​X-Plus proved that it’s got the goods at the 2015 Summer Wonder Festival, ワンダーフェスティバル held at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba today (July 26, 2015). And it looks like we’re in store for some fantastic releases in the coming months!

Starting on the left is our first good view of the upcoming Legion displayed with the Large Monster Series Gamera 1996 which you already have (or wish like hell you had now). Further down stands the new Yuji Sakai Godzilla 2000 followed by the Large Monster Series Godzilla 1995 which will hit shelves next month. (Make sure you grab this ’95 now while you can; Destroyah will be arriving later this year!)

LEGION

This Large Monster Series Legion figure (from Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, ガメラ2 レギオン襲来) looks like it’s going to be a shelf-buster like Biollante, King Ghidorah 1968 and the upcoming Destroyah. It towers over the 25cm Series Gamera 1996 as well it should… but by this much? Time to pop the movie in and have a look.

​UPDATE: Here’s a new angle!

​Too tall or not, SIGN ME UP RIGHT NOW!

GODZILLA 2000

Next up is the Toho Gigantic Series Yuji Sakai Modelling Collection Godzilla 2000. You can get more information on this already discussed figure on my previous post here.

Here, we can get a glimpse of how well this sculpt translated into vinyl. As for those fins: I’m not sure but it seems to be the general consensus on the X-Plus Kaiju Collectors Club Facebook Group, that this represents Godzilla powering up for a blast of atomic breath (which was, indeed, orange in the movie.) We also think that this orange-finned figure will be the Ric Boy version. I say that because…

A more standard, purple-finned version of the X-Plus figure was on display at Yuji Sakai’s table in the same room. Methinks I’ll be gettin’ this one!

KIRYU 2002

​Finally, the 50 units of the awesome vinyl version of the Toho 30cm Series Kiryu 2002 Ric Boy (with blue backpack) sold out at the show. The web lottery for the remaining 50 units should start soon. Keep watching the Ric Boy site for that to begin.

Note: I really don’t know the source of these photos since they’re plastered everywhere now. If I used on of your pics, please let me know and I’ll add a photo credit below it.

So, what do you think? Are you getting Legion? Getting Godzilla 2000? If so, which version? Are you preparing for a face-off with Destroyah later this year and getting the Godzilla 1995 next month? Are you going for the Kiryu 2002?

By John Stanowski Originally posted July 26th, 2015 on Kaiju Addicts.

X-Plus just announced a new entry into the Gigantic Series and it’s about bloody time! Meet the Gigantic Series Yuji Sakai Modelling Collecting Godzilla 2000!

This is not based off the suit from the movie Godzilla 2000: Millennium (ゴジラ2000 ミレニアム) but rather a design from conceptual artist Shinji Nishikawa, the man responsible for making the initial designs for many Heisei and Millennium kaijus. The sculpt, of course, comes from the great Yuji Sakai.

I first saw this news when collector Brian Jow posted the photo above on the X-Plus Kaiju Collectors Club Facebook Group. (BTW, if you want X-Plus news as quick as possible, JOIN THIS GROUP! We have agents everywhere!) I do not know which publication this is, but I have some friends in Japan trying to find out. If you recognize it, please contact me and let me know by email or in the comments.

If you want a better look at the figure and have the Yuji Sakai Dream Evolution book, the resin version is on Page 19.

Hell, let’s get a better look now:

Yeah, I’m feelin’ this one! But, keep in mind the photo above is of the Resin version. We’re sure to loose some detail in the vinyl version.

Collector Dell Champagne Martinez used his Japanese powers to translate the text from the original photo. It reads:

X-Plus Gigantic Series Yuji Sakai Modeling Collection Gojira 2000 Millennium. It will be released in September and the price is yet to be determined. Limited sales.
It faithfully reproduces Shinji Nishikawa’s 2 dimensional design with the sharp dorsal fins and rows of teeth, in three dimensions. Height is approximately 400 millimeters. Prototype supervision by Yūji Sakai.

400 millimeters is 40cm, or 15.74 inches. Hmm. Gigantic Series Godzilla 1995 is 18.5 inches tall. This new figure will be about 3 inches shorter than GBG, and only about 4 inches taller than the 30cm Series. But, don’t get so disappointed, that’s still a pretty BIG figure! The higher it is, the wider it is, and the overall more bulk it has. Don’t worry, it will certainly command attention.

Also, note how the tail is raised off the ground; a Sakai trademark I’m beginning to dislike. Looks like this figure will need a base to support the tail like the Gigantic Series Godzilla 2001.

As for price… I’m almost afraid to know what it will be. Gigantic Series figures have hefty price tags. Yuji Sakai Modelling Collection figures also have hefty price tags. Put the two together and I fear we’ll have a price so high that most of us will have significant trouble being able to cover. We’ll have to wait and see.

Oh, and did you notice something interesting? The Yuji Sakai Modelling Collection is no longer confined to the 30cm Series. I wonder if we’ll get even more different sizes in the future. Time to pull out your Yuji Sakai Dream Evolution book and flip through for possibilities.

By John Stanowski Originally posted July 24th, 2015​ on Kaiju Addicts.

東宝30CMシリーズ 「ゴジラ（2014）」

​JAPAN ORIGINAL RELEASE: JULY 2015

​NORTH AMERICAN DIAMOND REISSUE: JUNE 2017

​SERIES: TOHO 30CM SERIES

MATERIAL: VINYL​

​FROM: “GODZILLA”, 2014

​HEIGHT: (HEAD TO FLOOR) ABOUT 12.75 INCHES / 32.3 CM, (TAIL TO FLOOR) 14.5 / 36.8 CM

​WIDTH: (FOOT TO FOOT) 8 INCHES / 20.3 CM

​LENGTH (NOSE TO TAIL): ABOUT 17.5 INCHES / 44.4 CM

​FIGURE WEIGHT: 2 LBS 4 OZ / 1020 G

​REVIEW AND PHOTOS: © JOHN STANOWSKI

The Toho 30cm Series Godzilla 2014 vinyl figure by X-Plus was released in Japan in July of 2015. It’s 12 3/4 inches tall from the top of the head down with a tail that reaches almost two inches higher. This looked cool as hell right out of the box, and after having spent so much time with it for this review, I’ve come to like it even more. I do have a few nitpicks, but they’re not enough to kill the excitement of adding this AWESOME vinyl to my collection.

​First, I have to mention that the size of the box is a lot larger than I expected. Because of G’14’s long, curling tail, the box is about 150% wider than usual. Below the 2014 box are a couple other of other boxes from somewhat recent releases.

The box sports a new cover design. Unlike X-Plus’ last attempt at new art (for the Sakai’s), this design is pretty freaking cool. If you’re shopping for this online, or you find this on a store shelf, this is what the box for the Standard Version looks like. If you’re after the RIC BOY version, the box is the same except that the RIC has a round, yellow sticker on it. Inside, as usual, the figure is nested in a plastic shell in two pieces: body and tail.

​ADDING THE TAIL

Hmm. Looks like we’ve got a diamond-shape thing going on here. That means not much twisting is possible when attaching it. Fortunately, adding the tail on this guy isn’t as bad as it looks. Just make sure you keep the tail end cool and/or hard while you soften up the butt with a hair dryer. You may have to soften it up more than usual since the leg joints are close to the hole which makes that area a bit less pliable even when heated. Also, note where the back fins meet the tail that there are two layers of vinyl which will restrict movement even more. As Rich Eso always says, “Make it Squishy Soft.”

Even though you can’t fully twist this tail on, you can wiggle a little bit back and forth while you try to get the tail flange securely in the hole and not bunched up. Collectors are reporting this task as both easy and difficult. Make sure it’s easy for you and get that hole on the body really warm and soft first.

Sad to say that this tail joint, like the Gigantic Series Godzilla 1995, leaves a little bit of a gap. It sort of looks like it’s not properly on but I think that’s just the way it fits due to all of the pieces which intersect at this joint. If you see this gap, just push again a little harder, wiggle it back and forth a little and then push even more. When that gap is mostly gone, PUT IT DOWN and let the body cool around the tail while it’s snug. You might also want to try running the joint under cold water to harden the figure while pressing the tail in.

Before you do all of that though, take a look inside the figure and see how it was assembled. You’ll note that both arms and legs have joints the same as the tail (with the only difference being that they were glued and filled after assembly). Knowing this now, you might want to avoid lifting the figure up by grabbing just an arm or a leg.

​And now, the figure:

First let me say this: HOLY HELL! THIS FIGURE IS AWESOME!

Next, I’ve only had a little over a year of seeing this Godzilla in action so I haven’t memorized every nook and cranny of the design. I’m relying more on the “image” of this Godzilla in my mind from seeing the movie about 6 or 7 times (often fast forwarding past most of the Aaron Taylor-Johnson scenes and many of the Serizawa gawking / having assistant speak all of his lines scenes (rant over)). And based on the Godzilla 2014 in my mind, this X-Plus sculpt is a Home Run. Well, mostly anyway.

Kaiju-sized kudos to X-Plus for accomplishing such a complex sculpt! Think about it. All Godzilla designs in the past have been suits made by hand. And nothing against them (I love them), but they didn’t really take that long to design and build. But, this guy…

This guy needed to have a plausible animal design to satisfy mainstream audiences while at the SAME TIME needing to appease US as well as 50 years of history! That’s a tall order. This design was pored over. And over and over. There were separate people nailing down the design on every part of his body. The scales alone had 4 CGI artists working for almost 6 months to get all of those textures looking the way they do now. That’s not animating or rendering; that’s just designing!

What I’m saying is, every little part of this design was tweaked and tweaked and tweaked to perfection (or their idea of it). With so many people working on every part of this design, it’s bound to be more complex. The texture of the skin alone is complex changing from square scales to boney plates to pointy scales, etc.

So what’s left for X-Plus’ sculptors to do? Nail every part of this complicated design in clay and vinyl. And, I think they did just that.

I compared this X-Plus figure to NECA’s 24-Inch Head-to-Tail articulated figure which was created using CGI information right from the monster’s 3D model. I used NECA’s figure as a roadmap to the 2014 design and compared the X-Plus to it. And get this: TONS of details, some down to particular scales and fins, are extremely similar — even down to the spacing between these features! X-Plus absolutely took their time and looked at every square inch and replicated it.

What this means is the Toho 30cm Series Godzilla 2014 vinyl figure has crazy-accurate detail far beyond the point with which you’re even aware of! So, just know this: this figure has a whole level of accuracy which you can’t even see. Now, that makes me feel good. I really, really like knowing that the 2014 sitting on my shelf right now is the shit. Once again, X-Plus proves it’s worthy of our devotion.

Ah, the front view. Not crazy about the front view. But that’s a design issue, not a sculpt issue. In fact, I’m not crazy about the front view on this X-Plus sculpt almost exactly as much as I’m not crazy about the front view seen in the movie. So, I reckon’ X-Plus did a devilishly good job of recreating this design in vinyl.

​And here we have the flank. Once again, it’s a dead-ringer for the “real” thing, yah? Or maybe… it’s a bit fat? I know this design is intentionally fat, but… I don’t know. I think maybe this sculpt is a tad more bloated than it should be. Look at this photo of a comparison between it and the CGI-derived NECA. Keep in mind that the NECA is shorter. What do you think?

THE HEAD
Impressive. Most impressive. I’m not a huge fan of the snouty look on the 2014, but I’m getting used to it. And now I can get used to it with my X-Plus figure because it’s a great replica. I’m totally impressed by the tiny eyes and tiny INDIVIDUALLY SCULPTED teeth. Granted, in close-up photos the teeth can look a bit rounded but… they’re TINY. You don’t see that rounding normally. With the naked eye they look FANTASTIC. I give them an A+. Also note the individually sculpted tongue. Yet another awesome perk feature from X-Plus.

Oh. Not very happy with that mustardy overspray around the mouth. It’s on a bit thick. But, I’ll save the bitchin’ for the Paint Job Section.

​Great googly moogly! LOOK at that! I freaking LOVE those crocodilian features on the back of the head so reminiscent of the GMK design (which also lended its “gills”). And they look crazy good on this figure.

Not overly nuts about the wildly diverse and “leafy” patterns hugging the sides of the fins. But my opinion aside, X-Plus nailed those, too.

They also nailed the dorsal fins.

All hail X-Plus!

​X-Plus says that this pose is right out of the movie, though I’m not sure which scene it came from. It certainly looks like a well-captured standard G’2014 look. And it’s neutrality is a big plus, at least for me. Extreme poses, like the one on that Sideshow statue kind of limit your interpretation of the piece. This pose here… looks good for all occasions.

One little thing I’d like to nitpick on is the position of the tail. It swoops up into the air, no doubt to make room for the figure to fit into an already large box. Thing is, at some angles it sort of reminds me of a scorpion or something. The tail looks alive and ready to stab like one of Iris’ tentacles. Fortunately, you don’t get this vibe when the figure is facing mostly forward.

And one last thing I just noticed which shows the insane amount of attention this figure got: About 3 or 4 inches away from the very tip of the tail is a super slight kink. Almost looks like this Godzilla got his tail slammed in a door when he was a pup. This kink is right out of the movie. Remember right before the bridge scene when Godzilla’s tail towered out of the water over the battleship? You can see this kink there clearly. And now, thanks to mammoth OCD from X-Plus, it’s on the figure, too.

X-Plus… more than meets the eye.

​There are no “working” joints on this figure. But, that’s not how the figure started. As I mentioned earlier in the Tail section, peering inside the figure reveals that both arms and legs are attached to the body in the same exact way the tail is. The only difference being that the joints were glued and the remaining seams filled and painted over. Now, collectors seem to be generally happy with this figure as far as seams go. And, I hate to be a whiner, but, I need to do it anyway.

These seams on the legs are hidden only fairly well within the creases and texture of the sculpt. The arms, however, are not so well concealed. With nothing in the sculpt to help hide them, and a flat texture in that area, the arm seams have no choice but to reveal themselves. To me, I see them every time I look at the figure. It’s the fact that I keep reminding myself that this is a vinyl, and this is how vinyl’s can be, which is preventing me from actually getting annoyed with this.

Not helping matters, these over-the-shoulder seams work in concert with the lower neck seam to create a cacophony of lines concentrated in too tight a space. This group of lines together make a sort of tank top pattern with a loop under the neck and around both shoulders. Sigh. At least that lower neck seam isn’t as deep as it was in the early production photos.

There are other filled seams traveling away from the corners of the mouth, and down the side of the neck before angling to loop around the lower neck. This is all a separate piece. the lower jaw itself may actually be yet another separate piece, but if it is, it’s well hidden.

As we’ve seen from the Tail Section, the tail is actually several pieces. Most notably the final segment. I don’t really detect any seams here. But the tail joint itselfisn’t very snug and leaves a gap.

The back dorsal fins are sculpted onto a separate piece of vinyl which is glued onto the back which, as we’ve already seen from the Tail Section, actually has a wall there for added support. Seams running laterally along this piece are fairly well hidden. However, on my figure at least, I have a couple of tiny holes from either a poor fit or a poor filling job. (the same sort of holes which are common on the 30cm Series Gorosaurus 1967). I really didn’t even notice them though until I took the figure out under the sun to get a good look at the paint job. So, if you’ve got them too, they’re probably not very noticeable.

​When photos of the X-Plus Godzilla 2014 first started appearing online, I began to panic. Many photos showed an overly vibrant and gaudy belly glowing in bright yellows. If you’ve seen these shots as well, rest assured: what you’re seeing is just crazy phone camera tricks.

In hand, the figure has a very subtle paint scheme. The unsaturated yellows (or tans) on the chest spread out onto the insides of the arms and legs and traverses almost the entire length of the bottom of the tail. This touch of color is pretty much the only thing added over the flat, asphalt black base coat. Very un-toylike, very cool, very X-Plus.

I’m especially glad this yellowish highlight is so subtle because, honestly, I didn’t even know why it was there in the first place. I don’t remember seeing this ‘yellow streak’ in the movie. And, I was perplexed when I saw it coming out on other toys like the S.H. MonsterArts, Bandai and NECA figures. It turns out this coloring is present on Gareth Edwards original maquette as seen below on a page from the book Godzilla The Art of Destruction.

​Okay, so the yellow is on the maquette. But I still don’t remember seeing it in the movie. Do you see any dominant yellow highlights contrasting the black in the shot below? (Keep in mind this is a warm, yellowish shot.)

​How about here?

I’m not seeing it. I appreciate the fact that it’s “supposed” to be there. But, it just doesn’t show well in the CGI. So I guess what I’m saying is that I wish this coloring was a bit more subdued, as in almost not even there. ESPECIALLY around the snout. Surrounding the mouth is a gaudy spray of the same yellowish color applied to the chest. And there is far too much of it. Again, yes, it’s on the maquette. But I don’t pop the maquette into my DVD player every now and then. The only one who sees that maquette is Gareth Edwards who, I think, got to take it home.

All in all, I’m not against the yellow. They do add a little something to the figure. I just wish there were less of it. Especially around the mouth. If I ever get the nerve to try to find a black paint which matches the figure, I just might drybrush over it.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Lighter shades of the black bring new meaning to word “subtle”. Sparingly applied over the higher elevations on the sculpt, these are true highlights in that they are no doubt meant to use brightness in order to mimic light hitting some of the peaks on the skin texture in the sculpt. They are applied mostly on the sides of the legs and can also be easily seen on the top and sides of the head. You have to really look for them on other parts of the vinyl. But they are there. Seems a lot of effort went into applying a nearly invisible shift in color. Kudos to X-Plus for making that effort. This figure wasn’t just churned out of the paint department. They really worked on it.

EYES
The eyes are freakishly tiny on this 30cm Series figure. And, get this, they measure LESS than 1/32 of an inch! And yet, somehow, they managed to add color there without “going out of the lines”. On top of that: they managed to paint ULTRA SMALL black dots to represent the pupils and irises. Once again: AMAZING effort and attention to detail.

MOUTH INTERIOR & TEETH
The mouth interior has a medium, unsaturated red/pink coat which is just enough color to make it look… mouthy, and yet not toyish.

Now the teeth… WOW. I’ve already gone into how TINY the individually sculpted teeth are. But, can you imagine the nightmare it would be for one to paint those? And to paint them realistically? Well, they’ve gone and done just that. They are colored with a bony tan with dabs of overly bright white added to make them stand out. Now, usually I am against bright whites on teeth as they are too bold and unrealistic and toyish. But these practically microscopic dabs of bright white blur into the surrounding colors when viewed by the naked eye. Again, highlights done right. Now you may see photos of the teeth and think that perhaps they look gunky in a Sakai ’89 sort of way, but keep in mind you don’t stand a chance of seeing the same thing with your naked eyes as a good camera close-up could. All in all, teeth are painted surprisingly well.

CLAWS
The claws on the hands are painted fully with an orangeish, bony tan. Very subtle, yet they stand out just the right amount. The claws on the feet, however, did not get the same treatment and were, instead, lightly sprayed at the tips. Not sure if it is supposed to be that way or if this was a creative decision. Either way, I’m actually GLAD the toes were merely misted on the tips with an airbrush. The toes are too large and painting them fully would have made them stand out more.

JUST ADD LIGHT
The overall paint job can look a bit flat in certain lighting conditions. If you want to really make your 2014 shine, just add some hard light and let it play off the insanely awesome skin textures in the sculpt.

Up until now, our best option to have Godzilla 2014 on our shelves at this scale was the NECA 24-Inch Head-to-Tail articulated figure. And so, a comparison is in order. Especially for those non-X-Plus collectors who are trying to decide which figure suits them best.

Right off the bat, the X-Plus vinyl is noticeably taller (and un-riddled with joints), but even coming in over 2 pounds, it’s a lot lighter than the NECA which has a lot of I-must-be-expensive heft to it (even though it’s only around $60).

I suppose the most important comparison should be made against the sculpts. Supposedly, the NECA is built from 3D data from the original 3D model. It doesn’t get any more accurate than that. That’s why I’m comparing the X-Plus to it. And it’s close! At a glance, there’s little difference between the two. Looking closer, the X-Plus seems fatter from certain angles. Most of the differences seem to be found on the head, even though it looks totally fine to me.

For those of you who had been using the NECA as a placeholder for the X-Plus version on your shelves, there’s no reason to discard it now. It’s still a great figure. Put it in a different room. If you have a desk job, take it to work. (Just lay off the roar feature!)

On the left, we have the original King of the Monsters, the Toho 30cm Series Godzilla 1954. And on the right, X-Plus’ newest entry: the Toho 30cm Series Godzilla 2014. At 12 1/2 inches, both are some of the taller figures from the 30cm Series.

​Here’s the new guy flanked on the left by fan favorite: the Toho 30cm Series Godzilla 1964 which has a very typical height from this series. The new 2014 stands just a tad taller than the ’64 and most other 30cm vinyls.

To keep the size comparison relevant to recent releases, on the right we have the Toho 30cm Series Yuji Sakai Modelling Collection Godzilla 1991, way shorter than Godzilla 2014, and shorter than any other 30cm Series Godzilla for that matter. (But I think it’s still, hands down, figure of the year with Godzilla 2014 being a contender for second place… so far.)

For those not avidly into X-Plus as a line, but still love to collect the Hollywood Goji figures, this size comparison is for you. Towering in the rear is the Jakks Pacific. In the middle row is the NECA 24 Inch Head-to-Tail figure and to the right is X-Plus. In the front row, left to right: the NECA 12 Inch Head-to-Tail quasi-articulated figure, the Bandai Movie Master Series vinyl and finally the S.H. MonsterArts articulated figure.

The X-Plus Godzilla 2014 is surprisingly friendly on the shelf, assuming said shelf has enough headroom for the 14 1/2 inches of the upraised tail. But, it’s thanks to that upward tail that this figure doesn’t cause any trouble on the sides. As you know, long tails run to the back of the shelf, hit the wall, and force us to pose them at angles (at least on narrow shelves) whether we want to or not. This figure is 17 1/2 inches from the tip of the nose to the back of the curved tail. As usual, subtract 2 or 3 inches if you place the feet right at the edge of the shelf and let the figure’s head hang over the edge. (14 1/2 inches long if you go that route.) Not bad.

The figure’s 8-inch legspan is only a tad wider than what we’re already used to and also doesn’t hog extra space on the shelf.

I have the Standard Version of this figure so I do not have this mini Male MUTO which comes with the Ric Boy Exclusive Version. I can’t really comment on anything which I can’t glean from the above photo taken by X-Plus. I can tell you that this mini figure is definitely NOT in scale with the main figure, but if placed at the rear of the shelf, you could go for a faux perspective look (as in: it looks smaller because it’s further away.)

I heard this mini MUTO has a nice “sand paper” texture on its wings. And though it lacks the whiteish front from the “real” monster in the movie, it looks like a decent replica.

Do you know what would make me flip out right now? A female MUTO by X-Plus. Is it possible? I don’t know. But what do you think about the very idea? Do you want a 30cm female MUTO? Say so in the comments; X-plus looks at this site!

By John Stanowski Originally posted July 18th, 2015​ on Kaiju Addicts.

​The new Large Monster Series Mothra 1964 Ric Boy version came paired with a re-issue of the Large Monster Series Godzilla 1964. Some collectors, though, already had the original release of the 25cm Series Godzilla ’64 already sitting on their shelves and so opted to buy Mothra solo.

Thing is, there’s a footprint on Mothra’s sandy base meant for Godzilla’s foot to rest in. The new G’64 comes with a small base that rests under his tail and lets one foot sit on Mothra’s base and the other on the shelf. Owners of the original Godzilla ’64, though, have a completely different, fuller base with raises the figure slightly off the shelf and supports it into a standing position. (The figure can’t stand properly without something holding the tail up.)

Now, just because you have an original Godzilla beside a new Mothra doesn’t mean you can’t arrange them the same way as the Ric set was meant to. As I already demonstrated in my recent 25cm Godzilla 1964 Review, you can have the figure stand directly on the shelf and still use the base to support the tail, just not in the way in which it was intended.

So, if you like, you can still “connect” these two figures even if you don’t have that new mini base for Godzilla. Just press his foot into the footprint, press and hold it while sliding the original base behind him until his right heal and tail rest on it.

By John Stanowski Originally posted June 13th, 2015 on Kaiju Addicts.

N Scale Buildings made for electric train sets are a great way to add even more interest and pizzazz to your X-Plus collection. You can scatter them between figures on the shelves. Or, you can create entire dioramas using not only N Scale buildings but environment elements like hills and trees. Plus, toy photographers can reach new levels of awesomeness by incorporating them into their shots. Having Godzilla on your shelf is cool. But having him tower over buildings is potentially cooler! N Scale buildings help make these 12-inch X-Plus vinyls feel a little bigger on the shelf.

​N Scale buildings come in a small variety of sizes. Yes, they are still in scale with each other. It’s just that some buildings have more floors than others. There are also a small variety of other structures like electrical towers, radio towers, and more.

And while they’re cheap enough one at a time, amassing a small city like the one above will set you back a little over $300. But no one says you have to get them all at once.

The trick is to get the buildings in the proper scale. Japanese N Scale (or N Gauge) 1/150 scale sizes up perfectly with the X-Plus Toho 30cm Series figures which come from the Showa era or most of the Millennium era. Basically, any figure which is supposed to be 50 meters tall in the films is the best match for N Scale buildings and structures.

THE MATH
This is how I figured it out: (Keep in mind I could be way off as I was never very good at math.) When I first tried to find out if N Scale was a true match for X-Plus, I compared them to the original Godzilla, who was 50 meters tall. I converted his height into feet which came to about 164. Japanese N-Gauge comes in various ratios but 1/150 seems to be the most popular by far. So let’s divide 164 (feet) by 150 (the n scale ratio). We get 1.0933333 (feet) which is just a tad over one foot… or 12 inches (30cm). Perfect!

So this means that any X-Plus 30cm Series figure based on a suit from 1954 to 1975 in which Godzilla was 50 meters tall is technically a good match. He was 55 meters tall in most of the Millennium movies and I think that’s still acceptable. GMK, at 60 meters tall, is starting to push it. The Heisei Godzillas were 80 meters tall or more and technically do not size accurately with N Scale. The Large Monster Series (25cm) figures are far too small to scale properly with N Scale buildings.

But, let’s stop being technical for a moment. I think you’ll find that these buildings still look freaking awesome in the shadow of 30cm Series Heisei figures and even the 25cm line. I say this even though I’m an OCD freak when it comes to scale.

For now, though, let’s stick with the 30cm Series…

When I ordered my first batch of N Scale buildings, I was surprised and impressed by how large some of them turned out to be.

​As you can see above, some of them are just about the size you’d expect them to be. But there are a small number of buildings that are impressively large. Here we see the Toho 30cm Series Godzilla 1954 vinyl beside boxed four, six, eight and eleven story buildings.

​And again, out of the boxes.

And, yet again with a full spread. I don’t know about you, but seeing this for the first time was a dream come true. I spent the first two years of my X-Plus collecting wishing there were buildings I could pose them with. I’ve seen photos of these vinyls with these buildings before on the X-Plus Kaiju Collectors Facebook Group, The Godzilla Collectors Facebook Group, and even from the X-Plus Ric Boy Blog! But it never clicked that these buildings may actually be in scale with the figures. Finally getting around to doing the math to find out that they are in scale was a holy shit moment. Now I can’t get enough of these things.

​Now, it’s important to note that the Large Monster Series (25cm Series) is NOT in scale with these buildings. But, as you can see from the photo of the Large Monster Series Godzilla 1968 above, they still look GREAT together!

Fortunately, Japan seems to have a bustling train set market. Great news because, ideally, you should have Japanese buildings displayed with your Japanese Kaiju, right? Not only is the architecture often Japanese-y, but they often come loaded with Japanese decal signs. So, as if it weren’t enough that we can actually get buildings which are in scale with X-Plus… but we can get the Japanese variety! What more could you ask for?

It’s a good thing, too, that the Japanese kits are so abundant because there doesn’t really seem to be much to choose from at all when it comes to Western buildings from Western companies. In fact, there’s hardly anything at all. Just a bunch of outdated, smaller, often country-ish buildings. And practically NONE of them are taller than a few stories.

I’m not saying there’s nothing out there. By all means, have a look. I’m just saying you’ll find good buildings in searches quicker if you look for the Japanese variety, which we already know we want.

When shopping for N Scale buildings, it’s important to note that they do come in different sizes, even though they are all N Scale. After all, real world 1:1 buildings come in all sizes from single homes to skyscrapers. When searching for office buildings, it is not immediately clear which size you’ll be buying just by glancing at the product photos on Ebay or Amazon.

The trick is to count the floors. Most of the Japanese N Scale buildings seem to come in 5 stories or 8 stories. And, an extra three floors may not sound like much of a difference, but it really is. Let’s look at this photo again:

​Above: Here we have a KATO 4-story building, a KATO 6-story building, a KATO 8-story building and an 11-story Tomix building.

As you can see they’re significantly different in how high they reach. And, unfortunately, they all look the same in tiny, square Ebay and Amazon pics. So, remember: count the floors (don’t forget to count the ground floor) and refer to the photo above for an idea on how each building will size up to your figures.

Granted, the smaller buildings make your figures look bigger. If that’s the look you’re after, have at it! The smaller buildings also look better with the Large Monster Series figures.

But, I say you just can’t beat the 8 story buildings by KATO. They are HUGE and my favorites, by far.

The Japanese N-scale buildings available come in several main categories: modern office buildings, train station buildings (which can get pretty long, but still short), smaller “neighborhood” homes and stores, traditional style homes and saunas which, obviously are pretty short, and temples and shrines which can climb to respectable heights. I don’t have photos of those here as I haven’t gotten any… yet.

And then there are N Scale structures like electrical towers and refinery tanks. But more on those later!

Japanese N Scale buildings and structures come either pre-built or in do-it-yourself kit form. The good news is that most of the buildings come pre-built. Some of the TomyTec buildings need only a little assembly but even then, most of the pieces snap together leaving only a couple of pieces which actually require glue. Every single KATO building I’ve gotten has come pre-built and ready to display right out of the box, although, you may need to glue on the vertical signs.

Most buildings also come with a sheet of Japanese signs, banners and posters. You’ll have to carefully cut these, peel and attach.

Unfortunately, not everything comes fully or even mostly assembled. Practically ALL of the N Scale structures (as opposed to standard buildings) I’ve bought (towers, tanks, etc.) were full blown model kits which required Xacto knives, snippers, glue and a LOT of patience. But, again, more on those later.

It may not seem so at first glance, but these buildings are really packed with detail. I was surprised by all of the little details I kept discovering the first few times I looked at each one. There are windows, doors, more doors, doors that lead to stairs, staircases with stairs(!), sign posts and the list goes on. And most of them actually have floors behind the windows on every floor!

​Although not as ornate at the fronts, the sides and backs of these buildings still have something to see. This is especially helpful for photographers who don’t want the same few buildings in all of their shots since they can just rotate a few of them to show the backs.

These buildings are a perfect example of the old half full or half empty glass. It all depends on how you look at them. I think the only thing holding these pieces back from being mind-blowing replicas is their lack of a detailed paint job. The detail is there. And if the paint detail matched the level of detail in the sculpts, they would be unbelievable. I’m pretty damn happy with them the way they are.

There seems to be three main brands of Japanese N Scale buildings. (There are more but you have to get out there and search for this stuff).

TOMIX
I haven’t seen much from Tomix but they are the makers of the 4045 Large Office Building (Dark Grey) — eleven stories of awesome. At almost 10 inches in height, it’s clearly the tallest N Scale building I’ve come across. And it’s expandable! It’s comes completely assembled right out of the box but is actually composed of 7 pieces: the base floor, the roof and 5 pieces in between, each of which represent two floors. So besides being able to open this building up to add lights and other details inside the windows, you can combine pieces from multiple models. Just buy two Tomix 4045’s, pop the roof off of one of them and you can stack the second buildings floor modules to create one mega building.

The Tomix 4045 has close relatives. The Tomix 4018 Large Office Building is molded in beige and is two stories shorter. There is yet another variation, a much shorter white version. But it’s the 4045 Large Office Building (Dark Grey) that’s a must-have. It’s the tallest one out there and the closest thing you’ll get to a skyscraper.

TIP: Get two of them and you can still make them look different. The back of this building looks different from the front, so face one to the back and you’ve got two different buildings! Even better, Take two floors off one of the them and add them to the other for even more variety.

TOMYTEC
This company makes a LOT and you can’t go wrong searching for it. From what I’ve seen so far, the Tomytec buildings tend to be on the short side. They mostly make a lot of 5-story buildings which look AWESOME.

Tomytec buildings can come either pre-assembled (mostly) and in kit form. So, you want to take extra care to avoid the full kits if you’re not inclined to building them. But even their (mostly) pre-assembled buildings do require some assembly, but it’s quick to snap the small number of pieces together to get your building ready for the shelf.

Tomytec also makes other N Scale structures such as electrical towers, refinery kits (which you’ll see further down this post) and more.

KATO
My favorite brand BY FAR! Their N-Diotown line is AMAZING. They have four HUGE 8-story beauties with lots of detail, especially on the roofs. They also make smaller buildings so that your kaiju stomping ground can have a staggered skyline.

If Japanese buildings in scale with your X-Plus collection wasn’t sweet enough, there are also a good range of other structures to choose from. Electrical wire towers, radio towers, smoke stacks, tanks and…

​…Refineries! How many refinery tanks have we seen explode in Godzilla movies and Ultraman series? This is a freakin’ dream come true!

​I’m torn on how to describe the level of difficulty these kits pose. Many of the pieces fit together like magic and seem content to stay put with just a bit of spit. But there are just as many pieces which are tiny and require you to have small, dextrous fingers. And, often what the illustrated instructions ask you to do seem to require 3 hands or some magical ability. To the kits’ credit, though, they really do fit together incredibly well and some of the instructions you at first may think are impossible really do wind up being not that bad. I’m super impressed with how these were designed.

ELECTRICAL TOWERS

​These towers are not completely built yet, but I had to get this post out the door. These towers are PERFECTLY in SCALE with this ’64. But BE WARNED! Stay away from the KATO Electrical Towers kits. They are IMPOSSIBLE to build. On the other hand, the TomyTec towers in the above photo where fairly easy to assemble.

Japanese N Scale buildings can be found on Ebay and Amazon, many from Japanese sellers. Beware of sellers who offer economy shipping as the only choice. These will take a whole month to arrive. You can also find them at online model railroad shops and, of course, brick and mortar stores. Use search terms: “N Scale” and “buildings”. You might also try “structures”. And add the terms “Tomix”, “TomyTec” and “Kato” to zero in on the Japanese stuff.

​Here’s an AWESOME collection of photos from other toy photographers showing off N Scale buildings with their X-Plus figures:

By John Stanowski, Originally posted May 5th, 2015 on Kaiju Addicts.

​WOAH! An early model of the upcoming Toho Large Monster Series Destroyah vinyl figure by X-Plus is now on display at the Amazing Japan Model Expo 2015. Looks freaking impressive even without paint! And, it looks to be pretty big seeing as how it’s eye to eye with the upcoming Toho 30cm Series Godzilla 2014.

(Also on display are the first five entries of X-Plus’ 4-inch Godzilla Kaiju Museum figures.)

By John Stanowski Originally posted May 5th, 2015​ on Kaiju Addicts.

​I’m not sure how I missed this but X-Plus showed off the base design for the new Large Monster Series Mothra 1964 Ric Boy Exclusive with Godzilla 1964 on their blog.

Looks like the egg will indeed be removable from the base. Good news, methinks! You now have options as to how you want it to look on your shelves. And toy photographers, rejoice! I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of ‘outside’ shots of this set.

​And this photo settles the question “Will G’64 come with the base?” once and for all. Instead of the rocky platform that rose previous releases of the 25cm Godzilla 1964 to a height above other Godzilla figures in the line, you’ll be getting a little tail support instead. I kind of like this. Now Godzilla 1964 will be level with his brothers on the shelf.

I kind of wish X-Plus would make this rocky nub available separately for those of us who already have the G’64 and don’t like the original base. But, don’t fret. If you have an original and want your 64’s feet on the ground, I have an idea for that you use right now on my review.

By John Stanowski Originally posted March 22nd, 2015​ on Kaiju Addicts.

​東宝30CMシリーズ 「ガイガン（1972）」

​JAPAN ORIGINAL RELEASES: 2010, 2011, 2015

​DIAMOND RE-ISSUE: MARCH 2016

​SERIES: TOHO 30CM SERIES

​MATERIAL: VINYL

​FROM: 地球攻撃命令 ゴジラ対ガイガン
“GODZILLA VS. GIGAN”, 1972

​HEIGHT: 12 INCHES / 30.4 CM

​WIDTH: 8 INCHES / 20.3 CM

​LENGTH (TOES TO TAIL): 11.5 INCHES / 29.2 CM

​FIGURE WEIGHT (WITH BASE): 1 LB / 453 G

​REVIEW AND PHOTOS: JOHN STANOWSKI.

​The Toho 30cm Series Gigan 1972 vinyl figure by X-Plus was first released in 2010. A polyresin Real Master Collection version was also released in 2010. It was re-issued in 2011 with an exclusive nighttime paint scheme for Wonder Festival. Most recently it was re-issued again as a Ric Boy Exclusive in March 2015.

This review is for the 2015 Re-issue but should be relevant to all releases with only minor differences, mostly with paint.

At first, I planned on getting this figure simply because I’ve succumbed to becoming a completist. Over the past two years I became tired of seeing the same old photos of this figure over and over. Plus I knew that he was short compared to most other figures in the line. But when I pulled it out of the box, yet again, I was floored. And the more time I spent shooting it for this review I’ve become a big, big fan.

The original Toho 30cm Series Gigan 1972 vinyl came in a blind box with color cover art on the front seen above on the left. If you’re hunting for an original release, this is what the box will look like. Also, it’s likely that when this figure is re-issued again through Diamond Distributors that this is the box design they will use.

The recently released 2015 Ric Boy re-issue of this figure comes in a plain, blind box with monochrome artwork on the front.

INNER PACKAGING
Inside the figure is wire-tied into a plastic shell in two pieces: body and tail. You also get the battery pack for the light-up feature on this version. There are additional pieces of plastic nested between each fin to help prevent them from getting distorted while in the box. Although I suspect that once again, the box has failed some of us on this release. Sometimes the figure in the box is too close to the inside of the lid and pressure on the box does get transmitted to the figure. (I.e. King Ghidorah and the 30cm Anguirus 1955 often has damage because of this).

I’ve seen photos of this Gigan figure with its leftmost fin curved inward. It shouldn’t be like that. All three fins on my figure are perfectly straight. If yours is curved and it bothers you, take a hairdryer to it and set it straight.

SEE AN UNBOXING
Check out the X-Plus Gigan 1972 Unboxing Video from YouTube user Ohgod itsoniichan for a great look at how this figure is packaged.

ADDING THE TAIL
Damn. This tail was one of the most difficult tails I’ve ever had to attach. The flange on the tail piece is not thin and flared like most are but is, instead, short and thick. To make things just a bit harder, the back piece (holding the fins) runs all the way to the tail hole on the figure so, even when you take a hairdryer to the body hole to soften it up, the top of the hole remains firm. If I had to attach this again, I probably wouldn’t try to get the hole overly soft with heat since the rest of the body will reach a consistency comparable to a piece of foam before the top part gives. Anyway, do you best. Ganbatte ne!

ADJUST THE FEET
The legs are attached to the body with unglued joints so that means they can move, but only a little because of restrictions in the sculpt. But they do move enough for you to adjust them which is something you’ll need to do if you want his feet flat on the shelf. Try to get eye level with the feet, make sure the tail is lying flat and then rotate each leg until the feet are flush with the floor.

FIX FINS AND SPIKES IF NECESSARY
As I mentioned before, I’ve seen some figures come out of the box with its left fin curved inward toward the center of the back. Hit it with a hairdryer and straighten it out. Some of the spikes may also be bent out of shape. I had one bent spike on my figure and it took very little to coax it back into position.

At first glance, I think it’s safe to say that X-Plus captured the Gigan suit very, very well. This is indisputably Gigan we’re looking at here! Once again, X-Plus knocks it out of the park.

As a figure, it’s a big winner. This multi-textured sculpt no doubt kept the sculptor on his toes with it’s combination of crinkly skin, scales, smooth areas and fabric-like fins. All this is on one figure and for that alone I think it deserves a prize.

But as part of a series, we should knock off points for it’s lack of height when compared to the group in which it belongs. Oh! What could have been. Can you imagine this thing an inch or two taller?

I’d be first in line should X-Plus ever decide to do a Gigan V2 as they did with the Large Monster Series Baragon.

LIKENESS
There are actually a lot of shots of Gigan in the movie which don’t seem to agree with the X-Plus sculpt. No doubt this is because the suit bunched and bended in ways the X-Plus figure doesn’t recreate. And there are some suit details on which this sculpt outright fumbles. The “knee pads” for example are way too big on the figure. And the spines running through his back fins seem a tad too thick.

However, if you keep watching the movie, there will be several wow moments where you’d swear your figure crawled into the television. Overall, I’d say the X-Plus 30cm Series Gigan 1972 is a fantastic likeness. It’s a winner!

The figure has individually sculpted teeth which some say are too big. I’m inclined to agree, but not by much since his teeth were bigger and more spread out than on other monsters. I do think they’re a bit too bright though. I would have liked to see them a shade or two darker.

The tongue is molded into the lower jaw. The side pincers are separate pieces, somewhat soft and pliable. I don’t expect anything bad will happen if you mess with them, though. Worst case scenario, it pops out; you glue it back in.

A nice touch, and also a favorite X-Plus trick is the visor. It’s made of transparent plastic colored red and allows a bumpy pattern on the inside to be visible giving it that compound eye effect we’ve seen on other figures like Kumonga and Mechagodzilla.

​And it looks good from all angles.

THE SKIN
The sculpt of the skin looks awesome! These rough and crinkly bunches and creases are reminiscent of the suit and are very detailed. In fact, if you look really close, you’ll find a bunch of grungey scratches. I didn’t even notice these until my close-up photos revealed them to me.

THE SCALES
The sculpted scales look great. They are no where near as good as the scales on the Large Monster Series King Ghidorah. But they still have good depth to them on the sides and bottom. And the dark paint wash on them make them look busy and realistic. However, this wash, to me, creates the illusion that the properly-sized scales are actually made up of yet even smaller scales. More on that later.

The fins (wings?) look great and the sculpt does a great job of reproducing that fabric look from the suit. The spines running through them seem to be a little thicker than they should be, but I’m not complaining.

This is a forced perspective camera trick to make both figures appear to be the same size. On the left is the Large Monster Series Gigan 1972 (25cm series) and the 30cm Series version on the right. With them lined up like this, we can compare the sculpts. The 25cm Gigan seems sturdier but I think the 30 got the head right. What do you think?

JOINTS
This figure has unglued joints at the top of both legs, both arms and, of course, the tail. The legs don’t have a lot of movement available yet they move enough to allow you to make sure the feet are flat on the shelf. The arms have a LOT of room for posing and can be placed hanging down, forward or up. Both of these joints do seem to have a place that they “want” to be, though, and that’s hanging down. You can detect this when you move the arm up and then back down again as it seems to sort of snap into place again.

SEAMS
Oh, ouch. You had to bring that up. Okay, let’s get this over with. There is a seam running around the base of the neck and because of the scale pattern, this seam is somewhat visible from the front. Nothing terrible, but it’s there. One nasty seam, though, runs from both cheeks up around the back of the head. This seam runs over smooth terrain and so can be detected fairly easily. The back piece, which includes the fins (fans?) is glued really well into place. On the sides, this seam is mostly hidden from view and can be seen only with super bright light and a close eye. This piece runs up the back of the neck and is a bit awkward looking. The seam from the tail joint is, again, more obvious than usual because of the scale pattern not meeting completely flush.

I’m not complaining about any of the seams. This is a vinyl figure. Vinyl figures have joints and seams. I’m just telling you what I see and I don’t really have a problem with any of them.

…except that friggin’ seam on the head!

At first glance the pose is pretty standard. Gigan is just standing there facing forward in a pretty standardy way. He comes out of the box with his arms hanging down and that seems to be the way the sculptor intended it to be, but as mentioned, they can be posed. The head is turned ever so slightly to the figure’s right. And the fins, as one whole unit, also veer toward the figure’s right side. This off-balance direction of the fins is very obvious when looking at the figure head on. I don’t see this as completely terrible though since the fins on the suit were pretty flimsy stuff and prone to swaying. Final judgement: looks good.

Now, looking even closer we see that Gigan seems to be tilted backward, the same way you might if someone got too far into your “space”. This pose also reminds me of a post I-can’t-believe-I-ate-the-whole-thing Thanksgiving dinner back lean and belly tap. OR, a better way to look at it is a sort of “yo, check out this saw, you want some of this?” pose. This is actually a pose unique to Gigan and I’m glad that at least one the X-Plus Gigan sculpts captured it.

He was often in this pose in the movie Godzilla vs. Gigan. Two scenes that come to mind is when he approached Anguirus with his chest saw spinning away. Gigan stood like this again when he and King Ghidorah watched as Godzilla tried to stand after the tower was finally destroyed and its relentless laser beam attack ended.

I’d probably rather that this figure stood taller like his shorter 25cm counterpart (huh?). But what we got is accurate and it’s nice to know that X-Plus’ sculpt not only captured the details of the suit, but the personality of the monster as well as his stance. F, yeah! X-Plus, I love you.

And, once again, the arms can move allowing you have some say in the pose as well.

THE GREEN
The Toho 30cm Series Gigan 1972 vinyl figure from X-Plus has a muted, dark green coat on his non-scaley skin areas. It seems it’s a bit darker than on previous versions of this release. This coat appears to come in different shades as light plays off the sculpt, creating shadows and highlights against the skin’s creases and folds. Now, when you look closer (see photo above) you’ll find there are a lot of subtle bluish/greenish highlights brushed on which aren’t overly obvious to the naked eye. Nice to know they’re there. Nice touch, X-Plus!

THE GOLD
The scales are painted with a semi-glossy gold. Again, the light plays off the sculpt creating shadows and thus creating the impression of different shades of gold. But not all of those impressions are just impressions. The scaly areas have a darker paint wash applied. (A wash is the addition of a second color meant to fill in the gaps of a sculpt and remain there while the paint is wiped away off the higher elevations.) This wash totally enhances the look of the scales adding “texture” on a hue level. Definitely a nice touch, however, the puddles of darker paint left behind can give the impression that the sculpt isn’t as intricate as it really is, but only when looking at it super close like only a camera can. My point is, if you see what appears to be sloppy work on the scales in the photos of this review, keep in mind you really can’t see that with only your eyes.

As mentioned earlier in this review, this darker wash can give the impression that the scale pattern is busier and finer than it should be. Well, I won’t nitpick any longer. I’m actually glad it’s there as it gives the scaly areas a realistic appearance and avoids a toyish look.

THE SILVER
Gigan’s beak, pinchers, horn, spikes, claws and saw are painted in a bright silver with only a super slight gloss to them enough to make those bits seem like metal without being overly shiny. They are, though, in my opinion, too bright. When I look at it with the lights low, the silver seems perfect. But in normal light: too bright. I’m probably just over thinking this.

The silver feathers fairly well into the green. But it’s too clean. There was clearly more ‘grunge’ on the the claws in the movie.

THE FINS
The fins (back flaps?) have a muted, mustardy yellow base coat which feather into brown near the back and then slightly outward along the spines in the wing. Shadows are applied strategically along folds in the sculpt making them stand out even more. Light sprays of muted red highlight the base of each silver spike reaching out beyond the yellowish membranes.

The teeth are painted in an off white and the inside of the mouth is a sort of pinkish color and the visor is molded in dark red. Overall a fine, fine paint job.

Before getting into size comparisons I should point out to those who don’t already know that this Gigan figure is short. Noticeably shorter and thus technically out of scale with other figures in the series. However, when I finally got this figure in front of me, it didn’t seem all that bad. Still, I wish it was taller.

If you already own the Large Monster Series (25cm) Gigan 1972 then this should give you a good feel for the size of the 30cm version seen on the right. I had heard that the 30cm version is barely taller than the 25. Glad to see that’s not quite the case.

Toho 30cm Series Gigan 1972 and Gigan 2004 seem to see eye to eye, or visor to visor. Note that the 04’s shoulders and hips are higher than the on the 72 which means he’s bigger. Even so, visually, they size up pretty well next to each other.

​Here we have some 30cm Series up-and-down height craziness. The 30cm Series Baragon 1965 vinyl manages to be even shorter than Gigan. And the X-Plus Mechagodzilla 1974 is clearly a whole head taller.

​On the left, the 30cm Series Godzilla 1964 vinyl’s grumpy mug needs to look down on Gigan. On the right, the 30cm Series Godzilla 1968 is a bit closer to Gigan in the Height Department. Or should I say the Lack of Height Department, since the X-Plus G’68 is notorious for being short as well.

Here’s a new size comparison which I thought would be handy for new collectors. Here, the 30cm Series Gigan 1974 is surrounded by many of the most recently released figures, currently available figures and figures coming soon.

From left to right: 30cm Series Godzilla 1989, Large Monster Series King Ghidorah 1968, Large Monster Series Anguirus 1968, Gigan, Large Monster Series Godzilla and Minya 1968, 30cm Series Hedorah and the 30cm Series Gorosaurus 1967.

​And for those who have no figures shown above we have a real world size comparison with a Godzilla vs. Gigan blu ray case, and iPhone set to one of my favorite websites and our old friend, the Coke can. (Did you miss him?)

​At only 11.5 inches long for a tailed biped, the 30cm Series Gigan 1972 doesn’t cause trouble on the shelf. It will slip in nicely between two other figures and won’t take up a lot of space. His tail even curves slightly to one side so that if you place him on an angle facing the right he still won’t hog up space.

The exclusive Ric Boy version of the original release and March 2015 Japanese re-issue both have light-up visors. (The March 2016 Diamond Reissue does not have the light gimmick.)

I’ve been bad mouthing light gimmicks for a while now but that has been because the translucent, plastic-looking fins lacking paint and paint detail on light gimmick Godzilla figures were not made up for by a light effect which would be used only occasionally. But Gigan’s visor is already plastic and nothing is lost here. And it LOOKS FANTASTIC!

The entire head is likely made of the softer, translucent plastic since it’s so squishy as pointed out in Ohgod itsoniichan’s review (see link below). I should have realized myself though since this gimmick unfortunately has light leaks creeping through the paint on the back of the head. And it’s not just the figure I have. Others have reported the leaks as well. On the bright side, these leaks can mostly be seen only from the back.

The light effect requires you taking the battery box/pack/dongle thingy and plugging it into the rear of the figure’s left foot and switching it on. The box takes two LR44 watch batteries (I believe) and can be replaced.

By John Stanowski Originally posted March 11th, 2015 on Kaiju Addicts.

​東宝大怪獣リーズ
「ゴジラ（1964版）モスラ対ゴジラ」

​JAPAN ORIGINAL RELEASE: 2012

​JAPAN RE-ISSUE (WITH MOTHRA SET): APRIL 2015

​SERIES: LARGE MONSTER SERIES (25CM SERIES)

​MATERIAL: VINYL

​FROM: モスラ対ゴジラ
“MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA”, 1964

​HEIGHT (WITH BASE): 9.5 INCHES / 24.13 CM (WITHOUT BASE): 9 INCHES / 22.8 CM

​WIDTH: 4.5 INCHES / 11.43 CM

​LENGTH (NOSE TO TAIL): 13.5 INCHES / 34.29 CM

​FIGURE WEIGHT (WITH BASE): 15 OZ / 425 G (WITHOUT BASE): 10 OZ / 283 G

​REVIEW AND PHOTOS: JOHN STANOWSKI. SOME PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY LESTER WAYNE DANIELS AND RICH ESO.

​The Toho Large Monster Series Godzilla 1964 was released by X-Plus in early 2012. It’s modeled after the suit as it appeared in Mothra vs. Godzilla. This suit was used again (with some modifications) in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster which also came out in 1964. Depending on your level of OCD, this figure will do fine to represent either movie on your shelves.

​The 25cm Godzilla 1964 comes in the standard Large Monster Series window box. This same box design gets used for all of the Large Monster Series figures that will fit into it. The only thing on the box that’s different and identifies the figure is a long black sticker on the bottom of the front.

Inside, the figure is wired into a plastic shell made just for the main body, the tail which you must attach yourself and the base.

Special thanks to Lester Wayne Daniels for the photos of the box. My box is long gone.

This vinyl comes with a base which is needed for the figure to stand properly. A rare move for X-Plus. It is not attached; the figure’s feet simply rest on impressions on the top. It’s fairly snug and the figure fairly steady when on it. If you’re not diggin’ the base, you can push it out of the way and let Godzilla’s feet touch the ground. See the Footprint on the Shelf section for more on that.

​A picture is worth a thousand words, and the one above shows that the Large Monster Series Godzilla 1964 by X-Plus is unmistakably a fantastic representation of the suit. I’m going to have to say it yet again: it looks like it walked right out of the movie.

​All of MosuGoji’s unique signature characteristics are captured accurately in the sculpt. The shape of his head, his long, thin fingers and even little details like every spike on his dorsal fins is here on this figure. Note the unique “V” shaped fin at the top of this back, and the extra spikey fin further down. This guy is crazy accurate.

Not only did X-Plus reproduce the suit’s details accurately, but its personality, movement and gait as well.

​Signature features of the 1964 Godzilla suit are here in the sculpt. The smooth, sweeping eyebrows, jowls and inward slanted teeth are faithfully represented.

Once again, I have to point out this excellent X-Plus figure has individually sculpted teeth. Okay, who’s getting tired of reading that? We all know this by now, I know. But I have to consider the new collectors!

​The sculpt represents the head on the original suit very well from every single angle! A nice touch are the crinkles in the skin at the bottom of the neck, where the rubber head started to fall forward over suit actor Haruo Nakajima’s real head inside!

I’m surprised that this figure does not have the dimples in the sculpt to represent the holes Nakajima was able to see through. X-Plus usually adds that feature on other figures.

​Let’s use some camera trickery to even out the heights and focus on the sculpts.

​This is the Large Monster Series (25cm) Godzilla 1964 beside the 30cm Series Godzilla 1964. They are NOT the same size. Actually, the larger figure on the right is standing about 12 inches further away from the camera than the smaller figure on the left. This is a forced perspective in-camera trick to make the two appear to be the same size. I did this so that we could ‘line them up’ and compare sculpt details from both on even ground.

And I have to stop and say, Woah, look how similar they are! No really, holy shit, X-Plus! How are you that good?? The proportions line up and the size of mostly everything matches up perfectly. The only difference I see in in the size of the feet. Still… Wow! X-Plus’ sculpting expertise astounds me yet again.

WHO’S BETTER?
Well, what do YOU think? Comment below and let us know which is your favorite sculpt. That’s if you see much of a difference.

​First, I’d like to review my definitions of joints and seams because I’ve heard the two used interchangeably recently.

A joint in the real world is an articulate surface, like a human knee or elbow. Articulated figures have mechanisms referred to as joints because, well, they’re articulated. In the world of vinyl statues, however, a joint is limited to the joining of two separate pieces which are not glued nor have had any attempt at being filled or covered. They are, most of the time, free to rotate.

A seam is an area where two pieces are held together with glue. On a vinyl statue these are most commonly seen at elbows, knees and jaws. This connection of separate pieces does not allow for any movement at all. Basically, a seam is a visible line which ideally should not be there in the first place.

Now, with that out of the way, this figure’s only joint is at the tail. It’s reasonably concealed within the sculpted bands of the tail.

There are seams above both elbows and below both knees. They are relatively unnoticeable with the exception of the right elbow. There’s likely a seam around the bottom jaw but you can’t see it so let’s move on. The entire of row of dorsal fins, as usual, are a attached to a separate piece of vinyl glued onto the body. The seams here, also as usual, are pretty much invisible. Deduct some points from my review for even bringing it up.

To summarize, there isn’t much to see here except an excellent sculpt!

The pose is more expressive than most X-Plus Godzilla vinyls. I have to point out the hands right away. They look and feel so real. I actually feel like they’re getting ready to close by themselves.

There’s a subtle sway in the monster’s step. He’s looking down and slightly toward its left. Also, a big thing to note is that the figure is in mid-step with its right heel still off the ground. Here’s where that base comes into play for making this pose possible. As interesting as the base is, I’d rather the figure had a more standard footing so that the base didn’t have to be there all the while messing up the pattern on my shelves.

THE LEAN
Which brings me to the lean. If you look at the front and rear views of this figure, you’ll see the lean I’m talking about. It looks great from some angles and makes it look like Godzilla is actually walking. However, from some angle it also seems to be too much. Click the photo above for a larger view and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

If you happen to not like the base, or the lean, or both, I have a couple great tips for you down below in the Footprint on the Shelf section.

​The X-Plus Godzilla 1964 is a tad more colorful than other Godzilla figures. It’s black skin is glowing with a blueish/greenish glow with a dull, lighter greenish spray of highlights on the chest. Subtle neutral highlights can be found on the higher elevations of the skin all over the figure. Drab green coats the signature 1964 “eyebrows”.

The teeth are an excellent, non-stark, off white and a gummy pink fills in the rest of the mouth. The whites of his eyes are also off white and on the darker side. Like it! Black is used for combined retina/iris balls of mean stare. It looks like they dabbed over the black with a glossy filter paint to give them a little shine — a nice touch for something so small on the figure.

The claws are a dirty tan with even darker shadowing sprayed close to the ‘cuticles’. We seem to have some disagreement between the two scales on which shade these bony bits should be colored. The 30cm Series Godzilla 1964 has a dirty ivory color instead of the tan used on the 25.

​The Large Monster Series Godzilla 1964 fits in well with other figures in the line as seen here with the 1966 (left) and the 1968 (right). The 64’s base gives the figure a half inch boost and thus makes him out to be taller than he really is. But you can fix that …

If you like, you can let your 64 touch the floor with only his tail resting on the base, now pushed toward the back. Everyone is seeing eye to eye now.

​The 25cm Godzilla 1964 almost seems dwarfed by the Mothra Imago 1961, but these are the correct proportions. Mothra was a big ol’ bitch back then! By the way, you need use the 61 Mothra for only a little while longer since a 1964 version is in the works and due out later this year.

Here is the Godzilla ’64 flanked by his Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster buddies, Rodan 1964 and as a stand-in, the King Ghidorah 1968. (The non-scale Mothra larva was the Ric Boy extra that came with Rodan.) As you can see, nice fit! 

And just for the hell of it, here’s the Large Monster Series 64 with the Toho 30cm Series Godzilla 1964.

​This figure gets along well with other on the shelf and doesn’t ask more much room. It’s 13.5 inches long from the nose to the tip of the tail. It’s about one inch less if you just go by the front of the base to the tail.

​TO LEAN OR NOT TO LEAN

This figure has a lean which looks great from some angles, but looks like too much from other angles. There is an easy fix if you’d rather your 64 was standing straight. While keeping the forward leg completely in its footprint on the base, lift the back of the figure and swing it slightly toward the side so that the rear foot comes out of its footprint and rest closer to the edge. That right there will make the figure stand tall, and it’s still reasonably sturdy, too.

BASE, AWAY WITH THEE!
If you’re just not diggin’ the whole base thing at all, do this: stand your 64 directly on the shelf and place the base (rotated 90 degrees) out of the way behind the figure. Lift the tail and rest it on the same rocky hill it was resting on before, just from the side this time. Note that the figure will still have the lean.

If you want a baseless, lean-less pose, slide the tail off the rock and rest it beside it. This will make the figure stand straight.

​The Ric Boy version of the original release came with two mini Mothra larva figures. One is straight while the other has a curl in the tail. They’re a tad small to be in scale with the main figure, but they make nice addition nonetheless. Alas, I don’t have them. Special thanks to Rich Eso for taking a photo of his.

By John Stanowski Originally posted February 28th, 2015 on Kaiju Addicts.

The X-Plus Kaiju Museum is a line of small polyresin figurines. Eleven were made a year or two ago based on the original Ultraman television series. They are about 4 inches tall on average and yet have amazing detail and likenesses. Each one came with a sturdy, plastic display case.

I thought now would be a good time for an overview of these amazing figurines since the line is getting re-booted with a focus on Godzilla characters. X-Plus has told me that those will start coming out sometime in the first quarter of 2015. But, more on that further down the page. For now, let’s talk about the Ultras.

​This is the Kaiju Museum Zaragas by X-Plus. It has INCREDIBLE detail, texture and paint applications. Just look at the eyes! All of this is typical of each figurine in the series. Some of them come with translucent parts for really nice touches as in the case of Zaragas’ horn seen above.

Here’s a close-up of Ultra-Kaiju Antlar. Note the nice texture on the head and front mandibles. Antlar also has fine, thin mandible bits around his mouth. They look fantastic but seem prone to breaking. Mine actually arrived with one broken mouth piece while it was still in the box. But more on that later.

​The Ultra Kaiju Ragon looks ridiculously accurate and from every angle. …And they’re all like that!

​All of this suit accuracy, detail and texture is crammed into an average size of only 4 inches. It must have taken a secret pact with Xiliens, Kilaacks, people from Venus, people from the future and a deal with the devil to make these figures possible. How else could X-Plus manage to make these so awesome and yet so small at the same time?

And, you know what’s really crazy? They are fully capable of standing on their own. Of course the monsters with tails can stand on their own with no problem, but even the bipeds like Baltan 1 and Ragon can too. The one exception is Pigmon who absolutely requires his base in order to stand, but more on bases later.

Okay, let’s look at more figures.

​You’ve already seen Ragon, Zagaras and Antlar. Here are shots of the rest. Don’t forget, you can click on all the photos for larger, hi-res views.

ULTRAMAN
The original Ultraman is sculpted reasonably well for something so small. It may be a bit smoother than it should be. The paint job is fantastic considering someone at the factory had to ‘stay in the lines’ with this tiny figurine. The eyes and timer are made of translucent material. Nice touch! He can stand on his own but it’s just a matter of time before a sneeze knocks him over. Keep this one in his case!

BEMULAR
Ultraman’s first kaiju foe is a wonder of detail and texture. The scales are intricately and deeply sculpted allowing light and shadow to play on the texture which brings it out even more. It also has individually sculpted teeth and an amazing paint job on the eyes.

BALTAN 1
Wow! Baltan’s head is packed with texture and detail. The ‘eye pin holes’ for the suit actor are clearly visible which I find incredible considering it’s so small. And suit accuracy abounds! Just as on the vinyl version, each claw has a row of 9 square indents on the inside of each claw; exactly how many there should be. Eyes are made of translucent plastic and the figure stands on its own, but the slightest bump and he’s down. Keep him in his display case.

NERONGA
I have the same good words for Neronga. Look at the square pattern on his chest and note how the squares start to break up and scatter just as they did on the suit. His horn is made of translucent material and looks fantastic! Unfortunate for me, the tip had broken off before I even opened the box. His “ears” come as separate pieces which you can just insert either back or forward ready to fire. This figurine has a bit of heft to it compared to most of the others. It’s solid.

GREENMONS
The texture, crinkles and folds on Greenmons looks great, especially for such a small piece. One thing watch out for on this one, are the tiny protruding protuberances crowning his head and running down his sides. Again, my figurine arrive with a couple of these broken off, even before I got it out of the box. Seems like a fairly easy fix with a steady hand and some super glue.

PIGMON
Holy crap, this thing is incredible! Not only does it look exactly like Pigmon, but the level of detail knocks me out of my chair! You just have to see it for yourself in person to really appreciate it. One thing to note is Pigmon can not stand on his own at all. Don’t even try it or he may break a finger or his tail in the fall. Keep him on his stand and in his display case.

And already seen above:

ZARAGAS
Another solid and hefty entry in the line. Zaragas sports astounding detail. The shuffled, raised square pattern on his chest is incredibly detailed. And the paint job on this one is particularly impressive. Again, this figurine has a cool looking translucent horn and wicked crazy good eyes!

ANTLAR
You already got really good looks at the Kaiju Museum Antlar’s details from the photos above. One thing you may not have seen are the smaller insectoid mouth bits which stick out a good three quarters of an inch or so in front of it. This are prime targets for breakage. And even though somewhat shielded from the giant claw-like mandibles. Looking at it you would think that he’s top heavy, but he does stand well on his own. Better safe than sorry, though. Keep him in the case.

RAGON
The main thing you’ll notice from Ragon is the insane detail on the eyes and teeth. I’m looking at mine right now and I just can’t believe they got fit it all in a space smaller than a quarter. The paint job on the eyes is so good, you might almost feel like he’s actually looking at you. The top row of teeth are individually sculpted. Yes, you read that right. The bottom row, are not but do have deep enough lines between each tooth to make them appear to be individually sculpted. And, check this out, they actually painted shadows between the lower teeth. I can’t even relate to you how tiny these teeth are, so to see this … all I can say is Hail, X-Plus!

OTHER KAIJU MUSEUM FIGURES
Recently X-Plus ‘revealed’ a couple more figures from this line. Apparently they were custom made for DeAgostini. A Zarab, Baltan 2 and a (reissue of) Pigmon were made available for pre-order in October 2014. I don’t have these so I can’t show them to you, but you can click on their names to see their archived pages on the X-Plus Ric Boy site.
(Edit X-Plus' pages are no longer available, images below.)

​Everyone knows by now that polyresin is fragile. It should go without saying that these figurines should be handled with care, especially the thinner ones. But even the fat, bulky figurines have some finer details which could break. And that’s why you absolutely should keep them in their display cases.

Unfortunately, you may not even get a chance to break them yourself. I had three Kaiju Museum figurines arrive with broken pieces loose in the packaging. I suspect this was not due to rough handling during shipping. As I said, they are pretty immobile in the box. Instead, I think the breaks happened while the factory workers inserted the figurines into their bags. Greenmons and Antlar, especially, have long, thin details which could snap off just by holding them the wrong way.

Now, if you have a steady hand and some super glue, you may be able to fix these little problems easily. But keep in mind, these broken pieces may be tiny. It may require little fingers or tweezers to get the repair work done.

Most of the figurines are fairly safe to handle but as I’ve already said, some of them come with protruding details so small that the mere act of picking one up the wrong way could cause an accident. Again, watch out for Greenmons who has tiny sprouts all over it’s body. And Antlar’s insectoid mandibles and mini mouth bits need careful attention.

And just so you know, some of these are so small and thin, that they actually feel like you could crush them into pieces just be squeezing them. Ragon, for instance, has legs which are only a quarter of a inch thick!

Now, I hope I’m not scaring you away from these amazing, awesome figurines. They really will be fine if you handle them carefully. And they should be fine on your shelves if placed in their cases. They really are pretty damn awesome.

​The Kaiju Museum Ultraman figurines come in brown window boxes. And there are several layers of protection for what’s inside.

​The figurines are slipped into plastic bags and sealed into… I don’t know what to call this packaging, but there are two form-fitting plastic pieces which snap together keeping the figurines inside absolutely immobile.

Then each one is placed inside the display case which is designed to hold not only the figure but it’s plastic shells. When you squeeze a Kaiju Museum box, it’s hard and sturdy and that’s because of the display case inside cradling the contents.

​Liberate the figurines from the packaging and place them on their base pegs and they’re ready for display.

Because every Kaiju Museum figurine has a tiny footprint, you would think that shelf space need never be a concern. But since half of them aren’t prepared to stand well on their own you should set them into their display case stands which take up twice as much room as the figures alone. And the larger your collection gets, the more of these plastic boxes you’ll have. Optimally, a thin ‘knickknack’ shelf unit would be ideal to display these. But if you’re left with only standard shelves, you could better utilize space on it by lining up these figurines in their cases in two rows and employing risers on the back row for a stepped, ziggurat look.

DISPLAY CASE SIZES
The cases are all about 5 inches high. Thinner, biped figurine cases are about 3.5 inches across the front and about 2.75 inches on the sides. Cases with larger figurines sporting tails are about 6 inches across the front and 3.5 inches on the sides.

Now as for the upcoming Godzilla figurines: most likely most of those will have no trouble at all standing on their own and you could bunch them together just like you would a group of mini Sakai Dioramas. Although they’d would be much safer if protected in their cases.

Speaking of Godzilla figurines…

The Kaiju Museum Ultraman line seems to have ended. I haven’t seen a new figurine for well over a year now (except for those DeAgostini specials). However, it seems the Museum will be opening again and will feature kaiju from the Godzilla franchise. X-Plus revealed 3 new figurines at the Miyazawa Model Exhibition last November. On the table were Godzilla 1954, Godzilla 2004 and Gigan 2004. Interesting choices. X-Plus must feel that these will appeal to newer, younger collectors with two Final Wars characters in the opening line-up.

HOLD UP ONE SEC
Are you looking at that Gigan 2004 and thinking what I’m thinking? Given everything I’ve said about fragility and breakerishness of the Ultra figurines X-Plus is certainly making a very, very bold move here. Of all the kaiju in the Godzilla universe, Gigan 2004 must be near the top of the list for characters with long spikey bits. X-Plus must be really confident that they’ve solved the problem of breaks occurring in the factory. Well, we’ll just have to wait and see.
(Kaiju Battle Note: Gigan was never released, but a painted version was shown as well, pic below.)

X-Plus has since teased us with a painted sample of the Godzilla 2004 on their blog which you can see here.

​By John Stanowski Originally posted February 9th, 2015 on Kaiju Addicts.