A new addition to the Bandai creations line, King Caesar makes his debut into stores. It's a long overdue debut of a new character in the Bandai creations Godzilla line and one that fans have been clamoring for since being shown at the Toy Fair convention in February 2013. The Bandai Creations line appeals to both kids wanting a Godzilla toy they can actually play with and for the hardcore fan who can admire having a mostly film accurate version of a fan favorite monster.
In terms of design, King Caesar's model is from his first appearance in 1974's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla and is seemingly the most popular version of the character. He's only had two film appearances with the other being in the Millennium series for 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars. While some small details are lost, such as the tuffs of fur that should be located near the wrists that seemingly is left out of all toy releases of the monster, the figure is mostly faithful to the Showa version. King Caesar seems to be an increase in quality over the past vinyls in the Bandai Creation line and is a VERY nice break from the Fusion Series/Re-issue of older molds which seemed to have become the norm for Bandai creations.
The paint is nice but is of the "mass produced" quality where you can see paint should be applied but isn't or has paint in the wrong places while detail isn't quite as strong as one might hope for. The worst example of this is seen in the claws where black is spread at random. Some other locations, such as the back, do look good though even if the quality is obviously rushed in contrast to the original preproduction sculpt. In terms of the eyes, a hybrid was used of the designs seen. The movie featured an all red appearance, while production stills have a suit with a light red hue and pupils. This toy goes for a darker shade of red but gives the golem-like monster small dark pupils. Overall though, it's a nice looking figure.
For articulation King Caesar has seven points of movement that include: his arms, waist, legs, ears and tail. He's poseable but the tail positioning can be tricky depending on the surface he's on since it acts like somewhat of a weight or balance which can cause him to fall over.
In comparison to the preproduction sculpt (seen on the back of the box), the early sculpt wins hands down. In contrast, the paint is in all the right places which really ups the level of detail and quality of the figure. The fur is really amazing to look at and has no gaps in the paint. For example, take a look at the fur on the chest and compare it with the released figure. The notable changes in the paint job between the two aside, missing from the preproduction sculpt is the ability to swivel the torso and some paint on the top of King Caesar's head. The claws seem to be bigger on the production model as well.
Even though the preproduction model is entirely handmade and painted so Bandai can ensure they're OK with proportions and coloring before making production tooling, it would have been fantastic if the final figure looked THIS good!
In conclusion, paint gripe aside, King Caesar is a solid vinyl and a worthy purchase as a toy for a child or an addition to the collection of the hardcore collector. Some fans might be disappointed after seeing the original preproduction sculpt, but compared to other figures in the line this is a definitive improvement. At the very least, it's a big upgrade from the earlier Godzilla Island era King Caesar release from the 1990's.
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