It's been about a year since my last X-Plus Godzilla figure (last year's Godzilla 2014). I don't buy many X-Plus figures, but after seeing the film I just had to treat myself to Toho's latest version of the King of the Monsters in X-Plus form. Shin Godzilla arrived today, and boy is he a sight to behold!
Now, I'll begin by saying that I don't have the rig to take photos that do this guy justice. I'm also not a seasoned X-Plus Reviewer, but I'll assume that John over at kaijuaddicts.com or Rich's Fresh Vinyl channel will have awesome reviews up at any moment. I just wanted to share my excitement and joy at this amazing figure. Shin Godzilla comes in a large, fairly plain Garage Kit box. Inside, he's wrapped lovingly and protectively in loads of plastic and held in place by a plethora of twisty-ties. The immense tail is separate, of course, and needs to be inserted with care and lots of heat. Once assembled, he stands about 9 & 3/4" tall and 22 & 1/2" long.
The first thing that really jumped out at me was the color of the underlying vinyl. It's a super-bright candy-apple red. The part that plugs into the body from the tail looks like taffy. That mostly goes away once Godzilla is assembled, with most of the remaining visual red coming through on the dorsal plates and tail. One consistent complaint I saw with S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla 2016 was with the red plastic and the way the body color paint was applied over top. Hopefully, people will be happier with the result here. Personally, I think it looks really good.
I love the sculpt of this figure. It's X-Plus's forte, and they certainly didn't disappoint here. The skin textures, underlying musculature, creases and crevices are all deep and carefully done. The tail tip is as gross as it should be, and seems to have a slight gloss applied to give it a wet appearance. I like the sculpt of the dorsal spines, but I feel like the tail spines don't come across as quite as "sharp" (no pun intended). The feet and toes (complete with extra toenails) are excellent, and the arms on this version aren't as fragile-looking as the Tamashii Nations version is. The head is perfection, and it really steals the show. The shape is great, and I didn't realize how much this version looks like previous Godzillas from certain angles. The teeth are beyond words. Sculpted and painted individually, and so many! It's incredible to consider how it was done! Speaking of paint, it's very consistent and professionally applied, as it should be. The red shows through as it should, and both tiny eye pupils are painted looking downwards.
If there's one complaint I have for this figure, it's that there are many seams, and they are very visible. I know seams are a reality for vinyls, but the ones on this figure are particularly glaring, especially where the thighs connect to the body. My figure's left foot is also slightly warped, so he doesn't stand flat. It looks fine, but he's not as stable as I want, so I'll probably heat the foot and try to adjust it to sit flat. Otherwise, this is one brilliant figure. He's an absolute shelf-hog, despite not standing as tall as my 30 cm. figures (I know this figure is from the "Large Monster Series", which mean's he's smaller - go figure), but his tail makes it nearly impossible to get him into much of a forward angle on the shelf. Nevertheless, he looks amazing and I'm giddy to have gotten him...
No comments:
Post a Comment