SOFVI SPIRITS SHRIKETHORN | Figure Review

The second figure in the Sofvi Spirits Pacific Rim Uprising line is the Kaiju, Shrikethorn

Shrikethorn is one beastly figure. I gotta admit though, I wasn't all that impressed with it when I first took him out of the box. But as I really started to examine it, he began to grow on me.

The sculpt is good. The head in particular is pretty wicked looking. I especially like the plating around the arms and legs. From head to tails, Shrikethorn has some nicely textured skin. And the spikes all over the body really make this Kaiju stand out.

On it's own, Shrikethorn would be a boring looking Kaiju if it weren't for 3 things: The face, the dual tails and the spines.
And the coloring on this figure helps with that as well. His mostly light brown body is adorned with red for the face, orange on the limbs and shades of blue everywhere.

Looking at him from the front, you'll see a few luminescent lines common on most Kaiju from the series.
I feel like there could be a little more blue shading in the tail spikes though.

Like the Sofvi Spirits Raijin, Shrikethorn doesn't have a great deal of articulation. We do get arm rotation below the shoulders and at the elbows.
He can rotate at the waist and his tails can turn slightly as well.

This Shrikethorn figure makes a great addition to the Tamashii Nations Pacific Rim Uprising line and looks great when posed next to the other Jaeger figures. 
However, I think Bandai might be charging a bit too much for it. Raijin went for about $40 and Shrikethorn is presently going for over $60. 
I'd probably try to find this figure for cheaper than that.

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. 
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SH MONSTERARTS GODZILLA 2002 - Figure Review

I was happy to see this figure announced. Not only did I long to see a more movie accurate Millennium Godzilla made into an SHMA figure, but it also presented the possibility that Kiryu, one of my most wanted SHMA figures would be re-released to go along with it. Turns out it will be and I am super excited about that!

As of late, most SHMA Godzilla figures have been suffering a few quality control issues, specifically having mismatched eyes. When most collectors got their hands one this figure, most of them had their eyes mismatched.
As for mine...

It does have mismatched eyes. But it doesn't bother me a whole bunch. Well it does, but let me explain: I swear this figure is possessed in some way, sometimes I look at it and the eyes don't look that bad and some days I do notice how one is slightly off center. But then I think it's just how the eyebrows are sculpted and then my head hurts and I feel like vomiting banana oil.




I apologize for putting that image in your mind.

The last Millenium Godzilla figures (with the exception of 2001) were based on concepts by sculptor Yuji Sakai. I like that design enough, but I prefer the final design used in the films and this figure is a great representation of it.

Aside from the eyes the head is really good. The mouth might look a little bent to some, but watch Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla again. The teeth look pretty good as well.

If there's one thing Tamashii Nations is great at capturing with their Godzilla figures, it's his skin. This Godzilla has a very rough and sharp skin texture and it looks great here. I especially love how they captured the ridges on his neck.
The claws and toe nails look to be painted evenly.
The dorsal fins have a very nice sculpt down from the neck to the tail. I like the faded appearance and rough texture on them.

The first time I was examining this figure and I saw that unusually sized dorsal fin, I thought it might have been a mistake or factory error. But just to be sure, I watched Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and sure enough, that was a feature on the suit. And I still find it weird.

Godzilla's head can look up and down. His neck is separated into multiple segments that let him look up pretty high, which also puts him in a good roaring position. His mouth can open and close as usual, but there's also something this figure has that most SHMA Godzilla's haven't had in a while: Tongue movement!

Arms move in and out and can rotate at the shoulders, bend and twist at the elbows, and basically have full range motion.
Unlike a certain other figure...

It'll take a while for me to get over that.

I should also mention that the hands rotate at the wrist and mine like to pop off while I do that. So be mindful of that.

The waist can bend forward, turn left to right and tilt side to side. And there's not an annoying fin gap. Noice!

Legs move forward and backward, as well as move in and out at the waist. The Knees bend and the feet can move up and down, turn and pivot.

And to finish off, Godzilla has a terrific, articulated tail. It's tightly jointed enough to where it can move around easily and hold it's position.

Long story short, despite the eye thing, I think this is a fantastic Godzilla figure! Even with the issue with the eyes, I would still absolutely recommend buying this figure. It is a perfect piece to add to any figure collection and would make a perfect companion to any Kiryu figures you might own.
Like the "Shinagawa Final Battle Version" coming out pretty soon, which I will probably be reviewing next!

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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BIOLLANTE (BANDAI MOVIE MONSTER SERIES) - Figure Review

HOBBY LINK JAPAN  is a wonderful site to buy Godzilla figures. And it has made obtaining the new Bandai Movie Monster Series figures for those in the United States that much easier, including the subject of today's review.
(not sponsored, just sayin')

Biollante is arguably an overlooked character in the Godzilla series. Which is a shame, she's one of the more unique monsters and you've gotta admire all the hard work that was done to bring this creature to life on screen.
But she does have her fair share of fans and has been represented in figure form many times. Weather it be from Trendmasters, X-Plus or SH MonsterArts, Biollante is a sought after character from collectors.

Movie Monster Series Biollante looks pretty good. I like the detailing all over her body, it has a great lush and plant like appearance. I especially like how the leaf like spines down her back look.
But as good as it looks, there are a few areas where I feel Biollante could have been designed better.

Her front tendrils look great, but the back ones are a little awkward looking and all scrunched up in the back. This figure would have looked a lot better if the back tendrils where shaped more like the front ones. Also why aren't their teeth painted?
The front tendrils can also be rotated.

Speaking of paint, while the coloring on Biollante is overall good, there are some spotty areas on her head.
Only the front of the tusks are painted and it's weird to look at. As for her teeth inside the mouth, I can't imagine those would have been easy to sculpt or paint and have it look like teeth.

Scale wise, this Biollante is quite smol compared to most figures. Biollante usually towers over most Kaiju in the series, even Ghidorah.

With all that being said, I still think this is a great Biollante figure. As much as some people would want the marvelous SH MonsterArts Biollante, it can be quite expensive and hard to find. I say that if your looking for a Biollante figure to add to your collection, this might be a great alternative.

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon

and I hope you've enjoyed your time here in my lair.

So long...

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 MECHAGODZILLA 1974 - Figure Review

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.

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...

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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