Figure Review - X-Plus Toho Large Monsters Series MechaGodzilla 1975

With Godzilla's popularity decreasing in the mid-70s, Toho ended the now-popular Showa series with a bang in 1975 with The Terror of MechaGodzilla which acted as a direct sequel to the previous year's Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla, and had Godzilla pitted with a rebuilt MechaGodzilla and the gigantic aquatic dinosaur, Titanosaurus. Personally, the Showa MechaGodzilla design is by far my favorite incarnation of Godzilla's mechanical counterpart. It seems to have a lot more character and charm in its design over that of the Heisei and Millennium MechaGodzillas. Its old-school, that's what it is!

Anyways, I acquired the X-Plus 25cm MechaGodzilla 1975 as a graduation gift from my Dad. For those who don't know, I just graduated college with an Associates Degree in Visual Communications (Yayy!) I missed out on the figure when it was first released back in March, but thankfully, my Dad ordered this one after Hobby Search restocked them. Lucky for me, it was the last one!

The figure itself came in the standard window box that all the Toho Large Monsters Series figures come in. Not much to look at. After I took the figure out, there was no need for assembly since MechaGodzilla's tail is short enough to be packaged without having to remove it from the main body. Immediately as I set it on my display table, I can easily see that this figure certainly outdoes last year's 25cm MechaGodzilla 1974 in regards to detailing.

First off, the sculpt for this figure is absolutely terrific! It accurately captures every detail that one would see on the actual suit. The markings are all correct, each bolt in MechaGodzilla's 'space titanium' exterior is accurately replicated, and the wrinkles just goes to show that X-Plus has really taken great strides to go for suit accuracy rather than just character accuracy. The paint job is a lot more flashier than it's 1974 counterpart. It has a shinier chrome finish, which looks quite stunning when under the right lighting. Other markings on its body or joints are colored in a darker shade of gray. The differences in color and shading really bring this figure to life, more so than its 1974 counterpart. It's good to note that MechaGodzilla '75 stands a bit taller than other 25cm figures. It certainly towers over the 25cm MechaGodzilla '74, and Godzilla '68. It makes me wonder if June's 25cm Godzilla 1975 will be in scale with it.

The 25cm MechaGodzilla 1975 has a lore more points of articulation than its 1974 counterpart as well. There is articulation in the jaw, neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, legs, knees, and ankles. While I prefer a lot of my X-Plus figures to be unmovable statues, I always have to make an exception when it comes to robotic characters such as MechaGodzilla where the joints can easily hide any articulation point.

Now, something that has a lot of younger, newer, and a small number of older Godzilla fan's puzzled is the differences between MechaGodzilla 1974 and MechaGodzilla 1975. I must admit, in years ago I would have never spotted the difference, but thanks to friends with very keen eyes, I now realize that there is a great deal of differences in the two designs! To the untrained eye they look identical aside from the different shoulder markings. 

True, both the '74 and '75 MechaGodzillas share the same base design, but pay attention to the markings across the body. MechaGodzilla '74 has more rounded markings while MechaGodzilla '75 has more lightning and jagged shaped markings. 

The finger missiles on the MechaGodzilla 1975 are a lot more defined than the '74 suit. Also the feet are quite different as well, which I honestly just noticed recently. The '75 suit has stabilizers at the back of its heels while the '74 suit does not. 

Finally the tail: While the tail fin on the '74 design is plain, the '75's tail fin has a series of bolts stamped into it. Overall, once you notice these miniscule differences, it is impossible to look at the '74 and '75 MechaGodzillas as the same exact suit anymore.

Overall, I found the 25cm MechaGodzilla 1975 a delightful figure to have. I surpasses the previous 25cm MechaGodzilla 1974 in so many ways. While both are nice figures, I prefer the '75 figure overall. To conclude, I really love this figure! It's certainly an eye-catcher in my collection, and a MUST BUY for any X-Plus collector. I feel lucky that I got this when I did.

Thanks for reading!

I apologize that I was unable to do a video review for this figure, but I promise that the next one will be! Till then, have a Kaijurrific Day!