Original Figure Review - Sideshow Collectibles Knifehead Statue

Written by Arlo Hansen

I have had Sideshow Collectibles' Knifehead statue since last September, but I am just now getting around to reviewing it. No, it was not procrastination that has prevented me from sharing my reflections on this piece. I've contemplated for months whether or not to review this and the other Pacific Rim statues I have. I was not keen on doing anymore figure reviews on video, because it was just not my sort of thing. However, since I am going through a little bit of a dry spell, I thought this would be the appropriate time to review them. So far I only have three of the four released statues: Knifehead, Gipsy Danger and Slattern. I will pick up Striker Eureka eventually, but with me currently out of a job, I will just have to be patient for a little while longer.

Knifehead was the first of the Pacific Rim statues that Sideshow Collectibles released. The statues were sculpted with assistance and guidance by designers who actually worked on Pacific Rim (2013) including director, Guillermo Del Toro. In the movie, Knifehead was a Category III Kaiju that was the first to demonstrate intelligence in battle. It successfully killed one of Gipsy Danger's pilots, Yancy Becket, before being killed by a lone Raleigh Becket before he struggles to get the Jaeger back to the Alaskan shore. Since the film came out, Knifehead has become one of the few Kaiju to really stand out. Of all the Kaiju in the film, Knifehead has received the most figure treatments from tiny Gashapon figures from Kaiyodo, deluxe action figures from NECA, and an upcoming Large Monsters Series vinyl figure from X-Plus. However, by far one of the more impressive pieces of Knifehead released so far has to be this Sideshow statue. Let's take a closer look! 

Original Figure Review - Medicom Real Action Heroes NEO Evangelion 13

Written by Arlo Hansen

I have been a huge fan of the Evangelion franchise for at least the past seven or so years. What intrigued me was its complex story, characters and use of religious and psychological symbolism. As soon as I was finished watching the original anime series, I then discovered the Rebuild of Evangelion films, which is a partial retelling of the original story with new characters and elements thrown in. Things remained mostly familiar within the movies Evangelion 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone (2007) and Evangelion 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance. However, by Evangelion 3.33 You Can (Not) Redo (2012) things changed a great deal - SPOILER ALERT - there was a 14 year time skip between the second and third film, new characters, new organizations, new EVAs, and new questions that will hopefully be answered in the fourth/final film whenever it releases. One of the definite highlights of the film was the battle between the upgraded Evangelion Unit 02 and Evangelion 13 in Terminal Dogma, which bears a striking resemblence to Unit 01 (with some notable differences). For a long time I've collected the smaller Revoltech action figures for the EVAs, so I was venturing into brand new territory in regards to the Medicom RAH NEO Evangelion 13 action figure.

Truth be told, this was an impulse purchase. I was feeling rather blue this past Valentines Day as I am alone. I decided to buy myself something I've been eyeing for a while as a means to lift my spirits. That little something was this figure, which costed me a little over $400 USD. So, was it worth the price and my emotional state at the time? Let's take a look! 

Original Figure Review - X-Plus Gigantic Series Yuji Sakai Modeling Collection Godzilla 1999

Written by Arlo Hansen

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?

So, without any further ado, let us get started!

NEW Shin Gojira Trailer [Review]

What a way to start (or end) the day, am I right? Toho drops a brand new trailer for Shin Gojira (internationally titled Godzilla Resurgence), the first domestic Godzilla film since 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars. Today I will be doing something I have not done before: a trailer review. It'll be an analysis of what we saw and some of my own thoughts an opinions on certain aspects of it. So without further ado, let us begin...

If you haven't watched the trailer yet, do so now!

X-Plus Toho 30cm MechaGodzilla 1975 & Gigantic Series Godzilla 1962

Along with the Large Monsters Series Leatherback, X-Plus also teases us with a couple of other upcoming figure releases such as their Toho 30cm Series MechaGodzilla 1975 and Gigantic Series Godzilla 1962 at the 2016 Spring Miyazawa Model Exhibition.

UPDATE: The 30cm MechaGodzilla 1975 is slated for a June 2016 release date. 

Photo Source: Dengeki Hobby Web

X-Plus Large Monsters Series Leatherback

WHOOOAAA!!!

Look at that. X-Plus has unveiled their prototype for their upcoming Large Monsters Series Leatherback figure. It was teased a while back that X-Plus would be tackling Knifehead and Leatherback, and now we are seeing one of the two promised figures.

Personally it looks absolutely amazing. The pose alone makes it very intimidating and powerful. No word yet when it'll be released exactly, but it is definitely slated for within this year. I am certainly adding this ferocious beast to my collection!

UPDATE: Based on the title card along with the figure, it seemed that Leatherback was slated for a May 2016 release. However, a blue pen mark over the date may suggest it has been pushed back to at least July... Looks like it'll be a busy month since a majority of my preorders this year release in that month. Must prepare thy wallet!

Photo Source: Dengeki Hobby Web

Fresh Vinyl Reviews: X-Plus Toho 30cm Series Godzilla 1954 Gripping Train [RIC Exclusive]