I mentioned in an earlier post that one of my favorite toys was a die-cast Mechagodzilla figure. It occurred to me that I’ve never actually written up a review of this great piece.
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) and its sequel, Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975) were the last of the Showa-era Godzilla films–the campy monster-vs.-monster flicks we Ge-Xers grew up on, which led us to create things like Kaiju Big Battel.
Since my love of robots, dinosaurs, and robotic dinosaurs has been well documented, it’s not surprising that Mechagodzilla is my favorite monster after the big G himself.
As a kid, I had a few of the cool Bandai vinyl Godzillas, but I missed out on the Mechagodzilla. Maybe it never even showed up at the Japanese toy import store in Waltham, I don’t know. So I had to use a stand-in–usually Grimlock.It wasn’t until 2002 that I finally got a vinyl Mechagodzilla. But he was quickly superseded by an even cooler toy–Bandai’s die-cast Mechagodzilla.
Standing about seven inches high, the Chogokin Mechagodzilla (GD-56) is the ultimate toy for the MG fan. Here’s a rundown of his features:
- 21 points of articulation, including ball-jointed shoulders, hips and ankles, plus a working jaw and a hinged chest panel
- Alternate “missiles fired” hands and removable knee missiles
- Alternate “flying mode” head
- Spinning head action feature
- Die-cast parts
Bandai also released a bright chrome version of this figure, as well as a slightly retooled re-release based on the second version of MG from Terror.
This figure is one of the finest in my collection. The Japanese know how to do toys right–at a price, of course.MG ran for about $50-$75 retail when it was released in 2003, but you might be able to find it for a reasonable price on eBay these days.This figure was also the occasion for my very first Youtube video ever. I decided to try and show off his “spinning head” feature. It’s a little odd that Bandai chose to put so much effort into this, since MG does it once for about ten seconds in the first film (to create an energy shield). It’s a nice little feature, though.
It was less than a few hours later that I discovered someone else had already done the same exact thing…honestly, what’s the likelihood of that? I hate the Internet sometimes. (Incidentally, that’s Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster playing in the background of the vid.)
Poe
Old school Gigan or super-cyborg Gigan from Final Wars?
Paul
For what it's worth, my favorite Monster (aside from Godzilla) is either Gigan or King Ghidora.
Poe
@Esbat–I don't mind the larva/turd-shaped Mothra, but the butterfly Mothra was a bit too feminine for the destructive preferences of my childhood self. These days I find Mothra interesting–she's a very Japanese monster.
And yeah, Minya sucked. Looked like the bastard child of E.T. and the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
@Paul–Yeah, no kidding. I mostly made the video to show how amusing the feature was.
Paul
Nice stuff!
Wouldn't it be less work to turn the head yourself though? I mean, it seems like a lot of effort is expelled to do one 360 turn.
Esbat
Wow, is everyone going Kaiju crazy with me or something? I just started getting into the whole "Giant Monster" movie thing since I started to read Twisted Kaiju Theater and saw Cloverfield at the theater. I remember watching the movies on TNT on Joe Bob Brigg's Monstervision and super late at night with all the Chinese Wire-Fu flicks. I simply hated baby godzilla… but I am very found of Mothra for no real earthly reason.