The S. H. MonsterArts series is one of your more "high end" lines of figures and is not intended for anyone under 15. These figures are for hardcore collectors and their hefty price tags place them firmly in that market. Now Battra from the S.H. MonsterArts line is a mixed bag of beauty and cheapness. How does the figure fare? Read on.
Battra's sculpt is beautiful and has that "light but has some weight" feel to the figure. The head's translucent eyes and horns make the figure look extremely cool under the right lighting conditions. The eyes are, in fact, my favorite part of the figure as they are very well done with a very nice shade of red to them. The rear of the figure also contains little translucent spikes to further dress up the figure and under the right light, they can really pop. The wings, while sturdy and can hold a pose (but don't overuse them or they will become weak), feel cheap and they don't feel as nice as the wings for say King Ghidorah or Rodan. They just feel overly plastic-y. The BIG problem with Battra for me is the legs because they fall off very easily. They can be easily reattached but it's a real nuisance when trying to pose the figure or put it up on its stand. The body itself is obviously a thicker plastic than the wings but still has that cheap plastic feel to it. It's too bad it wasn't made with the same material that made up Godzilla 2000.
For accessories, Battra comes with a stand and a rod with a holder to keep the figure in place. The instruction sheet tells you how to place the holder underneath Battra to keep it in place but when you do, the legs fall off. It can be frustrating, as frankly this image demonstrates what can happen when you touch Battra when he is on his stand.
The paint job on Battra is just…ok. The wing patterns seem to have been done by a stencil and it's really obvious, as you can see with this photo. The dark yellow on the claws weren't blended as well as they should have been with the black color of the mold and the yellow on the top of the wings is uneven with one side having more yellow on the right side than on the left and the blending job is just so-so. The mix of red and yellow paint on the spikes on the back and underneath the rear could have been better because it seems like it was just haphazardly applied. The paint on the mouth along with the tusks and the spikes on each leg are painted well however. The stinger looks ok as well and since I am unable to locate a photo of Battra's stinger for reference, I can assume it's painted correctly.
For articulation, Battra's wings can move up and down (again, not TOO much because they seem like they'll get weak and start dropping), his rear can move up/down/side to side and stinger can move up and down-kinda. The arms can move outward and inward but like I mentioned before, you must take great care in doing so as they will come loose from their ball joint and fall off. Battra's claws can rotate 360 degrees as well. The mouth can open and close and move up and down slightly. The mouth feels a little loose on mine so some "slack-jawness" is possible but not a big deal since it's so easily corrected.
Overall, Battra is a very photogenic figure and looks really cool as long as you don't touch it too much and if you keep about a foot away or so you don't notice the stencil job on the wings or the uneven paint job. The eyes under the right light are a sight to behold and they are a feature I hope that is repeated in the upcoming Mothra figure. At approx $65, I think the price might be a tad too high. Wait for a sale and then get this figure. He'll be a nice addition to your collection.
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