On this episode of Plastic Soul, Lenzi explores new Godzilla collectibles to come. We need more ‘zilla more than ever!
From King to Articulated Toy
And who’s the king? Godzilla naturally. But Godzilla has evolved over the years and so have the toys. They’ve made a huge shift in recent years when NECA got the license to do just about every Godzilla under the sun. Beautifully made figures, beautifully packaged, beautifully sculpted, lots of articulation – something I was waiting for for a long time. As much as I love the character and all the creatures and the iterations, the articulation and the design have been fairly limited in the past. I wanted something that really moved and really did stuff and had attachments and things like that. NECA sure did a heck of a job and gave us a ton of stuff.
When the first new Godzilla movie happened recently, I think NECA did a couple of figures, if I’m recalling correctly. And then when Kong: Skull Island happened, a company called Lanard (which had stuff at Walmart) made a huge Kong and some little figures and vehicle sets. They were great, they were fun, and who knew they were going to grab a license like that? Now, with the most recent Kong vs. Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Kong, Playmates got the license. Playmates moved into sort of more toyetic, if you will, action figures like this guy. All different kinds of Kongs and Godzillas, and some of them make noise and some of them light up and some of them are huge, which are wonderful.
There’s lots of articulation and lots of variety that come with little, tiny vehicles and sometimes little, tiny humans; they can eat or whatever. They’re lots of fun. And so, my question was if NECA was no longer doing Godzilla characters, and let’s be clear – they mainly made Godzilla – why didn’t I see a ton of other creatures? Bandai still had the license for other Godzilla creatures, like the Toho creatures and stuff. So, occasionally you see a vinyl figure of Rodan or something out there.
More Monstrous Masterpieces
But just recently I noticed the Playmates logo on what looks like the old Bandai vinyl figure packaging, but it’s not quite that because this looks more like the Playmates figures. It’s not quite as articulated as all the other Playmates figures, but it’s also more articulated than the Bandai stuff, which is like vinyl, usually in one pose. Maybe you can turn the head, maybe you can move an arm kind of thing. These are a little different and so it tells me that Playmates is now doing all the Toho stuff as well. I just hope we get Playmates fully articulated action figure versions of Jet Jaguar, maybe King Ghidorah, maybe Rodan, maybe Mothra, and maybe a little baby Godzilla. What’s he called? Chumbly? I forget his name, but he’s a little one that blows smoke. Maybe one of him, too.
Mezco is doing these sets that are a little higher priced and only have like five points of articulation, and there are several monsters that come in each set. Those are great too, a little on the high-end side, but they’re great. Bring on all the creatures, bring on all the monsters and maybe a few human characters, too. Couldn’t hurt, right? I mean, there’s lots to go around, and I just hope it goes on forever and ever.
So, I saw this and I thought maybe we were going to get both now. I think the Godzilla vs. Kong line is going to continue. We’re going to get more of those movies, so that MonsterVerse is still going, and then we got these guys as well. So, it’s a good day in Monster Island I think. It made me happy anyway.
Tell Us Your Thoughts
Let me know what you think. Please hit like and subscribe, and in the comments, let me know if you’re a Godzilla fan. If you’re old school, if you only collect the vinyl, bagged figures, if you like articulated action figures or other kinds of Godzilla ephemera, please let us know. And please don’t forget to sign up for the Entertainment Earth email newsletter to stay up to date on all your pop culture needs. They won’t let you down. And by the way, all of these are up for order on entertainmentearth.com. They’re wonderful – good luck!
I’ll see you on Monster Island. Time to open these up!
