Godzilla has been a staple figure in kaiju lore and media since he first appeared on the big screen in 1954. Since then, his many forms have been replicated in toy form by many companies. As of late, NECA have been trying their hand at the king of monsters, having already gotten some practice with their Pacific Rim line, so I decided to pick one up and see how it handles
I've been a fan of Godzilla since I was about eight or nine, though admittedly I dropped in-and-out of the fandom every now and then, as there hasn't been a whole lot going on, at least not up until Legendary Picture's new Godzilla film that came out last year. And over the summer, I was in a local comic shop when I spotted this guy, and on impulse decided to buy him. I haven't really bought any figures outside of a Transformers line in years, so I wasn't really sure what to expect
The first thing that really struck me was the weight of the figure. This thing is pure, solid plastic. Transformers typically have some hollowness about them to allow them to transform, or purely as a cost saving measure, but neither of these things are a factor with this figure, so he's got a good heft to him
He's got some nice sculpting and mold all round, from the scale details, to muscle protrusions (Is that the right term?), to his spines and his teeth. I thought this was pretty cool, as it really added to the realistic look of the figure. It looks like something that could have jumped off the big screen. The paint also helps in this aspect too. He's primarily dark grey, with some green, silver, and blue washed in on certain areas
The first thing that really struck me was the weight of the figure. This thing is pure, solid plastic. Transformers typically have some hollowness about them to allow them to transform, or purely as a cost saving measure, but neither of these things are a factor with this figure, so he's got a good heft to him
He's got some nice sculpting and mold all round, from the scale details, to muscle protrusions (Is that the right term?), to his spines and his teeth. I thought this was pretty cool, as it really added to the realistic look of the figure. It looks like something that could have jumped off the big screen. The paint also helps in this aspect too. He's primarily dark grey, with some green, silver, and blue washed in on certain areas
The head is pretty cool. It's got some great molding with the nostrils, eyes, ears, and the inside of the mouth, and all the small details are really well painted too. There's a nice wash of brown or black on the red inside his mouth, and his eyes are beautifully detailed for such a small part of the figure
In terms of pose-ability, the jaw is on a hinge and can open to about 45 or 50 degrees. There's also two swivel joints in the neck, one at the back of the head, and the other at the base of the neck, so he can look around pretty well. He doesn't look up and down too well though, which is shame
In terms of pose-ability, the jaw is on a hinge and can open to about 45 or 50 degrees. There's also two swivel joints in the neck, one at the back of the head, and the other at the base of the neck, so he can look around pretty well. He doesn't look up and down too well though, which is shame
His arms are pretty well articulated as well, with hinges and swivels in his shoulders, upper biceps, elbows, wrists, and even at the knuckle. All he's really missing his some thumb articulation, but that isn't really missed all that much in fairness
He also has a ball joint in his midsection which allows you to move his upper torso side to side and perform an ab-crunch, though both movements are rather subtle, just to the molding of the plastic around the joint, preventing a great deal of movement
He also has a ball joint in his midsection which allows you to move his upper torso side to side and perform an ab-crunch, though both movements are rather subtle, just to the molding of the plastic around the joint, preventing a great deal of movement
His legs are rather chunky, as Godzilla's legs tend to be, and not quite as well articulated as his arms. There's a hinge and swivel in his hips and knees, and a ball joint in his ankles, but due to the molding and how it all sits against itself, you can't get a whole lot of movement in his legs. And if you can, the joints are rather stiff
This isn't really a big deal, as Godzilla rarely does anything with his legs bar standing and walking, but it would have been nice to be able to do some crouched fire-breathing poses with him, for that extra awesome factor
This isn't really a big deal, as Godzilla rarely does anything with his legs bar standing and walking, but it would have been nice to be able to do some crouched fire-breathing poses with him, for that extra awesome factor
His tail is probably one of my favourite parts of the figure, as its got some play-ability about it. The first section is connected to it via a swivel joint, and the following three sections are connected by ball joints. The fourth one comes detached in-package, and you to plug it onto his body once you take him out. However, it also has a wire going through it, and is made mostly of a rubbery plastic, compared to the card plastic of the rest of the figure
This allows you to bend the majority of his tail in any number of ways, which I absolutely love! I was big into Dinosaurs when I was younger - still am, for that matter - but no Dinosaur toy I ever had had a poseable tail, which I thought was a really important factor that was completely looked over. So, to have this guy, and for him to have a poseable tail, is pretty aces in my book. The only draw-back is that the back end or fourth section of the tail tends to pop out of its socket sometimes
This allows you to bend the majority of his tail in any number of ways, which I absolutely love! I was big into Dinosaurs when I was younger - still am, for that matter - but no Dinosaur toy I ever had had a poseable tail, which I thought was a really important factor that was completely looked over. So, to have this guy, and for him to have a poseable tail, is pretty aces in my book. The only draw-back is that the back end or fourth section of the tail tends to pop out of its socket sometimes
Overall, this figure is really great! Sure, he lacks a little in some areas of pose-ability, but he more than makes up for it in design and deco. As I mentioned earlier, all the little details molded and painted on to this guy really help to make him look like something that's jumped right off the big screen.
NECA has done a fantastic job with this guy, and I can easily see myself picking up the 1954 and Burning Godzilla figures in the future. I'd love for them to do a 2000 Godzilla, and hopefully some more monsters in the future, such as Gaigan and Kiryu
8/10
Thanks for reading!
NECA has done a fantastic job with this guy, and I can easily see myself picking up the 1954 and Burning Godzilla figures in the future. I'd love for them to do a 2000 Godzilla, and hopefully some more monsters in the future, such as Gaigan and Kiryu
8/10
Thanks for reading!