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!

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.