When I was a young kid, my parents gave me the coolest Robotech model kit. It was a giant robot, piloted by a human who sat it the robot’s head. It was named Zoltek on the box and was unbelievably cool to a little kid.
Zoltek was part of the Robotech Defenders model line by Revell. These models, as I’ve recently learned, were not part of the Robotech anime universe but did feature the Robotech name and logo. Apparently, they were based on other Japanese model lines and were introduced to a North American audience in 1984.
I didn’t know that a Robotech cartoon even existed, or that Robotech Defenders were some strange mishmash of names and characters from other stories, or that a two-issue comic book back story for the Robotech Defenders was published by DC in 1984 in an attempt to generate more interest. All I knew was that this fantastic looking robot was quite a challenge to assemble, moved with articulated joints when finished, and was absolutely incredible. The stuff of daydreams.
I didn’t pay much attention to the human pilot, and instead imagined Zoltek as a sentient giant robot. He was a part of a larger universe that existed in my imagination and was populated with various entities, particularly little robots I got out of a quarter vending machine at a local pizza joint.
I played with Zoltek enough that he was soon in multiple pieces. These fragments drifted throughout my childhood world, getting lost or misplaced in corners of my room or within the shadows under my bed.
I wove this new reality into the wider story that unfolded whenever I played with the little robots. They were now on an epic, world-spanning quest to find the pieces of the demolished Zoltek, to reassemble them into their old friend and comrade.
Some pieces of that old model have somehow stayed with me all these years and now my daughter has them mixed in with a variety of toy figures. So Zoltek lives and the quest goes on!
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Early in the process of trying to recover from malalignment syndrome, I ordered an old Revell Robotech kit from online. I put together and painted the gerwalk and had a lot of fun. My daughter played with it when she would visit. It is one of two models that came in the kit. For quite awhile, it was very difficult to do tasks requiring the kind of fine motor skills that model building necessitates and so I put aside model building. Now, however, I am thankfully at a point where it is becoming easier to work on such things.
I have bought three model kits recently. One is another of the old Revell Robotech kits…I just love them! Even the boxes and pictures make me feel good.
Another is a much newer Bandai model. I have started working on this one. The instructions are in Japanese, but so far the pictures are an adequate guide.
This is the newest acquisition. It appears to not require glue or paint and I hope to work on it with my daughter. I’m very excited!
Check out the MSM-07S Z’Gok all put together!
And here is the MSM-03 Gogg assembled!
And here is RX-78-2 Gundam!