batteries of 2, forward arc, fixed
Based on particle cannon technology, the TICs compress the would-be beam into an almost solid-state slug of accelerated particles. The cannon releases this energy/matter combination which connects with the target as a kinetic projectile and a super-heated focused energy weapon due to the incredible velocities and friction provided by the accelerated particles. The guns can only fire once per 30 seconds or so, but they can slam or melt through most heavy armor at up to 10 km away.
"Hyperion" HMSF – torso mounted, forward arc, fixed
The HMSF, or Hyper-Magnezzer Sundering Field, is referred to openly as the “Hyperion” and behind closed doors as “HiMSelF,” a tongue-in-cheek reference to the power behind the Supreme King Gojulas’ sovereignty. This weapon as designed for two modes. The first takes the form of a powerful beam weapon that is, for all effective purposes, a stream-formed gravitational anomaly; that is, it functions similarly to a black hole. Despite the massive diameter of the weapon’s bore, the beam that emanates from it is only the breadth of a Planck length; the smallest measurable quantum space. However, there is absolutely no defense that can foil its ultimate penetration of matter or energy. Should the Supreme King Gojulas engage the weapon and turn in place, the beam would simply sever everything from its origin to its terminus; the beam collapses into nothingness at approximately half a megameter, or 500 km. It will slice through enemies, cities, and mountains. Geological formations might crumble or seem unaffected; held together by their own mass, but a Zoid would find itself cut perfectly in twain. The weapon requires a long charge-up period and can only remain activated for up to ten seconds, but that would be enough for the SKG to dice an entire army.
MEGS Cannon (x2) – arm mounted, forward arc, 200º universal range of motion
Considered the primary weapon system of the Supreme King Gojulas, the MEGS cannons use the same technology that generates the energy blades relied upon to deliver catastrophic damage in melee and allows it to be projected as a "shell of solid force" at ranges exceeding 20 km.
Charged Particle Burst Cannon – tail mounted, rear arc, 330º rotation, 40º inclination
This innovation of the traditional CPC in effect changes the nature of the weapon and its application. A traditional CPC concentrates and accelerates highly polarized atomic particles and then releases them in a unidirectional wave, conducting a powerful current through blast at the same time. The particles act like a sand blaster against physical matter, sawing it away at light speeds, while creating immense heat due to hyper-friction, and the electrical charge conducted through the beam overloads circuitry and wreaks havoc against electrical systems in the vicinity at the same time. The CPBC takes this principle and reduces the compression chamber and adds a cyclic delivery system that allows multiple, smaller chambers to be compressed, charged, and released consecutively. In other words, weapon is comprised of four small CPCs that fire one after the other creating, in effect, a fully automatic charged particle machine gun. The original CPC was seen as such a time-restricted, single target overkill weapon that the new CPBC was created, allowing the Supreme King Gojulas to engage dozens of heavy targets and spray them with their own individual CPC shots. Each shot from the weapon has a lethal range at 10 km for targets as massive as 300 tons, but it can tear a 50-ton Zoid apart at 50 km.
Hypercharged Particle/Acoustic Cannon – head mounted, forward arc, 45º universal range of motion
The “roar” of the Supreme King Gojulas is based on the original HCPC carried by the almost mythical Gungyalado. This weapon has been greatly refined and coupled with a vastly superior power supply, but the technology has been hybridized with the original King Gojulas sonic weapon. By encapsulating and amplifying the sonic vibrations within a directed particle beam, the HP/AC causes catastrophic damage through kinetic impact, sub-molecular vibration, ultra-high thermal properties, and electromagnetic interference. Effectively, this weapon would turn a Deathsaurer into a cloud of melting granules spraying across a kilometer of the battlefield..
“Tantrum” Multi-Guidance Anti-Armor Missile (x37) – integrated construction, multiple mounts
Intended to give the Supreme King Gojulas a tactical weapon alternative to its host of direct fire and melee arsenal, the Tantrum missiles are maneuverable and carry a dual-deployment warhead that can either proximity detonate or use a kinetic armor penetrator followed by a high explosive charge. There are 37 rounds in the system that can be controlled either individually or en masse, stored in five armored launcher located on the legs, under the primary boosters, and at the small of the back. Each missile has a limited range of only 5 km, preserving a third of its mass for the multiple guidance systems (thermal, silhouette seeking, optical, and radar) that the on-board computer can automatically switch between as each detects a correlating defensive measure, or the gunner can override the auto-system and manually guide the missile to the target through the optical camera. While not a remarkably destructive weapon, each Tantrum warhead is capable of causing crippling damage to a 100 ton target, shredding a lighter avian chassis, or using shrapnel to severely damage softer systems.
HISTORY
The repercussions of the performance of Zenevas’ flagship Zoid, Fusillade, had rocked both the Kingdom and the Dynasty, and the emergence of new platforms such as the Eradicator shook all the nations of Zi to their foundations. The world was changing quickly, and each nation who was to survive needed to develop its own units that could stand against the threats of new threats. The king of Helic met in secret with the empress of Guylos to discuss the matter of survival, and of the co-development of the technology required to halt the Empire’s advance. Each nation developed a new flagship Zoids of its own. Each was built to stand in battle with a Fusillade fighting force, but together they could unleash a terrifying destructive power designed to stop any opposition. Guylos’ answer was the deadly DBOZ-017-X Gil Kaiserin; its Helic counterpart is the terrifying RBOZ-024-X Supreme King Gojulas.
CAPABILITIES (Performance)
The Gojulas line was always designed to wade into close combat and survive long enough to either demolish everything in reach or to implement its powerful arsenal. The first improvement over the original King Gojulas design was to increase its physical speed and maneuverability. That model was capable of only reaching speeds of 140kph, and that due to its remarkable strides. The Supreme is capable of a flank speed of 190kph based on structural and power plant improvements, alone. However, it carries a suit of powerful boosters and maneuvering thrusters that allow it to almost double this rate for up to ten minutes. Most impressively, the Supreme can use its blade cannons to form a wing, reverse its Massinger traction system, and engage its entire booster suite to achieve ground-effect speeds of up to 300kph. Additionally, while the original King Gojulas could stride underwater at 10 knots, the SKG can engage its boosters in lower profile mode and actually swim at 25 knots.
DEFENSES (Armor)
As with its predecessor, the SKG relies on the densest, most durable armor mounted on a Zoid as its first line of defense. This armor is essentially a composite comprised of all of the very best technologies the three great nations have to offer; from the density of Hell Armor to the energy refraction of Ice Armor, the Emeraldite Infusion armor of Neo-Guylos and the magnesser-laced retro-plate formed from the base of the Giga’s ancient titanium. The final armor plates are incredibly durable, quite heavy, and, to a limited degree, self-repairing. Due to encounters with the Eradicator’s RiPPeR Cannon, the use of Zi Metal has been minimized. In short, the SKG can endure a barrage from almost any common weapon type with minimal effect. The new Chromatic Armor used on the Supreme King Gojulas is even specially reinforced against the effects of powerful gravity weapons.
AI-2 PROFILE
Supreme King Gojulas is the equivalent to Guylos’ terrifying Gil Kaiserin, not only in role, but in mind. Supreme is considered to be a fully realized being, so far as its handlers and crew are concerned. It is mindful and strategic; even introspective. However, in combat, Supreme flows between melee and ranged engagements with the speed and precision of a martial arts master and special ops soldier. Its powerful brain processes data from the COBRA system even as the giant machine dances through an army of Genosaurers. As forceful and powerful as Supreme’s will is, no one yet has seen it actually enraged. The concept is frightening.
SUMMARY
The engineering masterminds behind the development of the RBOZ-024-X believe that they did not so much create an ultimate weapon of war as they did the ultimate Zoidic life form. The Supreme King Gojulas earns its crown in every respect as a weapons platform, but with its perfected AI2 and COBRA systems tying it all together, the Zoid is truly the king of its kind. Other advanced Zoids revere the SKG, and have even bowed to it as it entered the field of battle. No Zenevas force yet has stood its ground against this colossus. The real question twisting in the backs of the minds of all of the force leaders is, will the Supreme King Gojulas remain a servant of men, or will it one day determine that it owes fealty to no one?
THE BUILD: CONCEPT
To put it in its simplest context, my client wanted me to make the ultimate form of the Gojulas for my Age of War story arc. I was supplied with the mighty King Gojulas as a starting point. He wanted the build to more accurately reflect the Battle Story descriptions of the Gojulas line; fairly slow and ponderous, but a very agile infighter with some extreme weaponry. It was to be the ultimate custom I have thus far created, dwarfing the mighty Gil Kaiserin. The physical focus meant that I would not include an insane amount of armament (the most popular style for KG customs, apart from paint). Rather, we were aiming for more of a samurai than Tony Stark’s War Machine.
THE PLAN
The SKG (Supreme King Gojulas), at the very minimum, would be a fully articulated King Gojulas with a more modern stance; the “pursuit mode”, forward-leaning T-rex shape we are used to seeing these days. At the most it would contain tons of detail features and upgrades that would leave its origin species traits as only nods in the silhouette. I had planned from the beginning to swap out the KG head with a modified Giga head, and I knew I would have to articulate the tail. From those humble beginnings the plan seemed to alter every week as new challenges would influence the direction of construction. The King Gojulas is so large that you can literally drop a Shield Liger motor box into its empty chest cavity… this was going to be fun.
CAPABILITIES (Melee)
Running, swimming, and groud-effect flight are all impressively upgraded for the Supreme, but where the jaws begin to drop is the machine’s infighting capabilities. Every joint uses a combination of hydraulic and magnesser technology with every movement; the magnets repulse the articulating parts to remove friction and the hydraulics guide the motions. When a joint must become loadbearing again, the magnesser shuts down or reverses for strength. Further, larger motions are assisted by deochalcum core-venting verniers and thrusters that can allow the behemoth to whip about almost instantaneously. In full motion, the Supreme King Gojulas is capable of a deadly dance that is far more agile than could be guessed. It can climb any structure that can bear its weight, and even vault over a ten-story building.
CAPABILITIES (Communications)
The Supreme King Gojulas is not designed merely as a battlefield brute and an impressive weapon platform, but the central communications facility for all Helic forces. Main antennas and transmitters are secured within its dorsal sails with redundant backup hardware peppering the massive slabs of armor, most tucked out of harm’s way to avoid damage when attacked. The SKG can uplink to a network of aerial units, such as the RPZ-212 Storm Heron, and coordinate all units in the theater. To facilitate the vast amount of data, the SKG maintains a TAC-COM officer, stationed in the head.
DEFENSES (MEGS – Magnesser Enhanced Gravity Shield)
Energy shields are an ancient technology, and energy blades are an evolution of it. The Supreme King Gojulas utilizes a combination of Deochalcum processing, magnesser systems, and gravity manipulation technology, to create a new form of shield. It can deflect energy attacks and physical attacks, but it can also draw them to the SKG where the shield can use gravity redirection to send the attack elsewhere (into the ground, a mountain, the attacker, etc.) or crush a missile into a pellet, mid-flight. The shield can be shaped to protect the Supreme King Gojulas omnidirectionally or it can be focused into a stronger shield at a narrower range. The MEGS can be used to enhance physical damage, as well, acting like brass knuckles. Or shaped into the SKG’s cannon blades.
DEFENSES (Electronics)
Where most combat units are built to avoid detection, the Supreme King Gojulas is made for a different purpose; to be a highly visible engine of propaganda. While it is fully capable of scrambling radars, fooling sensors, and jamming transmissions to a large degree (not to the level of specialized electronic warfare units), it can actually make itself an easier, more attractive target. The SKG can electronically imitate any allied unit, or even groups of units, such as an entire Godos patrol. This allows it to draw fire that its active defense systems can then determine the best course of action to deal with (employ shields, deploy countermeasures, use point-defense systems, activate shields, or just permit the incoming fire to smash fruitlessly against its insane Chromatic Armor). Further, it can send out a wave of false data that misleads targeting systems to misjudge range, angle, speed, and defensive power, causing the enemy to misfire as often as their true-shots are defeated.
CAPABILITIES (COBRA Interface)
One unique aspect of the SKG is its Zoid/pilot interface that bridges the gap between the AI-2 mind of the machine and the mission commander; in this case, the King of Helic. King Tactical Systems created the COBRA (Central Omniscient Battlespace Resolution Array) to maintain communication with all allied units in any theater while tracking all allied and enemy unit data to assist the high command in strategizing the best actions for a successful conclusion of any scenario. Between the Gojulas AI-2 brain and the COBRA tactical supercomputer, the king can often act on situations before they occur. The hardware of the master array is, ironically, contained within the armored blades of the Supreme King Gojulas' crown.
HISTORY (Continued)
The King Gojulas was the most powerful Zoid of its day and the ultimate evolution of the Gojulas line. It was designed to use its awe-inspiring armor to survive long enough to field the most powerful weapons Helic could develop. While it was a daunting machine, the King Gojulas had two severe limitations; 1) speed and therefore range of deployment, and 2) its ability to support ally units amid a wide-scale action. The King Gojulas could destroy anything set against it, but it can do very little to affect many enemies at range. The Supreme King Gojulas design was reworked for greater speed and far more diverse firepower.
ARMAMENT (Melee)
The ultimate goal of the engineers who designed the Supreme King Gojulas was to create the ultimate balanced weapon platform, and that meant making its melee capabilities on par with its mass and potential ranged weapon load. Even without close-in weapons, it is highly capable of delivering colossal damage with its claws and tail. The SKG retains and enhances all of the King Gojulas' melee capacities with MEGS technology, allowing physical blows to activate a crushing energy field just prior to impact that can devastate enemies. To the tail both a blade and a heavy flanged mace was added, and the cannon's bayonet can articulate, allowing the mace to be used as a claw in a limited fashion. Most notable, of course, are the massive MEGS energy blades that can be used to dice through endless opponents.
MEGS Blades (x4) – arm mounted, forward arc, 200º universal range of motion
The complex technological chimera of the Magnetic-Enhanced Gravity Shield allows the generator of a particle field in a form of stasis while redirecting the particles themselves, and focuses them into various physical forms. The most advanced application of this technology has been to shape the SKG’s blades; its ultimate melee weapon. Unlike all other kinetic weapons, MEGS blades do not yield to impacts at even the molecular level unlike steel or Zi metal. This renders to the target material tremendously enhanced damage. The blades use up massive amounts of power, however, and the pilot of the SKG is forced to either rely on one MEGS system or its other weapons. That is, the Supreme King Gojulas is either in ranged mode or in melee mode.
Hypercrush Claws (x2) – arm mounted, forward arc, 260º universal range of motion
The powerful hands and claws of the King Gojulas have been improved upon. The improvement in materials allows the hands to absorb, and therefore cause, more damage than their predecessor’s. Additionally, the digits are longer and the mechanisms are larger as well, increasing grip size and grip strength, and the additional mass allows for enhanced momentum and more severe impacts.
MEGS Knuckle (x2) – arm mounted, forward arc, 260º universal range of motion
The hand-mounted MEGS generators are capable of creating a dense field around the hands just prior to impact. The result of the impact can smash an Iron Kong to scrap with even a glancing blow.
Osmium Alloy Tail Mace – integrated construction, tail mounted, rear arc, 280º range of motion
The phenomenally dense alloy comprising the tail mace allows it to retain a smaller form while delivering horrific damage due to the mass and leverage. The metal is non-ferrous, and so does not detract or effect the use of MEGS weaponry or attract charge-based energy fields.
Monomolecular Diamond-Edged Tail Blade – tail mounted, rear arc, 330º range of motion, 40º inclination
The "bayonet" of the SKG's tail gun was designed with the same technology as the Gil Kaiserin's wing blades. Originally intended to be an energy or MEGS weapon, designers discovered that the vast leverage and weight of the tail coupled with a physical blade actually caused more damage to the Gojulas' target than an energy blade. This was because the alloy blade crushed and tore enemies apart rather than created a clean cut. Serendipitously, the solid state of the blade also functions as a sort of articulated "thumb" when coupled with the tail mace, allowing the SKG to actually pick up, crush, or throw enemies up to 150 tons.
MEGS Hyperbite Fangs – head mounted, forward arc, 45º universal range of motion
As with the fists and claws, the bite of the SKG has been greatly enhanced by the use of MEGS technology. The jaws of the Supreme King Gojulas are a powerful upgrade to the Gojulas Giga design, with superior power, and improved alloys, the SKG has yet to encounter a Zoid it cannot rend apart in just a bite or two.
MEGS Thermal-Shock Horn – head mounted, forward arc, 45º universal range of motion
The final melee weapon is the massive horn atop the Supreme King Gojulas' head. In addition to delivering crushing damage due to the weight of its alloys coupled with the enhancement of MEGS technology which effectively doubles the brute force it can deliver, the Thermal-Shock horn also delivers a super-heated plasma field that can melt Zi armor like butter. The system is also connected through to the Zoid's core, and it can conduct enough of an electrical charge to instantly overwhelm and shut down almost any target it strikes.
SPECIAL WEAPON SYSTEM: TYPHON AAS (Area Annihilation System)
The second mode of the Hyperion HMSF is to form the second half of the weapon system known as, “Typhon” (Data taken from: DBOZ-17- X Gil Kaiserin) The CDRMC system is only half of the most frightening field weapon ever released on the battlefields of Zi; the Typhon. According to ancient Greek mythology, Typhon was the "Father of all Monsters." Born of the earth (Gaia) and Tartarus, the depths of hell, even after his defeat his rage continues to plague the planet... so it is with this unthinkable weapon. The Typhon technology was adapted from several sources, most notably a refinement of the Mactabilis Telum Reactionary Artillery Cannon, or MacTRAC found in the heart of the DFZ-1000 Daidalos, and of the union of Guylos' mastery of gravity based weapons alongside Helic's best Magnezzer tech. Together, these forces create a deadly weapon held in two parts, the energies generated by the CDRMC of Guylos’ Gil Kaiserin and the catalyst generated by the Hyper-Magnezzer Sundering Field, carried by Helic's Supreme King Gojulas.
When the two weapon discharges collide they release a devastating wave of agitated, reactionary energy that causes every active Zoid core within the 200 kilometer impact area to convert into a collapsing antimass anomaly, effectively causing all Zoids in that area to simultaneously detonate with a fission reaction and collapse into itself. The result is a 200 kilometer wide wasteland where a whole army once stood, now a glass debris field pocked with smooth craters where mighty Zoids once stood. Non-Zoid units in the vicinity are either vaporized by the intense heat or torn apart by gravitational flux. Only one unit is known that can survive within the zone; the Supreme King Gojulas. There is potential that the Dark Emperor class scorpion may survive, but models suggest otherwise.
SEGMENT #6
I decided that with all of the detail I had put into this custom so far, that tail-bend had to go. I slashed the tail at the bend and cut out enough room to install another Asoblock joint (Bionicle joints were too large). This was a tricky operation, since I had already built the sliding cable bundle and had to work around it (let this be a lesson to you; aim for the best product you can! Don’t compromise and try to make it right later!) I kept the tip stepped down a notch from the new segment #5, knowing that I was going to add a tail weapon in the end.
SPINAL RANGE OF MOTION
After playing in this arena for a while, I am now confident that I could create a similar structure in my next incarnation of Gil Kaiserin. Still, the joint will be difficult to pose at times, but in all it looks very good so far!
A CUT TO THE RIBS
My original intent was to have the SKG flex across the midsection, but re-evaluating based on the shapes of the battery cover changed my mind; it was better to cut just under the “ribs” – those pipes just beneath the old gun mounts. The first two images show where I decided to make my incision (you can see that my original concept, just below that lower grill structure, would have been a nice, straight cut, but NOOOOO!) The second image was my plan for cutting the motor box underneath. This would allow the body to flex without exposing the nasty, bright green super Struxx joint inside. In the final shot you can see where the cuts sever the shell, battery cover, and motor box.
POINT OF NO RETURN
You know that point where you think, “Maybe this build is above me… I should just take on an easier custom and not crack this kit”? Well, clearly, that point was just a few minutes ago. This sucker ain’t ever gonna walk on its own again!
ONE BIG BOX
One can easily forget the size of the King Gojulas’ motor box; it is almost four times the size of a Shield Liger’s built body. There are three chambers (four, if you include the battery camber), each being large enough to stuff all of the parts of a windup. Like most of the biggest Zoids, the KG has a secondary battery compartment (one for the motor, one for the flasher). Unlike those Zoids, the secondary box is actually wired through the primary, resulting in a tangle like that pictured above.
KICKING TAIL
We knew early on that another sword blade on the SKG’s tail wasn’t where we wanted to go with the design. Despite being a martial fighter, it would have the huge arm-mounted blades to fill that role. We knew that there had to be a more brutal use for its enormous tail. First, I found a leftover blade from Gil Kaiserin’s claws and decided it would make a wicket bayonet for the tail’s super beam gun. My client agreed that more of a flanged mace would rock the house for this custom, so I took a pair of pieces from my Gundam Arios that looked more like thick, flanged mace blades than wings and placed those onto the tail tip. The result almost resembles a claw.
SEGMENT #5
The original tail tip of the King Gojulas was a bit of a letdown. Not only did it feature an extreme angle to correct from the rest of the tail’s mess, that segment wasn’t even made to appear as if it HAD a joint. Further, the gun at the tail clearly looked as though it was supposed to be some kind of turret. I decided to at least make that happen. I took one of my Asoblock joints to make it happen. I cut the gun off the tail and carved it out to place the joint inside the ball. I also noticed that the original piece was molded to simulate a bundle of cables feeding the gun (I took it to be a charged particle cannon with all of the power, and it larger than the gun barrel you find in Berserk Fuhrer’s mouth). I cut the molded bundle out and replaced it with four antiqued serpentine chains. For each of these I designed a smooth styrene port and a cap at the end to prevent it from sliding out. The cable cap was cut from the feed tube of a soft soap pump. The final gun was very agile and looked fantastic.
SEGMENT #4
The second-to-last segment was an effort to make the tail seem more articulated than it really was; an especially steep and skewed shell with a pair of hinge joints set at fairly extreme angles. Making room for the ball joints involved chopping off almost a 20% of the tail’s mass from one end and reshaping the hinge at the other end so it could hold the cup of the new ball joint. The segment #3 transition posed a small challenge in that it had not structure to affix the joint to. I chose to use a double Struxx joint, shave off one ball, and shape the rest to wedge into the existing frame. The joint to segment #5 was simpler, just requiring a little shaping to secure a standard cup over the pin.
OBJECTIVE vs. RESULT
Before we go into the “how” I wanted to catch a glimpse of the overall objective and the result I achieved. As we started in my client and I were both influenced by a number of sources, one of which was proposed Ultimate Gojulas designs floating out there. We wanted to use the King Gojulas kit as a base but also wanted to incorporate several key features from the two UGs. I wanted to have a sleeker, tougher looking head: CHECK. Both of us wanted to retain the powerful hands and make them appear stronger: CHECK. We were leaning more toward a melee approach, but I really liked the idea of the blade cannons that could both do dual duty and pull back out of the way: CHECK. I wanted fully articulated feet: CHECK (though the dew-claws never made it into the design). He liked the idea of pauldrons, as only the Iron Kong actually shares this feature: CHECK. And, finally, I wanted to return the design element of hoses and cables to this custom to pay homage to the original Gojulas, which the Giga strayed pretty far from in some instances: CHECK. Overall, I think it turned out rather well.
THE TAIL
Unlike other customs I’ve done, I decided to tackle the tail first. It would be a fairly inspiring piece to complete and it would give me a much better idea of how weight loading would affect the rest of the body. The construction of the stock tail of the King Gojulas kit makes for a fairly daunting piece of the model, but I knew going in that I was going to attempt to remake it into a fully articulated appendage, and that was, to say the least, even more intimidating. The weight of the tail alone would be enough to test the strength of the Struxx joints that had become my mainstay for these larger builds. The real challenge, though, was converting the existing interlocking lateral hinge architecture into a series of ball joints.
SEGMENT #3
This thing just wasn’t right. It was longer than #2, but molded in this harsh angle that mocked me. Building the inner structures was similar to #2, except that two complete structures had to be created as opposed to affixing both joints to a single post. Note the strange angle of the ball mounted in the third pic, above; yet another required compensation for the freakish sculpt of the original pieces.
SEGMENT #1
The first important note about dealing with the tail is that every segment is constructed with entirely unique architecture. Even the hinge joints, which look identical between the segments, only shrinking in size as the tail tapers, are constructed differently. Further, each segment is shaped as though it has more articulation, so some are molded to hang out from the body at 5° while others are sculpted “bent” at 25°. Making them look natural was an exhaustive effort. Further, unlike every other Zoid I’ve worked with (I’ve said that for each of my last five builds), the architecture is unique. Here, most pieces of King Gojulas are both huge and hollow. That means that every joint I create must have some sort of structure constructed to anchor it to either adjoining piece.
SEGMENT #2
As we slowly progress tailward, we run into the oddity of Segment #2 which is shorter than any other tail segment and is sculpted to act as though its joints are bending it upward. I had to create a structure inside that supported both the ball for joint #2 and the cup for joint #3, which, of course, were made at strange angles.
THE GAP PLAN
Here we are at only Segment #1 and the headaches begin. The hinge here as almost 3 fingers tall, sculpted into multiple detailed tiers. The entire hinge was chopped out of Segment #2, but this left a cavernous hole to fill in Segment #1. To fill this, I planned to take the original hinge pieces and make them into a form of shroud to cover the new Struxx support structure I would have to build there.
STRUCTURE & FILLER
Here you can see my solution; the original pieces are cut to wrap around the support post and fill the gap almost completely. Unseen here is the disturbing amount of LocTite I used to make certain these support structures would not tear free when used.
DEEP CUTS
After chopping through the shell, it was time to go deep and slice through the triple/quad-compartment motor box. The cut is designed to slide inside the lower portion to cover up most of the visibility of the joint inside. Why? Take a look at frame #3… that is one BRIGHT joint! The stresses of such a huge model are intense, and the only joint I have that can take the weight are Struxx super-joints. They are twice as big and at least twice as strong, but they come in two colors; neon green and obnoxious orange. Because of the nature of the joint, I cannot paint the ball (it would chip and scrape off), so I need to come up with crafty ways to cover them up.
THORASIC SPINE
The connection between the neck joint and the chest joint is formed by an unaltered Struxx post, but the motor box required some refinement. To keep it strong, I placed graces around the post; these fit flawlessly and don’t even require glue to stay put. You can see in the third picture that, even recessed, the big joint stands out like a glowing light bulb.
CHEST HEIGHT
Here is proof of concept in the works; both the frame and the motor box are cut (though not yet cleaned) and give some idea of the range of motion. You can also see how the chest chambers stack up like the decks of a ship. Truth be told, I have always wanted to convert a King Gojulas into the next rendition of Ultrasaurus, but I think someone will have to donate the KG kit! As an aside, the last picture shows just how huge this Zoid is by having a 1/72 pilot standing in the box. That central gear chamber is almost two-stories tall, and the whole motor box is the height of a three-story building… and that’s juts in depth!
LUMBAR SPINE
Heading southward, the transition between the lower torso and the base of the tail would also require a Struxx super joint. The low back support structure was just as easy to come by; no trimming required with minimal changes to the gearbox. It will have more supports and some screws driven into it for strength.
REINFORCEMENTS
I had first started using screws more widely in Gil Kaiserin, as there were some larger articulated pieces and many points of articulation. Joints, by definition, are the weakest points in any structure, and in this King Gojulas build, I resorted to dozens of screws throughout, both to secure internal structures, primarily around the joints. However, even more screws were used to reinforce the skeleton I built for the SKG and to secure it to the frame.
BASE OF THE TAIL
Yet another difficult structural feature about the KG is that the torso is sculpted with an almost 90° bend that then merges the lowest portion of the torso with the base section attaching the tail, so we have a joint behind the hip but in front of where first tail joint should be. To complicate this, the small battery box is located at the base of the torso but before where the base of the tail should be, but the body panels are sculpted in such a way that you cannot add in the proper joint (at least not without a tremendous amount of work). Internally, I had to join one super joint to one standard joint on a very rigid structure secured by screws. This solved one problem, creating a joint where there was none, but it created a new problem to solve as well.
REMAINING RIGIDLY FLEXIBLE
The greatest enemy of this build is weight, much of it brought on by leverage. There is no tougher point in the custom than the transition between the hip and the tail; the weight of the tail combined with its length makes supporting it with only a joint almost impossible. I realized that I would have to rest the tail on some kind of solid foundation at the lowest point we wanted it to achieve, and yet still be able to articulate. I solved this first challenge by using the cap of an old paint jar. I knew the cap would have to be black because the paint would eventually chip from it if the model was moved enough, and black would be the easiest color to paint in such a way as to avoid the visible damage. Using the right size of lid allowed the full weight of the tail to rest in the downward position and still function as a hinge for lateral movement. That was the easy part; the hard part was allowing for vertical movement.
FROM HEAD TO HIP
I had put this part of the build off as long as I could, but it was time to really time to finish up this most vital part of the build. I had decided that the joint would be shrouded with a fabric “weather seal” like that found on my Fusillade’s gun barrels. However, I needed to add some solid substance to the area. Ironically, I found a perfect piece in the form of the KG’s canopy. I reversed the piece and screwed it into place as a structure to cover the gasket and to mount more details to fit under the faring.
FIT & TRIM
While the adding of the Struxx joint added some length to the hip/tail transition region, and the booster faring could swing upward to allow some mobility of the tail, the fit is still very tight. In order to create as much mobility as possible, I trimmed every possible obstruction from the cowl and from the tail. The huge blue pistons lost their large “I-Beam” structures, which I replaced with thick power cables that would thread from the tail, through the cowl, and into the hips.
SPEED CAPS
After a lot of fiddling with parts, I decided on how to finally materialize my initial thoughts on what to do with this huge open section of the build. I knew I wanted some kind of engine boosters to fill in this location, but the style was escaping me. I then looked at my collection of glue and toothpaste tube caps and recalled seeing something similar; a Gundam kit with independently articulating thrusters. The configuration I came up with may be utilitarian, but it is also makes for a good design for a huge melee fighter. The vectoring nozzles would assist the SKG with charging at speed and for turning about its center of mass for nimble maneuvering.
THRUSTER COWL INFRASTRUCTURE
The more this portion of the project reared its ugly head, the more I realized I was in over mine. The gap between the hips and the tail became huge when I added the joints, and lowering the tail made it far worse. The cowl could articulate to cover most of it at any one point, but it was just an empty shell. I had to do something! I decided that it would be perfect to house some thrusters on the cowl itself, but there were also thrusters on the tail below. All of these parts lacked a look of cohesion and function, so I pulled out my largest chains and build an architecture to thread them through. This would attach all of the tail thrusters and cables to the hip section through the cowl, and leave them free floating so it could be posed without causing them to pull free. It took hours to measure out all the cables and design the various sleeves that allowed the chains to slide and hold them in place so they didn't fall all over.
BATTERY COMPARTMENT
One of the complications in dividing the torso on any build is dealing with the battery compartment. I needed to cut the huge battery door (which literally weighs as much as a complete Garius) in such a place that it would allow chest articulation and still look good. In fact, the shape of the battery door altered where I had originally planned to divide the entire torso (originally it would have been cut about 1” lower, beneath the large set of vents above the hips). I had planned on running cables from the chest to the belly segments of the compartment, but in the end the narrow opening combined with the high level of articulation and made the cables too limiting.
WE CAN DO IT
I had originally had some high hopes for the huge battery compartment; I wanted the cover to swing down and expose a detailed power plant, super weapon, or a series of cool bits. However, I realized a ton of time had been chewed up just making the basic jointing work, and I had to start trimming features in favor of function (one of the downsides of commissions with a budget ceiling). So, instead, I looked for something to plug the hole with class. My daughter had this awful fizzy candy that came packaged in a little plastic soda can… that was almost precisely the size of a “C” sized battery. I cropped off the top of the can and glued it in place. It looked heavy and industrial, and worked perfectly.
SOCKET TO YA
I added some details to the battery cover to give a better sense of scale. After shaving off the all-important “ON-OFF” lettering, I glued on an internal data socket from a digital camera (which looks incredible, up close!) Second, I bored out the six gun barrels from the lower part of the cover. Finally, I added vents and details to the body shell around the battery compartment itself (because, let’s face it, the huge, blank spaces all over the KG smack of lazy design work).
SHOULDERING THE BURDEN
Why is nothing about this build easy? I actually resisted starting on this part until I had too many other pieces setting and drying around my desktop… I did not want to even think about how to make the SKG have fully articulated arms. To my knowledge, every other Zoid in existence, whether with arms, legs, or wings, has forward limbs attach points that can be reduced to a single plastic pin or cam that can easily be replaced with a new joint or used as-is. Naturally, this is not so with King Gojulas. The KG has the most complicated limb gearing of any Zoid; the shoulders swing the arms forward and backward and elevate them up and down as it walks. The sequence of gears and cams is daunting. Further, the design breaks the upper arm across two components; a drum hinge allows vertical rotation while a wheel allows forward/reverse orientation. The mold doesn’t even bother to hint at an elbow joint. The wrist hangs from the arm structure in such a way that it attaches where the thumb articulates as opposed to where the arm ends. The new arms would require some significant demolition.
A CAP FOR THE GAP
The last bit I required for the shoulder was a transition component that would secure the plate to the frame, which would suspend the joint in the middle of what used to be that two-inch gap. I just happen to have saved a pair of spouts from some laundry detergent jugs. These were perfectly sized to fill that gap, and just deep enough to not protrude too far beyond the frame. I cut them so that the inner workings and the support posts could pass through, and then I solidly cemented and screwed them into place. You can see in the 4th image how the caps look from the outside with the workings in place. The last frame shows the outer shoulder plate mounted in place… they never see your best work!
DESIGNING OFF THE (ROTATOR) CUFF
First, I had to rip out all of the gears from the KG’s body. The next step involved trying to figure out how the heck to build a complete enough shoulder to even add a joint to! I decided to slash off the “drum” from the shoulder piece, which was no easy task since I would, A) require both halves to be in working order, B) it contained multiple internal pieces, including an rotating gear and shaft, C) install a ball joint, and finally, D) I would then have to repair all the damage I had just done. You can see the progress of these steps, above. I ended up leaving the spinning gear as a detail piece and cap the opening with some styrene slat-board I have used in the past to create vents and traction devices. The final image shows the shoulder in place along with my plan to cut apart the arm and place an elbow joint.
REBUILDING THE ROTATOR
The base of the original shoulder was made into two parts; the inner workings were re-crafted to hold the socket for the new joint, the outer cover was re-fashioned to cover the huge, two-inch diameter hole left in the side of the KG’s immense body frame. After building the inner workings I re-connected the outer plate, then I cut out a cover to expose just the supports and the joint. My original intent was to use the old gear supports to hold some kind of shoulder armor or details, but a pauldron wasn’t going to happen and look good attached at the drum, and both ideas restricted articulation, so I decided to trim them off in the end.
THE BUILD GETS HIP
Early on, I was concerned about the strength of the hips on this build. The joints I used on Gil Kaiserin worked very well, but that Zoid is a quadruped, and one of the KG’s legs almost carries the mass of half of Kaiserin’s torso. I considered using the Struxx super joints as in the torso, but there would be no way to hide nor to paint these joints. I built a very strong internal structure and set the normal sized joints to attempt to not only take the load of the model but to hold action poses.
THE UPPER ARM
Here we see the decimated left arm, clipped in the best place I could think to place a joint. Pic #2 shows where I mounted the joint with an internal structural stub of Struxx parts. I decided to cap the hallows for the arm as well, since they would be exposed in many poses. I will add a detail or two to them, later. You can also see my use of that slat-board styrene to fill the gap left over from removing that annoying bicep detail.
THE FOREARM
Securing the elbow and wrist was made simply and strongly with a single Struxx piece. Getting it all together, naturally, was a bit of a bear. I had to drill the forearm straight through the wrist, cutting the post to the joint so it would lock around the armor support post. To get the Struxx piece to slide in required a little shaping outside and drilling a hole through to pass the armor post through. In the end, the forearm is quite heavy and very strong.
THE BUILD
CAPABLE HANDS
Another delicate issue was going to be my plan for the hands. Part of the original plan was that the SKG would be a match for the Gil Kaiserin in details, especially articulation, and that meant rebuilding the hands completely. I wondered how I would pull this off since the KG hands are molded so strangely, but the idea came to me when I saw the foot of a spare Gojulas Giga standing near the KG’s claw… Giga toes as fingers! Each hand is made up of 20 parts (22 if you include the steel rod through the palm and the rubber cap I ended up inserting in the ugly square hole) with 8 joints (9 if you include the wrist joint).
FINAL HAND STRUCTURE
In the end the new hands are about 25% larger than the originals and, of course, completely articulated. The Gojulas Giga toes end up looking the part of both structure and armor, which I hope to paint to accentuate the “brass knuckles” potential, here. The weight of the hands, however, has more than doubled, as the original pieces were cast completely hollow. And we’re not done yet!
REFINING THE DETAILS
It took some searching but I finally found a nice piece to use to complete the thumb (after all, the fingers are composed using Asoblocks jacketed with Giga toes… gotta find a fourth toe somewhere!) I had a spare piece of armature from the Kotobukiya MS-02 kits I used to for Gil Kaiserin’s talons, and it was easily modified to make a very purposeful looking joint. Other details I added were mostly to fill annoying voids in the KG’s architecture including re-using posts cut from the KG’s feet to some capacitors from my computer stockpile. Lots of styrene card was used to close gaps in the arms, as well.
SO FAR, SO GOOD
This was a status update photo set I did for my client demonstrating the completed arms, new shoulders, and spine so far. Both the shell and the motor box can be trimmed and smoothed to enhance movement, but so far I was impressed with the strength of the joints.
THE HYPERION CANNON
My wife plays Warmachine from Privateer Press (I never really got into it, but I’ve won 9 for 9 games… go figure). Anyway, as an ‘I love you just the way you are’ present I bought her the massive Menoth Colossal, Judicator, and what do you know? It came with an extra bit… the lower half of the torso from the Retribution Colossal, Hyperion. I was going to use the part on the Gil Kaiserin, but couldn’t find any place it seemed to fit. On the massive King Gojulas, however, it becomes a notable adornment more than an overwhelming piece of the anatomy. I wanted to replace the huge (ugly) variable-barrel cannon at the center of KG’s chest with this piece. First I cut the original gun deck so that the angle would tilt sharply upward, as the intent was for the whole body to lean downward when completed. I then trimmed out the middle gun platform (a shame, really, because I totally would have used a couple of these as multi-gun platforms for a Fusillade Mk2). The final piece resembles the prow of the Space Battleship Yamato with its Wave Motion Gun.
SECONDARY CANNONS
I played with four or five different variations of what to mount alongside the Hyperion cannon; swivel turrets, missile pods, targeting arrays, large, single-barrel cannons, etc. We ended up going with the original double barrels because they give an air of nostalgia to the original KG, they are an intimidating caliber, and they are visually well balanced. They were also a touch too tall, so I clipped the bases from them so they would rest under the shroud of the Hyperion. You can see that they almost make a splendid wedding band! (Someone out there in Zoid land is going to do that, now). I cut the back out of the platform as I intended to light them as well. I bored out the Hyperion itself and reduced its weight with my Dremel; this was a bit hazardous as the piece is solid resin and created a cloud of nasty dust while I worked.
HYPERION BARREL
For the inside of the cannon I located this inspiring piece from a soft soap pump. I have many pumps in my inventory (one was used for the Mactabilis Telum cannon on the DFZ-Daidalos, one found a home as the base of the “Ravager” hybrid artillery cannon on the XZ-204-H Siege Tortoise), but this is the only one I could find that is rifled on the inside. I trimmed the pump down and fitted it into the back of the Hyperion shell, then drilled it out at the back side to mount an LED at the back.
HYPERION CABLES
From the start, I wanted the main gun of the SKG to look intimidating, and that included giving it the appearance of a truly massive power draw. From the underside of the unit there are four huge cables, including the largest chains I have ever used on a custom. These thread and twist before being inserted into the battery cover in the chest. The original Warmachine piece had four sockets molded into it; these I used for another quartet of cables I like to imagine support the gun’s cooling system
GUNNERY CREW
Originally the twin grates were to be illuminated from behind with LEDs, but I found a more interesting plan for them. My client mentioned that he has always thought the King Gojulas felt more like a land-bound warship, and should have more of a crew. We had already planned on placing an additional crewman in the head, but I decided we could add two more by changing the chest vents into gunnery station viewports. I had to trim down the legs of the crew (now they don’t have a leg to stand on!) to fit them nicely behind the glass. There would be a lot of light in the chest cavity due to 7 LEDs burning away, so I added screens made from the vent covers of a trashed hard drive case; the same screens were used to armor Gil Kaiserin’s vents and main intake. Created a surround for each gunner; these will let light in to illuminate them but won’t be glaring. The effect is really cool! SKG crew updated to 4!
BREAK (AND UPGRADE) A LEG
Yet another unusual challenge of the KG is that the ankle is an illusion. The leg ends below the non-existent knee and never connects to the foot. Instead, the shin armor and calf armor attach to the foot at three points, leaving the leg to float inside the armor cowls. I needed to finish the leg structure with something that looked right. I have a cache of GI Joe parts that included a pair of Howitzers. The barrel and shocks from the guns perfectly lined up with the hydraulic details of the leg, but it was far too narrow. I learned that, with almost no modification, I could cut the howitzer in half, set the pieces side by side, install a Struxx joint in the breech, and finish off the leg. To make certain the new parts were strong enough, each shin is fastened with three screws and heaps of LocTite outdoor cement.
ANKLEG
I had tried a number of ankle variations, but the one that offered the best stability and flexibility was the simple ball joint at the center of the protruding heel section. Without the armor, it still looks feeble on such a large machine.
