X-Plus King Caesar Vinyl Figure Review

​FIGURE SPECS

東宝大怪獣シリーズ 「キングシーサー（1974年版） ゴジラ対メカゴジラ」 少年リック限定版

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​JAPAN RELEASE: JULY 2013

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​NORTH AMERICAN (DIAMOND) REISSUE: CANCELLED

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​JAPAN REISSUE: APRIL 2019

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​SERIES: LARGE MONSTER SERIES

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​MATERIAL: SOFT VINYL

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FROM: “GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA”, 1974 ​ゴジラ対メカゴジラ

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​HEIGHT: (EARS DOWN) 9 INCHES / 22.86 CM

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​WIDTH: 5 INCHES / 12.7 CM

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LENGTH: (HANDS TO TAIL) 8.25 INCHES / 20.95 CM

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​ARTICULATION: ARMS, HIPS, ANKLES.

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​REVIEW AND PHOTOS: JOHN STANOWSKI

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​The sleeping, dog-eared monster King Caesar (Seesar, Shisa), protector of the Azumi Family in Okinawa wakes from his hibernation once again in the form of an X-Plus Giant Monster Series vinyl figure. And wow, did they get this guy right. Sorry to repeat myself again, but it really does look like it stepped right out of the movie! This is what X-Plus is all about!

This figure was originally released in Japan in July 2013. It was available as both a Standard and Ric Exclusive (which came with a mini statue). A North American (Diamond) Reissue was scheduled but later cancelled. A Japanese reissue (April 2019) was offered with no Standard version available. The Ric-only reissue offers light-up eyes.

This review features the original release.

​SCULPT

Here’s the part we saw through most of the movie. The head of King Caesar framed in his rocky hibernation chamber. Moving on from the great resemblance, you’ll notice the eyes are a burning orange and must have been molded in plastic. Just below their shiny surface are a series of finely detailed concentric circles. Most of the teeth are individually sculpted. Curiously, though, the front bottom row is not. Hardly something to complain about considering the stellar job X-Plus did everywhere else on this figure.

How do you translate long tufts of knotted fur into vinyl? X-Plus found a way! Each of the long rows of fur falling from Caesar’s mane are detached from the rest of the figure giving them more dimension. There are also six extra tufts of hair glued on to the arms and legs as separate pieces. Awesome job! (I suspect the ‘crown’ over Caesar’s eyes is also a separate glued piece).

The armor-plated scales are very well done. They look accurate and the bottoms raise away from the rest of the body with precision. Some scales actually slightly overlap the ones below it.

​JOINTS & SEAMS

As for moving joints, The X-Plus King Caesar has more than a few: both shoulders, legs and feet. Neither of these are likely meant to be moved. The arms don’t have much range to even bother with. The joints at the hips and the ankles are molded to fit snugly in their predetermined position. But you may have to wiggle these to make sure Caesar stands properly.

As for seams: there are quite a few around the mane but are hidden good enough. The seams where the legs meet the body, though, are another story. This is the lowest point for an otherwise fantastic figure. These seams are obvious, distracting and just overall heinous. Traditional vinyl collectors accept this is as just part of the nature of vinyls. But what drew me to X-Plus was the amazing realistic looks these figures have. Seeing these gaping lines at the tops of the legs are a turn off. Thankfully they not visible when the figure is rotated to one side a bit.

​BALANCE

​Most biped X-Plus figures without long tails usually have some balance issues either immediately or down the road.  Some collectors have found that they need to rotate King Caesar’s feet outward to give the figure balance. The feet on my figure are most forward and it stands fine. Either way, it is easy to topple with a poke at the head. And I suspect the summer heat could, if allowed to, soften up the feet enough to make poor Caesar lean forward and take a tumble.

​POSE

The pose of the X-Plus King Caesar has him facing his enemy and poised for action. The “personality” of Caesar is perfectly captured here. They did as a good a job on the pose as they did with the sculpt. Combined, the two make for one hell of an excellent figure. The only thing wrong with this picture are the ears which should be upright while in battle mode. The standard edition has droopy ears, something they really only did while KC was sleeping.

PAINT JOB

​Awesome paint job! The hair has airbrushed gradients that span dark brown to tan. There are no ‘shadows’ per se (darker colors in the inner grooves of the hairs) but the graduated colors more than make up for that. As for the scales: they pretty much captured a difficult color pretty well. The scales on the suit were a sort of dark brown with a tinge of a purpleish red and the paint on the figure follows suit.

​SIZE

The X-Plus King Caesar vinyl figure is about nine inches tall and fits in very well with other members of the Large Monster Series.

FOOTPRINT

Believe it or not, the X-Plus King Caesar vinyl is almost as long (nose to tail is 8.25 inches) as it is high. Still, as with most biped X-Plus figures, KC doesn’t demand a lot of space on the shelf at all.

RIC BOY EXCLUSIVE FEATURES

The X-Plus King Caesar Ric Boy Edition comes with a few exclusives. A miniature of the King Caesar statue (which actually might have gotten more screen time than Caesar did himself in the movie) is in the box. It’s a great likeness but it doesn’t contribute as much to the figure as the extra set of upright ears!

​The ears pop right in and out with just a tug. The figure may have to be warmed up a little in colder climates to make the switch. Both sets of ears have tiny clues in the sculpt as to where they were intended to be adjusted to.

THE BOX

​The X-Plus King Caesar vinyl figure comes in the standard Large Monster Series no frills window box. The figure is held in the plastic shell with a single wire tie.

​EXTRAS

​MORE INFORMATION

• DiegoDoom X-Plus King Caesar Video Review.

​By John Stanowski Originally posted August 31st, 2013​ on Kaiju Addicts.