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Wednesday 18 March 2015

Original Figure Review - X-Plus Toho Large Monsters Series Godzilla 1968


In the wake of the much anticipated X-Plus Toho Large Monsters Series King Ghidorah 1968, X-Plus began re-releasing a lot of their "Destroy All Monsters" figure lineup exclusively through their website at the start of 2015. The first re-release was the X-Plus Toho Large Monsters Series Godzilla 1968 at the end of January. Being an online exclusive, it came with a figure of Minya, the son of Godzilla.

We reviewed the standard version of this figure way back when it was first released in 2012. Does this rerelease still have the same charm as the original? Let's find out!


The X-Plus Toho Large Monsters Series Godzilla 1968 stands at around nine inches in height. Unlike its 30cm counterpart, the figure is posed in a walking-like stance. In its original packaging the figure is separated into two parts - the main body and tail. To attach the tail, you'll need a hairdryer to soften up the open socket on the main body. Once it is "squishy" soft, take the tail and insert it into the socket until its snug and tight. Once it cools down and hardens, the figure will look like the image above.  


Godzilla's sculpt is flawless. It manages to recreate his appearance in Destroy All Monsters (1968) quite effectively. The details on skin, teeth, claws, and spines are very meticulously crafted. The paint work on my figure is just astounding. However, it's interesting to note that my particular figure seems a tad brighter in overall tone than my original - however, I can't do a comparison since I sold off my original figure months ago. 



Godzilla also comes with an alternate Closed Jaw piece. To switch out the jaws, take your hairdryer once more and heat up the head area until it's nice and soft. Pull out the jaw and replace it with the closed piece. If your's still shows a bit of teeth, there are ways to fix that. One such way that I have heard is that while it's still warm and soft, stick it into the freezer with the mouth wrapped shut with tape or even a rubber band. Wait for a little while and take it out and the jaw should be completely shut. However, I have not tried that particular method yet.


When scaled to his Bandai Movie Monsters Series counterpart, the X-Plus Godzilla 1968 towers over it. 


With this particular release being an X-Plus internet exclusive, Godzilla 1968 was also accompanied by Minya. Being the son of Godzilla, Minya is the absolute perfect bonus to go with this figure!


Minya's sculpt is very well done. From afar it doesn't look like much, but up close Minya is just chock full of detail on the skin, and the bump-like dorsal plates growing on his back and tail. 


Minya is perfectly in scale with Godzilla, standing around six inches in height.



Minya when compared to the Bandai Movie Monsters Series Minilla 2004 and Little Godzilla, they are all at the same height. 


Together with King Ghidorah, Godzilla and Minya are dwarfed by the three-headed space dragon. While indeed part of the same figure line, Godzilla seems a tad smaller than he should be when next to King Ghidorah. However, the scale is incredibly close. My goal to is to acquire most of the Destroy All Monsters figures to add to the display. Besides these three, I only have Baragon and Kumonga. 

All in all, I am incredibly happy that X-Plus is giving collectors a chance to build up their Destroy All Monsters displays in the wake of King Ghidorah's release. Godzilla 1968 is an excellent start, and the added bonus of Minya just makes the display a whole lot better! I regretted selling my original Godzilla 1968 big time. However, when the opportunity to get the rerelease along with Minya, it was too hard to pass up. 

I recommend acquiring this release if you're a huge Godzilla fan and have the money to spare. Ebay is the best place to search for one of these at the moment. 

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