S.H. MonsterArts Articulation Series - Biollante

Bluefin Tamashii Nations Preorders: June/July 2014 Exclusives

S.H.Figuarts: Android 18

July 2014 - $38.99

Look to the Future!  The S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball legacy continues with the beautiful, but deadly Android 18.  This special release marks the first female Dragon Ball character to join the ranks of the S.H.Figuarts line.  Two new option parts are featured for the previously released Figuarts Krillin, including an all new head for enacting the famous scene when 18 planted a kiss on the cheek of the terrified hero, and a brand new hand to hold the included Android destruction switch created by Bulma.  Also features a full array of accessories for Android 18 herself, including a pair of folded arms, swappable hair pieces, 4 interchangeable faces, as we as 3 different sets of hands to enact various poses.  Fearsome on her own, she is twice as dangerous with her twin brother, 17.  Will your S.H.Figuarts Dragonball heroes be able to stop her?  The answer lies with you.

S.H.Figuarts: Yellow Ranger

July 2014 - $39.99

Complete your S.H.Figuarts Power Ranger collection with the highly anticipated  final release from the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the Yellow Ranger!  This special female Yellow Ranger sculpt is ONLY available in North America through Bluefin Distribution authorized retailers, and will not be featured in Asian markets.  Included are bonus accessories which can be combined with the Black and Blue titles, featuring the final components needed to complete the legendary Power Blaster Weapon!  In addition to faithful proportion and advanced articulation, the Yellow Ranger features a variety of optional accessories, including 2 Power Daggers, a Blade Blaster, the Thunder Slinger, and several hand sets for creating classic poses.

S.H.MonsterArts:  Mothra & Battra Larva Set

July 2014 - $99.99

S.H.MonsterArts takes on the larval stages with the special Mothra and Battra Larva Set.  Meticulously replicating the larvae as they appeared in “Godzilla vs Mothra”, the Mothra larva features articulation, a display stand, and a special sting spitting effect part. The Battra larva features articulation at each joint, and stays true to the massive form larva with faithful proportion and intricate detail.

NECA Pacific Rim 7" Figure Series Cherno Alpha & Coyote Tango

At long last, NECA finally unveils the finished prototypes for the upcoming seven inch figures of the Jaegers, Cherno Alpha and Coyote Tango.

S.H. MonsterArts Mothra (larva) and Battra (larva) Set

Preorders on the Tamashii Nations Web Shop amongst other sites like Nippon-Yasan go up tomorrow, Friday, January 24th. This set is an internet exclusive release in Japan for this coming June, and will be brought over to North America by Bluefin Distribution in July.

S.H. MonsterArts Alien (1979), Mothra & Battra Larva Two-Pack, and D-Arts Lucario!

May is gearing up to be a great month for Tamashii Nation releases. Here are a couple of notable upcoming figures that have caught our attention:

S.H. MonsterArts Alien (1979) and the S.H. MonsterArts Mothra & Battra Larva 2-Pack

D-Arts Lucario 

Figure Review - S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla 2000 Millennium

 

I was not surprised that the next standard S.H. MonsterArts figure release right after last September's MFS-3 Kiryu would also be Millennium related. The S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla 2000 is one of the finest entries into this figure line, and funny enough, this particular Godzilla design was not featured in its own movie! The design of this figure is based off of the unused concept design from sculptor, Yuji Sakai. The concept was featured in many forms of marketing for the film and has been replicated into various figures and model kits for over the last 15 years. It has become a really popular design amongst the Godzilla fan community despite it not being featured in any of the films. However, many people found it pretty odd for Tamashii Nations to choose Yuji Sakai's original concept design over the suit design that we actually see in the movie. This breaks the accurateness that the S.H. MonsterArts line has been striving towards over the past few years. For some people it was a major complaint while for others it was a nice creative choice. 

Figure Review - S.H. MonsterArts Biollante

 

The year 1984 saw the return of the world's biggest star, Godzilla, to the silver screen after a nine year absence in the movie, The Return of Godzilla (also known as Godzilla 1985 in the United States). The movie was the first in the popular Heisei series of Godzilla films. However, the sequel to The Return of Godzilla wouldn't be released for another five years. In that time, a contest was held by Toho for people to enter screenplays that would ultimately become the next Godzilla film. One particular script written by a dentist won. However, the original screenplay was heavily altered and was actually split into two different films, Gunhed, and ultimately Godzilla vs. Biollante.  

Jump to 2012.... The S.H. MonsterArts line is already a year old, and Tamashii Nations has barely scratched the surface in regards to the monsters made into the line. Fan began to beg and cry for the ultimate dream figure, Biollante. Tamashii Nations listened and answered our prayers when they unveiled the official prototype of the figure at one of their Fall events. It wouldn't be until in the later half of the summer of 2013 when the announcement that all fans have been waiting for was made - the S.H. MonsterArts Biollante would be released in November 2013. A lot of us saved up our cash due to the figure's hefty price. I ordered mine through Amazon.com who is supplied by Bluefin Distribution. It took a while, but in the end, I do believe that the wait was worth it.

Our Top 5 Figures of 2013

Happy New Year, fellow Kaiju fanboys!

As we usher in the new year, we would like to spend a little bit of time to reflect over the previous year. How so? Let us take a look at some of our top favorite figures from 2013! We have compiled a list of the best figures we have acquired this past year, ranked one to five - in no particular order.

Note, since we do not yet possess the S.H. MonsterArts Biollante and Godzilla 2000 yet, those figures will remain excluded from this current list.

Without further ado, let's begin!

Figure Review - X-Plus Daiei 30cm Series Gamera 1999

 

Here's our last review for 2013! 

To tell you guys the truth, I did not get into Gamera until sometime within the past several years. For the longest time I always thought that Gamera was Godzilla's arch rival at the box offices. Sure, he may have started that way, but he grew into something much more. In the 1990s, film director Shusuke Kaneko, who also directed the 2001 film, Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters all out Attack, made three of the greatest giant monster movies to ever grace the silver screen, the fan favorite Gamera trilogy.

Between last November and now, X-Plus has released three Gamera figures from the 90s films. I chose to skip the first two releases in anticipation that they'll get to this guy, Gamera 1999, the incarnation of the character from the 1999 film that capped off the Gamera trilogy, Gamera 3: Revenge of Irys.

Luckily they did, and I couldn't be happier.