LET'S KAIJU GO!

Based on my observations, kaiju related conventions and events seem to be a bit more common nowadays. But here in Texas, where currently you have a 50-50% chance of spontaneously bursting into flames if you so much as crack open your door, let's just say I wish there were a lot more.
So you can imagine my surprise when during my Facebook doomscrolling browsing, I come across an ad for an event called Kaiju Go! An event taking place in my own hometown.

Of course, me and my good buddy, Kaiju Kidd had to brave the nearly 100+ degree heat to attend.

Here's a link to an article about the inception of this event.

Kaiju Go! was held at the Isis Theater (or Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theater) located in an area known as the Stockyards just outside Downtown Fort Worth, Texas. The theater itself opened in 1914 and has seen many closings and much needed renovations as recently as 2017 leading to it's reopening in the summer of 2021, look up the history of this theater if you get a chance.

While not having as many vendors as your average event like G-Fest, there was still a nice variety. The upstairs room they were put in was a bit crowded though, so much that eventually only a certain number of people were allowed up at a time and even then navigating the room took a bit of time. 
Most of the figures being sold at the event weren't overpriced at all, even the ones priced over $200-$400 which made me pretty happy. Unfortunately, most of the figures I was considering got snatched before I could act on them. Certainly any SH MonsterArts figures sold out pretty quickly. I seriously debated buying this awesome looking black and gold colored Gigan figure, it was about $200, but someone else got it. I might still be a bit jelly.

But where I got the most bang for my buck was at the Toy Matrix booth with T-Shirts galore! 
Being a quite tall person, I go for 3XL size shirts, a size that tends to sell out pretty quick at events like this. I bought 3 shirts and a Godzilla beanie. I bought enough stuff that one of the sellers offered me a choice of a free tote bag. I had to go for the one with the Monster Zero victory dance because I am a man of culture.

With shopping done, it was time for the first showing of the event, 1964's Mothra vs. Godzilla. Adding to the experience of seeing a classic movie at an old fashioned theater, we were treated to a couple of episodes of the 1940's Superman cartoon. Funnily enough, the second cartoon was cut off to start the main event so I guess Clark and Lois got killed by the mummies that got resurrected. 
As it was with G-Fest, seeing a Godzilla film on the big screen with a room full of fans was a huge treat. There was applause for the main title, the first appearance of our titular stars and the end title. 

After the first movie ended, we took the time to find some food in the area. I had me a delicious buffalo meat burger. When we got back, we were able to catch the rest of the Q&A with the special guests of the event: Bob Eggleton, a legendary Godzilla/Science Fiction artist and John Yurcaba IV, a cover artist for the recent IDW comic 'Godzilla: Monsters and Protectors - All Hail the King' as well as their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers: Beast Wars comics. 

One of the biggest surprises of the event was that I actually won one of the raffle prizes being offered: a Kaiju Go! event poster signed by the guests! I was quite surprised.

I mentioned before how Godzilla vs Megalon was the type of movie I would have loved to watch in a theater full of fans hollering and cheering, and let me tell you, that experience did not disappoint...
I think there were some people there who've never seen this movie before and that just made it better. In recent years, I've began to show various Godzilla flicks to my friends and it always fills me with joy to see their genuine reactions to them weather it's out of amazement or amusement. 

My loot:

Godzilla 1984 print by Bob Eggleton. Gigan figure from U.S. Toys

When all was said and done, we had to bid farewell to a fun filled day. Chas Foreman, the mastermind behind this event, said in his closing remarks to be hopeful for an announcement that Kaiju Go! will return. I really hope this event can make a return the following year. I wanna try and watch as many Godzilla movies in a theater as I can. And hey, next year marks the 50th anniversary of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, that would be a treat to watch!

But until then,
Thank you Chas Foreman, Jay Key, Bob Eggleton, John Yurcaba IV, the vendors and crew of Kaiju Go! and the employees of Downtown Cowtown at the Isis.

-Additional photos provided by KaijuKidd-

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon

and thank you for joining me here in my lair.

So long...

I hope you have enjoyed reading this and if you would like to see more from The Gryphon's Lair, be sure to give my Facebook page a 'LIKE' to see updates and other related stuff. 

Thanks for reading!

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SH MONSTERARTS GAMERA (1999) KYOTO DECISIVE BATTLE VER. | Figure Review

I'm a bit surprised that in the time I've been doing these reviews, I have yet to review a Gamera figure. 
The 1999 version of Gamera from 'Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris' was a figure I missed out on, mostly due to being unimpressed by the dull head sculpt, which is why I became ecstatic when the new Kyoto Decisive Battle Version was announced alongside an upcoming Iris figure AND that the accessories from the first release were being kept with the new version.
Needless to say, between the figures and Rebirth coming out on Netflix very soon, Gamera fans are going to be eating good this year!

I was immediately impressed by this figure right out of the box, he looks freaking amazing!

Just look at that head, wonderfully sculpted. The eyes look nice, the teeth and tusks look nice, the head spines are a big improvement over the dull looking top of the old figure. He looks appropriately fierce and mean from any angle.  

The rest of the body looks really good overall, with a nice, ridged skin texture. Gamera's belly has a nice paint job which helps the figure stand out. 

The shell looks amazing with a nice blend of smooth, scratched and rough looking surfaces. Watch out for the edges though, they are sharp!

Gamera's articulation is actually a bit limited. The main body cannot move at all, which makes sense, he is a turtle after all. 
But as far as articulation we do get, it's pretty standard. 

Gamera can move his head to look very high up, straight down, look/tilt side to side. His mouth can open pretty wide. 
Do not try to move the tongue!
Just don't. 

Arms move in and out at the shoulders, bend and the elbows and you do get some rotation. 

Legs can move forward, backward and you can get some small in and out movement at the hips. Knees have a nice bend and the feet can rotate and pivot nicely. 

Despite being shorter than most SH MonsterArts figures, the tail does have a nice range of movement and should hold it's pose nicely. 
Assuming it doesn't become loose at the base, like mine did. 

Aw yeh.
It's accessory time!

Gamera comes with a whole heap of accessories to convert him to his flight mode.

Doing so will require you to remove his arms, legs, tail and front waist piece. Thankfully, I find the lower body pieces on this Gamera to be far easier than the previous Gamera figures.

As for the smaller flippers, you'll have to remove several belly plates, which can be tricky. I recommend gently using a flat head screwdriver and doing this in an area where you can easily keep track of any small pieces. 

Once the flippers and lower body piece has been placed, Gamera is ready to be placed on his included nifty flight stand and that makes for a very awesome looking display.

Our last 2 pieces emulate Gamera's Banishing Fist and a newly included severed hand stump.

The stump is highlighted with Gamera's emerald green blood and a hint of bone making it all the more disturbing and yet it looks awesome and the Banishing Fist is a wonderful looking fiery piece.

We unfortunately don't get a Plasma Fireball effect. But if you do have the previous Gamera 1996 figure, you can fit that Plasma Fireball effect piece in the 1999 figure. It fits, but it will require a bit of shimmying, be mindful of the tusks.

Overall, I am very impressed with this Gamera figure. If you were hesitant to pick up a 1999 Gamera figure the first time, now is the time to pick this one up. 
Now we wait for the behemoth of a figure that will be Iris.

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon

and thank you for joining me here in my lair.

So long...

I hope you have enjoyed reading this and if you would like to see more from The Gryphon's Lair, be sure to give my Facebook page a 'LIKE' to see updates and other related stuff. 

Thanks for reading!

https://www.facebook.com/TheGryphonsLair/