Vault Review: SH Monsterarts
Godzilla (Comic-Con Explosion)

Vault

I didn’t want all that much from San Diego Comic Con this year.  There was the annual Mattel offerings of MOTU Classics (which I got), and Monster High (which I didn’t get).  Other than that, my only real target was Bluefin’s SH Monsterarts Godzilla exclusive.

I was excited for two reasons when Bluefin first announced this exclusive.  First, that they were able to get their own version of a Godzilla figure from Bandai of Japan.  Even though Godzilla is popular, I assumed that would only be imported and that the US wouldn’t get any original figures.  This Godzilla is a nice chunk of proof that the Monsterarts figures do sell here, and Bandai of Japan recognizes this.  Definitely a good thing for us.

The second and most important reason I had to have this figure: He’s a freakin Godzilla made out of translucent orange and yellow plastic!  It’s silly/crazy/awesome all at the same time.  What’s not to love about that? The kid part of my brain is always enticed by translucent and glow-in-the-dark toys, and this Godzilla figure is wonderfully over the top in that first category.  I knew I had to have him as soon as the press pictures were released.

When Monsterarts first started, Bandai showed off a couple of figures to give people an idea of what the line would be like.  One of the figures was Burning Godzilla, a variant Godzilla with bits of translucent red throughout his body.  It had been a couple years without an announcement for that figure, so I first assumed that Comic-Con Godzilla was replacing him in the line.

But I was wrong.  This figure’s box clearly points out that he is Comic-Con Explosion Godzilla.  A unique figure that represents his attack on the SDCC convention center.  The original box art on the back portrays him smashing through the center while people flee in terror.  (There’s also a nice little bio about the artist and sculptor.)  To give the figure even more clout, there was even an original display built for the presentation depicting his rampage.

Sculpt wise, this figure is the same as the first Godzilla figure in this line.  The obvious difference here is his coloring and paint apps.  The entire figure has been molded in varying shades of translucent orange.  From what I can tell, there are at least three different colors of plastic.  The darker and lighter shades are most evident on his tail, since each segment switches between one and the other.  The third shade is only in the molded apart of his upper palate, and is dark enough to probably be considered red.

As for paint apps, Godzilla’s tongue has been given a slight red wash to show detail while still allowing luminosity.  His eyes have been entirely painted over with a dark orange.  They made this color deeper than the rest of his body, so his eyes actually stand out pretty well.  Lastly, they frosted his finger nails, toe nails, and back spikes with a bright yellow.  This gives him a layer of solid depth while still allowing for some translucence.  Continue to page 2…

Pages: 1 2

17 thoughts on “Vault Review: SH Monsterarts
Godzilla (Comic-Con Explosion)”

  2. I’d like to have this dude, but not enough to go buy him 🙁 Saving for Gidora.

    Can we get a close up of the text, I’d like to read those mini-bios about the artists.

    Thanks!

  3. so let ask, we all know conventional wisdom is that translucent plastics aren’t as solid as others, and you mentioned that the articulation yields a little more than on the standard release… any fears of fragility? does he feel like he’s a solid as the regular release? being a con exclusive, i expect he’ll do more sitting than playing anyways, but i’m curious if you anticipate any issues w/ him.

    1. He doesn’t feel fragile at all, but the plastic does feel softer than the regular figure’s. Not in a rubbery way, but it just has a little more give.

      I took a pic of their arms stretched open so you could see how much more lenient the orange plastic is. While you can still pop off body parts with the original G, it’s definitely more difficult.

      The only issue I may have with him is how he ages. Soft plastics tend to get that white dust problem sooner than hard plastics. But hopefully he’ll hold up.

  4. great review! maybe i should get into this line:D might do it when i get myself to make some money;D
    he looks awesome, i am also a sucker for translucent plastic. and is the godzilla jr soon coming out or is it later, cuz cant wait for a review of him! he look soo cute;D

    kappas like cucumbers, i like cake!

    1. Thanks, Ghundi!

      I’ll be getting the little Godzilla Jr in the next few days. The review will hopefully be up soon after that. But I also have a backlog of reviews I need to get done, and I think we’re having another theme week coming up. So just keep checking back. I’ll get him up eventually. 😛

  5. I was lucky and a friend got me one. He is awesome!

    Burning Godzilla is coming out in November.

    Little Godzilla is coming out in December but seems to be a web exclusive.

    Spec

    1. Little Godzilla (the cute one) is being domestically released by Blue Fin. I saw him at a comic shop last week.

    2. Yeah, he’s pretty fun. I was planning on using the SDCC Godzilla in place of the Burning G, but then I learned Burning has an all new body. So I guess I’m getting another one…

  8. Sweet toy, excellent review, and despite your concerns, great pictures!

    Once again, your kaiju reviews make me sad that I won’t have any of these neat-o toys, yet glad that I’ll have all that much more money and space for other things.

    1. Thanks, Beedo!

      Yeah, I know what you mean. These figures are so fun, but definitely too expensive. My biggest annoyance is that I don’t have the room to display them all at the moment. Those Godzilla tails are too long! 😛

Comments are closed.