Original Figure Review - X-Plus Toho 30cm Series Godzilla 2014

Written by Arlo Hansen

By far one of the most anticipated releases from X-Plus in recent history, the Toho 30cm Series Godzilla 2014 is one of X-Plus' most recent additions to their line of super-detailed vinyl figures having been released in late June 2015. Did it live up to the hype set by the fanbase and collecting community? Let us take a look at this hunk of vinyl ourselves...

Look to your right...

To your left...

The X-Plus Toho 30cm Series Godzilla 2014 is a behemoth amongst it's fellow companions. It stands a little over a foot tall and has quite a bit of weight it it. It's without a doubt one of the more larger, and more massive Godzilla figures in this particular figure line. It has a really superb sculpt, which looks absolutely amazing at just about every angle you can think of, except perhaps one particular angle, which I'll cover in a bit. The details in the sculpt are sharp and precise, showing off all the bumps, scales and spikes in Godzilla's armored skin. When I first saw the paint-job of this figure's prototype, I was thrown back a bit as it reminded me of the original production maquette for the movie instead of what we saw on-screen. Fortunately in the final product, the lighter tan coloration seen on Godzilla's underside was dulled down a notch closer to what we see in the actual film. 

Starting with the head, the sculpt and detailing are very well done. Godzilla's jaws are lined with semi-double rows of teeth, which are individually painted. Inside, you have a very well painted pink mouth and tongue. The detailing inside the upper jaw is good, but I only wish the tongue looked a bit more like what we see in the film and on the Sideshow Collectibles Godzilla Maquette. Still, that's a very minor issue. Around Godzilla's maw there is a dark tan coloration that gradients into the dark charcoal gray skin tone. Down his neck, Godzilla's gills (a feature that I find very logical for Godzilla's amphibious nature,) are very well sculpted and highlighted in tan. 

Before we continue, when I said that there was one angle that didn't look good for this figure, I meant the front. Personally, I think the head of this figure is a little wider than necessary. The Sideshow maquette, in my opinion, possesses the most accurate Godzilla 2014 head sculpt to date. Still, like the whole tongue thing, this is a VERY minor gripe since I am not displaying this figure facing forward, but to the side. No big deal!

As we continue downward to Godzilla's chest, the detailing in the armored boney plating on the upper body is one of the more defining features on this figure. The tan coloration on the underside really contrasts well with the dark gray skin and adds a bit more depth and lifelike appeal to this figure. On the arms and legs we see amazing and sharp sculpt-work on the scales and skin panels. Very lifelike! Whoever sculpted this figure paid far more attention to the provided reference material than Yuji Sakai did for the MonsterArts figure - Sorry, Sakai! I still love your work! The claws are painted in a darker shade of tan, a departure from the typical black or unpainted nails we see in almost all other Godzilla 2014 figures. 

The dorsal plates are excellently done as well, possessing the oyster-shell-like wrinkles and veins. Even the scale arrangement on Godzilla's back are accurately portrayed - another aspect missed on the MonsterArts sculpt.

Godzilla's stubby sauropod-like feet are also sculpted to perfection too on the X-Plus figure. They're big, fat and solid as they should be. The toes, like the claws, are colored in a darker tan that gradients back into the dark gray skin color. 

Like almost every other X-Plus figure, Godzilla is packed in two pieces: the main body and tail. In order to attach the tail to the body, one would need to utilize a hairdryer to heat the vinyl either on the tail or body until it's "squishy-soft" and then insert it and wait until the vinyl hardens to display it. Now, this technique was a little harder than usual for this particular figure due to how the tail socket and tail were sculpted. Due to that, I was unable to close the seam between the two parts, which somewhat disrupts the flow of the sculpt. Regardless, when displayed, it becomes virtually unnoticeable. Like every other issue I've had with this figure, it is nothing major that would deter me away from admiring it.

The tail for this figure is long! But, do not worry. It is curved towards the right and upward, allowing one to easily display this on a shelf that does not have an opening in the back. It's a nice change from the original prototype which had the tail sculpted lower and longer. Kudos to X-Plus for changing it to what we have now!

Along with the Internet exclusive RIC Boy figures for the X-Plus Toho 30cm Series Godzilla 2014, we are presented with a bonus mini figure, the Male MUTO! 

The MUTO stands at around six inches tall, and its wingspan is around a foot wide. It is the most detailed figure of the Male MUTO, period. Unfortunately, despite the amazing movie-like sculpt, it does not possess the lighter colorations on its arms and wings. Still, it is just a bonus exclusive, so to expect it to be completely accurate might be a bit much. Regardless, it is a nice addition and one of the best RIC Boy features in contrast to the main figure. 

Whether or not the Male MUTO is supposed to be in scale with Godzilla has been a subject of debate amongst collectors. X-Plus already confirmed that it is NOT in scale in their listing for the figure, but there is no doubt that in the film, Godzilla is much larger than the male. I would say that an accurately scaled Male MUTO would be at least 2/3 Godzilla's height. The RIC Boy MUTO figure is barely half of the 30cm Godzilla 2014's height. Whether or not the MUTO is in scale with Godzilla, they do look absolutely great together. I can't display one without the other.

Now to sum up: The X-Plus Godzilla 2014 is an amazingly sculpted and detailed figure. It is not 100% perfect, but by god it comes VERY close! I would call this one of the top two figure representations of the Godzilla 2014 design to date, with the other being the massive Sideshow Collectibles Maquette, which I will be reviewing eventually. The addition of the Male MUTO with the RIC Boy exclusive just adds to the awesomeness that this figure already has to offer. Do I recommend it? HELL YES! If you can afford it, buy the RIC Boy exclusive for completest sake. You will not regret it.

The standard version of this figure (without the Male MUTO) is still readily available at Hobby Search and BigBadToyStore.