2013 Toys in Review

[klen7]

Well its December and at this point any new announcements will be 2014, so i thought maybe we could start reflecting on 2013 in G Toy collecting.

It seemed very similar to 2012, we got a lot of solid X-Plus releases and some interesting SHMA releases. Marmit and Gigabrain pretty much stuck to repaints of existing sculpts. Marusan had a few low profile releases and CCP put out some great Ultra figures that left some of us wishing they still were putting out Godzilla figures. Ultra fans also got a new line of Bandai figures as well. Not to be forgotten Y-MSF continues its steady march with a flying Hedorah release and Gorosaurus release.

On the downside, while SHMA didnt have any major hiccup in the QC department (like 2012 Ghidorah's wings) some of the glamour began to fade as other fans lamented the "excessive" articulation that some of the later figures featured. X-Plus also graced us with a number of reissues, or resculpts of previous releases..

On the upside domestic distribution is making collecting more accessible as a major distributor put Marmit and X-Plus figures on the shelves of small comic book shops across the country.

Pacific Rim also hit the scene, attempting to bring "Kaiju" into the lexicon of a new generation and the NECA and Sideshow releases have given us a glimpse of what we might expect from G'14 merchandising.

[klen7]

Let me steal the approach from King_Ghidorah's 2012 Toys in Review.

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Things I've liked: New stuff being released. More Showa releases from X-Plus, solid pacing from SHMA. King Seesar got two great releases.

Things I haven't liked: Still not a lot of love for characters from the same neglected Millennium rogues this year. Also not much new from Marmit, M1Go, CCP, Gigabrain, etc... X-Plus reissues/resculpts

Favorite NEW figure: X-Plus Gamera 1995

Favorite NEWLY acquired figure: (excluding the above) X-Plus 30cm Mosugoji (closed mouth, w/ light up gimmick)

Least favorite NEW figure: X-Plus Godzilla 1975 dropped the ball a bit on the face sculpt and big time on the fin paint

Least favorite NEWLY acquired figure: This is a tough one. I'm very conflicted on the SHMA Mosugoji because of some bizarre articulation choices which keep the figure from its full potential. Also, for some reason I'm not feeling my X-Plus Kumonga... nothing i can put my finger on than perhaps the size. I'm also not too crazy about the paint variant of a CCP figure i picked up this year once i saw it in person.

[heroforhirerob]

Things I liked: More Showa era monsters released. Diamond makes Xplus releases more readily available in the States and Godzilla figures are still available in major US retailers.

Things I didn't like: Too many Xplus releases being "Ric Boy"(Xplus web page exclusive) only. Quality control on a number of major releases was lacking.

Favorite New Figure: Xplus Gamera 1999

Favorite Newly Acquired Figure: Xplus Kumonga I've been wanting an accurate representation oh this kaiju for some time and the release didn't disappoint.

Least Favorite New figure: Xplus Mechagodzilla with "Secret Base". Essentially a reissue with a terrible cheap gimmick.

Least Favorite Newly Acquired Figure: Xplus Jieronimon...mostly cause he was missing a feather when I got him.

[MekaGojira3k]

Things I liked: MonsterArts FINALLY stepping into the Showa era

Things I didn't like: Crazy prices for Destroyah Evolution set.

Favorite New Figure: MonsterArts Mosu-Goji

Favorite Newly Acquired Figure: Takara Microman Godzilla 2004

Least Favorite New figure: MonsterArts Destroyah, mostly his wings just irk me, but he is my least favorite

Least Favorite Newly Acquired Figure: Umm....I don't know...I like most everything I got from this year. Especially the older stuff I sought out specifically.