Updated: Sep 29, 2020
Welcome back, collectors! Another week, another review. Today, we are reviewing Godzilla w/ Heat Ray figure by PlayMates Toys. This figure is part of wave 1 of the Godzilla vs Kong line, which includes both 11" Godzilla and Kong figures and Godzilla w/ Radio Tower, Kong w/ Battle Axe, and Skull Crawler figures. The Godzilla vs Kong figures are sold exclusively at Walmart and many of the 6" figures cost around $10. Is it worth the price? Let's take a look and find out if this figures is worth adding into your collection.
Packaging:
The packaging is the standard open box packaging. Nothing to rag home about. You know the deal based on the previous two 11" figures. The front of the package has the title of the movie, the Monsterverse logo, the name of this specific figure, logos of the companies associated with the movie and merchandise, and a promo image of the battle damage feature on Godzilla's chest. The left side of the box has the title of the movie and the right side of the box has name of the figure.
On the back of the box, we see the movie's synopsis on the top right of the box. On the left side, we can see the toy's description, which reads, "Harness the awesome power of Godzilla's thunderous roar and devastating tail-swipe as the king of the monsters battles Kong to settle an ancient rivalry." In the middle of the box there is another promotional image of the Godzilla w/ Heat Ray figure. Lastly, we see other figures in this collection. As you can see, there are two new figures that have not released yet. One of them is another Kong figure, but this time he would come with a fighter jet. The other figure that you see is censored due to spoilers. I cannot talk about this figure at the moment until there is more info and how big of a role this monster plays in the movie. If you already know what it is please don't spoil it in the comments as consideration to those that want to see the movie without it being spoiled.
Paint, Sculpt, and Articulation:
Godzilla w/ Heat Ray is a scaled down version of the 11" Giant Godzilla PlayMates Toys released two weeks ago, but with some differences in the paint and sculpt. This Godzilla is painted in a charcoal grey color all over the body with the nails painted brown or green. The scales and scutes are smoothed out so you're not going to get any great sculpting from this figure. The inside of the mouth is painted pink, the teeth are painted white, and the eyes are just blue with a black dot for the pupils.
For the chest, you will notice something is off and you find that the chest pops off revealing the battle damage feature. The chest piece that covers the battle damage is made from a softer plastic so it allows you to pop it off and insert it back easier. Be mindful not to lose the chest piece as it is small and could be lost very easily. Once you pop off chest piece, you will reveal Godzilla's scar that looks looks like he just got sliced open by some sort of tool. You can even see his ribs poking out, which is a little gory for a kid's toy.
I think the best thing about this Godzilla figure are the dorsal fins. Instead of being painted blue like on the 11" figure these dorsal fins are sculpted from a translucent blue plastic. If you ever wanted to make Godzilla's dorsal fins look like they're glowing just grab a flashlight and shine away. It doesn't stop there. One of the things I mentioned in my for the 11" figure is that I wished PlayMates had the blue paint continue down the tail. With this 6" figure, PlayMates did exactly that, albeit, stopping a little short.
When it comes to articulation, PlayMates Godzilla w/ Heat Ray figure is not going to be doing any epic poses like you would on a NECA or S.H. MonsterArts figure. The arms and legs can swivel up and down, the head can twist and turn just a little bit, the mouth can open and close, and the tail is plugged into a stationary ball joint. When you take your figure out of the box, I do recommend heating up the socket on the tail just so you can plug the tail into the ball joint without having fight it. The tail can twist and turn, but not much wagging side to side. What is disappointing to me is that with the Kong w/ Battle Axe figure next to me PlayMates Toys could have put in a little more effort in the articulation with this figure. Over all, Godzilla will mainly be staying in his default pose.
Accessories and Size Comparison:
Godzilla w/ Heat Ray comes with Godzilla's atomic breath effect part as according to the packaging and is made with a soft, translucent blue plastic. How this effect part plugs into Godzilla's mouth is that you line up the peg with the peg hole inside on the roof of Godzilla's mouth. Once Godzilla's atomic breath is plugged Godzilla is now ready to fight Kong and kill some monsters. This effect piece does not look that bad. I like how wavy it looks and if you have a flashlight you can have it look like it's glowing.
Here is PlayMates Toys Godzilla w/ Heat Ray and Kong w/ Battle Axe figures with S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla 2019 and King Kong 2005. While Godzilla stands at the average 6" and not having to worry about shelf space, this Godzilla does not really go with any collectible figures.
Final Thoughts:
PlayMates Toys Godzilla w/ Heat Ray is a smaller version of the 11" Giant Godzilla figure with different paint, new features, and accessories. This is a pretty good figure for $10, but keep in mind that this is not meant to be a collector's item. This is a toy for kids to play with. If you are expecting a Godzilla figure to be with lots of detail then you're better off with the NECA and S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla 2019 figures. However, with the Kong w/ Battle Axe figure PlayMates Toys could have done a better job with the articulation.
That's it for this review! Stay tuned for my next review on the Kong w/ Battle Axe figure. What are your thoughts on PlayMates Toys Godzilla w/ Heat Ray figure? Do you like it or do you think it could've been better? Are you planning to buy this figure? Let me know in the comments on your thoughts on the Godzilla w/ Heat Ray figure. Make sure to follow me on my Facebook, Twitter, and Minds pages to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.