This is my first hands on encounter with an Art Spirits figure, and this Burning Godzilla (2019) statue has left an impression nearly as strong as the one he left when I walked out of my first viewing of Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Unfortunately, like the 2019 film, this collectible isn’t without its flaws. The question is, can it lay claim as King of the Display Cabinet?
Details
The sculpt of the statue is highly detailed. Godzilla’s crocodile-like hide helps make this collectible pop. He’s striking a challenging pose, showing the full mass of his body with his jaws wide open. Looking in his mouth you’ll see that they gave it a nice finish to look wet, and the inside of his mouth is also lightly detailed. As handsome as the sculpting and posing of the statue may be, there are some minor issues. For one, anyone who will appreciate the incredible attention to detail paid for Godzilla’s scaly body will assuredly notice the obvious breaks between the individual molded parts. The seam between his tail and his pelvis is hardly noticeable, and his legs aren’t much worse, but within a couple of feet his arms look about as well blended in with his body as a vinyl figure. The worst bit is at his back, where his dorsal fins appear to be emerging from nacho cheese sauce. Another problem arises specifically with the top right dorsal plate, which has a noticeable notch between it and the base of Godzilla’s neck. To end on a better note, the underside of his feet have some detail to them where I’d wager many other sculpts would go the lazy route and make them completely flat
Articulation
This is a statue with no points of articulation.
Accessories
Godzilla comes with a bit of rubble holding up a nameplate featuring his film’s Japanese logo (“Godzilla II”). I can’t say it adds anything of substance to the package, but for what it’s worth the sculpting is of similar quality to Godzilla himself. The backside of the accessory is more barren-looking, seemingly being the last intact bit of the wall of a concrete structure. It has a bit of texture to it, along with some cracks for good measure. The nameplate comes about halfway up Godzilla’s shins and it looks good set beside him.
Paint
Art Spirits did a great job capturing the palette of Godzilla is the climactic moments of his battle against King Ghidorah. Paint application ranges from an earthy blackish brown to a fiery yellow-orange. The materials used also lend themselves to great lighting opportunities for display or photography. Shining a brilliant light behind Godzilla will illuminate his dorsal plates, giving him that sense of limitless power we saw from him in the film. As you make your way down to his feet things get darker and darker, and if you flip him over his soles are black with a hint of orange marbling, as well as the obligatory white ink providing copyright information. As with the sculpt, paint application isn’t perfect. One of his dorsal plates ends with black at the tip, which I’m sure is a minor imperfection on mine specifically. My biggest issue, aside from the solid clump of cheese in Godzilla’s back I mentioned earlier, is the paint application to his teeth. Godzilla’s teeth are all so orange that you’d think he just raided Godzilla (1998)’s stash of Doritos. They’re not particularly vibrant, so it doesn’t come across as his teeth radiating with power so much as lazy painting.
Overall
I have many gripes with the statue, but most of them are complaints that I wouldn’t bring up if it weren’t for the hefty asking price of $220. At a distance it’s a real head turner, but under close scrutiny the (literal) seams become all too visible. Still, it’s a great size if you’re looking for a statue that won’t take up too much space but will still be big enough to command people in the room to have a look, and the pose is excellent. Just angle him so that visitors can’t see between his dorsal fins.
※ This review was made possible thanks to Sideshow! For even more Godzilla-related collectibles, head on over to their website at: https://www.sideshow.com/characters/godzilla
※ For pricing details and other information about this figure, please visit: side.show/godzillaburning
**Below are several bonus images of the figure.**
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