In a line dominated by Heisei and Millennium characters, (not a bad thing, mind you) another Showa design is unleashed. And this time it's not a Godzilla.
...
Kind of...
In fact, this is a figure that has been teased for a while. With the Super Mechagodzilla and Mechagodzilla Poster Version teases, you could see hints followed by a full reveal of the original 1974 Mechagodzilla being added to the SHMA line.
And now that the figure has been released, was it worth the hype?
Whenever I work on these reviews, I'll usually have the movie in which the figure I'm reviewing is from. This way I can pick up as much detail on the character as I can and compare how it looks on the figure. As far as design and paint go, I will say that Mechagodzilla looks pretty good overall, the sculpt is done very well and the paint is nicely applied. This Mechagodzilla doesn't have the dull and weathered effect it does in the movie. Instead we're given a more clean, fresh of the assembly line feel to the mechanical titan of terror.
There are a few nitpicks I have with the figure.
In the movie, Mechagodzilla's eyes are orange, why are they yellow on the figure? I mentioned that fact in my SUPER MECHAGODZILLA REVIEW, and while I feel the yellow eyes worked for that figure, this figure would look a lot better with its original orange eyes.
The yellow dots on his torso used to bother me a lot but I've gotten used to them since then.
What I have NOT gotten used to however, are Mechagodzilla's arms. Actually, from the bicep down the arms look nice, but the shoulders are absolutely problematic. The shoulder piece is loose and the arm piece is designed with rings to emulate the look from the movie. Problem is, the rings like to get caught up inside the shoulder piece. I am aware that there was a video posted showing how to move the arm in such a way that it will loosen the rings, but for me it either doesn't work or I just can't do it right.
It is frustrating to do and I usually end up just pulling the arms off to get the rings out. Not to mention the fact that the rings can spin around and get uneven with each other.
Had I been designing this figure, I would have made the shoulder locked in place. And instead of rings, I would have just made that part of the arm ONE whole piece, like it is on the hips, I bet you there would be no problems with articulation what so ever.
Speaking of articulation, it's fairly decent to say the least. But there are some issues that come with moving this figure around.
Beginning at the top, Mechagodzilla's head can move a full 360 degrees at the neck. The head can be positioned into it's flight mode similarly to the Super Mechagodzilla figure as well. When doing so, the 2 fins on the back of the head retract into the head, but the top one on mine has become stuck inside the head. I have tried getting it out and have risked breaking it doing so. So...yay. -_-
The mouth can be a little tricky to work with. Unlike most monster figures where the mouth opens and closes fairly easily without the teeth getting in the way, Mechagodzilla's mouth isn't on a fixed hinge. Instead the lower jaw is attached to a ball joint and the teeth can get in the way of closing properly. You'll have to fiddle it around to get it to close.
Mechagodzilla's head and neck can also tilt left and right. The neck can also lean forward allowing the head to look down.
The torso can lean forward, side to side and can rotate 360 degrees. The panel on the chest can be opened, more on that later.
When your not fighting the rings, the arms can move all the way around as well, as in and out. Elbows can bend and rotate. The hands can spin around and swivel a bit.
The legs move forward, rotate and move in and out. There is a slight bend at the knees, and there are rings at the knee which hinder the bend a bit. The rings here are not as bothersome as they are on the arms. And the feet can move up a bit and pivot around.
The Tail can be moved into its normal curved position and straightened for its flight mode. What throws me is how it can be curved at the sides, I never thought it could actually move like that but this figure found a way to do so.
The accessories included with Mechagodzilla are a bit of a mixed bag.
There are alternate hands meant to look like Mechagodzilla just fired its Finger Missiles.
Of course, most SHMA figures come with a beam attack piece, usually their signature attack. But instead of Mechagodzilla's Eye Beam's, we get its Cross Attack Beam that fires from its chest.
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| I got this photo taken exactly a second before the piece fell over! |
It's not a bad piece by any means, but the stand included for it is just pitiful. It is way too short and almost never manages to hold the piece in place. You'd be much better off using a standard Tamashii Nations stand.
Also, the piece is yellow, it would look better if it were orange.
It is a bummer how there's no Eye Beam piece, It would have been so cool to have both pieces included to have the effect of Mechagodzilla unleashing his full power on any other monsters.
It's hard for me to say that can I recommend this figure. On the one hand, it will look nice on the shelf. But on the other hand, the issue with the shoulders, the so-so accessories and the $90+ price tag might make this a questionable purchase for collectors.
If your an avid SHMA collector or if you want a decent looking 1974 Mechagodzilla figure, try to find it for a lower price.
Now I'm not sure about y'all, but I'm ready for that Kiryu rerelease!
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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