Released back in 1989 the Grade Up Zoids are some of the most treasured, elusive, and spectacular pieces to ever grace Zoid history. In fact, I consider them to be my "all time" favorite Zoids line. From the box adorned with vintage push pin style borders to the actual toys accented with hints of chrome, the Grade Up's reign supreme amongst all other releases. The Grade Up's are also responsible for housing the "Unholy Trinity" consisting of three Holy Grails: King Gojulas, Gil Vader, and Gungyalados. 

The Grade Up Zoids also allowed the average Zoid collector a simple yet important as well as satisfying privilege: building the motor from the ground up. A privilege that even the re-releases do not afford. Although not rocket science, placing the battery contacts and arranging the gears in the gearbox give the collector a true sense of ownership. Unlike the re-releases, the original Grade Up Zoids work, and work very well. All to often do I read horror stories about a King Gojulas not moving properly, a Gungyalados shedding it's armor, and a Gil Vader refusing to light up. Like most things in life, you get what you pay for, and the Grade Up Zoids are no different. Thankfully the re-releases have key components that distinguish them from the "real deal". Although It is nice that the re-releases give new collectors a chance to experience the beauty of the line, it's also a pleasure to take solace knowing that they don't come close to the originals in terms of quality, function, and aesthetics

The Grade Up's consist of 12 units, each with the Grade Up port. All Grade Up's have a solitary port save for Gil Vader who mounts trio of ports. The Grade Up's have three prefix designations which are "RPZ", "DPZ", and "DBOZ".  They also have a numerical suffix which ranging from 012-024. To supplement the line a total of 5 Grade Up weapons kits were released. These units sported the prefix "GU" and also a numerical suffix ranging from 01-05. Although these additional weapons kit were meant to be used in a universal manner, there are some errors that prevent them from doing so. To view the GU-01 thru GU-05 pictures, notes, and compatibility click here. Below you will find a highly detailed, in depth review of each Grade Up Zoid.

        RPZ-012 Hound Soldier                        DPZ-013 Zeek Dober                            RPZ-015 King Liger

           DPZ-016 Gul Tiger                                RPZ-018 Orudios                           DPZ-021 Ice Blazer

         RPZ-019 God Kaiser                                 DPZ-23 Gunyalados                                RPZ-020 King Baron

                DBOZ-017 Gil Vader                         RPZ-022 Battle Cougar (Wanted)          RPZ-024 King Gojulas

This has been a Zoid.US production. No image may be used without permission. 2010 -WIKD