Raynos
RZ-039 Pteranodon Type Helic Republic
Crew	1
Weight	30 tons
Depth	17.3 m
Height	7.3 m
Maximum Speed	Mach 3.3
Weapons	Storm Claw (2), Spike Claw (2), 3-Barrel Beam Cannon, 72mm Vulcan Cannon (2)
Equipment	3D Electronic Radar, Anti-Aircraft Missile Bay Hard Point

The Raynos is a type of Zoid, a race of mechanical lifeforms from the fictional Zoids universe.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Battle Story Appearances 3 Media appearances 3.1 Anime 3.1.1 New Century 3.1.2 Fuzors 3.2 Video Games 4 Models 4.1 Original Japanese Release 4.2 New Japanese Release 4.3 New American Release 4.4 Holotech Raynos 4.5 Museum Raynos

OverviewEdit

The Raynos is a Pteranodon-type Zoid, created by the Helic Republic. It was created largely as a replacement for the Pteras, but also to counter the Zenebas Empire's Redler.

Unlike other Zoids of the day, which used Magnesser Wings to produce lift and control, the Raynos relied purely on aerodynamics. The result was a Zoid that was both incredibly fast and agile; in the air, the Zoid's top speed outclasses the Storm Sworder (Mach 3.2) and the Storch (Mach 2.2) . This ability came at a cost; the Raynos is a very difficult Zoid to fly, and unforgiving to an inexperienced pilot.

Compared to other flying Zoids, the Raynos is very well armed, sporting numerous cannons and talons. It also sports tail-mounted weapons, a very unusual feature for an airborne Zoid. The Zoid also utilises a sophisticated radar system.

Battle Story AppearancesEdit

The Raynos was developed during the ZAC 2040s by the Republic's forces, as a part of their plan to counteract the seemingly unstoppable Death Saurer. In order to defend its few weaknesses, the Death Saurers always traveled with their own "bodyguard" units of Redlers and Lidiers, making them harder to attack. The Raynos was developed to counter the Redlers in the air, being capable of equaling or outmatching it in all aspects.

In ZAC 2048, the Raynos was deployed alongside the Arosaurer and Dibison to act as the Madthunder's escorts, and to clear a path to the Death Saurer. The Zoids were successful in the operation, and the Death Saurer force was defeated.

The Raynos formed a part of the Helic Army for the remainder of the war, but later became outmatched by heavy Guylos aerial Zoids, notably the Gilvader and Gungyarados. Many Raynos were destroyed by the Guylos forces, with the majority of those remaining wiped out by the meteor shower in ZAC 2056. As only a few remained, the design was retired and replaced with the Pteras.

The Raynos did not see service again until ZAC 2101. During the massing of Republican forces after the Guylos Empire was driven from Europa, it was determined that the Republic's current aerial combat Zoid, the Storm Sworder, would be too difficult to maintain during the campaign due to its Organoid System. To bolster the Republican Air Force, in the lead-up to the invasion of the Dark Continent of Nyx, the military leaders of the Republic ordered the resurrection and mass-production of the Raynos design.

The Raynos was successful against the Guylos Redlers and Zabats, but were at a disadvantage against the Neo-Zenebas forces. Not only was the Storch able to consistently outperform the Raynos, they would often use swarms of Flyscissors Blox to overwhelm their opponents.

Media appearancesEdit

AnimeEdit

New CenturyEdit

The Raynos was first seen in the second half of the New Century anime, as a replacement for Jamie's Pteras. To obtain the high speed Zoid, Steve Toros traded in the Pteras, without consulting Jamie first (much to Jamie's dismay).

Initially, this seemed to be a mismatch for Jamie, as he was reluctant to utilise the Zoid's high speed, having never broken the sound barrier, even in his Pteras. Eventually, piloting the Zoid triggered the emergence of Jamie's 'Wild Eagle' persona; a skilled, brave, and somewhat cocky pilot, who does not hesitate to fully utilise the vast speed of the Raynos. Although he initially seemed nigh on unbeatable, he managed to crash the Raynos through his overconfident actions in almost every battle he was a part of.

The only other notable Raynos pilot in New Century was Jamie's father: Oscar. His great piloting was largely the motivation for Dr Toros to purchase Jamie's Raynos. It is known that Oscar crashed it and never participated in Zoid battles since. However what happened to Oscar's Raynos after the crash is unclear.

FuzorsEdit

The Raynos also appeared in Zoids: Fuzors in several episodes. The most notable example was one piloted by Sally Storm, one of the top Zi Fighters, who used it in a five-man Battle Royale. Despite its capabilities, the Zoid was defeated by RD's Liger Zero Phoenix, even though the Fire Phoenix's wing was damaged earlier in the battle. In the final battle against the Seismosaurus Sally would be seen once again, although she had no dialogue. Other minor Raynos would also be featured, but none played a significant role. White and blue Raynos were used by the Peace Keeper Bureau's air guard in several episodes, such as episode 17, where they were defeated by a criminal gang's Storm Sworders. Mach Storm briefly used a (standard) Raynos to help RD adapt to aerial combat (as his Liger Zero has flight capabilities while in Fuzor mode). It was not a recurring Mach Strom Zoid, as it was not referenced before or after this training scene. In all, the Raynos in Fuzors played minor roles.

Video GamesEdit

The Raynos appeared in the Zoids Saga series, mainly as a wandering monster. It never appeared in any of the Zoids VS games, even in Zoids VS III, which featured several flying Zoids.

ModelsEdit

Original Japanese ReleaseEdit

The Raynos kit comes on four frames, along with a wind-up motor, eight rubber caps, a clear canopy, a small chromed gold pilot, and label sheets. The Raynos is molded in light blue and grey, with silver weapons and smoke-coloured canopy.

The Zoid uses a wind-up motor for its motion; once wound, the Raynos will walk forward and flap its wings, while opening and closing its beak.

The Raynos was released in Japan in 1987 with production continuing until about 1988.

New Japanese ReleaseEdit

The Raynos was released as part of the New Japanese Release. The model has been recoloured; now having a light grey structure, teal armour and wings, black caps, silver weapons, and an orange canopy. This version had a moulding flaw; the strut that supports the right wing is larger than the one on the left, resulting in the right wing always being raised higher. This flaw was carried forwards to all subsequent versions.

A single upgrade kit has been released for the Raynos; the CP-18 4-Barrel Impact Cannon.

A chromed version was released by Leoshop of Taiwan.

New American ReleaseEdit

The Raynos was also released in America as part of the NAR. There were no changes to the model itself; the only changes occurred to the box.

Raynos was featured as part of the Hasbro Action Figures line. In place of the radar dish, one could equip a massive, 4 shot rocket launcher.

The Raynos was also released as part of the New Pacific Release.

Holotech RaynosEdit

Raynos was the second Zoid released as part of Hasbro's Holotech series. The green components of the Raynos were remoulded in a translucent green plastic. There were no other changes to the model.

The Holotech Raynos was initially released as part of the New Pacific Release, with the American release coming later. The Zoid only saw limited distribution in North America.

Museum RaynosEdit

A limited edition version of the Raynos was released in 2005 as an exclusive to the Ueno Museum's 'Dinosaur Expo 2005. This version of the Raynos was primarily bone-white, with dark coffee coloured parts, gunmetal weapons, and orange canopies. There were no differences in the model design.