Toy Spotlight: Gigabrain

[RedZillaKing]

Now that I've seen the red/glow variants it seems as if the GB Mosu Goji may actually be the superior sculpt.... I need tha red, gold, and green one to go with my green and gold marmit...

[Jomei]

Well, now I want the '64 Gigabrain, too. '62 is a priority, though since it's my favorite Showa suit.

[Captain Aktion]

And Legion, just ignore those other two clowns and don't let them ruin/hijack this thread...they're deliberately trying to rile you up. Your GB posts are very appreciated

For the record, I'm not trying to rile anyone up. This forum does a good enough job, I'm just trying to seriously talk about these things. I thought that's what we're doing here?

EDIT: Okay, so I have a serious question for you guys. I don't have any Gigabrain's yet, but I do have a few Monster Heavens. What is it about the two that's really different? I don't mean this facetiously, but I really only see minor differences in the sculpts, etc. Sure, I think a few of these DO look obviously better than the MH (G 64, I'm looking at you), but what about this scenario:

I have a complete collection of Monster Heaven figures. I am not a person who is into having multiple, variant copies of the same suit/kaiju. I am not seeing an obvious or apparent reason for me to replace my MH's with these. What am I missing out on? What would be a reason to get them, outside of simply liking them?

[leunames]

EDIT: Okay, so I have a serious question for you guys. I don't have any Gigabrain's yet, but I do have a few Monster Heavens. What is it about the two that's really different? I don't mean this facetiously, but I really only see minor differences in the sculpts, etc. Sure, I think a few of these DO look obviously better than the MH (G 64, I'm looking at you), but what about this scenario:

I have a complete collection of Monster Heaven figures. I am not a person who is into having multiple, variant copies of the same suit/kaiju. I am not seeing an obvious or apparent reason for me to replace my MH's with these. What am I missing out on? What would be a reason to get them, outside of simply liking them?

Well, liking them is ultimately the main reason for getting anything, is it not?

For me, the Gigabrains tend to be more detailed than their counterparts in the Marmit MH line. There's been word/rumor that Gigabrain is some kind of affiliate of Marmit's, though I personally haven't seen that substantiated by some official means (on their websites, etc.)

Then yen cost for the gigabrains and MH are almost identical for the more equivalent-sized figures (the Godzillas), and in terms of Jet Jaguar and Monster X, Marmit doesn't even have those in the MH line while Gigabrain does. Also, there's the matter of suit variation: Marmit MH uses the Gigan 72 as its Gigan figure, whereas Gigabrain uses the Gigan 73.

but where the difference will be most apparent is in the non-Godzilla figures. I don't have access to any pics at the moment but all you need do is compare the Gigabrain Hedorah to the corresponding marmit monster heaven hedorah.

And then, compare the Showa Ghidorah from Marmit MH to the upcoming Gigabrain version.

To me, there's no comparison..Gigabrain gets the nod, and I take that stance because while they're still designer vinyl, Gigabrain has managed to masterfully capture a more "realistic" and "accurate" sculpt of their subject matter while at the same time still retaining that retro/throwback feel with a modern color palette, something which I feel they do better than Marmit's MH line, which itself has some great knockout sculpts of its own.

[Captain Aktion]

^Thank you.

How about this? Which figures have we not seen yet from Gigabrain that you would like to get at some point? Titanosaurus? Kamakarus? Manda?

Also, yeah, the GB Ghidorah does look much better than the Marmit, but I still really like the looks of the MH Ghidorah. Now if GB releases the blue scaled/rainbow winged variant of Ghidorah, I might just sell a limb or something...

[leunames]

^Thank you.

How about this? Which figures have we not seen yet from Gigabrain that you would like to get at some point? Titanosaurus? Kamakarus? Manda?

Also, yeah, the GB Ghidorah does look much better than the Marmit, but I still really like the looks of the MH Ghidorah. Now if GB releases the blue scaled/rainbow winged variant of Ghidorah, I might just sell a limb or something...

marmit's Titanosaurus is awesome, so i think a gigabrain would be a bit redundant.

I'd really love for them to make a Rodan and Adult mothra. I have no doubt in my mind that those would absolutely be fantastic.

And maybe they can make a great king seesar. but they are sooooo slow with releasing new figures; might be a long time before we see a new sculpt after KG. That's another big difference between Marmit MH and Gigabrain-Marmit can put out new sculpts (Orga, Destoroyah) while Gigabrain lies mostly dormant for a few years at a time.

[Captain Aktion]

^Yeah, that's how it seems to be.

I agree, the MH Titano is great; at this point I feel that even the 6" Bandai would be redundant for me, haha!

But oh man, you hit the nail on the head. King Seesar. Why, why do we not have a definitive version of him? I have the 2003 Bandai re-paint but well, yeah. As much as I want the MH version, I still don't think it looks that great. I've seen the Y-MSF sculpt in progress, so there's some hope, but I don't own any Y-MSF's and I hear many, many varying opinions on them.

Well, we still don't have a MH or GB Gabara...

[Legion1979]

PART 5: GIGAN 1973

Gigan fans are living the good life these days. Teruyoshi Nakano's alien cyborg masterpiece has enjoyed a huge explosion of popularity in recent years. Although his popularity can't possibly touch the ever-popular Hedora, just about every company has done a Gigan. Marmit's Monster Heaven version (2002) set the standard against which all other stylized Gigans are judged, just as their Iron Joe figure (2007, as a built up version of their vinyl kit) did the same for realistic versions. Everyone else - from Bandai Museum to Bare Model to X-Plus to Pilot Ace and to multiple releases from Marusan - have done Gigan toys.

There is one thing almost all of the more screen-accurate representations have in common. All of them show Gigan as he appeared in Godzilla vs Gigan (1972), with the well crafted, suitably evil-looking version in that film being a favorite among fans. When Godzilla vs Megalon (1973) went into production however, a new suit had to be built to better withstand the more physical battling that would take place amongst the monsters. So Gigan was redesigned to be a little less bottom heavy, with a buzzsaw that was a permanent chest attachment and not a separately moving piece, a slightly different scale and horn pattern on the neck and a much less nasty-looking face. This suit not only appeared in Megalon, but also went up against Godzilla again in the TV series "Zone Fighter", made the same year.

I've always had a fondness for this second Gigan suit. It matched the overall goofy look of the rest of the monster cast in Godzilla vs Megalon but wasn't a drastic enough redesign that it was possible to be faithfully recreated in toy form unless real dedication was made in translating the subtle design changes. And that really didn't start happening with toy companies until the past decade.

I had just gotten into the Gigabrain figures when this photo was released in the Spring 2007, indicating that Gigan was the next figure in their Toho line...



...and it wasn't even necessary to look twice to realize that not only was Gigabrain specifically doing a 1973 Gigan figure, but it had the potential of being one of the coolest Gigan figures made in any era by any company. Did this figure live up to expectations? Would I have gone on and on as much as I have here if it didn't?

The standard green (I'm assuming the mail order) Gigan did not end up being the first version of the figure to see release. Instead, this show version beat it out by several months:



And I already knew we had a masterpiece on our hands. Just in terms of raw sculpt this figure gets everything right. The barrel-chested look of the second Gigan suit is perfectly captured and the texturing of the legs and tail mimic the actual suit. Even the design of the overlapping body scales is meticulously rendered. The back sails are also designed to have a slightly saggy fabric look to them and no detail is missed on the head. There's no mistaking what Gigan this is supposed to be. Even the kneecaps are textured in such a way so that they don't look like simple, smooth vinyl.

The nicest touch about the toy is that the claws were designed to be articulated at the elbow, allowing you to turn them into different poses that go a long way towards giving the toy a hell of a lot of character. I'm thankful enough for this addition that I'll forgive the fact that the joints here make the arms a little thicker than they should be.



Just as much as the amazing sculpt left me in awe, the incredible and creative paint job also blew me away. Contrary to how the photos make it look, the vinyl is not a deep plum color. The entire figure is painted that color and in the right light the lighter vinyl shade underneath gives the figure a great two tone look that's really hard to appreciate in photos. But that's nothing compared to the amazing metallic blue vinyl on the scales, accented by the red/brown tips of the buzzsaw and sails. I remember stating that this was probably one of the very best Godzilla figures of 2007 and I said that just based on this one exclusive. It was just that good. That of course meant that the standard release had big shoes to fill.



The standard figure was finally released in late Summer/early Fall of that year. While I think the simple green vinyl color is a little bland it was still worth the wait. One thing I appreciate is how this figure (and all later variants) took the care to paint this toy accurately with what I'm assuming was a masking process. They could have taken the easy way out and gone with traditional paint sprays like the Pilot Ace figure or Marmit's Para Baby but that would not have done justice to the amazing sculpt. My only gripe (and it's a small one) is that the gold on the sails doesn't go all the way to the back of the figure, leaving a large section of the back of the toy an unpainted chunk of green vinyl. But that's just nitpicking. If you want a Gigabrain Gigan with a subtle, movie accurate paint scheme, this is the one to pick up, although I think the later metallic release blows it away (see below).



In October of 2007, Gigabrain released a pair of Gigan variants as show (Superfest?) exclusives. The two figures were painted the exact same way as their standard-release counterpart, but were cast in translucent blue and green vinyl respectively. And again, they hit another home run. Both figures look fantastic and I especially like how the gold paint on the sails fades into the vinyl. It's a shame that Gigabrain's productivity decreased drastically after this figure was released, as I think a lot of us saw this Gigan as the first of several amazing Showa-era toys. It's a shame that didn't end up happening.

By 2009 a lot of people were wondering what happened to Gigabrain. After a couple more releases that failed to set the collecting world on fire, Gigabrain just petered out, coasting instead on variants, mostly of the '62 and '64 Godzillas. Metallic-painted vinyl figures were currently in vogue and that is where Gigabrain's most recent Gigan release comes in.



Released in May of that year, this Gigan is yet another masterpiece. With the exception of slightly stronger gold paint (that covers the entire back this time) the figure is painted similar to the standard issue. The one big (HUGE) difference is that instead of a flat green vinyl, the figure is painted an amazing metallic teal, which makes the figure pop far more that it's standard release. I don't throw words like "breathtaking" around when describing vinyl toys, but this is as close as they come.



Someone at Gigabrain must have really cared about this toy since - while figures like the Jet Jaguar, '65 Godzilla and others were painted all sorts of insane colors - most of their Gigans always had some semblance of screen accuracy. As I said before, this is their masterpiece and I don't see anyone ever topping it. For completists sake, here's the one Gigan variant I've never been able to find - a glow in the dark version, which I'll admit doesn't do a whole lot for me.



So what was next for Gigabrain? Megalon? Angilas? Varan? Baragon? Another Godzilla? Even another Hedora? Well...their next figure was one no one was expecting and - not to ruin the surprise - Final Wars haters will be excused if they skip the next chapter.

Check back soon for part 6!!!!

[RedZillaKing]

Holy shit... How did this masterpiece ever slip on Bandai's radar? That is very screen accurate and aside from the 25cm X Plus possibly the best Gigan ever made.

[GreenAiden555]

Unlike most other Gigabrain figures, I like this Gigan sculpt a LOT. I kinda want to look into one, but I already have the Revoltech, so it would be kinda moot for me.

I am interested in the Showa KG.... But I don't have the money.

[Legion1979]

Unlike most other Gigabrain figures, I like this Gigan sculpt a LOT. I kinda want to look into one, but I already have the Revoltech, so it would be kinda moot for me.

There's no rule that says you can't have more than one of each monster. Especially since the Revoltech is far from the definitive Gigan figure.

[RedZillaKing]

I have to agree. It's fun but it doesn't really nail the look. Praying for a MonsterArts Showa Gigan at some point.

[GreenAiden555]

Right, I get that, but I'm trying to be reasonable with how much I spend. Don't get me wrong, the Gigabrain is SPECTACULAR, and the Revoltech is very small and not really in scale, but I really only want to buy only one figure of each suit. I know, I know, there's a TECHNICAL difference, but not too much to move me, just like I won't be buying the second Heisei Gamera that was released in the Revoltech line.

Really, GREAT figure, but funding prevents me from buying one at the moment. Possibly in the future.

[leunames]

There's also the dark purple variant that was newly released for super fest 58

[Rody]

I really dislike the '73 suit, but that figure still looks amazing.

I really, really wish I could afford some of these; especially King-Goji, Mosu-Goji & a couple others yet to be mentioned here...

[ebirahsmeg1]

The GB Gigan 73 figure along with the Marmit MH Gigan are the best damn Gigan figures ever IMO.

[RedZillaKing]

There's a crazy green Gigabrain Hedorah ending in 10 or so minutes on ebay. 1 bid.

[Godzilla 2000]

Someday, that GB Gigan will be MINE.

Then my life will be complete.

[ebirahsmeg1]

Hey Legion, hope you don't get pissed at me for this I am posting Part 6 of your Gigabrain overview from CT:

PART 6: MONSTER X...?

I thought Gigabrain was on a roll after their last few figures. I thought we'd see all sorts of terrific Showa-era Godzilla figures from them after that. Angilas, Megalon, Gabara, Varan, King Ghidora...the possibilities were endless. Their Gigan figure set the bar amazingly high and many wondered how they were going to top it. As it turned it they weren't even going to try, at least not very hard.

Since 2005 Marmit had been releasing figures based on the Godzilla: Final Wars versions of the Toho monsters. They were doing figures Bandai had done (Godzilla, Gigan, Angilas, Rodan) and ones they didn't (Hedora, Kumonga, Ebirah, Kamakiras, Manda) and eventually stopped making them by the middle of 2007, leaving only a handful unreleased. So in 2008 Gigabrain followed these releases up with probably the least desirable character they could have chosen.



Gigabrain's first Monster X figure was this glow in the dark version released in the winter of 2008, so it will be the one we start with. The overall design is not too much different from the Bandai toy, leaving one to wonder why they bothered if they weren't going to do something unique. The Bandai figure was no great shakes (I believe it was modeled after concept art and not the actual suit) and since the Gigabrain version smoothes out the details and goes for a blander pose it's not much of an improvement. It's really a figure for the completist as I don't know many people clamoring for a Monster X figure. Except maybe kids who are fans of GFW and they're not really the target market for these toys. Again, it makes me wonder why this was released.

Anyway this is a pretty middle of the road glow figure as far as these types of toys are concerned. The green/blue paint sprays are appealing but that's really all this toy has going for it.



This next pair of exclusives were released in the Spring of 2008. These are a lot nicer than they look in photos but they still can't compare to the more eye-catching and elaborate paint schemes or earlier Gigabrains. Again, nothing really special unless you need them all.



You'd think by now Gigabrain would have released a standard-colored version of this toy. Instead we got this gold colored version that Summer. To be honest, this is probably the best of the Monster X figures because at least the gold paint gives the figure a regal appearance. But it still feels like no one cared about putting out something cool. Which makes me ask again: why did they bother with this particular monster?



Finally, here's the standard colored figure, released later that Summer. Unlike the Bandai figure - which painted the bone-like sections of the monster a flat white, this one goes for a dark gray with some subtle tan highlights. Definitely more true to film, making this the figure to get if you want an alternate to the Bandai toy. And for reference, here is this figure with the Bandai.



Gigabrain ran out of gas by this time, just as fast as they had picked up steam. It's just a shame out of all the figures in the Toho universe they had to pick one of the worst ones from the worst Godzilla movie. I'm still wondering what they were thinking.

Anyway, check back soon for part 7!!!

[Rody]

Legion, will you be continuing this soon? I really enjoy reading these!


As a side question, I'm interested if anyone could show me how the Gigabrain Goji '62 & '64 compare with their Monster Heaven counterparts, for future reference.