Vault Review: S.H.
Monsterarts’ Space Godzilla

Vault

I was pretty excited this week, waiting for my mailman to deliver the next figure in Bandai’s SH Monsterarts line.  Even though Space Godzilla isn’t one of my favorite characters, I love it when my kaiju shelf grows.  They just look so cool when all together.

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I wanted to start off by saying how happy I am that Bandai is going with the Heisei era to make action figures from.  I really love the Showa era characters that Revoltech was able to produce, and I’m glad Bandai hasn’t made them obsolete with their own versions.  (At least not yet they haven’t.)

Buying this figure, I was pretty sure what to expect.  All the online pictures portrayed this figure in a similar vein as Godzilla, a stocky figure that looks great but has a limited range of movement.  But Space Godzilla actually had a couple of very pleasant surprises for me.

 My first big surprise was the sculpt.  I assumed Space Godzilla and Godzilla would share some similar parts in the legs and arms, but Space Godzilla is actually a one hundred percent new sculpt.  One of the reasons for this is because he’s bigger than Godzilla.  Not by much, but there’s a bit more height and Space G definitely bulkier.

One of the things I like about these figures that are so accurate is that you can see all those tiny details that go unnoticed in the movies.  One of which is Space Godzilla’s skin, although similar to Godzilla’s, it’s actually much more textured and rough looking.  I was also surprised to discover that the bulging red muscles on Space G’s chest go all the way down to the tip of his tail.

Space Godzilla’s head has an excellent sculpt.  The inside of his mouth has a ton of detail work that you wouldn’t normally see, and I really like that they made the crystal crown on his head translucent.  Some people had issues with wonky eyes on their Godzilla, but I haven’t heard any of those complaints for this figure.  I don’t know if this was a problem Bandai fixed, or if it never came up on this figure.  Either way, I’m glad to see it wasn’t an issue.

Space G’s two shoulder crystals, and the large ones running down his back, are all semi-translucent.  They’ve been given a thin coat of a pearl white paint, which gives them a shiny look.  But behind a bright light source they have the neat glowing effect that looks to emanate from the center.  This effect is strongest on his two shoulder crystals, which have a more translucent purple at the bottom.

The rest of Space Godzilla’s paint job is pretty standard.  The majority of his body is molded in black, with the highlights like his stomach muscles painted in red.  The tiny spikes running down his tail look much more metallic than the larger crystals.  There’s also a hint of purple all over this figure.  My camera picked it up easiest on his claws and the crystals at the end of his tail.  The effect is really subtle and adds a nice layer of detail to the figure.  Continue to page 2…

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32 thoughts on “Vault Review: S.H.
Monsterarts’ Space Godzilla”

  2. Awesome review, glad to see the range of motion on the articulation was increased. i have yet to pre-order SG as i was waiting for a review, although i was already pretty much sold on the figure. Quick question tho, where would you suggest i preorder from? Or rather, where did you preorder yours from? I got both godzilla amd mecha g in midtown comics but idk when theyd have SG and the price will most likely be a little higher than online.

    1. You’ve got a couple different options. I order mine from the Japanese store Amiami. Most people have been waiting for the US distributor, Bluefin, who sells through Amazon.com, which usually takes about a month after the Japanese release.

      You can preorder it on Amazon here, but for some reason their price is really high.

      Amiami has him for a cheaper price. Even with the high exchange rate you’ll only be paying about $60, but the shipping is probably going to push you close to that $80 level. I can tell you that EMS, the fastest shipping, will cost you about $30. So if you do go with Amiami, and don’t mind waiting a couple weeks, pick SAL Registered shipping.

      1. Ya know, this may seem really bad, but because of The last 3 years with buying MoTUC, $30 shipping doesn’t outrage me on a $60 figure. (especially when us sites are charging $75 + shipping) But neither does waiting a few weeks for a toy, also due to matty. I appreciate the info on AmiAmi tho.

        1. Well, if you’re impatient like me and don’t mind dropping $30 on shipping, then go for the EMS. It’s fast as hell and will be at your house in three to four days. Definitely worth the price if you don’t want to wait.

          Amiami’s a good site. If you’re ever looking for imports, check them first. They usually have the cheapest prices.

      2. I ordered this particular figure via Sideshow, due to a coupon they had at the time, but DAMMIT they haven’t got it in yet.

        I’ve pre-ordered pretty much everything else for the future via AmiAmi. Didn’t know shipping was so much, though…$30 a pop for EMS? Really?

        1. Yeah, I about choked when I saw the shipping total on my payment request. Those shoulders give him a bit more weight than Godzilla. His box is also a couple inches bigger, which I didn’t expect. I guess together it brought him up a couple levels in shipping costs.

          I can’t wait to see what kind of rape shipping prices Ghidorah’s going to be. I don’t like doing it, but I may have to go SAL on him.

          1. I may switch to registered SAL, then. I just can’t justify spending that much money solely on my own impatience. Not that I don’t totally get where you’re coming from – I just can’t spend that much, especially since I’ll be dropping something in the area of $70 for the SDCC exclusive Burning Godzilla around the time some stuff will be shipping…

  3. P.S. Bluefin recently stated they’re going to have a new SHM poll for new monster suggestions. Seems like it could expand past Heisei. I’ve got my fingers crossed.

  4. Bloody fine review, excellent pics. Too damn’ expensive for me. Only toys I buy that’re that expensive are the larger TransFormers, and these kaiju are only about 6″ tall, right?

    Those two little fighting ogre guys at the bottom of the group shot look familiar. I’m getting a vague recollection of seeing something like them on the Saturday morning / afternoon creature-feature bonanza on Channel 43 (WUAB) when I was little. Man, those were good times, with all the rubbery monsters or lizards on tiny sets.

  6. I’m sorta hoping they make a Ver 2.0 of Godzilla with all the improved range of movement that Space-G has.
    Also I’m not to thrilled about the recently announced price for Ghidorah at $125.00 or more.

  8. Nice review! Yeah this thing is incredible. I’d recommend SHM SpaceGodzilla to fans and non fans alike.

  9. I really wish they’d expand into the Millennium series for one major reason; Kiryu. He’s far and away the best version of Mecha-G ever designed. If they include him in this line, they’ll have me hooked.

    1. There are Super Articulated figures of both Kiryu and Showa MG already, so I don’t see the point. The priority ought to go to kaiju who have yet to receive figures in this vein.

    1. There is a Chogokin Kiryu (also made by Bandai), along with a Chogokin Showa Mechagodzilla, Millenium gigan, and the cutesy 2006 Gamera. They are quite expensive though, but then its to be expected from SA figures.

  12. *Read quite expensive as pretty damn pricey. They generally go for a little more than the Monsterarts.

    1. Yeah, I’ve been digging around for that Chogokin Kiryu, and it looks like it’s going for around $150 shipped at minimum, which is about double what the Monsterarts seem to be going for. And while it looks damn nice, it’s still almost 10 years old and not quite as articulated as a Monsterarts, so I stand by my desire for a new one.

  14. ‘Sir Real’

    If it’s like my Chogokin Mecha Godzilla GD-98, then it’s a little over 7 inches.

  15. Man I love the pic of him with some of the other Kaiju. Makes me wish I had gotten on board with the Revoltechs and these couple of Monsterarts because they look awesome together.

  16. You still can ”StrangePlanet” BBTS has a sweet selection of Revoltechs and S.H.Monsterarts available.

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