The last of them. I never thought I’d own one, but after buying the Battle Armor Kumonga, I was determined to get the Anguirus as well. I told myself I’d never spend the massive $199 price tag these fetch for, but alas, I did. As if karma had come back to bite me, I soon had to get a loan for a new car less than four weeks after buying this. If that wasn’t the universe telling me “be more careful with your money”, I don’t know what is. However, I am still undeterred and I am still glad I was able to get one of these for my collection. Looking at it… I’d do it all again if I had to.
Details
Just like the other figures, Anguirus is made of hard plastic. He doesn’t feel as cheap as the Kumonga, thankfully. The design itself is of Trendmasters’ own and not directly based on either of Anguirus’ designs in the Showa era. The sculpt gives Anguirus a lot of muscle mass, a short tail, a pretty gnarly face and a carapace that looks more turtle-like (especially Showa Gamera) than any before. Additionally, not only is Anguirus extremely buff, veins now tear through his shoulders and forearms.
The face is probably my favorite aspect of this design and just looks mean. The tail is probably the worst part and is extremely short. I also have a bit of a gripe with the pose the toy is in, as if they couldn’t decide if they wanted the monster to be on all fours or standing upright, so they just tried to make it both.
For scaling, Anguirus does look pretty good next to his Battle Armor/Power-Up counterparts. He’s a bit too big next to Trendmasters six-inch toys, but does look pretty good with Bandai’s. He sticks out like a sore thumb, even without his armor, but he does scale.
Articulation
Anguirus boasts your typical articulation. He has arm, leg and tail rotation. Interestingly, the head plugs in on a ball joint that allows for a full 360 degree range of movement. This set up also allows the head to be removed and reattached easily. As I mentioned previously, there’s also a twin cannon on its tank that can rise. Additionally, both sets of launchers on the tank can point upward as well.
Accessories
Just like the Kumonga release and the previous year’s Power-Up toys, Anguirus comes with battle armor attachments. For starters, he has a mask that can cover up that ugly mug of his. He also has wrist attachments for added firepower. There’s a metallic drill(?) that can be put on his tail (more on that in a little bit) and a large tank-like vehicle that attaches to his back.
The metallic drill that attaches to his tail is extremely awkward and does not stay on very well. Additionally, there is a secondary drill that can be placed in the front of the tank. The drill looks awkward when the tank is attached to Anguirus’ back for it sticks out between his cranial horns, but it gives the vehicle some more armament when displayed separately from the monster.
The tank itself is composed of the main frame and then two treads which have to be manually attached. I’m not comfortable with removing them since assembly for fear of breaking. These pieces are pretty cheap. The tank has three missile launchers which fire via springs. There’s also a fourth spot to hold an extra missile. There’s also a twin cannon that can rise up and down on a hinge.
Finally, Battle Armor Anguirus also came with a trading card. Just like Kumonga, it seems as if a proper one wasn’t done in time for release and a random one was included. In my case, I received a Doom Island SpaceGodzilla card.
Paint
Probably not my favorite of the Power-Up/Battle Armor toys, Anguirus does look pretty decent. The color scheme is pretty much the same as his smaller, three-inch toy with a dark gray base and purple on the underside. However, the purple here isn’t as bright as the smaller toy. The horns/spikes/claws of the monster all look pretty nice with a mixture of yellows and oranges. The mouth is pretty wicked as well with a black inside and pearly white teeth. The eyes are a menacing red, giving the heroic kaiju a far more villainous appearance.
Overall
Was it $199 down the drain? Sort of. It’s not my favorite of the line and his attachments seem kind of lazy compared to the others and that horrendously short tail is just an eye sore. However, just seeing this thing in person is enough for me to forgive its shortcomings. It’s not a bad figure, just a bad way to end what could have been (or should have been…) a very original and unique era of Godzilla toys. With only a small amount of these escaping the production factory before Trendmasters axed their Godzilla toys completely, I recommend any hardcore collector get one. I can only dream of what else Trendmasters could have done. Battle Armor Destoroyah? Battle Armor Gigan? Maybe a Battle Armor Biollante…?
Enough dreaming for now, this Anguirus is going back in its box to be proudly displayed.
**Below are a number of bonus images, including ones featuring the figure with and without the battle armor, and some size comparison shots.**
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