Today is Day 1 at Toy Fair New York 2019. Every year, big toy companies like Bandai, FUNKO Pop!, and NECA come together to display their upcoming toy releases. This is a convention that is like Christmas for toy collectors. This year, however, is a big deal for NECA.
Back in December, S.H. MonsterArts revealed their Godzilla: King Of The Monsters figurines displaying all four of the main monsters. After the reveal, many collectors have been wondering if NECA will do the same. Randy from NECA did confirm back in SDCC2018 that they were going to do all four monsters, but until then it was more hush hush.
So what does NECA have to offer this year? NECA has offered quite a lot. It was confirmed that we would be seeing four of their figures on display, but the only ones that we knew confirmed for release were Godzilla and Mothra. When the whole display was revealed it was almost what I expected, yet what they revealed is still a lot.
We have two paint variants of Godzilla and then Rodan and Mothra on display. My first impression for these figures actually got me excited. They actually look amazingly accurate to the movie in terms of detail. It's a little disappointing that King Ghidorah didn't appear at the show, but what was revealed has me more than satisfied.
Like what I did with the S.H. MonsterArts figures I will be looking at them individually and give my opinions on what I like and don't like about the figures. So let's take a closer look.
Godzilla (Regular Version):
When I look at this figure and the S.H. MonsterArts figure, I find myself more attracted towards this one. It just has a bit more going on in terms of detail and paint especially on Godzilla's dorsal plates. On the S.H. MonsterArts version, there is not much detail where you think there should be. I did say when I covered the S.H. MonsterArts version that he did need more paint and the NECA version is definitely what I was looking for. What is making the NECA version much more attractive to the eye is the yellow-green paint that is highlighting all of the bumps and ridges.
One of the things that I wish NECA would start doing is switching out the bendy wire tail for a ball jointed tail. While there are ball joints from the base of the tail once you're down towards the middle that is where the bendy wire starts. Many collectors have had issues with the wire snapping and breaking. There were even reports of the wire poking out of the tail as well due to the stress from bending it so much. So if they can replace the bendy wire tail with a ball jointed tail then there would be no issues at all.
Mothra:
When Mothra's new design was revealed by S.H. MonsterArts it is one that I didn't like all that much at first until I saw it in action in the second trailer for the movie. Once I saw Mothra on the screen, it was then that I started loving it the design. The same issue seems to apply with NECA as well where Mothra just does not look good in toy form. I don't really like how this Mothra has muted colors. I think NECA could have made her look more vibrant like making her smaller wings blue and have them transition into orange like in the movie.
What I do like though is that she comes with a couple of accessories. She comes with a display stand so she looks like she is flying and the stand that it comes with looks like she is popping out of cocoon. I really love the design of the cocoon as it looks sort of alien looking. Also, Mothra comes with a Mothra Larva and this is the first time we are seeing the body in full. In the trailers, the most we would see of the Mothra Larva is from the head down to the torso. It looks like it is articulated at the torso, but I could also be wrong about that. However, it looks pretty cool.
Rodan:
Rodan looks pretty good. He is a lot darker than his S.H. MonsterArts counterpart. That is one of the things that makes the NECA version stand out and it is unique in a way. He still has that look like he is really made of molten lava, but like how lava cools down it becomes more charcoal black with tints of orange between the crevices signifying that it is not totally cooled down. It shows with the orange on the edge of his wings and in small crevices of his body making him appear like a reddish color. Rodan even comes with a display stand just like Mothra to make him appear that he is flying. The stand that Rodan comes with has an army base that is in the middle of being destroyed, which looks awesome.
What I am not liking from what I see so far are the wings. If you ever purchased NECA's Pacific Rim figures and bought Otachi in his flying form, then you would have had trouble with warping or the joints feeling janky. If not, then I don't know. It happened with mine and I didn't play around with it so much. If the wings were on hinges then maybe I wouldn't worry so much.
Godzilla (Atomic Blast Version):
This version of Godzilla is the same as the regular Godzilla 2019 figure, but this is unique on it's own. Simulating Godzilla's iconic atomic breath attack in the movies, the design for this version of Godzilla is all based on the atomic breath and blast accessories that he comes with. Godzilla is all covered in blue on the dorsal plates, tail, eyes, etc. It really makes him look even more attractive over the other ones. When a Godzilla toy from NECA comes with an atomic breath accessory it usually plugs into a hole in the monster's mouth. This makes it much easier if you ever want to recreate that scene where Godzilla shoots his atomic breath into the sky or the "call to arms" scene as fans have come to call it.
Just like my complaint with the regular version, I wish that NECA would use ball joints for the tail instead of bendy wire.
My overall thoughts are that it is a shame that NECA didn't reveal a King Ghidorah figure, but what was shown is a really good start. If I were to guess the estimate, these would be around the $25-$40 range which is a really good deal for what you are getting. So if you liked what you saw from the images and you wanted a cheaper alternative to the S.H. MonsterArts version then NECA is definitely your best bet.
What did you think of the reveals from NECA? Did they live up to your expectations? Let me know in the comments section of your thoughts on NECA's Godzilla: King Of The Monsters figures. Make sure to follow me on my Facebook page and Twitter to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.