As the Godzilla franchise headed towards the Godzilla vs Kong movie in 2021, the licensing rights outside of Japan moved from NECA to Playmates and a new line of 6-inch sized Kaiju were revealed - both to tie in with the movie, but also from the Toho back catalog of Godzilla movies.
The Playmates line of Legacy Godzilla figures would use existing molds from Bandai America, re-releasing several figures from the soft PVC Movie Monster series such as Destroyah and Space Godzilla. There would however be new additions, and one of these is the 2004 Gigan from Final Wars.
The new Playmates figures utilise an open cardboard packaging with a front tray holding the figure and a backing card. A generic Godzilla logo dominates the front of the box against a flaming background with the character name sitting underneath, this is repeated on the two side panels. Gigan is listed with a year from which he is based - 2004 - but the Final Wars movie itself is not referenced.
The figure is held into the tray by way of two plastic ties over the feet, one over the tail, and a longer strap across the body. The head is kept in place by way of a shaped clear plastic tray. The backing card itself features a Godzilla, and a backdrop of a burning city. The back of the card features pictures of other figures in the line alongside Gigan on a scorched desert surface. There is no background info, which is a shame for collectors who may want to explore the background of Gigan and see him in action.
These Playmates figures, like Bandai America before them, are a soft hollow PVC sculpt so in hand Gigan is pretty lightweight. He is very well sculpted and much better than the softer features of Destroyah or Space Godzilla who are part of the same wave. The head sculpt is crisp with the metal attachments and horns, and down these extend down the back of the head to the three soft plastic red wings which themselves are trimmed in an electric blue colour.
The body is reminiscent of a Xenomorph from Aliens, with ridged black glossy sections and overlapping carapace pieces. The arms end in metal claws coloured in silver, while the legs have armour panels applied to the knees and feet. The tail too is armoured and ends in another wicked looking three-pronged spike.
Gigan certainly looks the part, but he is not brilliantly articulated with just basic swivel joints at the shoulders and the top of the legs, with a further rotation point on the tail. There is a neck joint but this does not move. This essentially ties you into one stance, as seen in the photos, and then an ability to raise the two arms. It is a real shame a rotation could not have been included at the point the arms turn to the metal claws. This is made worse by Playmates putting each arm on at different orientations, one is to the side and one is upright.
These Playmates figures retail here in the UK at £14.99 and for that price they are pretty well sized, with Gigan standing the same height as a 7-inch NECA Godzilla. It will be interesting to see the comparison between the figures as the newer Playmates sculpts like Gigan are already looking infinately better than the ones from Bandai America casts.
Considering that NECA were unable to make any other Toho Kaiju in their line, this new Playmates line is certainly welcomed by fans, and I look forward to seeing how it develops.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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