Original Figure Review - NECA Pacific Rim 7" Figure Series 05 - Romeo Blue

Like them or not, when it comes to NECA, it isn't surprising that they'll go beyond the call of action when it comes to the figures they release, especially if its for a series that is big on sales! Pacific Rim, though only one movie into its planned trilogy, has garnered a cult following that includes fans of the Kaiju genre as well as anime, mecha, and more. So it would be stupid to just stop releasing figures after the main Kaiju and Jaegers have been done with!

A couple months ago, we saw the release of the first Jaeger featured in the prologue sequence of Pacific Rim (2013), Tacit Ronin. Now we have Mark I Jaeger, Romeo Blue, one of the very first Jaegers in mankind's war against the Kaiju. It did not survive to see action in the rest of the film, but it is the one Jaeger in the prologue sequence to be given the most screen time.

So, how does this particular Jaeger stack up with the rest? Let us check it out together!

Original Figure Review - S.H. MonsterArts Gamera (1996)

The Guardian of the Absolute Universe joins the S.H. MonsterArts super articulated action figure line in his incarnation from the 1996 film, Gamera 2: Attack of the Legion, sequel to the previous year's Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995).

Gamera's inclusion into the S.H. MonsterArts line is long overdue and opens up many brand new possibilities for the series - like, just imagine of an S.H. MonsterArts Legion? Or how about Iris from Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999)?

So how does this heap of turtle meat stack up against the many figures that have come before it? Let us take a look!

UPDATES

Sorry for the lack of updates over the past week. We have had some nasty weather over here that has knocked out our internet. However, that's none of your concern. Let us catch up on the latest in the figure collecting community!

First off, Bandai Tamashii Nations will be releasing the manga version of ULTRAMAN in both their S.H. Figuarts and Ultra-Act line this July!

Also coming out in July as a web exclusive will be a reissue of the Ultra-Act Zoffy with several brand new accessories.

Stephen Unboxes and Reviews NECA Pacific Rim 7" Figure Series Romeo Blue

Our friend Stephen gives us his figure review for NECA's Romeo Blue one of the very first Jaegers seen in the prologue sequence of Guillermo Del Toro's 2013 film, Pacific Rim. I highly suggest watching the Unboxing video first in order to make sense of his brief and unfortunate review for this particular figure. 

WARNING: Some vulgar language and brutal honesty in this review! 

Toy Fair 2015

Check out this post for updates regarding to figure reveals and displays at Toy Fair 2015!

So what's new? Let's see!

Beneath the feet of NECA's 18" Striker Eureka figure (coming out this spring,) there are a set of Chibi Kaiju and Jaegers from Pacific Rim. Note that these are from the film's prologue featuring the Jaegers Romeo Blue (far left) and Horizon Brave (far right), and the Kaiju, Harship, Trespasser, and Karloff. I'm interested in seeing these fully colored and detailed, and ultimately having them in my collection.

On the other hand, NECA also unveiled their NES Godzilla. Now, prior to Toy Fair NECA has somewhat implied that they'll be doing a Godzilla 1964 for the Classic Godzilla series of figures, so naturally one would assume that'd be the basis for their NES variant. Well, we were dead wrong there! NECA displayed a retooled Godzilla 1985 figure with out-of-proportion dorsal plates, and a lackluster pixel-like paint job. I am personally disappointed by this figure big time. I will NOT be getting it. 

Image Source: ToyNews.com

More from NECA! We now see a full body image of the upcoming Pacific Rim 18" Figure Series Striker Eureka. This figure is looking better and better each time we see it. I do intend to get this figure, but before I do so, I want to see what kind of reviews it gets. Wouldn't want to spend $99+ on it and have it fall apart straight out of the box (those things DO happen quite a bit with NECA figures.)

From Tamashii Nations we see the upcoming S.H. MonsterArts Mecha King Ghidorah - soon to be released in Japan as a web exclusive, and coming out next month in North America via Bluefin Distribution. In the image on the right you can see the newly announced S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla [2014] Spit Fire Ver. in the background - coming out in July in Japan and August in North America. 

Image Source: ToyArk.com

Image Source: ToyArk.com

Image Source: ToyArk.com

Image Source: ToyArk.com 

Image Source: ToyArk.com

More photos of the S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla 2014 Spit Fire Ver. and Godzilla 2000 Millennium Special Color Edition (coming out late spring/early summer) have also surfaced.

Also, a bit of a surprise, Gigantic Series Dragonball Z and Mega Man figures from X-Plus were showcased by Bluefin Distribution. It is unclear at the moment whether they will also release Godzilla figures from X-Plus as well. 

In regards to X-Plus Godzilla figures at Toy Fair, Diamond Select will still be releasing figures from the Toho 12-inch Series (aka Toho 30cm Series). 24 figures have been announced to be coming over for North American consumers. As to what those figures are is still unknown at the moment. However, there have been reports of the Toho Large Monsters Series King Ghidorah being shown, so it might be possible that Diamond Select will also be releasing figures from the Large Monsters Series figure line as well, which I am totally open for.

Keep your eyes peeled for further updates! 

S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla [2014] Spit Fire Ver.

Tamashii Nations has released promotional photos for the upcoming web exclusive release of the S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla 2014 Spit Fire Ver. The figure features an alternate highlighted paint job on the spines from head to tail. It'll also come with the severed head of the Female MUTO. It'll be released in July in Japan, and brought over by Bluefin Distribution for a North American release in August. It is retailed at 8100 yen in Japan. 

Diego Doom Reviews Ultra-Act Ultraman 80

Kaiju Addicts Takes a Look At X-Plus' Ultraman Kaiju Museum Polyresin Figurines

Our friends at Kaiju Addicts have taken a look at X-Plus' Ultraman Kaiju Museum Polyresin Figurines in preparation for the upcoming Toho Kaiju Museum line. Be sure to check it out, it's a great read and these mini figures have incredible detail! 

Steven Reviews S.H. MonsterArts Gamera [1996]

FRESH VINYL REVIEW - X-Plus Toho Large Monsters Series Godzilla 1967

X-Plus Toho 30cm Series Yuji Sakai Modeling Collection Godzilla 1991

More photos of the next figure in X-Plus' Yuji Sakai Modeling Collection, Godzilla 1991. Images from Sakai's own blog.

Diego Doom Reviews the S.H. MonsterArts Gamera (1996)

Max Factory Gipsy Danger PLAMO

Max Factory has recently unveiled their unpainted prototype for their Gipsy Danger PLAMO kit, which will be released some time this year. It's at 1/350 scale, and Max Factory has hinted that they plan to do more Pacific Rim releases.

S.H. MonsterArts at Winter Wonderfest 2015

In light of just getting the S.H. MonsterArts Gamera (1996) not much was shown of the popular figure line at Winter Wonderfest this year. To be fair, this booth belongs to Yuji Sakai and not to Tamashii Nations themselves. What we see here are Sakai sculpts including various versions of Godzilla 2014 - Poster Color Version will be released with the upcoming BluRay set, and the Spit Fire Version may be a potential SDCC 2015 exclusive. Along with it we see the upcoming Godzilla 2000 Millennium Special Color Edition as well, which will be released May/June of this year.

What's New From X-Plus At Winter Wonderfest 2015?

Winter Wonderfest 2015 is in full swing right now in Japan, but we have already acquired a good number of photos of what X-Plus plans to release both new and old (with a twist.)

First off, we have confirmation that this year we'll be seeing the next figure in the Yuji Sakai Modeling Collection from X-Plus: Godzilla 1991. This is a figure that I have been hoping for ever since first acquiring the Sakai Godzilla 1989 figure. (Huzzah!)

Next we see the popular X-Plus Toho Large Monsters Series Godzilla 1989 and Biollante. Both figures are slated to get reissues exclusively through X-Plus' website and have light-up features. 

Finally we see the new X-Plus Toho Large Monsters Series Mothra 1964, fully painted this time. We also see the X-Plus Toho Large Monsters Series 1964 too, which will receive a rerelease in March. 

No sign of the Toho 30cm Series Godzilla 2014 (yet,) but if anything new pops up, we'll be sure to update this post!

Update 02/09/15: According to an X-Plus representative at Wonderfest, the Toho 30cm Series Godzilla 2014 is currently in production and preorders will start being accepted towards the end of March. The standard release of the figure will have both heads - neutral and roaring. The Shounen RIC exclusive has not yet been revealed at the moment.

Figure Comparison: NECA 12-inch Head-to-Tail Godzilla vs. S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla 2014

The question has been asked time and time again since their releases: what's the better figure? The NECA 12-inch Head-to-Tail Godzilla or the S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla 2014? It's a hard question to answer since one figure is much cheaper and more available, while the other is a bit pricier and obtainable through specialty stores or the internet. To most it's like comparing apples to oranges. However, I plan to point out the differences between these two figures and determine which one's the better buy. 

Without further ado, let us begin! 

Steven Reviews Figma Giant God Warrior

Original Figure Review - X-Plus Toho Large Monsters Series King Ghidorah 1968

It's been a long time coming, but he is finally here! The golden dragon of terror from outer space, King Ghidorah! The notion of King Ghidorah being made by X-Plus has been around for a while. Much experimentation was done to get the figure just right. Finally, late last summer we got our first glimpse at X-Plus' King Ghidorah 1968 figure (from the film Destroy All Monsters.) Some months later preorders popped up online. I had my initial doubts about getting this figure, and I still had doubts up to the moment it was delivered. 

Have X-Plus' ambitions paid off? Let us take a look at this grand figure....

Original Figure Review - X-Plus Toho 30cm Series Yuji Sakai Modeling Collection Godzilla 1989

Time and time again I have always wondered if we'd ever see any of Yuji Sakai's sculpts released by X-Plus. For those unaware of who Yuji Sakai is, he is essentially the master sculptor of anything Godzilla. You'd be most familiar with his work with Bandai's S.H. MonsterArts action figures, but he also releases his own line of model kits through his own company. One of his most famous and most recognizable designs is the concept design for Godzilla 2000, which has had various figure and model kit releases. 

The joining of Sakai's sculpts with X-Plus was something I had been wishing for quite a while. When X-Plus first unveiled his sculpt for Godzilla 1989 (from the film Godzilla vs. Biollante,) it came as a surprise to most. While the figure was released in the Toho 30cm Series figure line, it is also part of a new sub-series called the Yuji Sakai Modeling Collection, which implies that more of Sakai's sculpts will eventually be released by X-Plus sometime in the future. 

So how does his Godzilla 1989 sculpt stack up? Let us take a look...