I think it goes without saying that I’m a huge fan of the evil cyborg monster Gigan. Unfortunately, less than a decade ago you’d be hard pressed to find any really good figures based on the character. The Bullmark and Popy Gigans are classics no doubt, but are products of their time. And the less said about the horrid original Bandai Gigan figure the better. For me, the six inch Bandai Godzilla Island Gigan figure was really the first Gigan toy I had ever seen that got the proportions of the monster correct though – while accurate – it did little to convey the personality of the creature.
That all changed when Marmit’s Monster Heaven series began in 2002. Gigan became one of the earliest figures in that line and immediately it was obvious just by looking at the figure just how advanced Marmit had gotten with toy design since the Vinyl Paradise series or even the Para Babies which were being released at the same time.
The standard mail order Monster Heaven Gigan quickly became known for being the best Gigan figure produced by any company. Obviously the sculptors did their homework when designing this toy. The head sculpt in particular is incredibly dynamic, with a wicked smile that just oozes with personality. Not to be outdone, the body captures all the little details that make Gigan such an interesting kaiju. In particular, the texturing on the legs is spot on with all sorts of little cracks and wrinkles one would expect to find on a rubber monster suit. The torso also features a solid sculpt, with terrific scale texture and a nicely rendered buzz saw. The oversized back wings – though a little under detailed – complete this impressive package. I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves.
If I have any gripes with this figure it’s that I really wish the tail had been just a little longer. Everything else about the figure is so perfect that the disproportionate tail threatens to throw everything off. Luckily the rest of the toy is so well done that it’s easy to overlook the stubby tail, but it’s not hard to imagine how much cooler this figure would look with a longer one.
The paintjob on the common mailaway is just as impressive as the sculpt. The green vinyl gets some nice metallic teal sprays in the appropriate spots and the silver and gold paint applications on the rest of the figure are top notch. I appreciate how the torso was sprayed with a mask, resulting in nice, even paint lines. That is much more preferable than, say, Marmit’s later Gigan Parababy, whose simple paint job does the sculpt no favors.
Marmit ended up releasing several really interesting paint variants for this figure, including some very impressive gallery and lucky bag versions. The baby blue and glow-in-the-dark variants shown in this article are Super Festival versions. However, for sheer film accuracy the green version is no doubt the way to go.
In recent years the Monster Heaven Gigan has lost some ground as cult interest in the character in Japan has increased and other companies have come on the scene, each releasing their own versions of the kaiju. Regardless, this Gigan continues to be one of the best figures in the Monster Heaven line and still is considered to be one of Marmit’s very best figures overall.
