This is a tag team review by myself, Chris Mirjahangir, and longtime site contributor Andrew Nguyen. The review is split into two parts, to get both of our takes on this S.H. MonsterArts release:
Andrew Nguyen
Landing on store shelves in July 2012, Fire Rodan is one of the smaller figures in the SH MonsterArts line, which was due to keeping in scale with Godzilla and Mechagodzilla while trying to keep with the detail that the line has excelled in. Furthermore, unless you include Baby Godzilla, which is virtually impossible due to size comparison of the kaiju, Fire Rodan completes the kaiju lineup for Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993). Rodan had previously appeared on the Kaiydo Revoltech line in his Showa form.
Designed by Shinichi Wakasa, a monster suit designer who actually worked on the prop for the movie, the design of the figure is a very accurate representation of Fire Rodan as portrayed in the film. The coloring for the SH MonsterArts Rodan is almost an exact match with the model except the horn, which is a little lighter than on the flying prop. The detail on the skin is impressive despite the small size of the figure. However, the beak on the toy doesn’t match completely with the beak on the Fire Rodan prop as in the movie with the beak on the prop looking a bit more sharp than on the figure.
For articulation, the SH MonstarArts Fire Rodan has a good amount of poseability though it is limited due to the small size. Most of the focus of the articulation was on the wings (to the level of a potential Showa MonsterArts Showa Rodan) though the head, neck, hind legs and tail could move around as well although the legs were initially a bit stiff. Overall, the maneuverability of the figure is better than the actual prop. The legs and tail are a bit weak and require some arranging to stand together, which is easy to do so.
For accessories, Fire Rodan has two breath accessories along with stands to allow it to be displayed when it flies or when it is in an upright position. One of the breath accessories is Rodan's uranium heat beam while the other is atomic spiral ray that is revealed in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993). Speaking of the atomic spiral ray, it is a more accurate portrayal of the atomic ray in comparison to the extras present on the SH monsterArts Godzilla or the SH MonsterArts Toho Special Effects Pack. There is also an extra head for Mechagodzilla with its right eye damaged, which is supposed to simulate Rodan pecking the robot's right eye out as seen in the movie.
Bottom line, in terms of pricing, the Fire Rodan is one of the cheaper if not the cheapest of the SH MonsterArts line thus far. For those wanting to get in on the SH Monsterarts line, Rodan would be a good start.
Rating:  |
Chris Mirjahangir
My turn, and in this case I enjoyed the figure about the same as Andrew. First, to repeat myself from other reviews in the line, 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 Fire Rodan was released in July 2012 and while being one of the smaller S.H. MonsterArts figures, he's a pretty cool yet ALMOST accurate portrayal of his movie counterpart. Interestingly, he was designed by suitmaker Shinichi Wakasa who went on to build the suits for the Millennium series of Godzilla films. In temrs of the design difference, it's mostly located in the chest area (check the Fire Rodan bio to see what I mean) as it's not as broad as it should be while detail is a little meak. Also, his beak isn't as "sharp" as it is in the film and the mouth opens just a tad wider in the film.
The paint job on the toy is mostly spot on with the coloring on the chest being a little bit lighter in the film. The wings are nice with the veins in Fire Rodan's wing membrane being a very nice touch. All in all, it's very well done.
Fire Rodan has some decent articulation but it seems like the wings can get loose if they're moved too much. You have to be careful with moving his head up too far otherwise it'll pop off. It's not that big a deal however since it can just be put right back on. His wings can move up and down and side to side at the shoulders slightly as well. The tail, knees, and feet all are articulated nicely too. You do have to do some finagling to have him be able to stand on his own
In terms of accessories, the toy comes with 3 stands, 3 rods for the stands, Godzilla's Spiral Ray beam, Mechagodzilla's head with damaged eye, and Fire Rodan's Uranium Beam. The Uranium Beam is a nice purple color and is very detailed. The Spiral beam is a hefty weight and the hole to secure the rod into is somewhat hidden. It takes some keen eyes to find it. Mechagodzilla's head is basically there for you to buy Fire Rodan if the completist inside you is taking over after your Mechagodzilal Heisei purchase. The head is "damaged" looking like it did when Fire Rodan pecked its eye out in the film. The head is nicely detailed too.
The stand that holds up Fire Rodan is nice and sturdy but the one thing that is somewhat of a pain is getting the pose down to line up the Uranium Beam and opening Fire Rodan's mouth to get it to fit in just right.
Overall, Fire Rodan is also a very fragile figure and easily breakable. As stated before, the wings do seem like they will come loose if you play with them too much. This and finagling the Uranium Beam for a cool pose aside, Rodan is a fantastic figure and a worthy addition to the S.H. MonsterArts line.
| Rating: |
| 
