SH Monsterarts!

[GreenAiden555]

Damn ToyFreakz hasn't shipped SpaceGodzilla yet.

does toyfreakz usually take this long?

I've heard a few weeks before, but it just baffles me... HOW could it take this long?

[GodzillaXGomoraFight]

It has been over a week with BBTS, and I've been becoming more anxious than I was a few days ago.

Are Monsterarts figures replacing Bandai's vinyl series because the Godzilla box claims that SH Monsterarts is the new standard figure series for Bandai.

[Legion1979]

Are Monsterarts figures replacing Bandai's vinyl series because the Godzilla box claims that SH Monsterarts is the new standard figure series for Bandai.

I doubt it. I'm sure when Bandai has a reason to seriously market Godzilla again in Japan they'll bring back the vinyls. The Ultra Acts haven't stopped the Ultra vinyl line, has it?

[RedZillaKing]

Are Monsterarts figures replacing Bandai's vinyl series because the Godzilla box claims that SH Monsterarts is the new standard figure series for Bandai.

For now it has. The standard vinyl line hasn't put anything out for half a decade and this line will have churned out no less than 7 brand new original sculpted and one variant. And that's not even counting the two effects packs (one of which is a legit figure all its own). On less than a year's time.

The Ultra Act example doesn't hold up as the property is still very popular in Japan. Also, with the current film there's plenty going in right now in the franchise to keep it in the public eye. When a new Godzilla film comes out the vinyl line may resurrect, but for now SHM is it.

[GreenAiden555]

It has been over a week with BBTS, and I've been becoming more anxious than I was a few days ago.

Are Monsterarts figures replacing Bandai's vinyl series because the Godzilla box claims that SH Monsterarts is the new standard figure series for Bandai.

I have almost no problem with it if it did. Aside from a few variants (theater exclusive), almost every figure I'd rather have as an SA figure.

I bought the BC FW Gigan late last year.... Before I knew about the chogokin.

The rage I felt when I found out the Chogokin existed.


Hopefully I can find a cheap Chogokin Kiryu soon, or Tamashii takes a crack at 'em. MG '75's chogokin would be PERFECT for me, sooooo....

[Legion1979]

For now it has. The standard vinyl line hasn't put anything out for half a decade and this line will have churned out no less than 7 brand new original sculpted and one variant. And that's not even counting the two effects packs (one of which is a legit figure all its own). On less than a year's time.

How does that prove that Bandai has totally moved on from the vinyl series? The MA stuff is for collectors. Godzilla for the most part is a dead franchise in Japan, especially with the kids who the vinyls are made for in the first place. As I said, when Bandai wants to seriously market Godzilla again in Japan (say when a new Toho film is released or when the LP film is released over there) they're going to want the cheaper vinyl stuff out there for the kids who might be too young for the more expensive MonsterArts.

The vinyls aren't dead. They're just dormant, waiting for excuse to be brought back.

The Ultra Act example doesn't hold up as the property is still very popular in Japan. Also, with the current film there's plenty going in right now in the franchise to keep it in the public eye. When a new Godzilla film comes out the vinyl line may resurrect, but for now SHM is it.

Unless the MonsterArts isn't the ONLY thing on your radar. In that case there's still lots of vinyl out there. Just not from Bandai. I'm positive we'll get more vinyls from Bandai. It's just going to take time.

[RedZillaKing]

How does that prove that Bandai has totally moved on from the vinyl series?

Who said it did? Do I expect the vinyl line to magically ressurect without a film? Nope. Which is funny because theres soo many monsters they havent done and more that need to be redone/rereleased. But for now the vinyl line is dead, while SHM is safely afloat.

The MA stuff is for collectors. Godzilla for the most part is a dead franchise in Japan, especially with the kids who the vinyls are made for in the first place.

The collectors are the demographic for the Godzilla merchandise right now. We are the ones dictating what format the figures are released in. You're not stating anything that everyone isn't aware of.

As I said, when Bandai wants to seriously market Godzilla again in Japan (say when a new Toho film is released or when the LP film is released over there) they're going to want the cheaper vinyl stuff out there for the kids who might be too young for the more expensive MonsterArts.

Too many ifs involved here. The reality is SHM. The vinyl line has as much of a chance of a spontaneous Jesus style resurrection as the Gargantuas do of becoming SHM figures. And we're really just talking about Bandai here. The other vinyls are strictly collector friendly.

[Legion1979]

Which is funny because theres soo many monsters they havent done and more that need to be redone/rereleased. But for now the vinyl line is dead, while SHM is safely afloat.

See when you say things like "the vinyl line is dead" in such a way...

The collectors are the demographic for the Godzilla merchandise right now. We are the ones dictating what format the figures are released in. You're not stating anything that everyone isn't aware of.

You're not either.

The reality is SHM.

See, when you say things like "the reality is SHM" in such a way...

[GodzillaXGomoraFight]

I agree with you guys said, and I think SH Monsterarts will replace the vinyl figures for now. When they get reintroduced for a new film, then I can also imagine the vinyls coming back. When they do come back, I guess that SH Monsterarts will be more of a premium line that would aim more towards hardcore fans.

[UnCanny Studios]

I agree with you guys said, and I think SH Monsterarts will replace the vinyl figures for now. When they get reintroduced for a new film, then I can also imagine the vinyls coming back. When they do come back, I guess that SH Monsterarts will be more of a premium line that would aim more towards hardcore fans.

Thats what it is right now. Its aimed at collectors, just like all the other highly-articulated series. Bandai is a humongous company, and they know how to play the market. In the absence of Godzilla films, they've come up with a product that appeals to collectors and will make them money in the meantime. SH Monsterarts isn't a replacement for vinyls in any means. Its just a way for the company to continue to make money in the absence of films.

[Legion1979]

^Well said.

[RedZillaKing]

@Legion ...I know I'm not stating things that people don't know. And those things I said "in such a way" are just the reality gun being turned around on you. Not so fun to be staring down that barrel is it?

Right now the vinyl line has ceased. The SHM line is kickin' away. Its possible that it will be around until the LP Godzilla film comes out and that it will continue beyond that. It is the only standard figure line from Bandai that contains Godzilla figures at this time. Period.

So yes, for the time being, the vinyl line has been replaced as the standard figure line. Will the vinyl line come back? Not without help. Will SHM end? It's possible. Can the lines coexist? I guess we'll see. Probably, as the two lines are like apples and oranges and appeal to different demographics.

If Bandai ever releases a Varan or a Manda in the vinyl series you bet your ass I'm picking them up.

[Jomei]

Aren't we all saying the same thing, really? There are no Godzilla Bandai vinyls coming out right now, but they'll probably come back with a new film. In the meantime, Bandai is marketing more expensive, articulated figures to collectors.

BOOM. That's at the heart of what each of you is saying, so can we please not get uselessly de-railed over particular word choices?

[Godzilla 2000]

I cant help buy laugh at anyone who seriously thinks SHMA's is the way of the future.

It's not out of personal preference for the charm of a vinyl figure (I love me some super-articulated figures), but rather how people delude themselves.

MonsterArts is the here and now. It's future is uncertain; it may last until the Heisei era, it may last until all of the eras, or it may crash and burn after Ghidorah gets released. We dont know.

But vinyls? Vinyls are here to stay. They will never go away; their future is guaranteed.

MAs is a pet project of Bandai's, to ty and mimic the success of their Ultra-Act line. But unlike Ultraman, Godzilla is dead in Japan. He has no market value now, and no movie or event to tie into. And the LP movie (if it happens), along with the 60th anniversary are years off.

In short, this line is living on borrowed time.

So yes, when people say they're going to "replace" their collection for a few MAs figures, i do think it's stupid.

I cant wait until people start selling their figures IN ANTICIPATION for new releases.

"Oh man, they are SO gonna release Biollante! I just know it! I'm gonna go ahead and sell my Bandai one so I have room on my shelf!"

-2 years later-

"...any day now!"

[Jomei]

Frank, shut your mouth. I'm trying to score a Biollante here. SHHH.

I thought we weren't going to have this argument again, guys. Do I have to moderate?

[Godzilla 2000]

Frank, shut your mouth. I'm trying to score a Biollante here. SHHH.

I thought we weren't going to have this argument again, guys. Do I have to moderate?

I had already written out that long, drawn out post, and I didnt want it to go to waste.

[Legion1979]

^Agreed, Frank. It's nice when we share an opinion like that.

I just think it's all very shortsided. The MA toy are very cool, but I see them as an experiment. Let's see how long they last. There's no way they'll replace the vinyls in the long run, not when Bandai has been doing them affordably for almost 30 years. There'll always be a market for them somehow, even if they're not making them AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME.

[UnCanny Studios]

Frank, shut your mouth. I'm trying to score a Biollante here. SHHH.

I thought we weren't going to have this argument again, guys. Do I have to moderate?

Please do. Pointing the "gun of truth" is a tad irritating. Especially when the gun is loaded with false information.

This thread cannot discuss these figures for ten posts without spiraling into a fight.

[RedZillaKing]

You see an experiment, I see progress.

@Uncanny- What exactly is false information here? Do you have news of a new vinyl Godzilla release that will coexist with the SHM line? And how many times did a hopeful fan have their bubble burst around here for no reason at all by someone like Legion? By all means though... make this about you and me.

FACT: as the only existing Godzilla line S.H. Monsterarts has replaced the vinyl line as Bandai's standard line. For now.

[Legion1979]

I could be wrong, but to me it really does seem like just below the surface of the pro-MA camp these days is a tiny little bit of giddiness that the vinyls have become second-class citizens to the hyper articulated action figures that apparently we should have been getting the whole time, as if the 30 years of quality output from Bandai was leading up to this glorious moment and now the vinyls can retire. So help me that's how it feels. It's like people prematurely dancing on the vinyl's collective grave over a line that's not even six months old.

I'm pretty sure it won't take long before "That's a nice vinyl, but can it do the splits?" becomes an accepted meme across the interwebz. If it does, I want credit. LOL