Destoroyah returns to the S.H. MonsterArts lineup in as the “Special Color Version”. It’s the same sculpt with new paint and it was nice that I didn’t have the disaster that I did with the original.
Details
Although he’s the same sculpt as before, the difference, at least in my case, is that he didn’t ship losely attached in the mid section. For those of you who read my review of the original Destoroyah release 4 years ago (has it really been that long?), you’ll remember my experience with the mid section coming apart and the top part of the figure falling to the floor and shattering when I tried to attach the tail. I can now safely say that this seems to have been remedied and that the mid section is snug and secure. Of course, this was also the case with some during the original release as well. Whatever the case may be, the situation didn’t repeat itself.
Destoroyah is a bottom heavy figure and and has some nice heft to him. The wings, just in the last release, are very delicate and the wing membrane is just as brittle as ever. I’d have hoped that some retooling would have happened but it looks like this is just a quick paint job - it’s not a bad thing per se but I wish some adjustments were made to make the figure more sturdy.
Articulation
Since it’s the same mold, so is the articulation. The arms can move up and down and gone is the “movement noise” of the original. The claws can open up which they could on the original but I wasn’t able to get a couple of them to budge. Them being a little more flexible this time around is quite nice. His feet and mid-leg section can rotate 360 degrees. The smaller wings at the mid section and the pinchers at the end of the tail (which also has a nice bit of articulation as well that can move up and down and side to side and bend and hold a pose). A note about the pincher: be a little careful with it. I accidentally tapped one of the parts and it fell off. Not a big deal but if you’re moving the figure around, be mindful of that section.
The arms can bend up and down slightly but can rotate 360 degrees. Finally, the wing membranes are articulated so you can move them from side to side but honestly, and this goes for the original version as well, I don’t really know why they’re sectioned like that with articulation. It just makes them weak and breakable and as I said earlier, it would have been nice if they were retooled so they would be a little more sturdy.
Accessories
For accessories, 4 MBAW-93 tanks and 4 MBT-92 tanks are included and it’s nice to get at least something with this release seeing as how it is a repaint and because these are of the same molds from the Toho Ultimate Weapon Set 2, it’s not too costly. So hey, win/win for everyone! Both tank cannons move at 360 degrees and have the paint applied where it should be. There’s not much else to say about them.
Paint
I like the paint overall on Destoroyah and the darker portions really add some detail to the midsection and the claws and spikes on the legs. It’s basically the same paint job except the white portions of the original are now a dirty yellow. The eyes are perfectly painted with no blemishes whatsoever. Even the teeth and inside the mouth are relatively free from any paint mishaps which is very nice.
A downside is that the new paint job on Destoroyah’s horn has been painted over with a new yellowish/black paint job and it loses the translucency that the original had. The wing membranes have a deep red color to them but also have darker black “dust” for the weathering effect. It looks ok for the most part. The rest of the figure is a mix of deep red and black and it looks really cool.
Overall
Destoroyah: Special Color Version is a good addition to the line and great for people who missed out on the original release. It’s a shame that it wasn’t retooled to be more sturdy in the wings. I do wish that the paint job didn’t block out the translucent horns and eyes that the original had but the eyes look really cool in this new update. It’s a bit of a trade off.
There are enough improvements such as the figure not coming apart, the yellow eyes, and the non creaky arms to push this up half a star over the 3/5 score of the original release.
**Below are a number of bonus images, including several close-up shots of Destoroyah Special Color Version and some featuring the tank accessories.**
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