^^Not gonna open them?
(seriously guys, there are some huge photos on this page. Can anyone make these things a little smaller?)
Gotta love the first new Godzilla toys of the year. First off, I received the
Final Wars Ultimate Collection today. I didn't take any pictures of them, since it's pretty easy to find photos of the set. Additionally, my camera is giving me some problems (isn't it always) and I didn't feel like it was worth the effort. But here are my overall thoughts on each figure.
Godzilla - this figure actually has a very solid sculpt, probably one of the best head sculpts of the Final Wars Godzilla I've ever seen, especially in this scale. The pose is a little wonky, but I can live with it. There are 24 back plates that need to be assembled, but luckily the assembly is idiot proof and all the spikes are numbered. I had a hard time fitting the top-most middle fin on the Godzilla variant, but otherwise everything fit perfectly. The variant is a little lame - nothing more than the same Godzilla with clear back fins - but worth having. Both figures come with clear plastic stands that lock on the right legs, but the figures stand fine on their own.
Hedora - the biggest and heaviest figure of the entire set, this is probably the largest Final Wars Hedora we're ever going to get out of Bandai. It's a good figure, but nothing spectacular, and I think it's my least favorite figure in the set. But I think that has more to do with my dislike of the FW Hedora design than with any flaw in the toy itself. I had a hard time getting the tail attached, but otherwise assembly was a snap. The figure also has cool translucent eyes. It's also the only figure without a stand, which it doesn't need at all.
King Seasar - Not much to say about this one. It looks just as goofy in toy form as it did in the movie. But I won't hold that against the figure. The sculpt is simple, but effective, the arms pose well, only the tail needs to be assembled and it comes with a stand. It's the only figure that really needs the stand, since it's more than a little top heavy.
Gigan - once again, another very good sculpt. There's not much I can say about this one, since it's really about on par with all the other Bandai FW Gigans I've seen. But the translucent eye visor gives the figure some character. A stand is included, but really isn't needed. I wonder why they didn't make this one the variant, only with the second head and chainsaw hands. It's an odd missed opportunity, but one I can live with.
Ebirah - this is probably my favorite figure of the set. The level of detail is amazing and although assembling the legs was a little tough, it looks great when it's all together. It's a perfect likeness and I can see this being the most popular figure in the entire set. Like the other figures it comes with a stand that it doesn't need.
In all, I highly recommend this set. The figure are nice and big - honestly about the size of the old Hyper series - and are truly some of the nicest looking toys in this scale that Bandai has ever done. My only gripe about the whole thing is that they're doing figures this cool based on my least favorite Godzilla film. Hopefully Bandai will keep this series going, although I wouldn't get too hopeful about it. If we have to stop getting vinyl figures for the time being, I can deal with these.
The Bandai set wasn't the only thing I got today. I also received the factory built version of
Marmit's Iron Joe Gigan kit. While the built-up Yog figures suffered from some seriously shoddy paint and assembly issues, Marmit just hits it out of the ballpark with this Gigan. It's definitely everything I had hoped it would be since I saw photos of it last April, and then some. From top to bottom the sculpt is dead on accurate and the assembly is perfect. There is no way you'd be able to tell this is a built up kit and not a vinyl toy. In fact, it's assembly allows the lower jaw and both mandibles to open and close, something I've never seen before. Along with the articulated arms it results in some nice, characteristic Gigan poses. Even the paint is incredible - it looks like Gigan steeped right out of the television. It looks like the Monster Heaven and Gigabrain Gigans have been knocked down a peg, at least in my opinion. I'm definitely anticipating the built up Megalon and Angilas, despite already owning a professionally built Angilas.
Here are some pictures. They're not great and I had to take most of them without the flash. I'll try to take better ones when I can.
I should be getting the CCP Heisei Godzilla (along with that weird Heisei Marmit Godzilla) very soon. I'll weigh in with my thoughts when I get them.