Coming
to us from all the way back in 1983, by way of Planet
X, is Yamakatsu's take on King Ghidorah. It should
go without saying that this will be the Showa representation
of the kaiju, as it was the only version that existed
when the figure was made. Right away, one can't
help but notice that this is a less than...."regal"
reproduction of the Terror from Space, but one that
isn't without its charms.
Topping out around 6 1/2 inches, with a mere 5
3/4" wingspan, Ghidorah, like all the Yamakatsu
vinyl figures, is noticeably smaller than his Bandai
counterpart. Whether this is a plus or a minus is
up to the collector; while I've always found larger
figures more impressive, smaller ones have certainly
become welcome in my collection as space increasingly
becomes an issue.
Ghidoran is nicely detailed, with scales all over
his body, rows of horizontal scales in the middle
of each of his necks, with bumps, spikes, noses,
hair and horns sculpted onto each face.
The body is gold, as it should be, with black spray
detail. I like the "veiny" look the back
of Ghidorah's wings have been given, as well. The
inside of Ghidorah's mouthes are red on the bottom,
gold on the top. The teeth are gold, which is understandable
when one notices how small the teeth actually are.
Eyeballs are silver with black pupils. I don't know
if this is a widespread issue, but, I must complain
that one of the pupils on my Ghidorah "bleeds"
into the bottom eyelid, leaving the eyeball looking
somewhat bare, though its up in the air whether
the figure was produced this way, or if 25+ years
of paint wear attributed to it.
While on the subject of Ghidorah's faces....I'm
not wild about them. Godzilla's arch-enemy ends
up looking a bit, well, dopey here, with vacant
expressions and rather horse-like mouthes. With
that said, I do like the previously mentioned bumps
and spines around the noses and above the eyelids,
and the horns, crescent spines and hair you'd expect
in a Showa Ghidorah are all here.
Even for the smaller size of the Yamakatsu line,
King Ghidorah's wings are too small, in my opinion,
for the body. The stumpy wings that would look more
at home on a Dorat than the King of Terror give
the figure an almost "SD" look usually
reserved for "chibi" figures, rather than
a 'full size' vinyl.
In an unusual move, only the middle neck is rotatable,
with the outer two molded stationary to the torso.
The wings rotate up and down, the two tails, molded
as one piece as usual, swings from side to side,
and the legs can move forward or back. A minor complaint,
that's really more of a non-issue the more I think
about it, is that the tail doesn't quite line up
where it joins the torso, though this is only noticeable
when viewing the figure from the side (and only
slightly then), or if the figure is on its back.
When compared to the other Yamakatsu figures, King
Ghidorah's small stature becomes even more apparent.
The Yamakatsu Godzilla is almost as tall as Ghidorah,
whereas most Godzilla fans know the Three Headed
Monster should tower over his atomic adversary.
The quadrupedal Anguirus seems nearly half as tall
as Ghidorah when placed before him.
For the collectors out there, King Ghidorah seems
to be the priciest (and one of the rarest, along
with Mechani-Kong) of the Yamakatsu line, sometimes
hitting $100 on eBay,though at the time of this
writing, there are two up for auction around $50
each, which just proves now more than ever that
these figures are only worth what the individual
is willing to pay. Like the other Yamakatsus, Ghidorah
did not come with a tag, rather a Godzilla sticker
on his right foot, though most of these stickers
will be long gone on any figures you find for sale
today. Though I was pleased with some of the small
details in this sculpt, the key word is "small"....as
in, everything about this figure is too small. All
in all I find this toy rather unimpressive, and
will be "awarding" it with two and a half
stars. Its not terrible, but still a little bit
of a letdown....though for the time it was produced,
it is acceptable.
Rating:  |
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