I'm going
to do something I've been doing more and more frequently
these days and date myself as I begin this review.
When I first began seriously collecting the Japanese
Bandai Godzilla toys around 1996, the scene was
very different than it was now. eBay was new and
exciting technology, and the main place to get these
figures were from Godzilla dealers who mainly thrived
through mail-order business. Most, if not all, of
those dealers have closed up shop, and while a dedicated
few have remained to take their places, eBay seems
to be the primary place to find new Godzilla items
for your collections these days. But before you
could log on and see if anyone anywhere in the world
was selling the item you had, you had to get lucky
and catch your dealer of choice when they just happened
to have it in stock, and back then, with certain
figures, this could be a once in a lifetime chance.
Each collector has his or her own "Holy Grail",
if you will, but in the late 90's the rarest, most
in demand figures in the modern Bandai Godzilla
line went a little something like this, in no particular
order. (And note that when I say the "modern
Bandai Godzilla" line, I am speaking of the
figures released in 1989 and after, when Bandai
released multiple kaiju each year along with the
new Godzilla films produced yearly from 1989-1995.)
1. Baragon
2. The "Closed Mouth" Godzilla, the standard
sized release of Godzilla in 1991
3. Biollante
4. Mechani-Kong
5. LittleGodzilla
It was very rare to catch any of these in any dealer's
inventory, and one could expect to pay upwards of
$200 apiece for any of them. Now, at least one of
those five can usually be found on eBay at any given
moment for a fraction of that price. Today we are
going to take a look at what was at one time the
most sought after kaiju in the entire line, the
Showa Baragon released in 1992.
Baragon stands in at approximately six and a half
inches tall, and is roughly ten and a half inches
long, from the tip of his tail to the point of his
nasal horn, making him one of the smaller figures
in the standard line. Appropriate, seeing as how
the "real" Baragon was reported as being
between 20 and 25 meters in height, half the size
of Godzilla.
The sculpt of the toy is fairly unique for Bandai,
as Baragon is presented standing on his hind legs
and slightly hunched over, looking downward, as
if preparing to pounce on a foe. Interestingly enough,
it's not nessecarily a unique sculpt for Baragon
himself, as despite being a primarily four-footed
kaiju in Frankenstein
vs. Baragon (1965), most Baragon toys I've
seen depict him in a similar posture. Sadly, he
cannot be placed in a convincing four-legged pose.
Baragon can be articulated at the neck, arms, legs,
and tail....though as usual I fail to see the point
of tail rotation, all it does is mess up the alignment
of his dorsal ridges...but anyway, I'm picky. As
for the actual design, I must admit that Baragon
has one of my favorite facial sculpts of any Bandai
toy. When comparing him to the actual suit from
Frankenstein
vs. Baragon (1965), it is spot on perfect
except that the horn is down a little lower on the
figure than it should be. This is hardly a huge
complaint, however. Bandai even perfectly painted
the eyes, with the iris and pupil mirroring the
suit's quite nicely, as well as the often overlooked
row of tiny spikes running between Baragon's ears.
Speaking of the ears, sadly they cannot be posed
like the 2001 Baragon's can, but they are nicely
sculpted just the same.
Baragon is a muddy brown color, fitting for the
subterrainian kaiju, and is detailed with bumps
along his arms and legs, a scaled underbelly highlighted
in a silverish green, with golden highlights along
his ridged back. While I cannot say if those colors
are perfectly accurate, as the Baragon seen on film
was often coated in dirt, they work well, so no
complaints.
In fact, if I had to pick a complaint, it'd be
that it is just about impossible to find a Baragon
without a bit of paint wear on the tip of his horn,
but this can be remedied by a collector with a steady
hand and an eye for color with two strokes of a
paintbrush. I'm yet to become that brave.
As you may've guessed, I love this figure. In the
1990's he was incredibly rare in America, likely
because Baragon has always enjoyed FAR more popularity
in Japan than here in the States, and I've heard
from dealers and other collectors that he just wasn't
a priority to import during his original release,
as he was released alongside the huge (and pricey)
boxed Biollante figure, as well as adult and larval
versions of that year's new movie kaiju, Mothra
and Battra, Guiron from the Gamera franchise, Minilla,
and the Heisei Godzilla that would go on to be reissued
twice more in the following years.
However, once anything becomes "rare",
demand soon follows, and Baragon is now a favorite
among many fans outside of Japan, and his appearence
in Godzilla, Mothra
and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
(2001) probably didn't hurt matters. Baragon is
much more attainable now than he was 10 years ago,
and I encourage any fans to seek him out. You won't
regret it. Baragon earns the incredibly rare rank
of five stars from me. My only other passing complaint
is one you can't hold against Bandai, but, that
Baragon cannot really be posed to recreate any famous
battles with his fellow kaiju...seeing as how this
version only actively participated in one fight,
with "Frankenstein". Bandai has never
produced a standard figure of the "giant boy"
who battled Baragon, and....well, let's say its
a pretty safe bet they never will.
So, I guess your only option would be to pose him
alongside Godzilla, Rodan, King Ghidorah, Anguirus,
Mothra, Minilla, Gorosaurus, and anyone else I may've
forgotten from Destroy
All Monsters (excluding Manda, Kumonga,
and Varan since we've yet to get them from Bandai
as well.) But, you'd have to be some kind of....Godzilla
collecting force of nature to have all those, wouldn't
you?
Keep watching in 2009, fellow G-fans.
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