S.H.MonsterArts is Determined to Put Me Into Bankruptcy

October 25, 2012 | Poe

After The Return of Godzilla (a.k.a. Godzilla 1985), Godzilla vs. Biollante is my favorite Godzilla film of the Heisei era. The plot is arguably the highest-concept idea ever: a giant mutated radioactive dinosaur fights a giant mutated flower bio-engineered with cells from said giant mutated radioactive dinosaur. The film also has a great soundtrack and some of the best special effects, as well as my favorite Godzilla suit (“BioGoji”), of the Heisei era.

Anyway, Biollante is a character who’s only been done a few times, due to her massive size and complicated design. And yet, at this week’s Tamashii Event, we’ve got a prototypes of not just an S.H.MonsterArts Biollante, but an SHMA BioGoji. Given that Hedorah Ghidorah cost $120 and Destoroyah is estimated at $160, we’re probably getting into the $200-$250 range for Biollante.

One caveat: these are just prototypes. Tamashii has a history of showing off prototypes but never making them (e.g., Ultra-Act Baltan I and Kanegon, as well as SHMA Aggregate Destoroyah and Utsuno Ikusagami). So I have a request – if you’re on Facebook, please click here and “like” the above photo. Even if you don’t like Godzilla, do it for ol’ Poe. I’ll give you three Poe-written reviews (with at least one MOTUC) by next Wednesday if you do!

NECA’s AvP:Requiem Alien Warrior: Still the best 1/12th-Scale Alien figure?

October 25, 2012 | Poe

Bear with me here. My favorite “Alien” design is the one from Aliens. That’s solely because it’s the first film of the series I was exposed to, it’s my favorite, and because it’s awesome.

Those who argue the more psychologically-creepy design from the first Alien is superior have a strong argument too, given its smoother, phallic-shaped head. (more…)

Castle Grayskull Update

October 24, 2012 | Poe

So here’s how it stands right now – the pre-orders for Castle Grayskull [pre-order here] are a bit under halfway there. Personally, I’m not going to panic, or even worry, until we’re into November, because I think a lot of people get paid at the end of the month. Let’s see where the meter is around the first week of November. If it’s still under, then you have my permission to panic.

For the record, I put in my pre-order days ago. No tormented back-and-forth on this one (even Dr. Mrs. Ghostal, by far the more financially responsible member of our duo, told me to just go for it – possibly because she didn’t want me freaking out and spending a small fortune on one at a bankruptcy-baiting mark-up on eBay). So I’ve done my part.

In Grayskull-related news, the irrepressible NoisyDvL5 of ItsAllTrue has created yet another new site, this one tracking all news and info about the Classics Grayskull, at CastleGrayskull.info. I can only sit and admire his energy for this sort of thing.

Also, as they did with the 2013 subscription, the Four Horsemen have issued a personal appeal to fans to pre-order Grayskull:

One of the main things we’ve dreamed of doing since we very first pitched the idea o Masters of the Universe Classics to Mattel is to get the chance to re-create one of the most iconic playsets of all time, CASTLE GRAYSKULL! Well, the time has come, and we’ve got the chance to not only re-create Castle Grayskull so that it fits in with the level of detail and styling of Masters of the Universe Classics, but this thing’s gonna be HUUUUGE! Plus, we’re going to include all of the features and fun details of the original, and try squeeze in as much cool new stuff as we possibly can as well.

Here’s where you all come in. Unfortunately, this incredible playset isn’t going to be cheap to purchase and we understand that. But the price Mattel’s going to be selling it for is the only way we’re going to be able to make it and get it into the hands of Masters of the Universe fans. Mattel has to have a certain amount of pre-orders before they can even have us start building the thing. If they don’t meet the minimum number of pre-orders required to set this process in motion by the deadline, then Castle Grayskull for the MotU Classics line will never happen. It’s as simple as that.

And for those who missed it, here’s Scott Neitlich’s video showing the foam mock-up of the playset:

Interview > Monster Artist Extraordinaire Matt Frank

October 22, 2012 | Poe

MattFrankArt.com

Matt Frank

Specialty: Drawing monsters
Base of Operations: MattFrank.com. You can find much more of his monstrous artwork here.
History: Matt Frank is based in the Golden Land of Texas. He likes pineapple juice. He also loves to draw monsters and anything else that happens to be very, very cool. His comics work includes IDW’s Godzilla and Transformers: Flash Forward and Bluewater Productions’ Ray Harryhausen Presents: Wrath of the Titans.

What toys did you collect as a kid, and what do you collect now?

When I was but a lad, my room (and our storage space) was practically bursting with toys. I had substantial collections relating to Power Rangers, Transformers, Jurassic Park, War Planets, Mighty Max, Ultraman, and, naturally, Godzilla. Largely this was thanks to my grandmother, God rest her soul, and her predilection towards expressing love via large purchases.

Nowadays, as an adult, I’ve had something of a change of priorities without a loss of motivation. My tastes have been refined, somewhat, in that I’ve trimmed my collecting habits down to mostly Godzilla and Ultraman related swag, with the occasional Transformer, but mostly keeping an eye open for the more interesting or unique toy/figure. For example, I came across a model of Osaka Castle that was quite nicely detailed, and it goes perfectly with my six-inch Bandai Godzilla figures! I also came across a rare Reptilicus figure (an exclusive for the Asian Fantasy Film Expo in 2000) while in New York City, and snagged it for my “rare and cool” shelf. (more…)