Wednesday, November 2, 2016

NECA GODZILLA 2001 - Figure Review




It's been quite a long wait for this one.
Seriously, it's been over a year since I've last talked about a NECA Godzilla figure.



Last year, I made a Top 5 list of Godzilla figures I wanted to see NECA make (CLICK HERE) and coming in at #3 was the Sokogeki Goji suit from 2001's 'Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack' 
-moment to breathe-
We've already seen what SH MonsterArts can do with the design, how does the NECA one hold up?
In my opinion it is a good figure, but there are a few things that I find odd about it.



Let's begin at the top. Overall the head sculpt is pretty nice with the iconic ghost eyes and menacing, bulldog-like face.
T
he figure's body is painted the usual charcoal grey with a bit of a light greenish tint to it, which is an interesting choice. However, the paint work on the lower jaw looks unfinished, there are flesh colored marks peeking through. It really clashes with the rest of the figure. And if you look inside the mouth you'll notice that the lower jaw hinge is not painted. Why?

Looking at the teeth, you'll notice that there are smaller teeth sticking out above the main row. I know that's something that the majority of Millenium Godzilla suits were known for, but at first I thought it was a mistake. I had to go back and watch GMK just to be sure, and sure enough, in some scenes you can see a few smaller teeth sticking out beyond the main row. Not necessarily in the same place as the figure, but it's still neat to see NECA take the time to add that detail, it actually shows up better than it does in the SHMA version.
(And that's the only comparison other than size and scale between the 2 figures you'll hear from me.)



I have to mention the Claws and the Toenails, they're painted white, but there are these weird white-orange streaks on them. I don't know why they look like that, though I'm not sure if it'll matter to some people.



I do kinda wish the tail was longer. The individual segments are larger than on most NECA Godzilla's, but the rubber end piece is shorter than past ones have been.

Now, don't misunderstand me, I don't find these issues big enough to call the figure bad, but I feel they are worth mentioning.


The rest of Godzilla 2001's body looks good, especially the Dorsal Fins which are painted very nicely, and have a rough texture added to them which makes them stand out really well.



Articulation for Godzilla 2001 is as follows:

The Head can look down and rotate, the mouth opens and closes, the neck can bend forward making Godzilla look straight down.
The Arms can rotate as well as move in and out, there is a bend at the elbows and the forearms can rotate. The hands can rotate and pivot slightly and the hands can also bend at the fingers.
The Torso rotates and bends forward.
Legs move forward and backward as well as in and out. They can bend and rotate at the knees and the feet rotate and pivot.
The tail segments can bend left, right and down a bit. The end piece is made of rubber with a bendable wire built inside, try not to force it's movement too much though.




Godzilla has a very nice range of Articulation that makes for some very nice and fearsome looking poses.

Left to Right: NECA Godzilla 1954 and Godzilla 1994

Left to Right: Bandai Movie Monster Series Milenium Godzilla and Bandai Creation Godzilla 2014

Left to Right: SH MonsterArts Godzilla 1954 and SH MonsterArts 2001



While I may have brought up a few issues in the beginning of this review, I can still say that NECA's 2001 Godzilla figure is still worth picking up as a good piece to add to your Godzilla collection and would make a nice compainion piece to the SH MonsterArts version. If you have that one to begin with.

And it would make a nice stocking stuffer for Christmas.


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

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