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/