So here we go, the second in Playmates first wave of “Classic” Godzilla monsters. I haven’t found their SpaceGodzilla or Shin Godzilla yet, but from pictures I’ve seen, this Gigan seems to be the stand out figure of the four. Really, this is actually a pretty solid figure with only one real drawback (more on that later). It retails for $12 and is marketed toward kids, and that’s perfectly fine. Remember, kids grow up to be hardcore nerds like you and me. So what makes this figure better than the Destoroyah I previously reviewed? Let’s find out.
Details
Gigan stands at a decent 7.25 inches, making him fit right in with your other similarly sized figures from Bandai. His body is made of hard plastic while his limbs seem to be made entirely of hard vinyl. The three fins, tail spikes and abdomen saw blades appear to be made of rubber. For the most part, sculpt detail here is pretty solid, at least compared to their Destoroyah. There’s plenty of details across the body of the cyborg monster except for one area: the sides between the arms and the back. All detailing just stops right then and there, making it a real eye sore once you notice it.
At first glace, it would appear as if this is a sculpt taken directly from a Bandai vault, but that’s not entirely accurate once you place it alongside the similar Bandai Movie Monster Series and Bandai Creation Gigan 2004s.
Now on to my only real, major gripe with this figure: the left claw. I wasn’t expecting blade rotation on this figure, but boy does it need it now. While the right claw is sculpted in a “natural” pose, the left claw is forever stuck at an awkward angle and its tip pointing inward. It just makes it look weird from whatever angle you look at it from. Even the elbow of this arm is awkwardly posed pointing outward to the side. This single, awkwardly sculpted arm nearly ruins it for me.
Articulation
Well, being a kid’s toy, there isn’t a whole lot going on here. The mid-section of Gigan’s tail is capable of rotating a full 360 degrees while its arms and legs can all swivel. The arms can not spin a full circle because of the shoulder armor. If you apply enough pressure, you can get the legs to fully rotate but I don’t see why you’d want to. The head can also slightly move side to side, but due to the design of the character, can not do a full rotation.
Accessories
None.
Paint
Well, it is A LOT better than the Destoroyah. Let’s start with that. It might help things that Gigan is sculpted in black with the dark, metallic blue applied to its neck and chest. Yeah, it could use more on the mid-section and tail, but the black base hides that fact decently. The blue portions of the fins aren’t the same shade found on its body, but it doesn’t look too bad. Appropriately, its visor eye and head dot thing are painted red. The beak, horns, claws and assorted spikes are all colored a silver color. However, there is quite a bit of paint slop here and there. This is especially noticeable on the lower part of the eye where the red almost bleeds over onto the beak. There’s some more slop on the arms where the blades connect, but being a $12 kid’s toy, this I’m willing to let slide.
Overall
It is better than their Destoroyah, thank God. However, this is still just a kid’s toy. If you’re a collector actually looking for a decent six-inch figure of the 2004 cyborg, you’re best bet would be going after the recent Movie Monster Series Gigan. It’s very similar and can act better as either a toy or collector’s item. If Playmates can use this as a bar and at least match this release for future “classic” Godzilla toys, count me in. I’ll be glad to hunt them down. Once again, it’s nothing overly spectacular but it is the highlight of the initial four releases.
I would award this a 2.5 out of 5, but that arm, man. That arm is just horrendous
.
**Below are a number of bonus images of the figure.**
Rating:  |
|
