NECA's version of Shin Godzilla was a figure I had decided not to pick up. I have quite a few of the earlier NECA releases, some of which I have been very happy with (Godzilla 1954) and some of which I have been fairly disappointed by (Godzilla 1985). I think the figures are generally well-made, but they seem to be (almost intentionally) just a bit "off" in their final look. It nearly always seems like the head is tweaked just enough to be inaccurate. I've come to the recent conclusion that this is intentional. NECA is one company that gets their sculpt details as close to accurate as possible. Their Aliens and Predators lines are brilliant and are well-known for their level of accurate detail (not only for the creatures, but for the humans, as well). The best recent video-game figures I own from them (Kratos and Nathan Drake) are, again, spot-on. Terminator? Check. Godzilla? Nope. The bodies have plenty of detail, the paint is usually good, the tails are a worthy attempt, but the heads? Clearly not accurate, just about every time. My guess (a total guess) is that their deal with Toho says something to the effect of, "Make the head look just a little off, so Bandai Tamashii Nations isn't threatened." Case in point: Shin Godzilla's head is too long. Anyone can see that the snout is elongated too far when compared to what you see on-screen. It could be that the jaw design necessitated the longer skull, but that's an aspect of the NECA Godzillas that I'd like to see changed, as well. The way they've done the opening jaw for several figures results in a notable underbite when the mouth is opened. That's the case here, as well. As a result, I don't like the way Shin Godzilla looks with his mouth open (same case with GMK, 1994 and 1995). Now that that's out of the way, I'll admit that I bought this guy once I had a chance to check him out in-hand. And he did, in fact, turn out better than I had thought he would. There are a couple of design choices that are not my favorite, but the overall figure is a good one, and I like having it in the collection.
Shin Godzilla looks pretty cool standing in his standard marching pose. The sculpt (other than the head proportions and the interior of the mouth, which is sorely lacking) is generally strong. The crevices and folds are deep and sharp, with good paintwork to support the look (the red seeps up from underneath effectively). The spines are a bit too candy-apple red for me at the base, personally. The tail is interesting. It comes in several separate pieces that are sharply angled where the ball meets the socket. The interesting part is that they are angled in the
opposite direction than I thought they should be. As a result, the tail has some sudden reversals in direction. Like the spines, the tail tip is too red, the sculpt is poorly defined and there's a sloppy black drybrushing made worse by some sloppy random dabs of orange paint. For me, the tail tip is probably the weakest part of the sculpt. Incidentally, the feet and toe claws look awesome, but Shin Godzilla's random claws all over his feet are absent on this version.
The articulation is there, but unfortunately I can't really get much use out of the joints. My figure's right arm doesn't want to move at the shoulder, and it seems very asymmetrical with respect to the left one. The assembly of the chest piece seems a bit tilted, and one leg moves very differently than the other. I'm also wary of messing with the tail too much for fear that it will come apart at the attachment points. As a result, I don't try to pose this guy much. I've got him in a basic, standing upright, faced forward pose, and that's how he's going to stay.
I just realized that I'm pointing out so many negatives, it might seem like I don't like the figure, which would be the opposite of the truth! I do like it, actually. I appreciate the details of the body sculpt, and I like how gloss has been applied to specific areas, like the toe claws and the red undercoat. It does a lot to bring the figure to life. I like the choice of materials: it's a really solid, heavy figure that could put up with some play, while keeping the dorsal fins nice and soft (do be aware, though, that there are some REALLY sharp edges to the body's hard plastic sculpt which might be tricky for young kids - you might want to check it out closely before handing one to a little Godzilla fan). The figure is light years ahead of the typical Bandai America vinyls, and the biggest positive NECA has going for these figures is the price point. It's priced right (though it seems to be creeping up as of late) at between $20 and $25. I haven't heard much from NECA about moving forward with their Godzilla line, other than that they want to. It would be a shame to see the line end, as they do look pretty cool all lined up alongside one another on the shelf, and they are a real cost-efficient alternative to the bloated overpricing of the S.H. MonsterArts line.
Shin Godzilla looks pretty cool standing in his standard marching pose. The sculpt (other than the head proportions and the interior of the mouth, which is sorely lacking) is generally strong. The crevices and folds are deep and sharp, with good paintwork to support the look (the red seeps up from underneath effectively). The spines are a bit too candy-apple red for me at the base, personally. The tail is interesting. It comes in several separate pieces that are sharply angled where the ball meets the socket. The interesting part is that they are angled in the opposite direction than I thought they should be. As a result, the tail has some sudden reversals in direction. Like the spines, the tail tip is too red, the sculpt is poorly defined and there's a sloppy black drybrushing made worse by some sloppy random dabs of orange paint. For me, the tail tip is probably the weakest part of the sculpt. Incidentally, the feet and toe claws look awesome, but Shin Godzilla's random claws all over his feet are absent on this version.
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