Toy: Gigan (Trendmasters)

 

Gigan


English Toy Title

(Original) Godzilla Wars "Godzilla vs. Gigan" Battle Set Gigan / (Repaint) Godzilla Wars 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition Gigan

Extras:

Trading Card/None

Type:
Company:
Release:
Height
:
Reissue:

Figure/Figure
Trendmasters/Trendmasters
1995/1995
10 centimeters/10 centimeters
No/No

Source:

Godzilla vs. Gigan / N/A

Toy

Review

By: Joshua Reynolds (submission)

Well, I was just about to start doing the review for the basic Godzilla of this line when I realized I had yet to do Gigan. So, here we are. Gigan was one of three new monsters added to the King of the Monsters line of Trendmasters Godzilla toys shortly before the line switched gears into Godzilla Wars, along with Biollante and Battra. Like the other Showa monsters added, the cyborg was given a more “extreme” 1990’s look to attract would-be buyers (kids…). There were numerous means to acquire this specific toy, with the route I went with being the 40th Anniversary set released in 1995 under the Godzilla Wars logo. You could also acquire him in various versus packs where he was pitted against a Godzilla toy and came with a trading card. Additionally, Gigan was given a sleek repaint for a special 1995 40th Anniversary set.

Details

Figure Comparison
Figure Comparison

Standing at three and three quarters inches, Gigan is a small toy. He scales right in with the rest of this toyline. Sculpted out of a hard material, Gigan sports a pretty good amount of detail and could be the most detailed of the entire line. You got plenty of overlapping, Ghidorah-like scales, a rough hide on his arms and legs, smoothness of his sails and even teeth sculpted inside his beak. The company really didn’t spare any expense when it came to detailing their tiny Gigan.

And while he fits right in with the rest of the toys, if there’s one thing I have to nitpick is his stance. Gigan looks like he is in mid-step with one leg a bit in front of the other, one arm down and the other at chest level. The legs I don’t mind, but the arms? I can’t wrap my head around why they didn’t have both arms stretched forward for battle. I remember as a child, I purposely broke the arm off so I could glue it in place and be able to actually use the arm when I played.

As I said before, Gigan here is given a bit of a redesign. The monster no longer appears to be half mechanical with his once silver claws and appendages given a bone look. I find this concept very interesting, especially with his abdomen saw. If one doesn’t like this look, do not worry. The special color repaint does Final Wars colors about a decade before the film’s release.

Articulation

You haven’t learned yet? This line doesn’t do that here.

Accessories

Depending on how you got him, you could have been given a special trading card. I do not have this to share, unfortunately. However, info given for the monster on the back of the packages give a vague origin that matches with what we see in the 1972 film.

Paint

And we got a good sculpt… How’s the paint? Well, pretty solid as well. This section will be broken into two parts, the first focused on the basic release and the other on the limited, special color repaint. Once again, Trendmasters shows their love for the cyborg gratefully. Every part that should be gold (the scales) is gold. The blue portions outlining the legs and arms are prevalent with the limbs themselves a dark green. There’s very nice yellow and green shading on the sails as well. The cyborg’s visor eye is a blood red with the inside of the mouth an even darker red with a lighter shade applied to its tongue, surprisingly. The claws, spikes, beak and virtually every “cybernetic” part of the monster has been painted a creamy bone color opposed to steel, a look that will probably turn away some older, hardcore fans. Everything here, I feel, looks great.

The special color version of the kaiju makes it look like a cyborg again with the needed silver colors returned to the character. However, now his limbs are black in color with his once bright gold scales a dull shade. This dull shade of gold really makes the blue and black on his body pop even more. The sails are now a metallic blue and blend with the same, dull gold found on its scales. I really like to think of this color scheme as a proto-Final Wars Gigan.

Overall

This is probably my favorite of the 3” releases. The only negative thing I can say about it is the arm stance. I know many do not care for the bone look of his appendages and cybernetics, but to then I simply say “come on.” It does look kind of neat. Plus, if it hinders it so badly for you, the special color repaint offers a more traditional look. Maybe just pretend he’s a “nighttime variant.”

**Below are several bonus images of both the original release and the 40th anniversary repaint.**

Rating: Star Rating