The Rave Corner: S.H. MonsterArts Mecha-King Ghidorah Review

In an interesting move, Tamashii Nations took on the task to remodel their original S.H. MonsterArts King Ghidorah figure into the upgraded cyborg, known as Mecha-King Ghidorah! For years, some fans have always wanted to see Tamashii Nations attempt to create their very own super articulated Mecha-King Ghidorah toy. Not only did this set give the fans what they want, but an added treat of accessories, in the form various weaponry and three little Dorats, may have been icing on the cake.

Minor Assembly Required

Mecha-King Ghidorah is packaged in a secure plastic bubble, but due to some constraints, the tail's ends had to be separated, requiring the collector to pop them in manually. Although the fit was snug, these tips managed to be inserted without the use of a blow dryer.

Mecha-King Ghidorah

Although Tamashii Nations preserved some designs and functionality from the original King Ghidorah figure, the added metal coverings and robot parts look absolutely gorgeous. Enhancing this nicely crafted armor is the subtle shadowing paint job spread around various spots.

The patterns that reminisce of carbon fiber, on both wings look great and amazingly accurate to the film. Use some caution when handling the spiky bits, as they are quite brittle. Do not risk breaking any of these pieces off accidentally.

The robotic head in the middle is very astonishing. There are lots of little details to admire, such as the bulb like eyes, red tipped head piece and gravity beam tip inside Ghidorah's mouth, as well as other facial features.

Another interesting aspect of this figure is the set of collars wrapped around Mecha-King Ghidorah's neck. Each collar has a cable connecting the neck with the chest, and they flex as the necks moves around. However, they do limit how much each neck can rotate.

Who can forget the dome right beneath the collars that is crafted and painted to perfection? Beneath that dome, was a cockpit, where Emmy Kano piloted this beastly weapon. Of course, there isn't anything beyond that window. Do not expect a hidden compartment that will reveal some sort of control room.

Mecha-King Ghidorah is also a perfect match with the adjustable flight stand by FlightPose. With the right adjustments, this figure balances with ease, and all of the various aerial poses look very natural.

Weapons

Mecha-King Ghidorah is armed with five grappling claws that project from his torso. Of course, imitating the actual projection of these grappling claws, as seen in the movie, cannot be done through this toy, and concealing all of the cables inside the body is impossible.

Instead, Tamashii Nations had to resort to simple solutions that could still pull off this action. The result is to have the claws and cables manually pegged into the body instead. The middle chest piece must be removed first, and then open the (4) flaps located on each corner. Then plug the claws into the exposed peg holes. Each claw has pin joints that will allow them to open and close manually.

To keep the claws into the air, Tamashii Nations included a clear stand that will keep each claw airborne and spread out. When fully assembled, the execution looks quite sloppy at some angles, yet stunning in other glances.

Unfortunately, some gravity beams were not included in this set, which leaves the collectors to borrow the yellow gravity beams from King Ghidorah. The problem though, is the color of the gravity beam coming from the middle (robot) head is actually blue. Collectors will have to improvise with this one.

Three Little Dorats

Adding more novelty to this set is these little Dorat figures. For those wondering what Dorats are, they are simply the pre-mutated form(s) of King Ghidorah. Scaling wise, these figures are not size accurate to Mecha-King Ghidorah, but the cute design is nicely executed.

There are some bits of articulation though. The legs and head do rotate 360 degrees. There is a slight pivoting motion in the wings, but do use some caution while fiddling them, because the wings are made out of thin plastic.

All things considered, these toys just may be a perfect fit to anyone who likes these little guys. The best part is they don't take up a lot of room.

Articulation

Playing with Mecha-King Ghidorah's poseability was proven to be as fun as fiddling with King Ghidorah's range of motion, maybe even more. The three long necks, two tails, and legs are very well put together. The revamped design allowed some extra articulated features, such as an abdominal bend.

Although the wings are sturdy and seemingly more reliable than King Ghidorah's design, still consider handling the wings with care. Mecha-King Ghidorah's wings still has two different joints rigged inside, a hinge and swiveling joint. The hinge allows Mecha-King Ghidorah to flap his wings, while the extra swiveling mechanism allows the user to adjust the angle of those wings.

The hinged joints are very stiff and snug at first. Instead of forcing the wings to bend in one go, they were instead swiveled back in forth with tiny increments until the joints loosened up. The wings were supported at the base during movement.

Dimensions

Size Comparison

Naturally, Mecha-King Ghidorah is a tad taller and definitely bulkier than (regular) King Ghidorah. Godzilla (Rebirth) is in fantastic scale next to Mecha-King Ghidorah. Getting these two monsters to fight each other is another highlight in owning this figure.

Conclusion

Mecha-King Ghidorah has a lot to offer. This toy boasts the same amount of fun one had, when playing with King Ghidorah's wide range of articulation. The only difference is some kinks that the original toy had, did seem to be addressed. The wings feels more sturdy, but be advised they should still be handled delicately to prevent something from breaking.

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