New Godzilla toy line.

Supersentai Wrote:
> How are these any different than the Revoltech
> toys, which are a tiny bit cheaper and have worked
> through a good number of characters already?

Well, I don't have any of these new kaiju toys. But Bandai's SH Figuarts and Robot Damashii lines have more robust joints than Revoltechs or Figmas, and for the most part have better QC (on the paint and such) than Revoltechs. Certainly Bandai products are less likely to displease those of us who have been disappointed by the "cheap" action figure lines in the past.

-Paul Segal

"Oh, the anger is never far, never far." -SteveH

Yup...it's all about quality. Or should I say perceived quality? Afterall, I've never actually handled these Bandai offerings...but for a variety of reasons (marketing...but also Bandai's past performance, to be fair), I expect these to blow Revoltechs outta the water. Granted, one must take my Revy hate with a grain of salt...

But anyway, I'm actually more on Adam's side of this discussion--though I totally see how these toys are valid, cool, and would appeal to folks like Paul and 'crush. I love my vinyl kaiju, with their ~5 points of articulation, standing at attention on my shelf. But at the same time, I'm no less apt to pull 'em down for a big beef on my computer desk. My imagination more than makes up for the lack of posability...and posing toys, in general, doesn't interest me much anymore (certainly not as much as "playing").

That said, I think a high-quality, all-plastic, super-posable kaiju toy would make for fun finger candy for most (and like I said, I'd be sorely tempted to do a showa MG in this line).

Does anyone know if all of the Trendmasters Godzilla line released here in the 90's was sculpted in-house? I know that you can currently find some 5-point articulated Bandai-ish vinyls at your local TRU still, as well as some of the larger 12 inch bad-boys, but this hardly compares with the onslaught of Zilla toys that graced their shelves back then.

I was blown away when I showed up at the store and saw the likes of the (then) recent Mecha (the 12 inch version was well articualted, had awesome sound and light features, for around twenty bucks! -with their Garuda sold separately of course), Space Godzilla, and later in the line...Baragon (looked more like King Seesar in all honesty), Varan and Megalon.

Although I couldn't stand the small wings on the moth "brothers" ("sisters"?), and MOGUERA's alarm clock attack sounds, I feel bad for eventually taking their presence at domestic retail for granted before the vanished.

Those were definitely "play with me" toys! I'm still torn as to whether I will start removing the tags from my 90's/00's 6 inch vinyls and start letting the boy have at them in the sandbox next summer. I think he's particularly interested in Titanosaurus...uh oh.

We're on the same wavelength--Bandai released a few really nice over-sized plastic DXy Kiryu toys for the two Mechagodzilla flicks before Final. Never had a chance to handle them in person, but they looked pretty cool and fun. A line like that would be great if expanded to other kaiju...but they'd never sell as well as these smaller, fancier toys.

[collectiondx.com]

i still like this mole

You know I prefer the showa version...but DANG, that is one gorgeous burrowing marsupial.

It's awfully neat looking. Not 6500 yen neat-looking, but I'd drop 30 on it for sure.

More serious than thou

Do I want this? Hell yes. But will I get it? No, I won't...



More serious than thou

So anyone get this? I have Godzilla and Mecha Godzilla, plus the add on set, but only opened Godzilla.

Something I didn't think about before I poured 100+ bucks into this line, was... do I really want an articulated Godzilla, and if so, how articulated should it be? There's no doubt that the figure is gorgeous, and even the cut lines for the articulation don't really take away from that. But while they put in all these joints, it doesn't really seem to me like many of them are usable. Granted, I don't think a guy in the actual rubber suit has that much range of movement anyway, but you can barely move his head without it popping off, his multiple joints of articulation in his tail don't really alter the stance all that much and the overall result is that, IMHO, he's not really a lot of fun to fiddle around with, like a Figuarts or a Robot Spirits or whatever would be. And if you're not going to have fun picking him up and playing with him, you're probably better off getting a more static, cheaper figure.

It's very much like Eleking or one of the monsters in the UltraAct series, but with less movement due to the design. Maybe when I open the Mecha Godzilla and the accessories and stuff I'll have a bit more fun.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/2012 04:00PM by fujishig.

fujishig Wrote:
>
> Something I didn't think about before I poured
> 100+ bucks into this line, was... do I really want
> an articulated Godzilla, and if so, how
> articulated should it be?

I appreciate your candor :y

-Paul Segal

"Oh, the anger is never far, never far." -SteveH

Surprise! Yes it is a MONSTER!



And more traditional ones:




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2012 09:44PM by cf18.

Damn...King Ghidorah's mouths look garishly huge.

Still, not terrible. I wonder how the necks will be articulated...

I like how MechaGodzilla is posed in this shot- it's like a summer backyard photo- he's calmly watching his big brother shoot fire out of his mouths.

Ah... memories.

My memories are of the fire coming out of a different orifice....

---------------------------------
[pgaijin.blogspot.com]

Summit. Summer 2007. One particular guest and my new bottle of extra strength Pepto Bismol disappear repeatedly throughout the event. Hilarity (for the rest of us) ensues.

Ah... memories.

christ Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I like how MechaGodzilla is posed in this shot-
> it's like a summer backyard photo- he's calmly
> watching his big brother shoot fire out of his
> mouths.
>
> Ah... memories.


And MOGURA is drunk on his ass?

"EEEEEHHHYY lookit me, I'm da FONZ!"

"Dude, you ain't got no thumbs"

"WHHOOOOAAAA"

BBTS has better pics of Fire Rodan:





Not too bad, actually! I really like how they managed to hinge the wings nicely without making the joints look shitty.

I think the SH Mosterarts are really cool, I took Godzilla out of the package and the heft and articulation is nuts. I haven't played with any of the Revo monster line so I can't really compare, but Bandai took their time with these.

www.nakamatoys.com

I picked up a Space Godzillar. It's a nearly perfect action figure for that character. But the paint is weak. The crystals on mine were badly scratched and revealed that they were transparent underneath. I scraped off all the paint and, you know, they actually look better. (Though I wish Bandai had cast them in a slightly translucent white color instead of painting them.) Also, the upper torso of SG is likewise cast clear and painted over. And the painted details in other areas are already getting scraped off and scratched – toenails, fins on the back, parts around the neck… The paint just isn’t as durable as I would have liked. Otherwise, it’s a great toy for a terrible price.

Post pics of them paint-stripped crystals, please! I'd love to see how they look.

Here's for you, Rev'rnd.






The clear isn't ideal since the shoulders and dorsal growths no longer match. And you can't really clean off all of the latter because at some point the plastic stops being clear and starts being blue. I suppose you could install some LEDs in the shoulders without too much hassle...

Note that the yellow bands which should be around the base of the shoulder crystals aren't there. Strange that they left them off.

Overall, this figure would have been absolutely perfect if they'd just cast in milky, translucent plastic instead of clear-and-painted-white. Such an odd choice.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/10/2012 09:57AM by Gcrush.

Thankee, sir. All in all, that don't look too bad, actually. But you're totally right: cast the whole thing in translucent plastic with a slightly bluish white tint...problem solved. Bandai hates you.

I dunno, I kinda think it looks incredible with the clear shoulder crystals. I'm pretty biased towards SG tho.

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

I really like Space Godzilar, but the design choice on the plastic and paint is wonky. Why cast it clear if you're going to paint a solid color over it? I basically like the shading they put on all the dorsal plates, which are individual pieces glued into the back (until you get down to the little nubbins on the side and tail). But I don't want to take the time to clean those off. As easy as the paint was to scratch, it was a hassle to get it all off. I think at some point I'll lightly frost the crystals and blast them with some pearly-pearly gloss to make them bling...

I'm looking forward to what Bandai can do with the older designs like King Seasar, Jet Jag-you-are, Hedorah, Kumonga, Titanosaur, and so forth. In fact, I would pay good money for a Dogora and Gezora. I don't think there's much they could do with Mothra though. The design is so static and Revoltech nailed it pretty good already.

The only modern design that interests me is GMK Godzilar. I hope they take their time getting to it though. The longer the line goes on, the better the figures become.

Prometheum5 Wrote:
> I dunno, I kinda think it looks incredible with
> the clear shoulder crystals.

It really does. If it was designed this way, with clear back crystals too, I would want one, and I don't even care much for Space Godzilla.

-Paul Segal

"Oh, the anger is never far, never far." -SteveH

Dogora? Shirley, you jest! I'd squeal like a piggy if we actually got new Dogora merch.

GMK would be pretty fresh. I'm just hoping the line survives long enough to get to the showa era.

Eh...who're we kidding..?

[hima-toy.cocolog-nifty.com]

mole kaiju

San Diego Comic Con exclusive Godzilla.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/2012 11:16AM by chen.

Grrr. Need this. I hate that I need a stupid recolor. But this sculpt looks awesome this way.

Aftermarket price: What I paid for toys when I was crazy and young and childless.

Space Godziller looks like he's vomiting Sunny-D, yo!

But the sculpt and the crystals make the figure itself look amazing!

Meltdown Zilla'? They ought to make one that's like, say, 2 feet tall, three feet long, then sell it for like $500.00...yeah!...oh wait...what?...they already did that? Just not super silly POSEABLE! Gotcha!

I prefer vomiting purple stuff, myself...

Was the Super Final Premium really $500? Dang. Still...meltdown Godzilla kicks much ass.

Do they still even sell Purple Passion...yak!!!

Remember NOT to ask me about the time in college when I drank both a Standard and a Magnum of Gallo, followed by a full glass of E&J...needless to say, purple snowballs were eventually outlawed by addendum to the Geneva conventions.

Actually, that pretty much was the whole story...sorry for that.

That concoction sounds about as delightful as Four Loko...

Anyway, King Ghidorah pics!

Anybody else see the "Fusion" Bandai sofubi lines in their local TRU? These are nice, squishy, glittery, semi-translucent vinyls. So far, MechaG, Zilla '68, and Gigan. This stuff seems to get released so randomly over here...but I'm glad it does.







---------------------------------
[pgaijin.blogspot.com]

I did just see those Mr.Hill, on my once-every-2-months-or-so visit to TRU. At first I didnt' see the extra little "Fusion" sticker, and thought somebody just screwed up MechG2's paint job, but then realized, HEY! they're all kinda clear!
Not bad pickups for cheapies.

Okay, so, guys... do ALL the S.H. Monsterarts have big, meaty chunks of diecast in them??

I picked up Mogera on sale, and it's absolutely perfect. Even down to the part-swapping gimmicks - it has a couple of clever little ways you press on panels or details to pop out the part you're exchanging. In construction, it reminds me of the chogokin modern Mechagodzilla and Final Wars Gigan, with very precise construction and ratcheting joints where it counts. And the feet (except the central blue "tread") and ankle guards are metal, which gives the whole figure massive heft. The "Nose" is metal, too, with a really nice glossy off-black finish.
I really need to dig up my copies of that chogokin Mecha-G and Gigan, as the SHM Mogera is so big that I believe it may even be in scale with them.

I'm definitely in for the '93 Mecha-Goji now, since I assume it should be constructed similarly to Mogera... and if the other figures are as good as this one, then I gotta get that '94 Godzilla to go with them.

-Paul Segal

"Oh, the anger is never far, never far." -SteveH

Bwaahh???? I thought the Monsterarts figures were ALL-plastic?

MY MIND!!!

Wow a lot has happened with this line, you guys have probably seen what came out and what's to come but if you haven't here you go. Godzilla Jr. is a Web Exclusive, Destroyah is coming out but will be the most expensive figure yet. Kong will be a future release and no word yet if Biollante will be made but if it is I can see it being a Web Exclusive.

[tamashii.jp]











Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/24/2012 12:06PM by chen.

Quote
Sanjeev
Bwaahh???? I thought the Monsterarts figures were ALL-plastic?

MY MIND!!!

I was surprised as you are! Though I got suspicious as soon as I felt how heavy the Mogera is in its box. It's not THAT much of a shock, since many of the Figuarts releases have metal feet, but they're a lot less hefty than this monster (they're also much smaller in general, after all), so Mogera feels like a serious piece of hardware.
According to HLJ's product descriptions, Mecha-Goji '93 is part metal too, though they don't mention it for any of the other releases.

-Paul Segal

"Oh, the anger is never far, never far." -SteveH

Hmm...I wonder if it's only the mecha-characters...

I sure never heard anyone mention diecast in Godzilla, Rodan, or the others.