Godzilla Maquette - Sideshow Toy

Last year we saw the triumphant return of the King of the Monsters. Godzilla was a huge box office success and another film is on its way in 2017. But for now, Sideshow Toy has been kind enough to give fans the incredible Godzilla Maquette. Standing 24” tall, this maquette is beautiful. Featuring a destroyed city beneath his feet and dynamically posed in a roaring position, this statue truly is a work of art. Every detail is expertly sculpted, from the number of fins on his back to the teeth in his mouth. It looks like a matte paint was used to give him an ancient and weathered look. We are excited for this and cannot wait to set it up! Luckily there is a set-up video, so enjoy!

PRODUCT DETAILS

Expected to Ship: Jul 2015

License: Godzilla Scale Maquette

Manufacturer: Sideshow Collectibles

Product Size: 24" H (609.6mm) x 20" W (508mm) x 19" L (482.6mm)*

Product Weight: 35.00 lbs (15.88 kg)*

Ian MacDonald (Design)

Jean-Paul Mavinga (Design)

Steve Schumacher (Sculpt)

James Lareau (Sculpt)

Michael Norman (Sculpt)

Earl Ellis (Sculpt)

Simon Garcia (Mold and Cast)

Michael Woodring (Mold and Cast)

Chadwick Andersen (Mold and Cast)

Anthony Mestas (Paint)

Tim Gore (Paint)

The Sideshow Collectibles Design and Development Team

TM & © Toho Co., Ltd. © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s14

Godzilla VS. The Hotel Guest

Luxury Hotel. Kabukicho nightlife district. Godzilla.

It's hard to imagine this didn't already exist in Japan, but at long last, the Godzilla themed hotel (Hotel Gracery Shinjuku) opened last Friday. The theatre attached to the hotel has a life-sized Heisei Godzilla appearing at the top of the building, breaking through the roof. There are Godzilla-view rooms (6 designated as such0 that are already booked months in advance. Godzilla themed rooms are also available, as seen in the pictures below, along with Godzilla desserts, food, gifts, memorabilia, and smaller statues throughout the hotel. It looks like I'll have to do some traveling and experience this for myself!

Godzilla VS. PS4

It looks like PS4 will get another Godzilla game this summer, Godzilla VS. As the title suggests, Godzilla VS. will be an online multiplayer versus experience following on the tail of the Godzilla game (Bandai Namco) that was previously released in Japan and is now is being released this summer for PS3 and PS4. All the kaiju will be available, including Space Godzilla. Notice in the video MechaGodzilla II is decked out with his additional weapons pack. The character models look great and hopefully the game will be monstrously fun! Stay tuned for more news when it arrives!

Godzilla 2016 Accouncement

It looks like Toho has discovered the footprint of a new species of Godzilla. This is the only known image to surface from the anticipated Godzilla 2016 movie produced by Toho Studios, the original creators of Godzilla. According to Variety, Toho has also stated that Japanese filmmakers Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi will co-direct the new Godzilla flick. The directors previously worked on God Warrior Appears in Tokyo.

“Ever since Hollywood announced that Godzilla was to be resurrected, the expectation for another Japanese Godzilla grew. And if we were to newly produce, we looked into Japanese creators who were the most knowledgeable and who had the most passion for Godzilla” according to a statement from Toho.

Looking at the image of the foot, it appears that Godzilla will have more in common with 'Zilla than any precious incarnation of the Big-G. Notice the five toes and what looks like almost a vestigial toe on the right. It is also more dinosaur looking in appearance with long curved nails and thing long toes. Godzilla 2014 had trunk link legs and toes with squat nails. Looks like 2016 will be lean and fast. Lets hope this Godzilla can live up to the iconic creation Gareth Edwards unleashed last year.

Happy Godzilla Marathon Day!

Happy Godzilla Marathon Day!

February 14th is a time when everyone can come together and share in their love of Godzilla. This tradition started about 15 years ago to replace the holiday known as Valentine's Day. Since then, I wish everyone on the 14th a very Happy Godzilla Marathon day and as soon as I wake up in the morning it is All Godzilla All Day Long. I encourage you to share this tradition with all the people you love on this fine day and remind them what February 14th really is all about: Kaiju, candy, and destruction!

Toho to make Godzilla 2016

With the success of Gareth Edwards Godzilla, it would only be appropriate that Toho studios once again revive the king in an all new movie produced by the original studio that created the monster. 10 long years passed between Godzilla: Final Wars and Godzilla 2014, and the wait couldn't have paid off more than with the rebirth of the King. 

"This is very good timing after the success of the American version this year: if not now, then when? The licensing contract we have with Legendary places no restrictions on us making domestic versions," a Toho staffer said.

While there are no details pertaining to the movie the announcement, it is just enough to get me excited about Toho's Godzilla in 2016 and enough to tide me over for Legendary Pictures Godzilla in 2017.

Profile: Battra

First Appearance: Godzilla Vs. Mothra: Battle for Earth

Twelve thousand years ago, the spirit of Earth created Battra. Battra was created to destroy a device built by an ancient civilization to control Earth's climate. Battra began to do his job well beyond his purpose and Mothra was forced to intervene. There was a huge battle between Mothra and Battra. When Mothra finally won, Battra was laid to rest in the North Sea, while Mothra survived in the mountains with the Cosmos. Unlike his benevolent twin Mothra, Battra sees humanity as a blight on Earth, and won't stop until humanity is removed from the planet. It's because of this that Battra came into conflict with Mothra, who seems intent on protecting humanity.

Thousands of years later, Battra was awoken by a meteorite in Siberia. Battra swam to the coast of Japan and burrowed, reappearing and attacking Nagoya. The JSDF fought Battra but were no match, and Battra left a wrecked city behind as he burrowed again. Battra appeared in the waters off the archipelago of the Philippines, where Godzilla and Mothra were battling. Battra engaged Godzilla, who was the bigger threat. The two monsters battled down to the sea floor in the Philippine Trench, where a volcanic eruption supposedly killed them. But Battra and Godzilla lived on, appearing near Mount Fuji, with Godzilla exiting an erupting volcano and Battra emerging from the ocean's depths. Upon metamorphosing from his larval form, he flew to Tokyo to exact his revenge on Mothra. The sinister moth seemed to have an upper hand against his less violent counterpart, but soon, in the heat of the battle, Godzilla appeared. Mothra and Battra teamed up to combat Godzilla together in defense of both Earth and humankind. Once Godzilla was defeated, Battra and Mothra carried him out to sea. However, Godzilla, still conscious, killed Battra by attacking him with an atomic ray at point-blank range while he was being transported. Godzilla and Battra dropped into the ocean below. Mothra then flew in a circle and placed a seal over the final resting place of Battra, honoring his sacrifice.

Profile: Little Godzilla

First Appearance: Godzilla Vs. Space Godzilla (1995)

No kaiju even comes close to how adorable Little Godzilla is. Having grown from Baby Godzilla, Little Godzilla  is plump, round, and google-eye compared to his fearsome father. His big red eyes are expressive and his roar is small, high-pitched, and short. Growing up on Birth Island, Little Godzilla pretty much has the run of the place with no other kaiju around. He enjoys toddling around, walking on the beach, and doesn’t quite know how to avoid tear gas mines. he can blow radioactive bubbles and dust, but not a concentrated beam weapon.

Eventually SpaceGodzilla comes to birth island and scares Little Godzilla. Curiosity does get the best of the little monsters and he eventually comes out of hiding to investigate. SpaceGodzilla grabs the Little Godzilla with his telekinesis and traps him in a crystal prison. Godzilla attempts to defeat SpaceGodzilla but he is just too powerful. After a fight alongside MOGUERA, Little Godzilla is freed and reunited with Godzilla. This would mark Little Godzilla’s only appearance in the Godzilla series.

Profile: Kumonga

Name: Kumonga aka Spiga

First Appearance: Son of Godzilla

Kumonga is probably many peoples worst nightmare: a giant spider about 135 feet long and 18 feet high and weighing nearly 80,000 tons. The name Kumonga comes from the Japanese word for spiderクモ (kumo). Sporting black and yellow striped patterns, cold-blue eyes,  large fangs, and able to shoot super strong webbing from its mouth, Kumonga was a formidably enemy for Godzilla.

According to the journal of Dr. Matsumia, Kumonga was a type of very large spider to dwell in the jungle of Sogell Island. However, exposure to the radioactive storm of 1967 created by the UN's failed weather experiment mutated Kumonga into a 45-meter tall kaiju. The same weather experiment that created the Kamacuras. After killing one of the Kamacuras, Kumonga took on Godzilla himself and nearly killed him. But, thanks to the help of Manilla, Godzilla was able to severely burn Kumonga with their radioactive breath and chase the creature away. Kumonga participated in the final battle in Destroy All Monsters and helped Mothra entangle King Ghidorah in webbing. He also was taken over by the Xiliens in Final Wars and destroyed a trailer in the Arizona desert and fought Godzilla once again. Only to be swung around by his own webbing and soared into the distance, never to be seen again.

Review: S.H.MonsterArts Mothra

Next on our list of Tamashii Nations Monsterarts figures is the incredible Mothra. Having been released earlier this year, she was one of the characters I was most looking forward too. Having Battra already in my collection, I couldn't help but want his kind and majestic sister. It took some time for her to be released, but Battra was such an impressive figure, I definitely could wait for a Mothra.

Right in scale with Battra, Mothra has at least a 12 inch wingspan. The sculpt is magnificent! Her wings, face, and legs still retain a slightly hairy look even when made from a heavy plastic. Her antennae sprout from her head and swivel. Her wings can move up and down and are made of the larger front wings and the smaller back wings, which can be posed independently. Her abdomen is segmented which allows for some movement but not a lot. This is not the nimble and agile Mothra from the Millennium era but is lifted from the Heisei era. Below are her 6 bird-like claws that can move any direction, but sadly, like Battra, they easily fall off and never go back on again the same. She can be sitting on her stand and a leg just falls off. Overall, the sculpt is beautiful and is the exact image of Mothra.

The paint job is superb! The most iconic symbol from Mothra is the pattern on her wings. The figure gets it spot-on. Every red, yellow, black, and white is expertly painted on the wings. The curving spirals and jagged edges are crisp and clear. Her eyes look as if they are glowing a blue hue from behind and in direct sunlight are breathtaking. The contrast between the black Mothra (Battra) and Mothra next to each other just shows the care that goes into these figures.

Mothra does not come with any accessories besides the clear stand and base which has the image from the cave in “Godzilla VS. Mothra: Battle for Earth.”

Overall, this is a high quality figure with a decent price tag at around $60. I am thoroughly impressed and she fits right in with the rest of the Godzilla heroes.

Review: S.H. MonsterArts King Ghidorah

Godzilla’s biggest and baddest foe comes next in our Tamashi Nations S.H. MonsterArts figures. This figure is impressive as it is expensive. I am glad I got mine early on as it now retails on Amazon for over 200 dollars. However, the figure is worth the price as it has a ton of articulation and accessories.

Expertly crafted by Yuji Sakai, each head and tail has been meticulously and individually sculpted for the most accurate portrayal of King Ghidorah. This version of Ghirodah comes from the Heisei series of the films to match the rest of the characters in design, scale, and continuity. Standing an impressive 10 inches tall, Ghidorah towers over Godzilla. Not a detail was missed on this figure. From his three heads, elegant necks, giant wings, scaled body, and two tails, Ghidorah is as beautiful as he is deadly. Tongues, teeth, horns, eyes, and nostrils are distinct and detailed on each head. Each neck can be posed independently and in any direction. The wings can flap and are sturdy. The two-tails bend just like the necks in any direction.

The paint job is superb, but what else could it be? He is a pure gold dragon. No shading of any kind besides inside the mouth and eyes.

Ghidorah’s accessories include three separate beam weapons of his classic lightning and three stands for each. It does not come with a base for the figure but Ghidorah stands upright and never seems like he will fall over. Like all the figures, they can break easily and there are plenty of warnings telling you not to over-pose the figure.

The box is gorgeous! Shiny and gold like Ghidorah, it sports a picture window in the front to see a side view of the monster and a top picture window with his name in gold. The box is a heavy duty cardboard and is all in Japanese so I can’t read any of it.

Overall, the figures continue to impress me and I continue to collect them. Ghidorah is a welcome addition to the collection and if he only make his trademark cackle then the figure would be even more impressive!

Kamacuras

Name: Kamacuras aka Gimantis
First Appearance: Son of Godzilla

Kamacuras is one of the few other monsters to be doused in radiation and become larger and stronger like Godzilla.The Americans were testing a weather control experiment on Solgell Island where the already 6 foot mantis lived. The experiment caused a radioactive storm in 1967 and caused the resident mantis to grow to enormous size. Initially scaring the United Nations, the Kamacuras find Manilla's egg, crack it open and try to devour the young Godzilla. Godzilla destroys two Kamacuras and the last one gets caught in the giant spider web of Kumonga.

The Kamacuras can be seen roaming monster island, living in peace with the other monsters and can be seen in the background in various other Godzilla films. Most notably, they made a come back in Godzilla: Final Wars. Now with the ability to camouflage themselves into the environment, Kamacuras eludes Godzilla in the hills. Only to be smoked out by his atomic breath and then impaled on an electrical tower.

Titanosaurus

Name: Titanosaurs
First Appearance: Terror of Mechagodzilla

Titanosaurus, the amphibious sea monster that dwells in our oceans, falls into the category of prehistoric monster. Like Rodan and Anguirus, Titanosaurus was not exposed to radiation and mutate, but is rather the forgotten descendant of aquatic creatures that roamed the ocean millions of years ago. This is a common theme with the very early Godzilla monsters: creatures of nature rather than myth or science-experiments. Titanosaurus is probably one of the tallest monsters, sporting a huge head fine and dorsal fin. He has a long tale that ends in a fish-like tail and is covered in a  bumpy red skin. Able to create hurricane force winds with his tail, match Godzilla’s strength, jump extraordinarily far, and emit supersonic blasts from mouth, Titanosaurus is a formidable foe for the King of the Monsters.

This lumbering giant only makes one appearance in the Godzilla series along-side MechaGodzilla and is forced to be the resurrected aliens ally. Discovered in the deep ocean by Shinji Mafune, a mad scientists obsessed with the brain patters of marine life, Titanosaurs is mentally taken over by Mafune and is set forth to destroy Tokyo and the scientific community that exiled Mafune. Later, Mafune rebuilds MechaGodzilla and pairs the two against Godzilla, who is trying to stop Titanosaurs. Ultimately Titanosaurs and MechaGodzilla are defeated. It is said many times in the movie that Titanosaurs is of a peaceful nature (how they know I have no idea since this is the first anyone has seen of the dinosaur) and therefor is not really a foe to Godzilla. Perhaps if he wasn’t under mind control Godzilla would have gained another ally to rank among his friends like Rodan and Anguirus.

Titanosaurus does however make a triumphant return in Godzilla: Unleashed and is a welcome addition to the characters. He is nimble and quick and sports all his abilities he had in the movie.

S.H.Monsterarts Godzilla 90's

Tamashi Nations and S.H. Monsterarts have come together to produce the

highly collectible and sought after Godzilla series of action figures. The series was originally available only in Japan many online retailers are currently carrying the figures, including Amazon. This is where my obsession began and where I go to for the most current figure available. Tamashi Nations generally makes high quality, highly articulated, anime characters such as Dragonball Z, One Piece, and now the much sought after Pokemon line. The amount of detail and thought that goes into each character is astounding and is easily on par with Sideshowtoy collectibles. However, you do pay for what you get and in this case it is worth it.

The first character is Godzilla. While there is only one Godzilla, there are many Godzilla figures. Godzilla 90’s is shown here, lifted from the Heisei series, and sculpting is a masterpiece. Many of the original creators of the characters have come back to sculpt the figures, including the much sought after Biollante. Godzilla has over 29 points of articulation. Able to turn his head left and right, nod, arms and legs on ball joints, tail is broken into segments so it can lash side to side. Basically, any pose you’ve seen Godzilla in any of the movies you can recreate with the figure. There are also many videos of the characters in stop-motion animation showing off exactly what they can do. The paint job is spectacular although the figure I received has a fleck of blue spike paint on his neck. Not a big deal but is distracting. The first edition of Godzilla came with a  beam weapon and clear stand, which I was lucky enough to get. However, the newer release of the figure no longer comes with any accessories. The figures are fragile though and break easily, but usually snap back together. Overall, the figures are amazing and I am very pleased.

The box artwork itself is equally as impressive. Full color artwork with a clear window to see the figure and on top of the box is a another clear window with the character’s name. All the photos on the box are from the figure itself and easily look like scenes from the movies. On the back are many poses of the figure and almost all the text is in Japanese with very few English words on the box. The presentation is awesome and even displaying the figure in the box would look nice. However, I have all of my figures out and posed for a monstrous presentation.

Rodan

Name: Rodan
First Appearance: Rodan

Like Anguirus and Godzilla, Rodan is a giant prehistoric monster awakened from a time long ago. Unlike Godzilla though, Rodan was not altered by radiation, having more in common with the ankylosaurus-like monster Anguirus than Godzilla. However, Rodan starred in his own movie before he crossed over into the Godzilla series. He would become one of Godzilla's closest allies and would fight alongside Anguirus, Mothra, and Varan.

The original Rodan possess no beam weapons or
special weapons of any kind. Instead, Rodan relies on his natural talents and abilities, using his claws and beak to attack his opponents. He can fly at super-sonic speeds, destroying planes, buildings, and creating hurricane like winds in his wake. With a flap of his wings he can blow down the strongest structure and even hold back the great King Ghidorah. On many occasions Rodan fought along side Godzilla, waging war on Earth and Planet X. Although a friend of Godzilla, Rodan became his enemy later on. However, Rodan would be reborn as Fire Rodan, more powerful than ever with a uranium beam capable of halting the King of Monsters in his tracks. Eventually, Fire Rodan would sacrifice himself to save Godzilla to protect the young baby Godzilla that he cared for in his nest.

Rodan shares a rich and deep history with Godzilla. A fan favorite for all time, Rodan is the opposite of Godzilla-a quick and nimble flyer. The duo is unstoppable, able to bring down MechaGodzilla, Gigan, and King Ghidorah. Loyal and true, Rodan is brave and strong and makes appearances throughout Godzilla movie history.