​Winter Wonder Festival in Chiba, Japan is just getting started and already we have a couple peeks at the X-Plus table. Here’s our first look at a painted version of the upcoming Large Monster Series Mothra Imago 1964! Beside her is the LMS Godzilla 1964 which is expected to get re-issued.

​And perhaps even (literally) bigger news is the presence of the Large Monster Series Biollante on the table. WOW! Collectors have been clamoring for a Biollante re-issue and it seems their wishes are about to come true. And she’s not alone, the Large Monster Series Godzilla 1989 is up for reissue as well!

Oh, wait, there’s more…

Both Biollante and Godzilla are coming with light gimmicks. You can see the 光 (hikari-light-shine) symbol on the sign! It also seems they will be bundled together in a set. There are reports that this set will go up for pre-order around May 2015.

Not enough for ya? How about the next entry into the Yuji Sakai Modelling Collection? The Sakai Godzilla 1991 Hokkaido Version has been teased just like the first entry was with a sign on the table. And if you remember correctly, it was not long at all before the figure actually went up for pre-order!

Here’s a photo of the prototype X-Plus sent to me last month. Lookin’ good!

If you have the Yuji Sakai Godzilla Dream Evolution book, turn to page 29 — that’s him!

Sakai also made a Godzilla 1991 Shinjuku version which looks a bit too similar in pose to the 1989 Osaka version we already have. So I think the Hokkaido version was the better choice, especially since it has a closed mouth. (I’d like to see more closed-mouth figures.) The Hokkaido version also has killer arm and claw poses. It looks freaking awesome!

The Sakai Godzilla 1991 Hokkaido has a long, winding tail which seems to rise up higher than any other X-Plus Godzilla figure. Also, Sakai’s curious habit of sculpting the tail above the ground is back. Only this time it’s significantly higher than on the Sakai ’89. I really hope X-Plus plans on including a small mini-base for the tail to rest on.

Also on display at Wonder Festival was the special light-up reissue of the the 30cm Series Godzilla 2004 and the Ultraseven “Boss”. If you’re at the show you can grab one right now. But if you’re like most of us, you have to enter the online lottery for a chance to buy one.

And there’s a bunch of new Ultraman kaiju being teased at Wonder Festival as well. Whew! There’s a TON of good stuff heading our way!

GODZILLA 2014
Although the X-Plus Godzilla 2014 was not at the show, staff told collector Sarawud Kongkiattiwong that the latest Goji should go up for pre-order at the end of March 2015.

Thanks to Toon Narak for the Mothra and Biollante photos and for Eakarach Monwat from the X-Plus Kaiju Collectors Club Facebook Page for sharing the photos!

By John Stanowski Originally posted February 7th, 2015 on Kaiju Addicts.

Fellow Philadelphian and X-Plus collector John Ruffin takes photos of a wide array of awesome Japanese toys and collectibles for his web site My Kaiju Godzilla. With John’s permission, I’ve selected a small sampling of his skills to share with you here. 

(All Photos ©, John Ruffin.)

Visit My Kaiju Godzilla for more kaiju shots from John Ruffin!

By John Stanowski Originally posted February 4th, 2015​ on Kaiju Addicts.

X-Plus attended Super Festival 67 yesterday and had some new stuff on their table! Namely the 30cm Series Godzilla 2014 prototype. This time, however, it has two heads! One is in an awesome roaring pose (as you can see on the photo “borrowed” from the Kaiju Korner blog.)

I guess that means it’s coming with a visible seam (actually a joint now) like the 30cm Baragon 1965. Sorry to complain. Hate unnecessary seams.

I’m betting that the extra interchangeable head will come with the Ric Boy version and that it will be the roaring version. Save your pennies, kids.

This figure looks like it’s going be a big one. It’s hard to tell from the photo angle but if you compare it to Mothra (assuming it’s as high as the ’61) and the Godzilla ’64, looks like Godzilla 2014 might be a head above most 30cm Series figures.

Also gleaned from this Kaiju Korner photo is a better view of the leg stance. It looks noticeably wider than on previous photos of the prototype because of this new angle. Looks like they may be going for the big airport reveal scene pose, or possibly the victory roar pose at the end of the final fight with Mama MUTO.

​And, what’s this at the far end of the table? Mothra 1964? With an egg? Nice! Looks like the new figure will have the same “pose” as the Mothra Imago 1961 version. The egg seems to be attached to the base and is more than likely a Ric Boy exclusive extra.

I will post more photos here as they come in.

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

​東宝大怪獣シリーズ 「キングギドラ（1968）」

JAPAN ORIGINAL RELEASE: DECEMBER 2014​

NORTH AMERICAN (DIAMOND) RE-ISSUE: NOVEMBER 2017

​SERIES: TOHO LARGE MONSTER SERIES

MATERIAL: SOFT VINYL, ABS, INJECTION MOLDED PLASTIC

​FROM: 怪獣総進撃 “DESTROY ALL MONSTERS”, 1968

HEIGHT (TOP OF HEADS TO GROUND): 12.59 INCHES / 32 CM

​HEIGHT (TOP OF WINGS TO GROUND): 18.5 INCHES / 47 CM

​WIDTH (WINGSPAN): 24.4 INCHES / 62 CM

LENGTH (NOSES TO TAIL): 20 INCHES / 51 CM

FIGURE WEIGHT: 3 POUNDS, 2 OZ / 1417 G

REVIEW AND PHOTOS: JOHN STANOWSKI

​One of THE most eagerly anticipated figures has finally landed! As of this writing, the X-Plus Toho Large Monster Series King Ghidorah 1968 vinyl figure is finally dropping on the doorsteps of eager collectors everywhere causing them to scream with glee like a pack of Japanese school girls. And if any of them tell you any different… they’re lying.

This figure is based on King Ghidorah’s appearance in the 1968 film Destroy All Monsters. A curious first choice for this monster since it appeared in the movie for only five minutes. No doubt, X-Plus chose the 1968 version in order to provide us with a DAM line-up of vinyls.

This figure belongs to the Large Monster Series where most figures come in at 25cm (9.8 inches) tall on average. King Ghidorah, though, is much larger yet in scale with the other figures in that series. Actually, it’s not so much “larger” as it is taller, wider and longer. The body itself is comparable to the 25cm Godzilla 1968. But its long necks, tails and wings stretch out ridiculously far making this… okay, it’s Big!

Okay, ’nuff chit chat. Let’s open the box!

​This figure comes in the standard “alternate” Large Monster Series box design reserved for larger figures. It’s plain white with monochrome figure art on the front. We’ve seen this style of box before with Mothra Imago, the Rodans and Viras.

Inside the box, the figure is wired into a plastic shell. The figure comes in three pieces: the main body (including the heads and tails) and two wings. Some collectors, though, are getting their figures in four, five, six or more pieces. But, more on that later.

The wings are made of ABS plastic. Prongs on the end of each wing plug into an ABS infrastructure inside the torso. How successful these connections seem to be are on a figure to figure basis. Many are reporting loose connections. The wings on my figure were pretty loose when I first put them in. However, later, they seemed to get snug. I suspect this has something to do with the vinyl surrounding the connection. Perhaps they help to “hug” the joint. Some collectors have said that they heated the vinyl around the back holes which allowed the wings to slide right in. And then they cooled the vinyl and report the wings seem tight now.

Be sure to read the Caution Section further down in the review for more on the wings.

Because of its size, this figure has been reinforced. The wings are made of ABS plastic to prevent droopage. They used this technique previously with the wings on the Large Monster Series Mothra Imago. King Ghidorah also has something going on under the hood. ABS innards allow the wings attach to something stronger than vinyl. Now, while the wings themselves won’t get deformed in warmer seasons or climates, it remains to be seen what role the vinyl itself plays in keeping the wings flying high.

Speaking of droopage, all three of King Ghidorah’s heads lay at the end of long, winding vinyl necks. Two of them reach out almost horizontally forward. These are perfect candidates for the dreaded droopage. To combat this, X-Plus inserted metal wires on the inside of each neck to keep its heads held high. This same technique was used previously in the tentacles of the Large Monster Series Biollante.

Weight was added to the bottom portions of the figure to help prevent toppling. How it was added, I’m not sure. But something feels solid down there in the leg pieces below the knees and the first few inches of the tails. As a bonus, the figure has a nice heavy feel to it.

King Ghidorah’s heads are not vinyl. Instead they are made of injection molded plastic. Because of this, the horns can be snapped off if mishandled. Please see the Caution Section further down in the review for more.

​Do I even have to say anything here?

HEAD
As already mentioned, the heads are made of injection molded plastic. And they look good! What really stands out on them, as with most other high end X-Plus figures, are the individually sculpted teeth. The tongues are also individually sculpted. All of it looks more impressive in person because you can’t help but wonder how they managed to get so much detail into a space the size of a quarter.

LOOK, MA! NO WIRES!
The necks have been positioned to create a suspended-on-wires look for a truly authentic recreation of the suit from the movie. And that’s a GOOD thing! If they had gone for something more probable and realistic then they would have crossed the line into stylization. Thank God for X-Plus’ devotion to suit accuracy!

The upper legs look beefier than they were on the suit which had a severe case of skinny, horse rider legs with a huge gap between them. In the movie, they looked like shit. The gap between the legs is here in the sculpt, but the scrawny legs are, shall we say, fixed. If I’m right, and X-Plus took a liberty with the design here then that’s okay with me. Hey, Ghidorah. Nice legs!

​SCALES
Will you LOOK at the scales on this figure! Holy shite! King Ghidorah’s scaly skin isn’t merely a texture etched into the vinyl, but rather a mass of sculpted scales! Many of them peel away slightly from the body. Fan-f’n-tastic!

WINGS
The ABS wings look incredible with fabric-like waves and folds the likes of which you might find on a hot air balloon. But, is that suit accurate? The actual wings were probably about as large as a bed and I don’t remember seeing that many waves on them in the movie. The wings on this figure may be a case of artistic liberty. But I’m not going to complain. They DO look good!

The base of each wing, where it connects to the body, has a “sleeve” of vinyl material sculpted with scales and done so to match the rest of the figure. You can detect a difference in material between the wings and wing base, but that’s not the main problem here. They stand out as different pieces since they don’t physically blend into each other very well. Dark shadowing applied in this area helps to conceal this gap, but it’s not perfect.

​MANES
The manes of hair behind each head are sculpted fairly well considering that furry mops don’t translate to vinyl very well. I think they stand out more than they should but methinks that’s more a matter of paint.

​TAIL
Like the necks, the tails waver up and down as if subtly pulled on by wires in true King Ghidorah suit form.

It’s not like there’s a ton of poses to choose from for this guy. The pose is pretty standard stuff, and once again, that’s fine by me. With golden wings fully outstretched, one leg slightly behind the other and all three heads looking like they’re really hanging from wires, the X-Plus King Ghidorah looks purdy on the shelf.

​Scaly textures usually don’t make for seamless seams. Thankfully, the front view of the X-Plus King Ghidorah is immaculate and you’d have a hard time finding a line without a really, really close look. This is impressive since this figure is made of a lot of pieces. The lower legs are separate pieces but you can’t even tell since there’s no line to give it away.

The upper and lower body are two separate pieces with a mostly invisible (from the front) seam running between them right under Ghidorah’s man boobs. This seam is, though, more visible from the back.

On the necks, there are seams about an inch behind each mane though I suspect not the middle head. You can’t see these unless you really, really look. And you have to believe you’ll see them before they appear! The base of each neck, where they connect to the body have seams a tad more visible, but again, more from the back. The bottom jaws are separate pieces and do have faint lines visible.

The tails are made up of several pieces but so far I’ve seen only one faint seam. I just gave up trying to find them. If I have to try that hard to see them, then they may as well not be there.

Now, here’s where it gets ugly. From the back and sides you can see gaps around where the wings connect which, I suppose, is to be expected. Also, the ABS wings have sleeves of scaly vinyl glued on near where they attach to the body. There are visible gaps here as well. Thankfully, from the front and forward angle views, you can’t see any of it. The real mess is left for the wall to see.

Photos of the X-Plus Large Monster Series King Ghidorah can be deceiving. In these shots, the figure usually turns out looking like it’s covered in bright, super shiny, metallic gold. That’s not ‘exactly’ the case when the figure is in front of you. It’s hard to explain, but it really looks like a dark, dusty gold. The light plays off its semi-glossiness to great effect and creates tons of specular highlights and lots of detailed shadows. In addition to the shadows caused by the light, there is also subtle shadowing applied with a darker shade of gold paint here and there. It looks amazing. And more importantly, it looks like a perfect match for the suit in the movie (in person).

The wings, also golden, appear to be a slightly different shade, possibly because of the difference in material. Or possibly because that’s how the suit actually was. Either way, they are a bit too shiny for me. They’re definitely shinier than the wings in the movie. I would have preferred it if they used something more dull here. They do look fantastic the way they are, but I’m just not seeing them match with the movie 100%.

Let’s work our way up the necks to the furry manes behind each head. They are a dark, unsaturated brown with highlights brushed onto the higher elevations. Overall, I think they’re too dark. Keep in mind that they look much darker in photos, including my own. In person, they’re not as bad. But they could still use a slightly lighter shade.

The eyes have large, shark-like pupils with slivers of red on the sides. From what I could see, they match the suit fairly well. Close enough for me.

The individually sculpted teeth are also individually painted! Whether one by one by hand or with the aid of a stencil, the end result is gold teeth (as in the movie) cleanly separated from the pink gums and mouth.

The Large Monster Series King Ghidorah 1968 towers over the Large Monster Series Godzilla 1968. If you count the wings, KG is twice as high! Unfair height advantage aside, these figures really are in scale with each other.

What I usually do to determine this is I see if the limbs line up. Do the knees, hips, shoulders and heads of the suit actor inside meet from each figure. Yeah, I’m sure there were suit actors with different heights but it works good enough.

You saw this one coming, right?

MORE COMPARISON SHOTS TO COME.

Here now is our big problem with this figure: The X-Plus King Ghidorah is going to wreak havoc with your shelves. It’s TWENTY INCHES LONG! Those tails don’t care how much space you have. They don’t want to accommodate the depth of your shelf by curling up into the air. They just gently wave straight back. The good news is it’s only 13 inches long from toes to tail (less if you place it on an angle, but those wings may get in the way). You may have to get used to the idea of those golden heads precariously reaching out over the edge of your shelf.

Obviously, the length isn’t the only problem, or even the main problem. The wings rise up 18 and half inches above the ground plane! If you have adjustable shelves, you’re going to have to make a change. And even then it may look odd with all that dead space above all of the other 25’s. I’m sorry to say that the X-Plus King Ghidorah 1968 either needs to be on the top shelf (assuming your ceiling is high enough), or in its own open space.

As for width, the wings take up a lot of room, but they angle so far back that they will allow other figures to stand not only in front of them, but almost side-by-side with King Ghidorah.

​This vinyl figure has quite a few features that make it necessary to treat it with a little more care. You almost need to treat it as if it were a resin statue. The heads and long necks are glued on in at least three sections and are perfect targets for accidental bumps and collisions, wires or no wires.

The injection molded heads have horns which are no where near as forgiving as vinyl when it comes to bumps. The horns can and will give by snapping off. The claws (or hooks) at the end of Ghidorah’s wing fingers (or digits) are also super prime candidates for getting snapped off. This is a large figure and it’s very easy to hit something with the wings when moving it around. Imagine moving around in a closet with an open umbrella. That’s what it could be like handling this figure.

Finally, the wings may not fit very snugly into the back of your figure. At first, the wings on mine went in easily and immediately began to pull away from the body. They don’t do that now, and I’m not sure what’s different, but they’re pretty set in now. But they will come loose if bumped. Also, even though the ABS wings won’t droop in the summer heat, I’m wondering if it will have any effect on the joints. Will the holes in the back vinyl get larger or softer? Will they loosen their grip on the wings? Will the ABS pegs alone be able to support them? It may be a good idea to make sure your X-Plus King Ghidorah is on softer ground and give the wings a short fall should they decide to detach on their own.

The release of the X-Plus King Ghidorah was not as cheerful as one might expect. Not for everyone.

THE GREAT AMIAMI FIASCO
The box for King Ghidorah is an odd shape. It’s very tall, very wide but not very deep. And there just aren’t any shipping boxes that even come near its size specs. AmiAmi.com, a popular (past tense?) Japanese retailer who makes it easy for us westerners to get X-Plus, solved the problem by NOT using any shipping box at all. Yeah, you read that right. They just slapped an invoice pouch directly onto the X-Plus box (they stuck it on the front over the cover art) and sent it on its way overseas. …What?

Dell Champagne Martinez says his friends in Japan who ordered from AmiAmi DID get shipping boxes. …What?

AmiAmi did start to listen to complaints but only half of them. They started to slap the invoice pouches on the top of the box instead of right smack on the art. But they were still sent out without shipping boxes.

It should go without saying that the King Ghidorah box is not made to aptly protect the figure inside when it’s tossed into the mail without a shipping box. There have been almost innumerable cases of collectors in the west getting figures with broken horns, necks, legs.

Public sentiment in the collector community toward AmiAmi has taken a nosedive, and rightly so.

Dumbasses.

THE GREAT X-PLUS KING GHIDORAH FIASCO
Not all broken figures came from AmiAmi. Yes, even many of the figures which were lovingly wrapped in custom shipping boxes arrived in pieces. Again: stories of broken horns, necks and legs abound. Some collectors got two broken necks. Some got three.

King Ghidorah cost over $300, but X-Plus couldn’t make a better box to protect it?

Thankfully, heads, necks and legs can usually be glued back on cleanly by the collector. But, should they really have to do that? Getting a busted figure on Box Day isn’t fun. See collector Samson West’s unhappy Unboxing Video.

For a lengthy discussion of the atrocities that have been showing up on collectors’ doorsteps, see Rich Eso’s X-Plus King Ghidorah Video Review. The first 20 minutes is devoted to just that.

And, please don’t let the horror stories dissuade you from getting this amazing vinyl though. Despite the desecrated box I got from AmiAmi, my figure arrived in fine condition.

​By John Stanowski Originally posted January 2nd, 2015​ on Kaiju Addicts.

​30CMシリーズ ゴロザウルス

​JAPAN ORIGINAL RELEASE: 2008

​RESIN KIT RELEASE: 2010

​DIAMOND RE-ISSUE: DEC. 2014

​SERIES: TOHO 30CM SERIES (12 INCH SERIES)

MATERIAL: SOFT VINYL

​FROM: キングコングの逆襲 “KING KONG’S COUNTERATTACK”, 1967.
(“KING KONG ESCAPES”, 1968)

​HEIGHT: 9.5 INCHES / 24.10 CM

​WIDTH: 6.25 INCHES / 15.8 CM

​LENGTH: 16 INCHES / 40.6 CM

​FIGURE WEIGHT: 15 OZ / 425 G

​ARTICULATION: ELBOWS, KNEES, ANKLES.

​REVIEW AND PHOTOS: JOHN STANOWSKI

Gorosaurus appeared in the 1967 film King Kong’s Counterattack and Hollywood’s version of it, King Kong Escapes, a year later. Gorosaurus sported krazy, kangaroo-style kaiju kicks before getting downed by Kong – all in less than five minutes of screen time. He appeared again as a member on the DAM roster in Destroy All Monsters in 1968.

The Toho 30cm Series Gorosaurus 1967 vinyl figure was first released in 2008, at the very beginning of X-Plus‘ current ‘way of doing things’. It appeared again as a kit in 2010, and yet again as a special 1968 repaint version in 2011 and, finally, as a re-issue licensed for North America via Diamond Distributors. This review is for the Diamond Reissue.

Before I go on, I just want to say that I was never much of a Gorosaurus fan. I got this figure only because the completist in me just couldn’t say ‘no’ to another X-Plus. And, just as with Varan (also not previously a huge fan of), I was wowed by the figure as soon as I took it out of box. It looks so much better in person than it did in the same old photos I saw on the web for the last two years. What is this power X-Plus has to win me over?

As usual, this 30cm Series vinyl figure comes in a plain, brown box with box art on the front. This Diamond Reissue cover sports a new design which brings it up-to-date with current releases. If you’re not familiar with the original box design, the PX Previews Exclusive logo on the front lets you know you’re getting the North American Reissue.

Inside, the figure is wired into a plastic shell. The tail needs to be attached.

Instead of the larger suction cup-style flange we’re used to seeing on newer figures, Gorosaurus’ tail has a very short, squareish rim. Because of this, the tail can pop off the figure with very little effort. Fortunately, it pops back in just as easily.

Getting the tail on the first time, though, was troublesome for me. The “butt” hole on my figure was squooshed into a horizontal ellipse. The tail hole was squooshed vertically in the opposite direction. Because of this, I blasted the butt with the hair dryer since it was obvious it needed some re-shaping. With the tail end still cool and stiff, I pushed and twisted and it just did not want to go in at first. The hole on the body just completely capitulated to the tail and didn’t have the strength to push its way over the tail’s rim. Blah, blah, blah. Let me just suggest that when you attach the tail yours that you heat and soften the body hole just a little and not as much as you’re used to.

You may notice jacked up feet running at extremely different angles on your Gorosaurus before you even get him out of the plastic shell. Don’t panic, this is easily corrected. This figure has joints at both knees and ankles. AFTER you have the tail attached, stand Goro on the edge of a table and get down low and look at the feet from as close to a zero-degree angle as you can. Then twist both knees until both feet are flat on the floor. Keep in mind that the back of the right foot curves up away from the floor; that’s normal. Also, the figure’s right knee has a subtle step in the sculpt which gives a clue as to where that legs wants to be; start there first.

ALIGN THE TAIL
Goro’s tail has two joints on it and chances are yours won’t be aligned right out of the box. Give ’em both a tweak and set ’em straight. You probably want to do this after you attach the tail to the body since they’re a bit loose.

​As far as my untrained, previously-non-Goro-fan eyes can see: this is one helluva likeness. And what an awesome sculpt! It captures the suit from every every angle! Check out the Pose section for more on that.

I’m in awe of the detailed reptilian skin texture on this figure. It’s like every single bump got individual attention. All of the sculpted folds in the skin is just crazy.

Hate to keep repeating myself, but for the new collectors: check out those individually sculpted teeth! Also, you’d expect no one to bother with the tongue since the mouth is almost closed… but it’s in there! You can’t see it unless you tilt it back and squint yer eyes in there.

​The X-Plus Gorosaurus has joints at both elbows. The right elbow joint is elliptical and will complain if you try to move it. The left elbow is more round and will gladly let you tweak the rotation. As stated previously, both knees have joints and you need them to straighten his feet when preparing it for the shelf. Unfortunately, all four of these joints are somewhat noticeable; especially the elbows. For some reason, I’m not very annoyed by this. The figure looks cool and it is, after all, a vinyl figure. This is an early figure and X-plus has since gotten much better at hiding these connections.

The ankles have joints which just don’t want to bothered. Leave them be unless they came out of place. They are reasonably unnoticeable.

The two joints on the tail are, for the most part, well hidden between the segments in the sculpt. However, they are a bit loose and may easily move out of alignment with handling. The tail matches the body fairly well on the top, yet has a slight gap on the underside.

As for glued seams: there are two. The bottom jaw is a separate piece and has a seam which is only somewhat noticeable, but only if you look. Mine has a bit of a gap on one side and I expect the degree of this varies on each figure. The main body is in two piece as so there is a seam running along the front right above the waist and up the back. Again, it’s mostly unseen unless you look for it. Photos have already turned up online where some figures have large gaps and outright holes along this connection.

​The pose is unmistakably Goro all the way and it looks good from so many angles. This is one of the reasons why I was taken aback when I first pulled it out of the box. I had gotten used to seeing the same old production photos of this figure online for the past two years. I had no idea its pose had so much more to offer.

With so many choices, I can’t decide how I want this figure to stand on the shelf!

Gorosaurus is covered with a dark, dull, unsaturated green (bluish-green?) which seems to be a few notches lighter than it should be when comparing it to the suit in the movie. There are even darker shades sprayed in the creases on his back. (See the Footprint section for a look at that.) His throat, belly and underside of the tail is a reserved tan which fades well into the green. This tan, however, is applied a bit more liberally than on the actual suit. There are dull red highlights (shadows?) sprayed onto the throat, belly and inside the thighs. These red highlights looks great on the figure, though the throat looks as though it needs more of it.

The inside of the mouth and gums are a dark red and, as usual, the individually sculpted teeth are individually painted which makes them really look like they’re protruding out of the gums. Despite being expertly applied, though, the white used on the teeth is too bright and looks somewhat toyish, especially since it contrasts so much against the overly dark colors around it.

Despite the liberties this paint job takes from the suit, it’s look fan-f’n-tastic! The throat is particularly impressive.

​I saved some potentially bad news for last. The X-Plus Gorosaurus is short compared to other 30cm Series Figures. You may not mind this as much if you consider that he’s leaning strongly forward. Myself, I don’t care. I’m having trouble not loving this thing.

Flanked by 30cm Series figures Godzilla 1962 and Godzilla 1968 (which is a shortie, too), Gorosaurus is noticeably challenged in the height department. But he’s not the only one…

​There are 30cm Series figures with heights similar to Gorosaurus such as Baragon 1968 and Gaira.

​Hell, at least he’s taller than Anguirus 1968. Which reminds me…

Gorosaurus would make a nice addition to your collection, especially if you have a 30cm Series Destroy All Monsters shelf.

The X-Plus Gorosaurus is about 9.5 inches (24cm) tall, 6.25 inches (15.8cm) wide toe to toe and about 16 inches (40.6cm) long nose to tail, however it’s only 12 inches from toes to tail (if you don’t mind your figure reaching over the edge of the shelf.)

The tail makes a bend toward the figure’s left side which is perfect for scooping up behind it’s nearest neighbor on the shelf, assuming that the tails don’t collide. This figure seems to fit in well on a crowded shelf. It’s tail could limit the angles you display it at in tighter spaces.

By John Stanowski Originally posted December 21st, 2014 on Kaiju Addicts.

​東宝大怪獣シリーズ 「ジェットジャガー」

​JAPAN ORIGINAL RELEASE: LATE 2010

JAPAN FIRST RE-ISSUE: LATE 2012

​JAPAN SECOND RE-ISSUE: JUNE/JULY 2016

​SERIES: TOHO LARGE MONSTER SERIES (25CM)

MATERIAL: SOFT VINYL

FROM: “GODZILLA VS. MEGALON”, 1973
ゴジラ対メガロ

HEIGHT: 9.25 INCHES / 23.4 CM​

​FIGURE WEIGHT: 3 OZ / 85 G

​ARTICULATION: SHOULDERS, WRISTS, ANKLES.

​REVIEW AND PHOTOS: JOHN STANOWSKI WITH CONTRIBUTIONS BY LESTER WAYNE DANIELS

The X-Plus Toho Large Monster Series Jet Jaguar was released way back in 2010 shortly after the beginning of the modern era of X-Plus accuracy awesomeness. This size-changing robot appeared once in the 1973 film Godzilla vs. Megalon. And these days, he’s quite a prize considering his rarity and super-high price tag.

This figure is a part of the Large Monster Series (or 25cm Series as it’s often called) and is totally in scale with other figures from that line.

(Special thanks goes out to Lester Wayne Daniels for allowing me to use a few of his photos for this review.)

This figure is packaged in a box which sports the usual Large Monster Series art, although it’s sized down to look more like an X-Plus Ultraman box. Inside, the figure is wired into a clear, plastic shell. It comes with black base with a peg which fits under one foot, but this is optional since the figure is more than capable of standing on its own.

This thing isn’t just a nice Jet Jaguar figure, it’s crazy-accurate! I have to say it again… This figure looks like it just walked right out of the movie.
Now, THIS is the reason I collect X-Plus!

Even with movie accuracy aside for a moment, the details on this sculpt are pretty impressive.

The head and face on this figure really make me wonder how human hands can sculpt something like this. It just looks outstanding. And the detail is insane! Particularly impressive is the mouth “grill”. This pattern is deep and precise… and all in a space smaller than a dime!

The eyes are molded in clear, smooth plastic tinted blue. A series of concentric circles molded on the inside create the ridges for Jet’s eyes. Sidenote: I only now realized how Jet Jaguar’s face was modeled after old Japanese Noh masks and demon paintings. See for yourself: can you find Jet?

Jet Jaguar’s antennae are skillfully etched into the head with fine detail. No, sorry, they don’t fold out.

The back sports the many flat and subtle elevations found on the suit. It’s almost a shame that this has to face the wall while on your shelf. The conjoined arrows in Jet’s “belt” area is insanely detailed for something so small. (By the way, that arrow is pointing toward his junk. What’s that about?) Finally, those subtle lines which look like seams on the mid-upper legs are not seams, but an actual detail on the suit. I never noticed these lines before I got this figure. I looked for them on the blu ray to see if they were actually there and they were. This just goes to show that if you go with X-Plus, you get it all. Even the details you never noticed before while watching the movies.

The head has an unsealed joint but just wants to be left alone. Don’t try to turn his head. The shoulders a freely moving joints and you can pose your Jet Jaguar with the arms up, down or both. The wrists are free to move but are more elliptical than round so you’ll be able to get them to rotate only so far. The ankles can rotate and you’ll probably need to play with them to get him to balance on his own if you choose to not use the stand.

As for seams… they’re aren’t any! At least none that you can casually see. I hereby declare this figure seamless!

​As usual with most other X-Plus figures, the pose is pretty neutral and standard. Perfect for the shelf. Jet’s not completely static, though. His knees are bent ever so slightly making him look a bit more dynamic, especially in combination with his bent arms. With this pose, he could be posing for the camera or ready to fight. Or both.

Jet Jaguar’s silvers, reds, blues and mustard yellows are both vibrant and yet reserved enough to not look toyish. The yellows pop more loudly than the other colors yet are still reigned in. Please note that the yellows in the photos posted here are a tad more colorful that they look in real life.

These colors were also expertly applied and conform very well against the subtle elevations in the sculpt. The painters did a great job of “staying in the lines”. Well done, X-Plus!

The X-Plus Jet Jaguar fits in perfectly with most other figures from the Large Monster Series. Here he is with the X-Plus Gigan and Godzilla 1975.

​At less than four inches wide, there’s barely any footprint at all. There’s practically no reason at all to rearrange your shelf when you get this guy. Currently my figure is standing between two of Kumonga‘s legs replacing some of that dead space above them.

The Ric Boy version of this figure comes with a set of interchangeable open hands which you can see here. Not a huge loss if you can’t get the Ric version. The fist-like closed hands on the standard are cooler and make him look ready to Punch! Punch! Punch!

​By John Stanowski Originally posted December 14th, 2014 on Kaiju Addicts.

30CM SERIES GODZILLA 2014
X-Plus revealed an unpainted prototype of their upcoming 30cm Series Godzilla 2014 at the Miyazawa Model Exhibition this month. No word yet on exact size and expected release.

KAIJU MUSEUM GODZILLA LINE
Also revealed: A new line of mini Godzilla figures in the X-Plus Kaiju Museum Series. These are made of polystone and are about 3.5 inches tall. Previous entries in this line included kaiju from the original Ultraman series which have insane detail and came with its own display case.

(Photo credits go to Dengeki Hobby.)

By John Stanowski Originally posted November 18th, 2014​ on Kaiju Addicts.

Sugoi! Have you ever wondered what your X-Plus Gigantic Series Godzilla 1995 vinyl figure would look without those itchy, burning patches? Now, thanks to collector Mark Callaway ((Leslie Chambers) a regular on the X-Plus Kaiju Collectors Club Facebook Group), you don’t have to!

Mark made the bold move to cover those brilliant, translucent firey patches of red and orange with a fresh coat of standard Godzilla-black.

​He feathered in an ash white over those burning dorsal plates as well. The only part he couldn’t resolve were those tiny, piercing eyes which he left as they are.

So, why the hell would anyone give up those awesome burning patches that came with the figure?

That’s easy. Mark has more than one!

By John Stanowski Originally posted November 17th, 2014​ on Kaiju Addicts.

KING GHIDORAH
Woah, if this doesn’t get you excited for the upcoming King Ghidorah figure, I don’t know what will.

​X-Plus posted a second photo to whet our appetites even more. Wow! Hurry, December! We need King Ghidorah now!

​Also posted was a photo of the Fire Dragon which comes with the King Ghidorah Ric Boy version. (It also comes with a standard Kilaak Saucer.)

Just posted on the Ric Boy Twitter feed, a new photo of an unpainted, soft vinyl “proof” from the factory. They seem pleased with it.

And there are new details to be gleaned from this shot. The vinyl, unexpectedly, reaches out away from the body ready to help hug the wings when they’re inserted. I think this is great; not so much for the extra support but for the consistency in material and texture reaching over the wings. Supposedly the inside of the body will still be reinforced with “extra material” to really grab the wings when assembled.

Also interesting are the heads. X-Plus had told me in an email that the heads would be injection molded, meaning hard plastic. It’s now obvious that what they meant was that the heads would contain injection molded parts (the horns and perhaps the tongues).

Lookin’ good, X-Plus!!

​YUJI SAKAI GODZILLA 1989 OSAKA LANDING RIC BOY
X-Plus proudly proclaimed that the Sakai ’89 Ric Boy will come with more LED lights than usual, now filling all three rows of dorsal fins.

​Finally, a nice, little, new feature: the Sakai ’89 Ric will come with a “lid” which you can use to plug into the power jack to hide the hole when not connected to the battery box for the light-up fins.

Yuji Sakai Godzilla 1989 Ric Boy versions should be shipping at the beginning of November.

By John Stanowski Originally posted October 27th, 2014​ on Kaiju Addicts.

​The Fresh Vinyl Live crew chat about the upcoming X-Plus King Ghidorah, review the Yuji Sakai Godzilla 1989 and get into the Chiller convention next week where all three Godzilla suit actors will be in attendance. I’m also touched that they took a moment to make fun of me. …Bastards.

By John Stanowski Originally posted October 19th, 2014​ on Kaiju Addicts.