King Ghidorah is by far the most anticipated monster that S.H. MonsterArts has released. This figure is also the most expensive so far, topping over $100. Fans, who followed this line, expected things to be this way as long as the figure satisfies their huge standards. Without any further a do, let's see what this toy has to offer.
The Figure: This version of King Ghidorah was based from the movie Godzilla vs King Ghidorah in 1991. Based on sculpt and detail alone, Tamashii Nations knocked this thing right out of the ballpark. King Ghidorah models his movie counterpart very clearly, and the body proportions are just flawless.
The entire figure is colored in a fantastic shade of gold that glistens under light. Collectors will be amazed by the layers of scales that were molded on this body. All of the spikes and horns you see on this figure are quite pointy, so do not be careless when handling him. King Ghidorah also have fabulous, real looking feel to his wings, much like himself in the movie. The wrinkles or dents in the membrane gives an illusion that King Ghidorah's wings are flapping. The details of King Ghidorah's head may be the best thing on this figure. Those eyes are painted red with sharp black lenses. King Ghidorah's mouth has white teeth, red serpent like tongue, and gums that are in a darker shade of red.
All three heads give a very intimidating stare in whichever way they are posed. Even though King Ghidorah looks very eye appealing, there are some problems in areas of quality, specifically the joints. About two separate ball joints on two of King Ghidorah's necks popped off. The smaller ball joint closer to Ghidorah's right head can pop back in with ease. However, the bigger ball joint closer to the base of Ghidorah's left neck is rather difficult to reattach. In fact, the left head was already unattached when it was packed in the box. Through some repair measure, that head sort of popped back in, but can't be fully secured without some adhesive. There are also smaller ball joints used to hold King Ghidorah's lower jaw together that sometimes seem a bit fragile, but there are no problems with them so far. Lastly, King Ghidorah's wings are unleveled, and the hinge that holds those pieces together doesn't look that durable either. Word of caution, be very careful when posing this figure or else some limbs may snap off.
Accessories: King Ghidorah comes with a base stand, three articulated arms, and three gravity beam effects. Although the arms do fit in the base perfectly, getting the gravity beams to perfectly fit in King Ghidorah's mouth at your first try is a real pain. The end that fits in Ghidorah's mouth doesn't peg, so you must make the teeth bite that piece down like a clamp. This task is very troublesome because you constantly worry about aligning the arms perfectly, so the gravity beams can sit on them and fit tightly between Ghidorah's teeth at the same time. When you figure out how to properly display those effects, the reward is somewhat worth your effort as long as those pieces remain stationary.
Figure Specs:
Articulation: For the most part, King Ghidorah does have an impressive amount of articulation because there are about 83 joints in total! Of course, when your figure does not have any limbs that weren't properly reinforced, King Ghidorah should provide you tremendous satisfaction.
Size Comparison: Another benefit to this figure is King Ghidorah does stand in great scale next to Heisei Godzilla. Even though Godzilla's suit isn't exactly from the movie, you can still have fun posing the two figures together.
Final Thoughts: As the seventh figure released in this line (eighth including Comic-Con Explosion Godzilla), King Ghidorah still lacks in quality control. Having to pop King Ghidorah's left head back on his neck from time to time is very cumbersome. Fortunately, the figure that was featured in this review only suffered from minor defects that do not call for a new replacement. Of course, the extent of quality amongst the other figures vary. Some may be perfect, while others may not. However, King Ghidorah does make a nice display piece when there are no problems. If the drawbacks listed in this review doesn't change your mind, feel free to buy this figure. There is a possibility that the one you get could have zero defects when taken out of the box.
For other reviews of S.H. MonsterArts figures, click HERE.
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