I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love coming home on a Monday to new Godzilla toys. It always makes the beginning of the work week worthwhile. It's an interesting mix this time and for once there's some new Bandais in the bunch.
First up are the new Hyper Hobby exclusive Bandai figures. For anyone who has forgotten about them, these toys are tied in to the
Godzilla Island television series that aired in Japan a decade ago that was only recently released on DVD. The figures include two Jet Jaguars and a 1975 Mechagodzilla. One Jet Jagaur is made of red vinyl with black eyes while the other is made from white vinyl, has black eyes and a red cross on it's chest. From what I remember the red Jet Jagaur is a "fire fighter" version, and the white one apparently is a "ambulance" version. Mechagodzilla meanwhile, is made of black vinyl - similar to the 2005 Memorial Box version - but is left unpainted aside from having painted orange eyes. Since I've never seen the Godzilla Island series I don't really know the significance of these versions and, to be honest, these exclusives are really for Bandai completists only. There's really nothing special about them, and a minimal effort was put into making them. It's nice to get something new out of Bandai, but these are just lame.
Below is a picture of the tags, which are gatefold and in black and white. The photos on the tags are actually of modified 8" Bandai toys, which were used in the production of the show.
And here's a comparison picture of the Hyper Hobby figure on the lright, with the Memorial Box figure on the left.
Now here's something interesting. Released by M-1, this is a Bullmark style Gigan that was given out as a prize at a "HOOP" game at a Children's Museum event on june 3rd. Apparently only about 20-50 of these were actually made. It was advertised as being a glow vinyl but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be. I'm not sure if I'm going to take this out of it's bag just yet.
Speaking of Gigan...
I knew I was going to like Gigabrain's new
Godzilla vs Megalon style Gigan. But I didn't think I was going to like it
this much. I'm actually floored by how cool this figure is. Gigabrain just nailed the look of the 1973 Gigan suit, capturing all the little details that made it different from the original 1972 Gigan costume. The more upright posture, the less threatening-looking face and beak, the thicker mandibles...it's all there. Even the skin detail on the arms and legs is just
perfect. There's even articulation in two places on each arm, similar to the Bandai
Final Wars Gigans. That's a terrific touch I didn't expect. If Gigabrain was trying to top Marmit's Monster Heaven Gigan I honestly think they may have done so, at least in my eyes. Clearly, the Marmit figure was Gigabrain's inspiration.
Of course this is not the standard Gigabrain Gigan. That hasn't been released yet. This is the Superfest version which is cast in what I think is black vinyl, although I can't help but notice a deep magenta hue in there somewhere. Additionally, I love the metallic blue paint they used on the body scales. If this figure is an indication, the standard version is going to be fantastic. I could go on and on, but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, though this is one of those toys you really have to see in person to appreciate.
Here's the figure with the purple Jet Jaguar...
...and here it is with Marmit's Gigan.
