New Pics of S.H.MonsterArts King Kong

December 26, 2012 | Poe

SHM ______ 05

Bluefin Distribution has sent along some photos of S.H.MonsterArts King Kong. He’s due out around April, and will cost 5,775 yen ($67.44).

I have mixed feelings about this figure. I wasn’t a big fan of the Peter Jackson version this figure is based on, but my reasons for not liking it had nothing to do with the creature designs – those were great. The film was just way too long, overwrought, and in scenes like the disgusting ravine attack by the giant insects and worms, overindulgent.

Nonetheless, the Kong design was great and this figure is a must-buy for me. You can read more about the figure here. Pics after the jump! (more…)

S.H.MonsterArts Destoroyah Hi-Res Pics

November 8, 2012 | Poe

In 1995, Godzilla died. As Toho anticipated handing off their Godzilla franchise to America as a brand-new blockbuster franchise (and yeah, we all know how that turned out), they decided to bid farewell to their beloved radioactive dinosaur by giving him a going-away party called Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. The film included many references to the original film, including the origin of its villain, Destoroyah – a demonic creature formed by prehistoric crustaceans mutated by the weapon that killed the original Godzilla, the Oxygen Destroyer.

With Burning Godzilla already on the way, it was only a matter of time before Tamashii unveiled the S.H.MonsterArts Destoroyah. He’s absolutely massive – the largest SHMA figure to date – and will cost around $150 (suddenly I’m collecting something getting up into the Hot Toys range…I basically have no non-MOTUC, non-SHMA toy budget at this point). (more…)

S.H.MonsterArts King Ghidorah Now Available

November 6, 2012 | Poe

S.H.MonsterArts King Ghidorah is now available at Amazon and Entertainment Earth, and should be available any day now at BBTS. I’ve opened mine and hope to get to a review eventually, but in the meantime I can tell you that it’s an amazing action figure but be very careful with the wings. They’re not really designed to “flap” from right to left, but rather, they’re designed to move up and down a bit. The special hinge at the base of the wings was reportedly designed to prevent the wings from putting excess weight on the joint, causing the joint to become brittle and break over time. Ironically, this design makes the joint weak when yanked around in other directions, so it’s prone to breaking. Whether or not that risk is worth the price is entirely up to you (though the good news is you can probably return the figure if you order through a U.S. retailer – I didn’t). Being someone who would have sacrificed his entire Transformers collection as a kid for super-articulated Godzilla toys, the risk was worth it to me, but I’m a complete mark for this line.

Odds ‘n Ends n’ Weekend Discussion Thread

October 27, 2012 | Poe

That’s right – Odds ‘n Ends is back! I’ve just got too much stuff to write about and don’t want to spam your RSS reader with a slew of Sightings posts, so instead I present the return of O&E.

Also, because I eliminated the discussion board, I thought I’d try creating a “weekend discussion thread” and see if it appealed to anyone. So feel free to post about any (toy-related) topic you want in the comments below.

Anyway, on the odds and ends.

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…)