Actually, they delivered it to my home on 12/29, but I've been out of town for the last few days.
Well it finally arrived. Here are some photos:
As far as the Baragon figure goes....I'm really digging it
This fills one of the few remaining holes in my collection (Showa Baragon).
As far as which Xplus Baragon figure is the best....I think that depends on the collector and what particular type of Showa Baragon they're looking for, as some are dead set on the
Frankenstein vs Baragon version, while others prefer the seldom seen
DAM incarnation. For my tastes, it's a toss up between this one and the Xplus 25cm Baragon crawling version (I'm not a fan of the other 25cm standing version, as scale-wise it's a bit too tall in comparison with other 25cm figures).
Now onto the Varan figure:
Honestly, I could not care less about this one and it does nothing for me. I've never really heard anyone who yearned for the tiny Varan prop from
DAM to be made in figure form. As far as I'm concerned, the regular 25cm Xplus Varan figure (hell, even the amazing Marmit MH figure Varan) are much more ideal and impressive for those who covet a solid "
DAM set". Nevertheless, if one just "has to have" the small
DAM flying Varan prop and are that particular about having every kaiju figure match their
DAM incarnations, then this set would definitely be right up your alley.
Here they are in comparison to a few other Xplus figures I own:
Final verdict:
The Baragon figure kicks major ass and I like the sculpt a lot...captures the
DAM version very well and unlike the other standing Xplus 25cm Baragon figure, this one scales very nicely with other Xplus 25cm figures. However, I do think that it really sucks that I had to shell out significantly more money (20,000 yen after shipping and handling, or about $200) due to having this Varan flying prop figure being saddled onto it That's one thing that really annoys me about these "sets", as I passed on the terrific 25cm
DAM Manda figure (I've been very keen on seeing a quality whisker/hornless-less Manda figure for years) due to it being saddled with a Mothra-larva w/ rock stand that I have no desire or need for (there are tons of quality Mothra larva figures out there already) and was not willing to shell out nearly 70-80$ more as a result.
If you're a completist and "must have" an *
exact*
DAM set down to the most minute detail, then sets like this and the Manda/Mothra Larva should suit your needs perfectly. However, if you're solely interested in having a quality Showa Baragon in your collection, then I would recommend you look for the 25cm crawling Baragon, or if by some miracle a dealer would sell this particular Baragon figure individually sans the tiny Varan flying prop.