Tag: Godzilla Page 1 of 7

King of the Monster Obsession

On July 22, 2020

Last fall, I visited the Boston Museum of Science. One of my favorite exhibits they have there is this little glass display filled with the odd collections of Massachusetts residents. There are porcelain dogs, dolls, Hot Wheels cars, coins, you name it.

I took down the contact info for the display and sent them an email asking if they’d be interested in displaying some of my Godzilla toys. I got an almost immediate response and within a few weeks, my Godzillas were being viewed by thousands of visitors every month.

I posted this on a local Facebook group for my town and the local town magazine got wind of it and decided to profile me. To my surprise, the interview went fairly in-depth, giving a good look at this one particular corner of my collector madness.

You can read the article here. If you’re reading this post sometime after summer 2020, then congratulations! The world didn’t end. But what I was going to say is you’ll have to click on “Editions” to find the May 2020 issue to read the article.

Poest Office > NECA’s Godzilla figures

By Poe

On February 3, 2014

In Poest Office

Not sure if you have seen this, but I’m pretty excited. BBTS has a new listing for a “Godzilla 12″ Head To Tail Action Figure.”

From one of the most anticipated movie releases this year, the relaunch of the classic Godzilla franchise. This 6″ tall figure is highly detailed and fully articulated, and over 12″ long from head to tail! Over 25 points of articulation and a bendable tail. This classic movie monster has never looked so good in toy form.

I like the idea of having a NECA Godzilla to put with my NECA Pacific Rim figures. I had thought NECA only had the license to do large scale figures (as they do for Marvel, DC, and others). A 6″-7″ figure seems like it might be stepping on the toes of Bandai and Jakks, who are also making toys. I have a suspicion that these figures are labeled 12″ Head to Tail (for the 6″) and 24″ Head to Tail (for the 12″) in order to skirt around this issue. I hope we get a look at these and the other Godzilla offerings next month at Toy Fair.

–PresidentJuggernaut

I did see that, and found it very interesting. You’re right that the clarification about the height versus the length is intriguing. I actually went ahead and pre-ordered the 24″ long (12″ tall) version. I grew up with Bandai’s 8″ vinyls, and while I collected a number of the 6″ vinyls in the early 2000s, I’ve always felt like Godzilla toys should be bigger – which may be one reason why I was never really able to commit to S.H.MonsterArts.

So, long story short, I’m excited about NECA’s figures. I don’t expect S.H.MonsterArts-level articulation, but I do expect more than the “swivel arms, legs, and tail” of the Bandai vinyls. It may actually hit the perfect sweet spot between those two extremes. Here’s hoping!

It is curious that NECA’s making these when Bandai USA is producing their own 6″ figures (and JAKKS is producing oversize figures). Bandai USA is the master toy licensee, but obviously that doesn’t preclude either the JAKKS or NECA figures, begging the question, what exactly does being the master toy licensee get you? According to this source (whose veracity I can’t speak to, but it’s the only one I could find on a quick search), “the [master] toy licensee receives the right to control virtually all licensed products in the toy and game category.” If true, does that mean Bandai USA had to sign off on – or perhaps even arranged – the NECA and JAKKS deals?

I don’t know the truth behind it all, but I think the NECA products represent a promising (if somewhat more expensive) option for adult collectors. I agree the specific “head to tail” phrasing by NECA is weird, but I’m skeptical it’s a semantic workaround for the potential legal complications of making an official 6″ or 12″ figure – I can’t see that holding up in court. Of course, it’s always possible it’s something Bandai USA and NECA worked out ahead of time. Or maybe NECA just wanted to be really clear on what the figure was going to look like.

Odds ‘n Ends > Toy Review Advent Calendar, Third-party add-ons, Toy Aisle Trolls, Power Lords

By Poe

On December 20, 2013

In Odds 'n Ends

Good lord this holiday season went by fast. Just in case you somehow missed my endless shilling, be sure to check out the joint-blog project
I’ve expressed my doubts about third-party toys in the form of licensed characters, but I have far fewer qualms about third-part add-ons, which are awesome. There are some really cool third party projects going on for MOTUC right now, such as Kevin Kosse’s Horde Trooper helmets or the upcoming conversion kits by Mat Vige O’Toole, a.k.a. Zombihamma (who’s also a special effects make-up, prosthetics and storyboard artist with a pretty badass resume) – plus of course Joe Amaro‘s great stuff. Of course, it took a few years for any sort of third party add-ons to appear. What I’m trying to say is, where is the emergent third-party add-on market for Star Wars Black 6″? Let’s skip the 2-3 year delay and get going on that now. I’d like a 1/12th scale cantina environment for Han and Greedo to have their shootout (so that I can have Han shoot first again and again and again), a headset for Han to go with his pilot gloves, laser blast attachments for all the blasters, an alternate open left hand for the Sandtrooper so that he can hold the light repeating blaster properly, electrobinoculars for the Sandtrooper, Boba Fett’s concussion grenade launcher–actually you know what? This might need its own post.
I haven’t received a new Toy Aisle Trolls submission in quite a while. Have the trolls actually gained a conscience? Have the stores caught on, at long last? Or are you all just lazy?
BigBadToyStore has pre-orders for Bandai America toys from the 2014 Godzilla. There’s mention of “MUTO (Winged)” and “MUTO (8 Legged)”. M.U.T.O. appears to be the name of an organization that the film’s marketing team has created a fake website for. We don’t yet know what MUTO stands for.
NECA has released a great visual guide (warning: 1.4Mb) to every Predator figure they’ve released thus far.
I think I want to collect a vintage set of Power Lords. This is going to take a while.
Out of curiosity: what are your picks for the best action figures of the year?

Super Review Wars continues with S.H.MonsterArts Destoroyah Evolution Set

By Poe

On September 12, 2013

In News

Over at CollectionDX, our own Nemo Eight reviews the S.H.MonsterArts Destoroyah Evolution Set!

Review > Godzilla 1964 (S.H.MonsterArts, Tamashii Nations)

By Poe

On August 12, 2013

In Reviews

As I’ve frequently mentioned on this site, I’ve behaved somewhat oddly in regard to my S.H.MonsterArts collection. I have always, always been an opener – an immediate opener (although sometimes I’ll hold off if I need to take pics for a review). But despite owning every single S.H.MonsterArts toy in existence, up to and including the subject of this review, I have only opened three (again, including this one) so far.

I’m really not sure why I waited so long to open them. Am I becoming a (horrors!) mint-on-card collector? No, I didn’t even have them on display, so that wasn’t it. Part of me wondered, am I getting tired of toys? It’s possible, but I don’t think that’s it either. I have other toys I open right away.

Part of the truth, I think, is that I just wasn’t really into the monster designs. With the exception of Godzilla 1985, I’m not really a fan of the Heisei era of Godzilla films. They were made in the 1990s and with few exceptions, they weren’t imported over here until the late 1990s when the American abomination of a film came out. By the time I watched the Heisei movies, I’d already grown nostalgic about the “Showa” era of Godzilla films (the 1950s through the 1970s). Also, I just didn’t enjoy the Heisei films – I found them rather dull affairs, with little of the fantasy and skill that went into the early Showa era.

So while I was very excited by the prospect of “super-articulated Godzilla figures,” I think I held off opening them because I was waiting for Tamashii Nations (the collector arm of Bandai that produces these figures) to get to the Showa era, at which point I would decide to either integrate my Heisei collection with the new Showa monsters, or just sell them off and focus on the Showa era.

Well, the Showa S.H.MonsterArts figure is finally here. Unfortunately, I found it very disappointing.

Creeeeeepy.

By Poe

On August 1, 2013

In Miniposts, Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnKj-svA37I

Now that’s a novel way of showing off a figure’s articulation. In this particular case it’s also really, really creepy.

S.H.MonsterArts Godzilla 2000 and Heisei Mothra revealed

By Poe

On July 28, 2013

In News

(Go straight to the bottom of the article if you want all the photos.)

It’s hard enough keeping up with the news on Western toy lines with Tamashii revealing S.H.MonsterArts figures with no fanfare at Wonderfest. Import Monsters always catches ’em, though. I’ve got to figure out where to keep an eye out.

Anyway, they revealed a Heisei-era Mothra from 1992’s Godzilla vs. Mothra (not entirely unexpected, since Battra was revealed last week) and also a new Godzilla based on his appearance in Godzilla 2000. If you’ve never seen it, it’s actually one of the most entertaining Godzilla films out there, especially in the modern era. The dubbing is good because the film had an actual American release. It’s a great movie to introduce someone to Godzilla with.

I’m not a huge fan of the 2000 design. I prefer Godzilla’s traditional “leaf” spines to the crazy jagged projections; I don’t like the green skin; and I really dislike the rose-colored hue of the spikes. Fortunately, all of that is relatively downplayed on this figure, which is actually based on the original design maquette created by sculptor Yuji Sakai during the development of Godzilla 2000. So while it’s not a realistic 1:1 translation of the movie design, it’s arguably cooler than that.

And they seem to have articulated the hell out of Goji this time around, right down to the fingers – we haven’t seen that on a SHMA figure yet. Sakai sculpts almost all the S.H.MonsterArts stuff and this is one of his favorite G designs to sculpt (for obvious reasons, since it was his design), so I’m not surprised it seems to have gotten a lot of love.

While I’m not a huge fan of this design – I was hoping for the “Kiryugoji” version, which is similar to this one but features charcoal skin and bone-colored spines – I’m finding myself pretty excited by this figure. It looks fantastic and badass. And I don’t have to worry about a red breath weapon, since I’ve already got one from the Godzilla effects pack.

Mothra I’m not quite as excited about. I really, really wanted a Showa Mothra to go with Godzilla 1964. However, I will concede that to anyone but the most detail-oriented fan, the difference between the 1964 Mothra and the 1992 Mothra is not something you would notice unless you had both of them side-by-side.

Poe’s Point > Thoughts on SDCC 2013, Part I: Tamashii Nations, NECA

By Poe

On July 23, 2013

In News, Poe's Point

Photo by Rustin Parr

First and foremost, I would like to offer my immense thanks to Ridureyu for working so hard to keep us all informed and up-to-date as possible on developments at SDCC. It allowed me to relax* a lot more and recharge my batteries before what I hope turns out to be a very busy August here on PoeGhostal.com. Please be sure to visit Nerditis, where Ridureyu writes regularly about toys.

And now, presented in no particular order, are my thoughts on the various news and reveals at this year’s San Diego Comic Con.

Hi-Res S.H.MonsterArts Biollante Photos

By Poe

On June 29, 2013

In News

Bluefin sends along some hi-res photos of S.H.MonsterArts Biollante. This mother is going to be HUGE. Word is, the light-up…thing in the torso will be controlled by remote.

In related news, the “BioGoji” (Godzilla as he appeared in Godzilla vs. Biollante) figure that’s often popped up alongside the SHMA Biollante has been confirmed as a prototype for the line, though if/when he’ll actually be produced as a figure is up in the air. Still, if they can commit to Biollante, I’m betting we’ll see a BioGoji sometime next year. It’s my favorite Heisei suit, so I’ve got my fingers crossed.

S.H.MonsterArts Biollante Info

By Poe

On June 25, 2013

In News

Nov/Dec 2013

The largest Godzilla figure from Tamashii Nations to date, the massive Biollante joins the incredibly detailed S.H. MonsterArts line! Highly requested through consumer feedback, Biollante has finally been approved for release after extensive testing to maintain the quality fans have come to expect in the line. To further insure authenticity, the original creator, Fuyuki Shinada, of the Biollante model used in the “Godzilla vs. Biollante” movie was brought on board to personally plan, sculpt, and approve this piece to create the most accurate articulated Biollante figure ever. Replicating her pulsating core just like the film, the chest area features a special light-up gimmick and light color band that be changed via control switch. S.H.MonsterArts Biollante’s meticulous sculpt detail, massive proportion and thorough articulation at every neck joint allow for realistic portrayal of scenes from the movie. At an astounding 12″, Biollante dwarfs even the mighty King Ghidorah, making her the largest foe Godzilla will ever tangle with.

Every so often, you get a toy you never, ever thought would get made. “Super-articulated Biollante” are three words I never thought would go together. Godzilla vs. Biollante is one of the three Heisei films I really enjoy (my favorite is The Return of Godzilla, followed by Biollante and then Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II), so, despite the $230(!!) price tag, I’m planning to get this figure. This, hopefully, will represent the high-water mark for S.H.MonsterArts in terms of price…I can’t think of any other Toho monsters, at least, that would be this large.

The Godzilla in the image above is the same statue/maquette of the “BioGoji” figure we saw when the Biollante prototype was revealed. The BioGoji suit is my favorite Heisei suit, and I sincerely hope we get a BioGoji SHMA figure to go with Biollante. I’m sure most of you think all Godzilla suits look alike (you kaijuists!), but the BioGoji suit is leaner and more ferocious than the ’94 Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla suit, which is the current “regular” Godzilla available in the S.H.MonsterArts line.