Today was Box Day for me, but my elation soon deflated after I liberated my new Toho 30cm Series X-Plus Mechagodzilla Diamond Reissue from its box. The entire figure was deformed and sort of curved toward one side. Mechagodzilla is supposed to look badass, yet here he is leaning over in an apparent druken stupor after a night of too much sake. I had heard complaints of “leaning problems” from other collectors. And now, I was seeing it in person. Needless to say I was somewhat annoyed, especially considering the big price tag on this figure. The base gave a clue as to what the main problem was. I placed the figure’s left foot directly into the footprint left for it. As you can see, the figure’s right leg and foot were squooshed inward and the right foot was totally missing the mark. This is what must be causing the “lean”. Moving my eyes up to the right leg hip joint, my suspicions were confirmed. There lie a gap wide enough to drive a Maser Truck through! Here is another angle. The head (shown above) and torso were also leaning to the figure’s left side. WHAT HAPPENED? Since everything which was amiss was pushed toward the left side, it seems pretty clear that this soft vinyl figure “melted” into the plastic shell it was tied into for shipping. And it’s happened to enough of these Mechagodzilla reissues to generate some chatter online. Collector James Martinez took a double hit with this problem when he opened his recently shipped X-Plus Godzilla 1962 and Kiryu (which you can see below). They both had bent fins which were pushed out of place by the packaging. THE FIX Okay, enough complaining! How do we fix it? I learned a while ago (from the X-Plus addicts at the X-Plus Kaiju Collectors Facebook Group) that simply blasting the figure with hot air from a hair dryer would fix most problems. I also heard that there’s some kind of mystical molecular memory which is supposed to kick in and return your warped figures back into their original shapes much like blowing up a pool float. I gave it a try. The figure became soft enough to allow reshaping, but it didn’t move back into position on its own. I squeezed and pulled the figure a little in all directions to help make it forget it’s previously warped position and then used the base as a guide for where the feet should be. I then let it cool and, voila! My X-Plus Mechagodzilla now stands straight, tall and proud! And, as you can see, the feet now stand properly in the footprints left for them in the base. Plus, the gap at the right leg hip closed right up.
Since the cocked head didn’t have anything like the base to help keep it in its corrected pose, I just heated it up, and held it straight while I ran it under cold water. Bam, fixed! So, before considering sending your warped Mechagodzilla Diamond Reissue back for a replacement, give this a try! EXTRA: THE KAIJU EASY BAKE OVEN X-Plus Collector Dan Mason said, “When reshaping an entire figure instead of just one area, I get a box that’s about the right size for the figure, cut a hole for the blowdryer on the side and cut a smaller vent hole next to it. Point that blowdryer into the box for a while and soon the whole figure will be warm and ready for reshaping.” By John Stanowski Originally posted November 26th, 2013 on Kaiju Addicts.
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The X-Plus 25cm Rodan 1956 has a habit of falling down. It was designed so that the tips of its wings would hold it up. But for some collectors, gravity and heat soon turn those soft vinyl wing tips into noodles. That’s when Rodan takes a nosedive. Here’s one collector’s unique, homemade solution. A member from Toho Kingdom Forums, who wishes to remain anonymous, was faced with the problem of his X-Plus Rodan ’56 loosing its ability to stand on its own. Here, in his own words, is his solution: “Basically what I did was I just cut slots into 2 pieces from an old storm door window. I cut the slots [with a scroll saw] so that they were just deep enough so the wings rest inside while the figure is standing. It’s been working out perfectly. They look much crummier than they are with the stands laying on this white surface (being able to see scratches and stuff in the glass instead of just looking clear), but this should give you an idea of the size.” “I made some guides for the stands out of cardboard first and once they seemed to be right I just traced it onto the plexiglass. If you’re going to do similar, use thick enough plexiglass that it won’t chip and break when you try to saw it. Sand it down real smooth on all the cuts so it’s not a rough edge rubbing against the figure, even though it shouldn’t anyway. “Since I got Rodan 1964 I’ve had to do the same for him, but his balance is better than 1956. Great figures and I love them, but that’s one of the annoying things about soft vinyl. “If you aren’t worried about the stands being clear, you could buy a piece of foam poster board and cut that with a razor blade no problem. It’s about the same width and pretty durable. I always buy this stuff at Walmart for arts and crafts.” Great idea! As for myself… right now I’m using a rock. 😛 By John Stanowski Originally posted May 5th, 2013 on Kaiju Addicts.
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This section is a fully authorized reposting of articles from Kaiju Addicts, why, because in time Kaiju Addict will be going away in the near future and we wanted to persevere the great reviews, tips, and more on the site. All articles are being reposted with the integrity on the original articles intact as much as possible (there are some minor edits, and dead links that have been removed). Even though these may be older articles they can provide useful information to both new and old fans alike. We thank John for providing us this opportunity.
Author/AboutJohn Stanowski
Owner/Blogger of Kaiju Addicts, a premiere X-Plus and figure related website. Kaiju Addicts is a guide to collecting X-Plus Godzilla/Kaiju vinyls. It is site that is a web portal featuring all things X-Plus including his own written figure reviews, news, release schedules as well as content from other collectors and reviewers. Kaiju Addicts Reviews and Original photos by John Stanowski, do not copy and reuse without permission. Photos are NOT to be used for selling. Kaiju Addicts also posts content from other reviewers and user submitted photos which are copyrighted by their owners and can not be copied without permission. All articles on this page are
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