My name
is Steve and I'm happy to say I'll be handling collectible/toy
reviews for Toho Kingdom. Before I get into my first
review, just a little about myself. I've been a Godzilla
fan for the past 20 years, thanks to stumbling across
King Kong
vs Godzilla (1962) on TBS one Saturday morning,
and I've been collecting Godzilla toys since 1995. I
stumbled onto them by sheer luck, as I had found a listing
online for a store called Showcase Collectibles that
sold VHS copies of the only two G-movies I was missing
from my collection at the time (Destroy
All Monsters and Godzilla
vs Destoroyah, for the record.). When I
walked into the store, you could've heard my jaw drop
when it hit the floor as I looked around and saw all
the Godzilla toys I had no clue existed. Sure, I'd collected
the Trendmasters Godzilla line released in America in
1994-1995, but the quality and assortment could not compete
with the Bandai line.
It took a great deal of pleading and convincing,
but I finally talked my dad into buying me just ONE
figure on that day....but it had to be $20 or less.
Yes, once upon a time you could buy real Bandais for
less than $20. In fact, the one I chose that day tipped
the scales at all of $14. Here he is, the first Bandai
Godzilla figure I acquired, the 1993 Godzilla
vs Mechagodzilla II's BabyGodzilla.
Baby was released in 1993, a HUGE year for Godzilla
toys that also saw the release of King Caesar, Jet
Jaguar, Hedorah, Kamacuras, Gorosaurus, the Toho King
Kong and Godzillasaurus, as well as Baby's
co-stars from Godzilla
vs Mechagodzilla II: the new version of Mechagodzilla,
Fire Rodan, and a re-release of 1992's Bato-Goji figure
(From Godzilla vs Mothra, also used again in 1994 for
the figures released with SpaceGodzilla).
Baby stands around 6 inches tall, and features articulation
in his arms, legs, and tail. At first glance, Baby
appears to match up well with his big screen counterpart.
However, when one takes a closer look, a few problems
arise that may or may not bother you. Bandai neglected
to paint Baby's nails/claws in this initial release,
a problem that was corrected with the very rare, and
far more expensive, reissue of BabyGodzilla in the "Godzilla
Forever" series, but we're dealing with the original
here today.
Secondly, the spines on BabyGodzilla's back aren't
fully cut out, as you can see here.
I assume this was done to prevent them from snapping
off during play or shipping, but personally I wish
they would've just made them thicker to add some toughness,
but kept the original shape.
I also don't feel that they captured Baby's expression
perfectly. Through out most of the film, Baby appeared
with somewhat of a "dopey" look on his face, with his
eyes half closed and his mouth open, to show him with
more of a docile personality. The figure of Baby doesn't
give me that impression. The eyes, while nicely painted,
don't really mirror the suit's, another complaint rectified
by the Forever figure. It also appears to be leaner
than the actual suit, though I can't fault Bandai for
that. The character of BabyGodzilla was meant to portray
a more realistic young Godzilla, in contrast to the
goofy Minilla of the Showa films, and I do feel the
toy was effective in that area.
Finally, in the issue of scale... forget about it.
Baby stands only a few inches shorter than the Godzilla
figure released alongside him, who you'll meet in a
future article. Baby is best displayed by himself or
with other "out of scale" figures. On a side note,
if you've got a stubborn girlfriend, or perhaps even
a daughter, that you're trying to get into Godzilla
fandom, Baby can be a powerful ally. Along with Mothra,
he's my girlfriend's favorite kaiju, and helped convert
her into the ranks of the G-fans.
As always, personal taste should dictate what to
add to your own collection, as I've never believed
in buying every figure there is just for completionist
sake, but there are very few figures made of this particular
monster, and this is probably the best. Despite the
issues listed above, Baby is still a nice figure from
the folks at Bandai.
Rating:  |
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