Diamond Select has just released its first in a line of 12" vinyl banks: Godzilla 1989. I picked this figure up on a whim earlier this week after seeing some pictures online and running across a coupon that brought it to a very reasonable price...
Godzilla 1989 comes in 2 clear plastic bags (no box for this guy), and he has a tag. The tail needs to be attached, like with all large vinyls, but since this is a bank, there's a twist-lock-mechanism where the tail connects, which allows it to be removed to fish out any change whenever one wishes. The fit is VERY tight, and I really had trouble getting the lock to fit into place. I've read other reviewers complain that they were completely unable to attach the tail, and returned the product as a result. I was able to get mine to fit with a bit of muscle and a lot of patience. No way will I be removing this thing...ever. The entry point for any money is a large slot behind the right shoulder. It's obtrusive and inconspicuous at the same time: the slot is really quite large, but it's in a place where it isn't often seen. I'm not sure why Diamond elected to 1) make this as a bank instead of a straight-up vinyl figure or 2) decide not to include a simple rubber flap that would cover the slot but still allow for money to be inserted if one should so wish.
In any event, this is a pretty cool-looking figure. The sculpt is great and I especially love the dynamic pose. Godzilla looks awesome from nearly any angle. He stands just a shade under 12" tall, and measures about 15" from snout to tail tip. His torso is twisting to the left and his really impressive tail is whipping up and out behind him. He's caught mid-roar with his left arm coming up in a fighting stance. Like I said, the overall look is great - I'm usually a really boring, vanilla-pose kind of guy, but this dynamic one really works.
The detail of the sculpt is good (better than what I've seen from Bandai's American releases), but not quite excellent. Godzilla's arms (especially the left one) seem really long and thin, the claws on the fingers and feet are very plain and smooth, and the snout looks strangely flat and wide from some angles. That said, the sculpt and pose are the strongest points of this figure.
The same can't be said about the paint. This is probably the weakest part of this release. The paint is very thick and quite sloppy in places. The eyes feature 3 colors (white, yellow then black) but aren't aligned perfectly, so he looks cross-eyed from some angles. The teeth are sort-of individually sculpted, but the paint is thick and uneven in coverage. There's a tongue in his mouth, and even some faint ridging on the roof of the mouth, as well. It's painted a shade of bubble-gum pink, as are some of the gums, but the pink suddenly stops and becomes gray-green. The claws feature sloppy lines where they meet fingers and toes, the dorsal spines are uneven in both coverage and color (they switch between grey and white with no rhyme or reason), and there are several stray paint marks all over the big guy. But...I still love him.
Let's be realistic here. This is NOT a few-hundred-dollar X-Plus figure. Neither is it a Bandai Creations throw-away (I can't bring myself to buy that 12" Final Wars Godzilla that's been on the shelf at the local TRU for 4 months now, no matter what). What we have here is something in-between. For about $30, I got a large vinyl Godzilla who looks terrific on the shelf and from a distance. I love the pose and he actually looks just fine beside my X-Plus GMK Godzilla. With a little more attention to the paint, this would be a stellar collector's piece. As it is, it's a good initial release to a line that I hope continues for a while. The "bank" gimmick doesn't do anything for me, but as a shelf display piece he's a great find.
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