This is
a re-release of the Godzilla:
Final Wars (2004) Rodan figure that Bandai
released in 2004.
It is largely identical to its early debut, although
sports a notably different coloring scheme. Like
the previous toy, this release is simply okay: it
doesn't really excel or falter.
On the plus side, this figure is very detailed.
The feet and hands are both seen with obvious attention
paid to them. The chest also looks good and slightly
jagged, as it should. Wings are also done well,
with good folds apparent although at the same time
not overdone to the point of looking out of place.
The back is also a fair representation of how the
suit looked, including the slight "hunch"
that the creature has.
The proportions of the toy are also done well. The
neck is a little shorter, but this isn't much of
an issue and actually looks more natural than the
suit. The eyes though are a bit smaller than they
should be, as they do change the overall feel of
this toy compared with its movie counterpart.
The coloring of this figure deserves closer inspection,
as it's the sole difference between it and the earlier
release. While the original toy was fairly simply
and more bright in its appearance, this 2005 version
is darker with a lot more shading added in. The
final result is more appealing to the eye, but is
a departure from the way the suit appears in the
movie. The wings in particular on this figure, even
if it is a case of artistic license, are nice as
they are dark around the arms and become light toward
the bottom. The chest has also been given some gray
highlights. This makes it look more varied, but
sadly the painting is haphazard and there really
is no rhyme or reason to how its applied here. Some
black was also added to the back of the figure,
which breaks up the monotony here but is an obvious
departure from the solid red back that the character
actually has. Unfortunately, the peak is also once
again black rather than dark gray as it appears
on the suit too.
Overall, like the 2004 release, this is an okay
figure that does a good job of representing the
suit. If one is trying to pick between the 2005
release and the 2004
figure, both are good. The 2004 one is more
faithful to the character, while the 2005 one looks
slightly more pleasing with its paint job, even
though it went overboard. So both have their perks.
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