Whew! How long has it been since my last figure review? A couple months? Well, I am back with an all new original figure review of the X-Plus Gigantic Series Yuji Sakai Modeling Collection Godzilla 1999 vinyl figure. I intend to do several more reviews over the coming weeks of items I've had for a little while, but not yet have reviewed. That is besides the point right now, because now we are going to take a look at this hunk of soft vinyl. I know I am pretty late with this review since many collectors have already done their reviews on this figure when it first released last year. However, I don't care. Better late than never, right?
March has certainly been a VERY slow month for me, and I do apologize. I recently left my job and currently unemployed for the time being. Don't worry, I have another job potentially lined up for me next month. However, as a result I have slowed down with my collecting for the time being, which has put my figure reviews on hiatus for a while. I am also working on selling a bunch of figures that I have no more room for in my collection as a means to rebuild my figure collecting budget to pay off upcoming purchases. With that being said, I will still try to whip up a couple of reviews for figures I still have not gotten to yet like the Medicom Real Action Heroes Neo EVA 13 and the X-Plus Gigantic Series Yuji Sakai Modeling Collection Godzilla 1999. I hope to do reviews for both of them starting later this week.
Beyond that I have nothing else new coming in to review until later this summer. So, what do I plan to do for The Kaiju Planet until then? I will continue to share figure reviews from our friends like Steven McCarthy of Steven's Toy Reviews, DiegoDoom, and Rich Eso of Fresh Vinyl Reviews. As for original content, I will be doing various write-ups focusing on toy collecting as a whole, retrospectives on certain figure lines, movie reviews and occasional "re-reviews" where I take a look at some older figures I have reviewed and see whether my opinion on it has changed or not.
Again, apologies for the lack of activity this month. As of April, going forward, I hope to put more effort into providing you guys with new material!
This article is several months late, but please humor me...
Last October, the Internet was set ablaze with the astonishing news that movie monster giants, Godzilla and King Kong, will once again clash in an epic crossover in 2020's Godzilla vs. Kong. The possibility of King Kong intertwining with Godzilla was foreshadowed several weeks earlier when news broke out that Legendary Pictures, currently partnered with Universal Studios, will release Kong: Skull Island (2017) alongside Warner Bros., which was rather shocking. Almost everyone knew that Legendary and Warner Bros. are still partnered for the currently untitled Godzilla sequel set for 2018, so the chances of a crossover were significantly increased. Then sure enough, BAM! Confirmation in the form of a sudden press release from Legendary Pictures.
This is a topic I have been wanting to write about for a long time, but I never seemed to have the right motivation to do so. Lately, however, after seeing so many people complain and whine about S.H. MonsterArts and NECA, I think it as good of a time as ever to finally bring it up.
Ask yourself this question: Why do you collect?
Sometimes it may be an easy question to answer. At other times it may be pretty hard. I started collecting when I was nine years old because I just wanted Godzilla toys. It is as simple as that! Over the years my preferences of what I collect certainly have changed. However, even though I gravitate towards figures that tend to be more movie accurate and less stylized, I do not go out of my way to bash on other people because they like what I don't like. Unfortunately that is what I have been seeing lately whenever I enter a forum or Facebook group. Adults engaging in heated arguments about what toy is better. When you look at such an argument unfold with an outside perspective, it is incredibly embarrassing for both parties. They make figure collectors look bad. With that being said, everyone is entitled to their opinions. People should have their own thoughts about things for better or worse and share them civilly. However, a line must be drawn somewhere. Collectors who are fans of the same franchise should not tell another collector that they are stupid for buying a particular item they don't like. No. That is utterly disrespectful and only makes you, the accuser look bad. Do not be a Zoidberg!
Newsflash, people. No one likes dealing with pointless petty arguments about toys! We are collectors. We are going to prefer different things that aren't necessarily your cup of tea. Instead of fighting about it, embrace it! Think about it. That is what makes collecting Kaiju figures so great. There is practically something for everyone!
Today you can't walk anywhere without seeing the presence of the highly popular POP! vinyl figures from Funko. These designer-inspired vinyl figures have sprung into popularity in the past several years with over a thousand figures from hundreds of various properties from films, video games, books, TV shows, and more! I have been familiar with POP! for a few years, but I promised myself that I would not buy into them until if/when they'd ever do a Godzilla figure. It took a while, but at long last, Godzilla was confirmed through a leaked preorder list from Gamestop.
"Let us call this creature, Godzilla. Named after the legend of Odo Island."
And we are back with our first written review in MONTHS! I was originally supposed to do this review (in video format) back in September, but I ended up being busy with other things. However, even as time passed on, I was still keen on reviewing this figure. So without further ado, let us take a look at NECA's Classic Godzilla Series Godzilla 1954 action figure!
