While I am typing this out, we are on day 2 of New York Toy Fair, I want to give you guys my overall thoughts on day 1. To be honest, my expectations were low. I didn't expect much other than wanting to see what PlayMates Toys had to offer for the Godzilla vs Kong merchandise. We didn't see anything from PlayMates Toys on day 1 and I don't know if we will see anything through out the rest of the convention. I think after what happened in January, I think PlayMates Toys is going to keep a tight leash on who gets to see the figures for Godzilla vs Kong. Whether any photos gets leaked online or not is debatable. However, we did get a lot of other stuff revealed.
Starting off from Friday night, Funko reveals a Godzilla strategy board game called Godzilla Tokyo Clash. The game accommodates 2-4 players with Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Megalon as the player pieces. The goal for the player is to defeat the other monsters before the people of Tokyo muster up their defenses and destroy you.
Funko is mainly known for their Funko POP! figurines that have the big heads, small bodies, and the small, black, beady eyes. Back in 2015, Funko has done Funko POP! figures for Godzilla for a while until they stopped. To see them come back to do a board game sounds kind of fun. There does need to be more information on how the game is played, but it sounds sort of like a Stratego game with a timer. This game is set to be released some time in June 2020. So if strategy games are your kind of thing, then Godzilla Tokyo Clash might peak your interest.
The big reveal for day 1 came from NECA with their Godzilla 89 and 2003 figures and perhaps the most talked about. When NECA first started releasing Godzilla figures in 2014 NECA had a really rocky start. They released two variations of Godzilla 2014 which were pretty good, but then the quality of each figure sort of went down hill to the point where people started to believe that NECA just stopped caring. Then in 2018, NECA explained that there were communication issues between them and TOHO since most of NECA's planned figures were going through Warner Bros. Now, they have a new contract that allows them to communicate to TOHO directly without issue and are able to do more with the figures. Since then, NECA has seen a big improvement in designing their Godzilla figures and those improvements continue to reflect in these figures, as well. They really look almost spot on to the actual suits from the movies they're based on. They're both 6 inches tall and 12 inches in length from head to tail. So far, Godzilla 89 is the only one to come with an atomic breath effect part as Godzilla 2003 does not appear to have one in any of the pictures or in the toy's description on NECA's official website. Both figures are due to release in June 2020.
Out of all of the other NECA Godzilla figures in the Heisei era (84, 94, and 95/Burning Godzilla) NECA's Godzilla 89 figure really trumps all of them. I would even say that NECA is getting close to that Bandai/Tamashii Nations tier quality from their S.H. MonsterArts line in terms of details with the scutes and ridges all over the body, which reflects the suit nicely. The neck could be a little thicker, but other than that this Godzilla figure is very screen accurate. With the atomic breath effect piece, the very nice packaging with the movie poster on the front, and the $25 price you can't really go wrong with this figure.
NECA's Godzilla 2003 figure is NECA's second attempt at a Godzilla figure from the Millenium series and it looks awesome. The toy is a bit chunkier in the thighs as opposed to the suit the toy is based on. I can see that hindering any articulation in the abdomen, which restricts the figure from doing any certain poses. He is much lighter in color, but I think it works for this figure to bring out the details all around his body and NECA did a great job. Godzilla 2003 also has his signature scar that I think could also use some touching up so it can stand out from the rest of his body. This is also going for $25 and so far it has only been shown with the packaging and none of the promotional pictures nor the product info details any accessories that goes with this figure. Yet, that is to be determined as we get closer to release as there are times where NECA has shown off a Godzilla figure without accessories and then is revealed on the back of the box.
At last year's Toy Fair, NECA did show off a retooled Godzilla 85 figure that had bigger dorsal fins and a tail with all ball joints. Then, there was nothing else that came of it. No official pictures or even a release date. However, even though there is no box on display there was a tag for Godzilla 85. So perhaps some time during the convention NECA will make room and show off the figure. A tag for Godzilla 2014 was also spotted in NECA's display that is slated for a release some time in the second quarter. It begs the question if their Godzilla 2014 figure will be the same as when they first released the toy or if they did some retooling or made a new mold for Godzilla 2014. Again, I hope that NECA shows it off some time during the convention with more detail.
Early yesterday morning, there was an announcement from Bandai/Tamashii Nations that they were doing S.H. MonsterArts figures from a video game series called Monster Hunter. This was not a Toy Fair announcement nor were there any figures from Monster Hunter at Toy Fair that were showcased, but this the first thing that appeared online.
What did appear at Toy Fair, though, was nothing new. The only figures from S.H. MonsterArts were Godzilla 2019 and Burning Godzilla 2019. This was actually disappointing that there was nothing to show from Bandai. I know that they actually have Godzilla vs Kong figures lined up and were ready to be revealed and then the movie's delay happened. So because of that there was nothing to show this year. To be honest, I am not entirely pleased with how Burning Godzilla looks and I'm getting tired of them over using the translucent plastic. It just does not look good. It looks cheap and he looks like he just came from a bag of Cheetos.
I think Tamashii Nations could have prepared themselves better. They could have made other figures for back up just in case of situations like this calling for desperate measures. They could have made figures of other classic monsters. Perhaps a King Kong 33 figure or maybe a Showa King Ghidorah figure since there were bootlegs being released last year. Just something to show that they're not twiddling their thumbs around waiting.
The next line to be revealed are the Phunny Plush dolls and mini figurines from Kidrobot. The two Godzilla dolls on the top right corner and the mini figurines are already available at your local Target or comic book stores. I get the feeling that I have already seen these from last year and were forgotten about. I do like the look on the King Ghidorah plush doll. It sort of has a Dr. Seuss style with the pointy nose and that Grinch like grin. Then, we have the two MechaGodzilla dolls on the top left corner, which looks fine. Not a big fan of how it looks.
On the bottom shelf we have four different Godzilla dolls. The ones on the far left and right sides look really similar to each other. Perhaps they're the same figure or maybe the dorsal fins are different. They are hard to tell if there is any difference to them at all. As for the two gold ones, you have a matte finish and the other has a very shiny and metallic body. They sort of remind me of the lucky cat statues that have one paw up. There are some that have that metallic gold as well.
As for the rest of the reveals from day 1 at Toy Fair, there was a plush doll, piggy banks, coasters, blankets, mugs, magnets, shot glasses, shot glass holders, etc. Most of it just didn't seem to matter other than the plushy from Surreal Entertainment and it is still waiting for approval from whom I guess is TOHO. It looks cute and it looks like a doll that any child could have in his/her room to play or snuggle with. Stuff like the shot glasses and the piggy bank you can already find in stores if you know where to look.
Overall, day 1 of Toy Fair showed some promise for Godzilla. It was kind of a bummer that PlayMates Toys didn't reveal anything, but we still have until Tuesday for any kind of reveal if it happens at all. So the victor of day 1 goes to NECA. I just hope that day 2-4 gives us more new reveals like Godzilla vs Kong toys from PlayMates. It would be very disappointing if nothing else happens, but that is what happens when expectations are raised, right?
What are your thoughts on day 1 of Toy Fair? Do you have any favorites that were revealed? Leave a comment in the comments section on what you thought of the day 1 reveals at Toy Fair. Make sure to follow me on me Facebook, Twitter, and Minds pages to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.