Figure Review: X-Plus 25cm Godzilla 1966 Ric

My second 25cm Godzilla figure is from the film "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep".  A fun fact about this movie: the main protagonist in this film was supposed to be King Kong, not Godzilla.  But for hopes of a more successful run in the box office, they switched Godzilla into the film.  This explains why Godzilla had some unusual traits in this film, such as being revived by lightning and having some sort of fascination with a pretty girl.  It would have been interesting to see Kong fight Mothra though...

Anyway, back to the matter at hand, here is the review for the Godzilla from said film.  As you can see in the picture above, this is when Godzilla's look was becoming less villainous into a more gentler mold.  He hit an awkward stage in between some of these films, and this might be one of them.  

First, Godzilla has this weird posture in the movie.  It's like this half hunched, almost-about-to-sit-down fighting stance.  It caught X-Plus' eye too because the figure replicates it in vinyl form. 

It's a pretty static pose and out of the context of the film it looks awkward and irregular.  Even in-context, I find it to be a pretty boring pose.  They could have kept the general idea but did something different with the hands or head to help spice it up a little bit.  Everything is so symmetrical it just isn't as interesting.  

Now, before I get into suit accuracy let me first say that I actually really like this figure.  I think it's an improvement on the suit and that this is the look that Toho was going for in the movie.  But this is not their stylistic line, so I have to say that when I look at this figure I don't exactly see the creature that I saw on screen.  The likeness is enough that I know which film it is based on, but it's not as good as the 30cm '62 which truly captures the look.  

First of all the suit in the movie is boxier and beat-up looking.  Maybe X-Plus purposefully geared away from that but this is far more streamlined.  The suit has this square-like torso and really broad shoulders.  He looks more like Frankenstein in a rubber suit.  The eyes generally are rolled up higher into the head (and yet they look better on the figure) and more towards the front of his head not so much on the side like the vinyl.  The snout on the suit is a bit flatter and more sunken in towards the eyes.  Finally, the spines are slightly more elongated and slimmer than they are in the movie.  

While all little small nitpicks, they do enough to throw the precise look off.  A different pose would have helped too though.  Maybe have him walking with his tail in mid-motion and a slight turn so his spines looked like they were flowing and didn't look so stiff and unnatural.  Now, basing everything solely on the figure itself, I think it's a pretty cool entry in the series.  The sculpt is well-done and  I love the texture to his skin but the pose still holds it back.

The paint is pretty solid.  I love his colors.  The dark grey looks great on that skin pattern and I think the mouth and teeth look wonderful even though they weren't that bright in the film.  The eyes look very cool I love the trim of reddish-brown around the black pupils.  I was going to say his claws are too white and I wished they looked more real but the suit did have pretty much those same colors.  As usual, X-Plus nails the color on the spines.  

Not only is this a Ric but this is the set that comes with Ebirah as well.  It also comes with a little Mothra as well as the annoying vulture looking thing that attacks Godzilla when he's napping.  I still cringe when I hear that thing's screeches.  It's a pretty cool set and they display well together--except for Mothra who is far underscaled and not accurate to her on-screen counterpart.  I would have preferred if they gave us a small version of that boat that the communists travel in or even a sail boat for Ebirah.  Still, I'd hate to sound unappreciative--it is a very neat set.  I love having the whole cast to display together.

Overall this figure was one of the tougher ones to review.  In numerous ways it is better than the suit and I don't know if they were done so on purpose or what.  Even still, the pose is a gripe of mine.  I have to give this guy a 3.5 out of 5.  He's neat and overall looks like the Godzilla from the '65/'66 period, but I can't say he is accurate to the source material when I look at, for instance, the Sakai '91.  

Size Comparison:

The 25cm Ebirah cast with the 25cm Godzilla '75 and the 30cm Varan and Sakai '91 below

Figure Review: X-Plus 30cm Anguirus 1955

On the heels of my review for the X-Plus Godzilla 1955 I figured it was absolutely mandatory that I follow that up with his co-star in the film, "Godzilla Raids Again".  

The first monster to appear in the Godzilla franchise aside form the king himself, a lot of people forget just how old Anguirus is. This figure is a stark reminder. The classic traits are all there: spikey shell, long spiked tail, horns on head, long snout with fangs. But it looks a little more beaten down by father time and a little less constructed in a sturdy fashion. But that's the charm of this guy right here.

We always notice how much Godzilla has changed over the years but these figures can often point out how far the suits have come along the way.  Anguirus, while a fantastic achievement for 1955, lacks the detail and realism that his 1968 counterpart has.  Much like the Godzilla he fought against, he has big puppet eyes and the mouth has very little detail and depth in it.  He has more of a blank stare.  But that's X-Plus being accurate to the source material.  The 1968 suit had more nuances and little details that made him more alive looking even despite the actor inside the suit crawling around on his knees.

X-Plus captures the wrinkles and pivots in the suit so well. He is a perfect translation of the monster that was actually on screen in 1955. Although meant to look like a man in a suit, the figure still manages to capture the musculature of the monster in a very impressive way. Wait til you see this guy's calves in person.  I've come to realize that the body is my favorite part of this figure.  He has a unique physique for Toho kaiju.  He actually looks like a weight lifter or something.  

It is a compliment piece to the X-Plus 30cm Godzilla 1955. Together, they go perfect together. Anguirus is posed in a way to be looking up at the tall, lanky Godzilla 1955. They are both posed to recreate the bloody encounter the two had in Osaka which eventually saw Anguirus be destroyed and left on fire.  But that's okay--Anguirus is far from the last one to be downed by Godzilla he was only the first.  But to my point, if you get one of them you should really get the other--they make for a really neat display.

The paint is mostly great and, like Godzilla, this figure is colored in a black-and-white fashion to mimic the film. Which is also another good reason why he stands out from the standard 1968 figure (not to mention this Anguirus is standing up on two legs). Everything is neatly painted and sculpted accurately. I do have a  minor gripe and that is the specs of white used randomly on the shoulders.  It looks strange to me.  It literally looks like the painters felt like they had to do something to add some contrast to the monotone body and randomly decided to add little specs of white dots.  I don't think it's suit-accurate and it looks like a lazy way to add in some color.  

My only other two drawbacks are 1) I wish the inner mouth had some more detail, especially with Anguirus looking up, the lack of detail is easier to notice. This is a complaint I had about the 1954 Godzilla as well so maybe this gets less attention if they aren't painting the mouths red.  And 2) I feel like his tail is a little flimsy. It's a very long tail and it connects in two places, but mine is a little loose where the smaller end of the tail meets the thicker part (his tail is very long).  Maybe it is just on mine, but I tried to warp it with the blow dryer and it wasn't fitting right.  So to me it seems a little delicate.  

Other than that--this figure is a great product for the usual asking price of at or about $150. For an X-Plus, it's really a nice figure at a good price. And if you own a '55 Goji you aren't doing him justice until you have him to go along with him.  He does have his drawbacks for me but Anguirus has always been one of my favorites and he really is a very cool design.  Overall I'll give him a 4 out of 5.  

Size Comparison:

X-Plus 30cm 1967 Gorosaurus and X-Plus 30cm '55 Anguirus

Figure Review: X-Plus 30cm Godzilla 1955

It's not surprising that a hit film like "Gojira" would spawn a sequel, even back the 50's.  But do you think there was a single person who saw that there would be, depending on which films you include, almost thirty of them in the next 60 years?  

Godzilla 1955, from the immediate sequel to the 1954 classic, is from the film "Godzilla Raids Again". It's pretty much the original film's ugly little cousin, and in essence, the same applies to this suit. The film feels more B-rated, cheaply made and cashing in on the success of the original much like "Son of Frankenstein" or whatever ludicrous cash-ins Hollywood was doing with monster films in those days. But, the film is under-appreciated for two things: it started the trend of Godzilla fighting another giant monster (which is still going strong 60 years later) and it also has given us one of the most unstoppable Godzilla's ever put in the films.

For all his physical...strangeness, Godzilla 1955 was a monster that could not be stopped. He tore through Osaka and another monster, and without the Oxygen Destroyer or the brilliant scientist who used it to stop the first Godzilla, there is just no long-term plan of success for mankind here. There is just absolute hopelessness throughout the film in regards to defeating this Godzilla.  The ending, which unlike the sad but hopeful closure of the '54 film, feels strictly like a compromise this go around.

Of course, despite not even a whole year since the first was in theaters, this Godzilla looked a little different.  After the complaints of how heavy the first suit was, and the fact that this film demanded fight scenes, the costume was toned down and made more lean. The actor was way more mobile and wasn't as physically grueling--relatively speaking.  The cutback also made for a lankier, less hostile looking version of the monster king that X-Plus has captured flawlessly. 

Godzilla had major stretch marks coming off his workout regime

The sculpt matches the goofy-ferociousness of the suit. And yes, it does have both of those traits. He looks happy, but those fangs are no joke and actually pretty sharp (as are his claws of course). His spines are very jagged and match the film inch by inch. The tail is different than most Godzillas and is spot-on as well. The legs are lankier and thinner but appear "baggy" to be suit-accurate. He's got his karate fight stance thing going on..his exact fighting stance he has as he prepared for Anguirus' attack in the movie.  Speaking of, as old as it is, the fight scene in "Godzilla Raids Again" is one of the most brutal, violent battles in kaiju movie history.  

I mentioned the pose before but I love how identifiable it is.  X-Plus knows how to cepture the spirit of the beasts in vinyl.  To non-fans, many of these poses may look silly.  But this series has changed so much with the times and X-Plus deserves credit for embracing it like with even their flamboyant figures like their 30cm '68 and 25cm '75.  

The paint is pretty much all black and grey to match how he appears in the film, just as they did with the 1954 figure.  Whereas we know the original Godzilla costume was actually brown, I don't know if that was the case for 1955. I think I'd assume that it was the first film where he was his charcoal grey color--something that would remain mostly the same over the span of 60 years.  If true, that is another thing this film set in place for it's successors. 

I can't stress enough how weird the face looks, but it truly is spot-on to the movie.  I can pick this guy out from any collection in America and know exactly which movie this figure is from. The suit had that exact goofball look.  It almost looks like an amateur puppet or like somewhere around the molding process something didn't set well.  He's got the big puppet eyes and the overbite.  The truth is, this Godzilla is generally frowned upon among fans (shocker I know) but I got to give it to X-Plus they totally got it right.  

As with the other 30cm figures, Godzilla '55 is about 12 inches too.  He's definitely a tad thinner than the traditional Godzilla suit and looks like he's been hit by a little TOO much radiation compared to his peers.  But I think he looks downright awesome next to the other incarnations on a shelf and totally legit next to the 1955 Anguirus.  If you have one you should definitely own the other--they look like they were made to be posed against each other.  As for this guy by himself, I have to say X-Plus earned another 5 out of 5.  Great sculpt, business-as-usual paint apps, and a neat dynamic pose.  He has the shelf presence that you expect to get for a triple digit figure as well.

Size Comparison:

30cm Godzilla 1955 and 30cm Godzilla 1954

30cm '55, 30cm '68', 30cm  '64, Dunk '84, and 30cm '62

Figure Review: X-Plus Gigantic Series Burning Godzilla

Following on the heels of their Gigantic Godzilla 2001 (Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack) comes X-Plus' grand masterpiece, the 1995 Godzilla, otherwise known as Burning Godzilla.

This beautiful and meticulously detailed figure is X-Plus' grand slam. At about 50cm's tall, he's as massive as he is gorgeous. But you don't really get a sense for how large he is until you see the box he comes in, or the tail that comes shipped separate from the body. When you finally tear this bad boy out of the perfectly snug Styrofoam he comes packaged in, his width and wonderful sculpt will make your jaw drop. As someone who vividly remembers the joyful feeling of opening the 30cm Godzilla '54, '64' 2003, etc.--there was nothing like the feeling of seeing this bad boy come out of his cardboard prison.

As I alluded to, the sculpt is hands down one of the very best sculpts on a Godzilla figure period. The texture of the skin, the teeth, spines, claws, and the gorgeous looking "burning" areas of his body are top-notch. The eyes are full of character and really get across the feeling of raw anger and power this figure is based upon. One thing to mention with this figure, and in essence this particular X-Plus line, is that it is meant to be more stylized than suit accurate. So whereas the 30cm figures will sculpt Godzilla "baggy" in certain areas or with tiny air-holes in the neck to resemble the suits with actors in them straight from the respective films, this figure is what Godzilla really would be--no humans inside. He's very alive looking.

I also love the stance they put him in. He's very dynamic for a Godzilla figure. He's in a wide stance, obviously in a challenging, aggressive fashion. He's looking down at his fallen opponent and he's mid-roar (and very pissed off at that). He is walking in mid-stride and looking slightly to his 11 o'clock. Just that little touch, rather than him looking straightforward, makes a huge difference, especially since, due to his sheer size, he is not very shelf friendly. But this figure's awesomeness and pure badassery are just too impossible to contain.

X-Plus did not hold back on the paint applications either. Sometimes, in rare cases, I'm a bit letdown by the paintwork on their smaller figures. But his skin looks great, his teeth look so real and natural, and his tongue is heavily detailed. The entire inside of the mouth looks life-like. I was so impressed. The use of the translucent effect and paint apps are second-to-none.  I mean, just look at that mouth below and tell me that these guys didn't bring their A-game.  

One thing worth noting is this guy is very potent! As anybody who collects these X-Plus vinyl figures, fresh vinyl has a very unique smell when it first comes out of the box. Well, this guy can attract skunks. He smells like fresh vinyl and paint and he's been out of the box for almost a week now and he still smells pretty, uh, interesting. Fortunately, I'm one of those weird people who like the smell (nothing screams brand new like this) so I'm enjoying it but other collectors have aired him out in garages to help get rid of the odor.

Photos do not do this guy justice. I wasn't going to drop the cash on him when I saw the production photos (like the pictures here on Amazon). The colors didn't really pop to me. The sculpt was always great but I didn't want to spend that kind of money without feeling certain I'd love it. But once I saw in-hand pictures of him, I realized just how special this Godzilla is. Now, I wish I did order him at first. I could have gotten the limited addition that came with the Oxygen Destroyer weapon to display and he would have been far cheaper. A fair warning, this guy will rise in price very quickly and steadily. If you are on the fence, I'd try to find a way to make this guy yours as soon as possible!

As fans of the series know, this Godzilla is from the film "Godzilla vs. Destroyah". It's a film famous for killing the legendary beast off after four decades of fighting other giant monsters. But Godzilla goes out like the king that he is and is still going strong to this day, both at the box office and in vinyl form. X-Plus did the king justice and really, truly captured the spirit of Godzilla 1995.  

If you want just one figure to represent your love for Godzilla, give this guy serious consideration. While I have rare Godzilla items like the Super Premium Meltdown Godzilla that's about two feet tall, the rare 14" Godzilla '91 vinyl, and other various X-Plus figures, this guy is my grail piece now. He dominates whatever you display him next to, guaranteed.  It also helps that he is not only a popular version of Godzilla, but that he also is represented from a very important chapter in the long mythos of the film series.  As a grail piece, you want something that looks fantastic on it's own merit but for me I also want it to be a representation of something interesting to the franchise.

So what else is there to be said?  I actually found his tail to be rather easy to put on and didn't even have to blow dry it.  I do have one little nitpick and it's that they way they must have molded these together has left some visible glue lines at certain parts.  They usually are hidden very well but in natural day light (or with flash photography they can really stick out).  There is one across the front of his neck, a little less than halfway up, that bothers me from time-to-time.  But the unbelievable presence of this figure really speaks the loudest.  Despite my nitpick, I have to stick to my gut on this one.  How can I say this doesn't deserve 5-stars?  I can't. 

Figure Review: X-Plus 30cm Godzilla 2003

X-Plus must love it when a new Godzilla suit with a rare or unique characteristic comes out because they can pump figures out and they know as long as their quality of work stays high then they will clean-up.  The Millennium series in general was very kind to the garage kit manufacturer--four figures of Godzilla himself out of only 6 films.

Based on the film "Godzilla X Mothra X MechaGodzilla: Tokyo SOS" (or some other wordy title that sounds like that), Godzilla 2003 is a unique design for the king of the monsters. Upon first glance he is easily recognizable from being in this particular film.  I'll get into more of the specific characteristics in a bit but as a whole I think this figure should be really appreciated.  Whether you love the film or hate, or dig the suit or not, it is a very well-made figure.  That cannot be argued.  

And I can say that because I'm not particularly fond of the movies or the suit.  It's weird because the suit has traits I really like.  The spines are awesome, I love the teeth, the way the eye seem to glow, and his feet.  But the way Godzilla was portrayed was so passive and lackluster that the suit never looked fluid to me--never appeared fluid or majestic to me.  Maybe because the film felt like it was more about Kiryu or because the film felt like it was just made out of obligation and not with the same charm and spirit as the classics.  I don't just mean Ifukube's magical run with the Showa films either, but aside from GMK, none of the Millennium films feel like they were made with any attitude or intention to take anything to a new level.  

But, X-Plus made sure they came correct with this figure.  

Much like the 1999 suit, Godzilla has very jagged spines but this time they are back to their traditional bone color.  He's also got the spikier scale texture like it as well, but mixed with the oldschool Godzilla hide.  His face looks more bird-like with the flatter head and longer, thinner snout and jawline.  And the easiest way to tell him apart?  The huge scar on his chest.

In the film's predecessor, Kiryu nails Godzilla with this super weapon.  Godzilla somehow survives but he retreats to lick his wound--and it's pretty gnarly.  He comes back in Tokyo SOS with a very large scar, which I'm sure made the decision easy for X-Plus which film of the two-film story to make the figure from.  It isn't often that Godzilla figures come with any sort of physical on-screen damage nor does it ever carry over from film-to-film.  So, in that sense, this makes this Godzilla figures one of the more interesting in X-Plus' lineup.

The pose is different as well. Godzilla is looking up, probably at Mothra flying overhead, and looks like he wants to blast her with his radioactive fire. For fans of the films, the pose reminds me of the shot in the prequel to this film where Godzilla is roaring and absorbing the electricity from the sky. 

He's slimmer than most of the other Godzilla designs and he does look a little meager on a shelf at times but he's an excellent addition to the series and I am thrilled to have him as part of my collection.  I just ordered Kiryu to go along with him and I think the two of them will go along great together--much like Anguirus and Godzilla '55 or Godzilla '68, Anguirus '68 and Gigan.  These wonderful figures really make you take pride in the way you display them.  

To summarize, I really don't have any complaints with this product.  As you can see the sculpt looks fantastic.  The ridges and grooves in his skin look straight out of a movie.  I love the texture of the spines and the hints of decay on his teeth.  The paint is very neatly done. It's all applicated where it should be--no smears or blotches. The colors pop! The craftsmanship here is the typical X-Plus high quality. This Godzilla is definitely worthy of a 5-star rating.

Size Comparison:

X-Plus 30cm Godzilla '89, Godzilla 2014, 2003, and Godzilla '54

Figure Review: X-Plus Yuji Sakai 30cm Godzilla 1991 Hokkaido Landing

The second installment of the Yuji Sakai master line from X-Plus features the actual in-universe successor of their Godzilla 1989 figure from last year—the 1991 Godzilla, or more generically known as the version from “Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah”.  Both figures are based on resin kits sculpted by the master sculptor himself.  Being only two years apart, both versions of Godzilla look pretty similar in film and in figure form.  But a closer look reveals that the ’91 Godzilla is in a league all by himself.  

Inspiration:  

As mentioned previously, this figure is based on the Godzilla from “Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah”.  It really isn’t a magnificent film, but it is rather unique in the way it dives into the Toho universe and Godzilla legend using time traveling and weird cyborgs to push the story.  What is magnificent is how the monster king is portrayed throughout the movie—at least when he finally shows up in his true form.  This is one of the most angry, merciless and powerful versions of Godzilla ever on screen.  Unstoppable doesn’t even truly begin to define Godzilla in this film.  Whereas defeating the other kaiju opponent usually satisfies Godzilla’s appetite for destruction, this guy just starts his rampage after body slamming King Ghidorah into a battered corpse.   The characters make comments about how much more of an asshole this particular Godzilla is (and how he’s much larger too) compared to the old one they knew.  So do Yuji Sakai and X-Plus meet the bar?

Sculpt:

To put it mildly—hell yes.  The 1991 seems to be a pretty hard version of Godzilla to truly nail in vinyl form—and perhaps that’s where the advantage lies in taking molds from resin kits—but holy crap did they hit it out of the park with him.  He looks like a still shot straight out of the movie.  It looks like the exact suit but the pose captures him in a very predatory, aggressive stance and it really brings the character to life on a shelf.  Everything looks solid from his stocky legs, the natural looking curves to his body, the powerful looking chest and neck, the spines are perfect and the face is just 100% 1991 Godzilla at his best, including the little Mohawk style of the ridges on his dome.  I love the subtle features like how you can see the skeletal structure under the skin in his claws and the death stare the brow creates.  And whereas the pose for the ’89 has drawn a mixed reaction from collectors, this figure is a huge hit already and has so much presence.  Also, a huge improvement is the individually sculpted teeth.  They look much better than the single mold used on the ’89.  The coolest thing?  This figure looks amazing in every angle.  Good luck picking your favorite way to display him.

Paint:

Pretty much exactly how it should be. The charcoal color of Godzilla’s skin and the more ivory looking shade of the spines were done with great care.  His claws look life-like.  The eyes are breathtaking and truly capture the almost shark-like, soul-less blackness of them.  It has the suit accurate brownish/reddish figment in there, but the black really dominates the pupils and it looks so evil in the dark much like the film version.  I have seen people who own the actual resin kit do a bit more with the coloration of the teeth, but the ones on this figure look phenomenal to me.  

Presence:

What do I mean by presence?  Well have you ever had a well-made figure but it just didn’t display well?  Like even though the paint was good and the sculpt was solid, it just seemed rather forgettable or simply fell into the background of your collection?  

This guy looks fantastic on a shelf.  As a figure of one of the most badass Godzilla incarnations, it exudes the attitude of the Big Guy on screen.  He has that stalking posture to him and he looks like he’s looking down a defeated rival with absolute malice in his heart.  That and his dangerously long tail beautifully capture the fluid motion in statue form in a way that many feel the ’89 version missed the mark a bit (although there are plenty of fans of the midstep pose of ’89, but my opinion falls with those who feel that it’s overall awkward looking on a shelf). The downside to these resin kits being turned vinyl is the shrinkage, however, and although it is labeled as a 30cm scale figure, he is more truly 27cm.  And unfortunately, when displayed with other 30cm figures he just doesn’t look like he belongs.  The 3 extra centimeters really make a big difference.  But when displayed on his own or with 25cm X-Plus figures (or even his ’89 counterpart) he dominates the shelf.  When you look at him you can just hear the words “Just look at that thing--It’s not going to be friendly to us!”

Another thing worth noting about this badass is that, as far as I remember growing up, the closed-mouth Godzilla figures were always heavily sought after. They were rare and for a lot of fans, like myself, add an extra layer of personality for these figures. With this, not only do we get a spot-on portrayal of an incredible suit. But we also get it in a very neat style. The snarl or grimace of this sculpt make it one of the coolest looking face sculpts in vinyl form.

Misc notes:

• Whereas most figures or statues need brightness and light to look properly displayed, it is noteworthy how cool looking this figure looks in the shadows.  They really accentuate the aggressive edges of the design and the persona of the character.  Look at how the eyes glisten in just a tiny bit of light.  Awesome stuff and that’s a testament to how accurate this sculpt is because he looks lifelike.  But he looks incredible in a bright display as well, of course.  
• It comes with a rather bland stand to balance the tail out since the resin kits were made with the tails up in the air and were supported with a little keg.  
• The film features Godzilla for the first time being  100 meters tall and also is the only film that shows what he looked like pre-mutation.
• Unlike previous encounters with King Ghidorah (in the Showa series), this Godzilla didn’t really seem phased by the lightning attacks nor was he physically overpowered by the larger dragon.  In the 60’s, Godzilla usually spent most of his time with Ghidorah being sent flying into things.  

Overall, I'd say this figure is an easy 5 out of 5.  The only nitpick is that he isn't a true 30cm figure and he can get dwarfed but some of the bigger ones.  But as a figure being judged on it's own, it's hands down one of the best Godzilla vinyls ever made--and it is a bar that X-Plus continually seems to be trying to meet because their products are getting better and better.  But considering the source material and the likeness, this has to be in the conversation for best X-Plus Godzilla ever made. 

Size Comparison:

X-Plus 30cm Godzilla 2014, Sakai 30cm '91, and Dunk 27cm '84

Figure Review: Toho Monster Series 25cm Godzilla 1975 Ric

X-Plus' Godzilla 1975 depicts the monster king in his last Showa film of all-time, "Terror of Mecha Godzilla" -- a fan-favorite that gave fans our last glimpse of Godzilla for about ten years. 

By the time the 1970's swung around, Godzilla went from being a nuclear terror to mankind's savior. Godzilla returns to fight off the mechanical nuisance MechaGodzilla. Although one of the stronger entries in the series at this point, it became clear that the series need a new direction. Even children were getting over Godzilla as daily television shows were satisfying their city-smashing, monster fighting needs at home.  

In America, the '74-75 Godzilla is a very popular and nostalgic suit.  I think that when Godzilla films were first being aired here regularly on cable, it was often "Terror of MechaGodzilla". A lot of fans grew up with this Godzilla more intimately than the 50's version.  And it isn't hard to see why--young fans who were introduced to a giant building smashing dinosaur (as we all generally viewed him as in our young years) gravitated to him and his somewhat-human personality that he displayed in this film. And if there is one thing I think X-Plus nails with this figure, it is that exact spirit.

A far cry from that merciless stare that '64 has

  

He's almost in a pure fighting stance with his fists up. His overly big head looks less comical than some of the prior early-70's films, thanks in part to the menacing brow over the eyes. But X-Plus couldn't really perfect the face this go around. The suit had a neat lip curl that showed an upper level of sharp teeth that made him give off a snarling appearance when threatening an enemy. Since that detail is lost here, the roaring pose doesn't look as good on this figure. If this came out as a closed mouth version, it would be more faithful.  While still a nice representation, the mouth throws the whole thing off a bit.  

The neck down is a spot-on sculpt. A little stumpier looking compared to other incarnations and his maple-leaf looking spines going down his back, this Godzilla is a long ways away from some of the other classic suits but he looks great in his own right. But part of the fun of this hobby is seeing these beasts evolve from film-to-film.  It's not just Godzilla: Rodan, Anguirus, King Ghidorah & MechaGodzilla have all gone through major transitions as well. 

The inaccuracies don't stop at the sculpt unfortunately.  The paint is a little off as well. The spines should be more silver in color and the figure has been highlighted by a little too much grey in my opinion. The charcoal base color is perfect but I think some brown highlights would have popped out way more nicely, and considering how dirty he got fighting his opponents in the film (he was completely buried underground at one point), I think the brown would have accentuated the details of the suit a lot better.  Instead, the figure looks more static and statuesque and not as lifelike as their other work.  


If you can get your hands on the Ric edition of the figure, do so. He comes with the Mecha Godzilla head and an extra arm to hold it. As far as exclusives go, it's one of X-Plus' best as far as my $.02 goes.  It's a nice redeeming quality for one of X-Plus' more inaccurate figures.  To be fair, X-Plus is held to very high standards so some of this might seem like nitpicking--and maybe it is.

Overall he's a neat little figure.  If you look at him, as fans of the series, you should be able to pinpoint which film he's from even without the head in his hands.  It just goes to show you that even when they miss the mark X-Plus still puts out quality merchandise.  But I cannot say this figure is a perfect 5, and even a 4 since that's what I gave the 30cm '54.  For the mouth drawbacks and the paint fail on the spines (which should have been easy to get right), I have to give this figure a 2.5 out of 5.  Hopefully this is the lowest score I ever give an X-Plus.  

Size Comparison:

Power Rangers Legacy Dragonzord & 25cm Godzilla '75

Figure Review: X-Plus Toho Series 30cm Godzilla 1964

Photobombed

For collectors, it can be overwhelming to keep up with all the different Godzilla designs.  His look changes from film-to-film and this was never more drastic than the Showa era.  At least the with Hesei and Millennium series, with the exception of a couple films, his general appearance was strongly more consistent.  But the Showa series saw change after change and if it wasn't for his iconic spines, he could downright look unrecognizable compared to when he first appeared.

But as different as they were, the Showa series gave us many of the most beloved suits.  And for X-Plus, that's great business.  

To many people, Godzilla 1964 is the epitome of golden-age daikaiju Godzilla suits. The high task of being the best looking Godzilla suit often falls to this one for many of the long-time fans. And X-Plus made sure to make a strong reproduction.  

From the 1964 monster classic "Mothra vs Godzilla", this figure depicts Godzilla at perhaps his most sinister. This is the first time Godzilla starred with another popular Japanese monster named Mothra.  She and Godzilla are great foes who then become friends but then fight again. It's this whole on-again-off-again relationship that just doesn't even try to be anything but inconsistent.  Once again, Godzilla is the villain in the film and even without his pointy ears or fangs he still very much looks the part. 

It's that Resting Bitch Face

X-Plus depicts Godzilla '64 in a walking motion (that's pretty dynamic for Godzilla vinyls) as he slowly advances towards his prey. The tail is in a unique position as it is slanted downward for him to balance out but apparently his tail was positioned like this a lot in the film so I suppose it is accurate. His claws are very sharp even in action figure form so be careful handling him and keep him away from very small children. You can see how his features are getting softer through the years as the sharp, jagged spines are now fluffier and more symmetrical and the feet only have three toes now with no extra talon.

I just have to make note of how painstakingly unstoppable Godzilla was in this film.  From the moment he arrives he is being attacked, shot, bombed, electrocuted and then has to fight monsters on top of it.  And even though eventually the good guys save the day, ti's not due to anybody or anything overpowering Godzilla.  The only solution to stopping this guy is to temporary trap him or subdue him.  And this Godzilla knew he was the sh*t.  Forgive the term, but if there was a mean Showa Godzilla who had swagger it was definitely this guy.    

His skin and spines have all the extra little details that X-Plus is known for. His texture is perfect and it is complimented well by the varying shades of grey and blue and brown thrown onto the figure. The colors bounce off each other beautifully and I like the how the brown makes it look like he just got himself out of the dirt.  His mouth and teeth are painted well as usual for X-Plus standards and the figure's eyes and face truly have that menacing appearance that is in the film.

He's a healthy 30cm tall (12 inches) and he is definitely shows more detail than the 25cm does. This figure looks phenomenal on the shelf and is very photogenic. Because of the way the tail doesn't touch the ground until the tip, he needs a rather deep shelf to rest on.  But any fan of the suit will adore this figure.  Even fans who aren't crazy with the 1964 design (or the film--which just sounds absurd) have to respect the presence this one has.  This is classic---this is like Sean Connery 007 golden-age style kick-ass.

This is a figure that is indeed worthy of a perfect 5-star rating.  Great sculpt, wonderful paint application, very nice, neutral sculpt.  The tail is a bit odd, but not a flaw of the figure.  5/5.

Size Comparison:

30cm '54, 30cm '64, and 30cm 2003

As before, 30cm 1954 and 30cm 1964

And the Box: