When Trendmasters
began the Godzilla Wars line of toys, they
quickly began to grow braver with their releases.
Adding to the smaller figures and the larger ones
came a new form of figure for the line. Dubbed Power
Ups, these figures saw new molds of the classic
kaiju they had previously released. The monsters
not only got new molds, but also new, cybernetic
weapon parts. These new parts gave the kaiju new
powers and additional value amongst some for their
unrivaled take on the franchise. I can easily say
these Power Ups could be the most unique form of
kaiju toy ever put out in market, Japan or American.
Like all figures in this line, Mechagodzilla was given
a new mold for this release. Strangely enough, Trendmasters
seemingly decided to use the art from the Japanese Godzilla
vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993) poster rather than
the actual movie version. This is clearly visible in
the head of the machine. It sports the same sharp teeth
as the art's Mechagodzilla, as is the machine's head
and spines. Like all bigger figures released by Trendmasters,
Power Up Mechagodzilla's legs, arms, tails, and head
all can move, allowing it to pose in several different
fashions.
The added weapons that come with Mechagodzilla are
made of a rather cheap plastic and can easily break.
Sadly, for the figure I'm reviewing, a piece of the
gunship's cannon had snapped off, forcing me to super
glue the cannon on. That major flaw aside, the weapons
are rather nicely designed for this release. The Gunship,
Toryu (Dragonslayer) bares an uncanny resemblance to
the Garuda. This isn't that surprising, however, considering
it is stated on the toy's trading card that it was
designed to replace the Garuda. The mech's arm-mounted
Plasma Cannons look decent and are a nice addition
also. Besides the added cannons and gunship, MechaGodzilla
has also been added with a large Hammerhead Missile
that seemingly replaces the famous machine's Plasma
Grenade. As expected, the Hammerhead Missile and Toryu
missiles all need to be pressed from behind for them
to fire. As an added bonus to the Toryu, a secondary
flying vehicle can be removed from its top.
This specific release of Mechagodzilla looks absolutely
awesome when placed with the rest of Trendmaster's
line of figures. Its size allows it to face off
against some Bandais, but this figure should be
avoided if one is looking for a gift for a small
child. The added weapons are easily breakable and
easily lost, not to mention the smaller craft could
be a choking hazard.
One thing worth mentioning about the Power Up line,
though, is the general lack of support it had amongst
some fans. While Mechagodzilla was given, seemingly,
the highest amount of praise of these figures, the
others in the line were not so well received. Giving
the mighty robot even more weapons only seemed logical,
but giving the likes of Godzilla and Rodan metallic
weapons just seems odd. Besides those three, Mecha-King
Ghidorah was also given the Power Up treatment.
When the third line of Godzilla toys, dubbed Doom
Island, was planned, yet two others would have
been planned to be outfitted with super weapons.
Those two were, strangely enough, going to be Anguirus
and Kumonga. For some fans the never-released-in-America
Power Ups of the proud kaiju was a blessing, while
others curse the unreleased line for not having
the chance to let the two characters join the lofty
ranks with the other four.
As a side note, Mechagodzilla is referred to on this
release as two separate words, specifically as "Mecha
Godzilla". What's interesting to note is that
it's spelled this way even on the trademark symbol
for the character, which is different also in image
from the one Toho usually uses that correctly spells
the name as one word.
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