DIAMOND SELECT RODAN VINYL FIGURE BANK - Figure Review

I have no regrets!

The Diamond Select Godzilla line of figure banks continues with this latest release, Godzilla's longtime ally/rival: RODAN! 

This particular release is based on his appearance in the 1993 movie: Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla II, in which he is sometimes referred to as 'Fire Rodan', and to be honest, I'm glad that Diamond Select decided to just call this figure simply 'Rodan'. I've never liked the name Fire Rodan, it just seems weird to me. This also happens to be my favorite design for Rodan in the entire Godzilla series. 

First off, the size of this figure caught me completely off guard. It's a bit bigger than I thought it was gonna be, especially since in 'Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla 2', Rodan is considerably smaller than Godzilla. But I was simply too amazed by the detail on this figure to care about it. Plus I like that they made him a bit bigger. Diamond Select's Rodan looks fantastic, featuring an excellent sculpt and paint job. And the detail on the wings is marvelous, I love how you can see wrinkles all over them. The hands are small, but still very much detailed to look great.

The head is spot on with some great coloring inside the mouth with the gums, teeth and tongue. 

There's some nice detail on his torso spikes.

I also really like the legs and feet, I think they came out looking great.

 Rodan also has a row of spines going down the back of his neck to his tail which look great and luckily aren't sharp at all so you don't have to worry about poking yourself on them. Though you may wanna watch out for his talons.

 Much like the previous 1974 Godzilla bank, there is a coin slot on Rodan's back and his head can be removed for easy access to your coins.

Not exactly an accurate size comparison, but they still look great together!

That's about how they matched up in the Showa series of films.

This would be a great scale for when they eventually meet up.

In conclusion, another great release from Diamond Select and a fine and welcome addition to any Godzilla fan's collection. Find it online or at your local Comic Book Store.

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon
and I hope you've enjoyed your time here in my lair.
So long...

And HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

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Thoughts on 'Godzilla: Resurgence' reveal.

Today we got our first real look at the new Godzilla movie from Toho, Godzilla: Resurgence (Shin Gojira). Including this sweet new poster with a release date and our first sneak peek at the big guy's new design. He looks really gnarly, almost like a mix of the original Godzilla and Legendary's Godzilla but with teeth like a Shark and sporting the classic fin design. He looks great and I can't wait to see what the rest of him looks like. In addition, we have a release date of July 29, 2016.

But the surprises don't end there, we also have a little teaser trailer for the film:

The best way I can describe it is...Clover-zilla, it's all a bunch of shaky cam shots of people running and that's about it. I gotta say that it really didn't do much for me. Don't get me wrong, I do like the idea of a found footage Godzilla movie and it does look somewhat promising but I could have used a little more. I would have liked at least a brief glimpse of Godzilla and to hear what the new roar sounds like instead of using the 1954 one.


Hopefully we get some more juicy details on Godzilla: Resurgence as the months draw closer to release.

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon
and I hope you've enjoyed your time here in my lair.

So long...

SH MONSTERARTS GODZILLA 1964 (THE EMERGENCE OF GODZILLA VERSION) - Figure Review

At this point, there aren't really any brand new figures in the SH MonsterArts line, only repaints of older figures. Starting with the Spit Fire Godzilla 2014 and now a new take on the 1964 Godzilla. But this works out for me as I did not have a job at the time and wasn't able to add these figures to my collection. And now I can.

In the case of this figure, it depicts the first appearance of Godzilla in the 1964 movie: Mothra Vs. Godzilla, in which Godzilla is washed ashore during a typhoon and buried beneath the ground, only to awaken and lay waste to Nagoya.

In terms of detail this figure has it in spades. It sports the traditional charcoal grey skin color while adding shades of light brown/tan for the dirt all over his body from head to tail and it really makes the figure stand out among other Godzilla figures. The effect also gives the dorsal fins a much more skeletal color shade to them. 

But it doesn't skimp out on the other features this suit design is known for, particularly the death stare as well as the infamous eyebrows.

And the articulation is pretty good. The head, neck and arms have a great range of movement. The legs also greatly move in and out with an added hip joint. There is also an extra bend at the feet for more pose possibilities.

The tail alone includes 14 joints of movement.

The torso is where the articulation starts to get iffy, not terrible but just a little bothersome.
Godzilla can bend forward at the waist but that leaves a large, very noticeable gap between 2 of the dorsal fins.

I think that maybe if they had added more of the dirt coloration beneath the figure it would've matched up better, but as it is now, it looks weird. As does those 2 fins that overlap with one another. I feel as though the top fin should have been moved up a bit and that would have help the gab by a smidge. 

The first release of Godzilla 1964 came with no accessories, but for this release Tamashii Nations added an Atomic Breath piece and a display stand with base. This was a great addition that captures the appearance of the Showa breath and looks great with any other Godzilla figure.

As you can see Godzilla 1964 stands a little shorter than normal SH MonsterArts figures.

He's even small compared to his opponents.

Despite being a repaint of a previous figure with a hiccup, this is still a great release for the SH MonsterArts line. If ya missed out on the first Godzilla 1964 figure, I say you should definitely pick up this fantastic figure.
But for now, I sit here and await the re-release of another previous SH MonsterArts figure that has me very excited.

Till next time I have been your host Gryphon and I hope you have enjoyed your time here in my lair. So long!

DIAMOND SELECT 1974 GODZILLA VINYL BANK - Figure Review

It's like it was made for this. =)

Diamond Select is a Company known for making a wide variety of products. From Action Figures, Statues, Busts, Banks and various Kitchen wares like Bottle Openers, Pizza Cutters and Ice Cube Trays.

And now they've got their own Godzilla-themed line. The most popular items from it, I think, are by far the Banks. I have had mixed opinions as far as this line goes. On the one hand they have a great 1989 Godzilla Bank and a very well made King Ghidorah bust. But on the other hand, they have a sub-par Burning Godzilla Bank and they haven't really done the best representations of Mechagodzilla, in my opinion. But at least I can rest peacefully knowing that at least they did good justice to one of my favorite Godzilla designs.

I think this bank is a well made figure and and a great representation of the 70's Godzilla. Ever since it was teased I liked how it looked, but from the moment I found it at my local comic book store I was astounded. It has that great, dynamic bear-like pose Godzilla is known for and I also like how his tail is pointing upwards, allowing me to save valuable shelf space.

The color matches the traditional charcoal grey skin tone the Big G  is known for, and I really love how the skin texture came out looking. The dorsal fins are also well done, however I think the ones on the top of his head and neck, as well as the tail could be a little more pronounced and better painted.

One thing that kinda bugs me about this figure though is how the bottom of the mouth has the gums painted along with the teeth but the top part isn't. And the lower jaw is clearly a separate piece that was added to the figure later, so there really should have been time to paint the upper inside of the mouth.

Now of course this is a bank meant to store coins in and the slot is located on the back of the right shoulder. Now, I have to be honest, I don't use these banks to do that (I actually use a Cheetos can) mainly because I don't like having to shake them out of the limbs which are glued on making them impossible to remove. I use these as large scale figures. And remember this is just my personal opinion, if you do use these for coin storage then great, more power to ya.

To get your coins out, simply pull the head off and now you have yourself a weird looking Headless Godzilla. This may make for some interesting mods.

Here he is next to his big brother.

And here he is compared to another large scale figure.

So despite a minor hiccup, I still like this figure very much. Definitely look for this bank at your local Comic Book Store if nowhere else. 


Till next time I have been your host Gryphon and I hope you have enjoyed your time here in my lair. So long!

Top 5 SH MonsterArts figures I'd like to see.

My Humble Collection.

Bandai Tamashii Nation's 'SH MonsterArts' line has been wildy popular over the past few years making highly detailed and articulated figured based on Godzilla and his Kaiju co-stars. But there are some figures that to this point have been left out of the line, so these are the Monsters I would most like to see introduced as figures in this fantastic toy line.

Before I reveal my main picks, here are some honorable mentions.

Honorable Mentions:

MEGALON

One of the most uniquely designed monsters and a popular monster in the Godzilla fighting games.

ANGUIRUS

Godzilla's most trusted ally. Plus the brand could use more Showa love.



Now for the main event!

#5

SANDA & GAIRA

The Gargantuas have never had much exposure when it comes to figures, at least not fully detailed ones. The closest we've gotten were from X-Plus, but those figures aren't articulated and SH MonsterArts are all about articulation. I think they'd be a fine addition to the line.

#4

KING CAESAR

While not one of Godzilla's most recurring allys he certainly was a mermorable monster and an integral part in defeated the dreaded Mechagodzilla. And as a neat accessory, it should come with a small scale model of the King Caesar statue from the original 'Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla'.

#3

JET JAGUAR

Do I need to say anything else? In fact, with all the Ultraman figures that have been made I'm surprised we still haven't gotten a Jet Jaguar figure yet. Maybe/hopefully someday.

#2

GODZILLA'S SKELETON

Now this is something I've thought about for a long time. In several of the Godzilla films, you can see scale models of Godzilla's Skeleton on shelves along with other cool looking figures (making me super jelly). And that got me thinking: "Why is there not a figure of Godzilla's Skeleton?".  I think it would be a marvelous collection piece to add to any Godzilla fans shelf. It would be just like having a Dinosaur Skeleton in a museum, a posable one at that! Doesn't that sound awesome? 
And just for the sake of homage, it should come with an Oxygen Destroyer accessory.

#1

THE MUTO'S

There are have been a few Muto figures out there but none of them have any real articulation. Also there's the fact that the legs are always colored red, when in the actual film, the legs are mix of black and grey. They only light up red when the creatures are getting ready to use there electromagnetic stomp attack. 
Some nice Godzilla 2014 figures have been made, they just need Muto's to go with them. Ever since seeing the severed head of one with the Spit Fire 2014 figure, it just makes me want them even more. 
It would also be cool if both the Male and the Female came in one pack just like the Destoroyah Evolution Set from 2013.

Till next time I have been your host Gryphon and I hope you have enjoyed your time here in my lair. So long!

Top 5 Godzilla figures I'd like to see from NECA.

NECA has made some great figures from their various lines from Pacific Rim to Predator and Planet of the Apes. And of course, Godzilla.
It's unknown which figures are coming out next, so I thought just for fun, I'd make a list of figures that I think would be excellent additions to the line.
For this list I will only be going for the different incarnations of Godzilla, as NECA only has the rights to Godzilla and no other monsters from the film series (at least not yet), and every version will be referred to by suit name.

But first...

AN HONORABLE MENTION:

ShoshingekiGoji 1968-1972

(Destroy All Monsters, All Monsters Attack, Godzilla Vs. Hedorah & Godzilla Vs. Gigan)

Now for my picks!

#5

MegaroGoji 1973-1975

(Godzilla Vs. Megalon, Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla & Terror of Mechagodzilla)

#4

MusoGoji 1964

(Mothra Vs. Godzilla & Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster)

 #3

 SokogekiGoji (2001)

(Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidoarh: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack)

#2

MireGojira (1999-2000)

(Godzilla 2000: Millennium & Godzilla Vs. Megaguirus)

#1

FinalGoji (2004)

(Godzilla: Final Wars)

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon and I hope you've enjoyed your time here in my lair.
So long...