Released
in 2002 to celebrate (or cash in, however one wants
to take it) on the upcoming Godzilla
Against MechaGodzilla release in Japan,
this version of Mechagodzilla is based on the second
incarnation of the villainous machine from Terror
of Mechagodzilla. Made out of soft vinyl,
the robotic monster sports an appearance that mirrors
the movie's almost flawlessly.
Starting from the top, Mechagodzilla's head is
capable of rotating to face in any direction, just
like the machine did in 1974. The robot's head sports
all the needed detail that a figure of its type
would, well, need. Orange eyes stare ahead from
its skull while its mouth is opened, no doubt ready
to fire missiles from his jaw-mounted, tongue-styled
launchers. Even the nose has been detailed fully
to show off the flamethrowers it never used outside
of his Godzilla disguise. Moving on, Mechagodzilla's
arms can move in a circular manner to face any direction.
If one can't tell from quick glance at this release
that it is based on the 1975 version, one only needs
to look at its arms, which are detailed in the same
way it was in Terror
of Mechagodzilla with a MG2 insignia. One
complaint, however, is of the hands of the mech.
While nothing faulty here for detail, but it would
have seemed appropriate to give his hands the ability
to rotate like its arms and head. After all, he
only rotates his hands about a dozen times in both
movies.
The chest, stomach, and back of the alien war machine
is also detailed, as expected from Bandai. A strange
aspect of this release is that it is not a single
mold like most other pieces. Instead the upper-torso
is attached to the lower. This, however, does allow
Mechagodzilla to rotate somewhat, but he isn't capable
of rotating around like he does in the movies. Another
aspect Bandai should have looked into with this
release. His legs are capable of rotating, much
like his arms, but unlike other Bandais, Mechagodzilla's
tail isn't able to rotate. I really can't complain
at the tail, for it would be rather weird to see
a Showa Mechagodzilla wagging his tail.
Like other releases from Bandai, Mechagodzilla
comes with an attached tag. The tag states what
year this design is based off of and also unfolds
to reveal the line of figures that fall into this
line. Unlike my previously reviewed Orga and Godzilla
2000, this figure does not fall into the Godzilla
Island and instead in a new, completely different
set that, interestingly, includes the 1999 version
of Gamera.
All in all, Mechagodzilla 1975 is another great
release from Bandai, a highly recommended figure
for both fans and collectors. From my knowledge,
there haven't been many figure releases of the Showa
Mechagodzilla, so that alone makes this a great
item to hold. It's also nice to know that the 1975
Godzilla and Titanosaurus, along with King Caesar,
have also been released, and you can't have those
three without the mighty Mechagodzilla himself.
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