King Ghidorah

All right, sorry, you’re just gonna have to get used to it: I’m going to start every one of these DAM Battlezone Series reviews with that Youtube clip! It’s just too cool not to watch before checking out these guys!

Anyway, by now, you’ve heard of Far East Monsters. It’s a new collectibles company based in Cleveland, OH, that’re putting out all-new kaiju merchandise. And hey, with a new Godzilla film barely a rumor on the internets, I’m just happy to be getting any new domestic Godzilla at all!

Bill Kerner and Tom Tvrdik of Far East Monsters have teamed up to bring us the “Destroy All Monsters” Battlezone Series of light & sound statues. The first from this series was none other than Godzilla, himself, and if you haven’t checked out that review, do so now! This, I command!!

Standing against Soshingeki-Goji (G’68) is King Ghidorah, the famous three-headed golden dragon and all-around kaiju-jerk. In Destroy All Monsters, King Ghidorah was controlled by the Kilaaks, yet another group of aliens bent on Earth domination. It took the combined forces of Godzilla, Mothra (in her larval state), Rodan, Gorosaurus, Angilas, Baragon, Manda, Kumonga, Miniya, and even Varan(!?), to stop him! Quite the kaiju Battle Royale!

Now, one of the first things you’ll notice about this piece is that it costs over 50% more than Godzilla (a hike from $45 to $70). Is it worth it? Well, look at what you get! Godzilla was about 5-1/2″ off his base…King Ghidorah towers over 7″! And when you attach the separate PVC wings, the figure becomes even MORE impressive! (“We’re gonna need a bigger shelf.”)

This is a massive statue! And with the lights and sounds, it’s totally worth it as a companion piece to Godzilla, or all by itself.

The quality on this piece is just as you’d expect if you already have Godzilla. While none of the dry-brushing used on Godzilla is present on this model of Ghidorah, the gold-toned paint is perfect. As you can tell from the pics, the metallic sheen is more than enough to bring out the detail in the sculpt. Other features like the eyes, teeth, and lips are sharp and flawless.

Besides the figure looking great on your shelf, it’s equipped with mysterious Kilaak technology that plays King Ghidorah’s three-toned roar, along with sound effects of his electrical energy breath taken directly from the film! Further, yellow LEDs in two of the heads (center and right) light up in time with the electrical sounds. A lightning bolt-shaped translucent plastic piece coming from the right head’s mouth pipes the light from the LED in a cool effect that does a fantastic job of replicating Ghidorah’s blasts.

And finally…to put it all into perspective…the real joy of this series of statues: the diorama begins to take shape!!

Yup. I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting for this one! Ever since I picked up Godzilla, I’ve been waiting to add his nemesis and begin constructing the final battle scene from DAM. Y’see, these statues aren’t just standalone light & sound trinkets. There will be a total of eight pieces, whose bases interlock to form a diorama depicting the insane rumble that takes place at the end of the film. I can’t wait until they’re all available, but at least for now, I’ve got something to occupy Godzilla’s paws!

No, literally! Again, if you’re familiar with the Godzilla statue in this series, you know that he’s sculpted in a rather actiony pose. He’s sorta rearing backwards with his head looking up, and his right paw appears to be grasping something. Well, now Mister McGrabbyMonster’s got something to square off against!

When you’ve got the two statues lined up, Godzilla’s out-stretched right paw is actually in the process of holding King Ghidorah’s left head at bay!

Meanwhile, Ghidorah’s center head is giving Godzilla a stern talking-to.

I have my own theory about the third (right head) that’s firing the electrical bolt… But we’re just gonna have to wait until the next part of the diorama comes out to see where that bolt’s headed! 😉

Well, that’s pretty much all I’ve got about this piece. I’d be amiss, however, if I let you go without enjoying some HD vid of this guy! Enjoy the turnaround view of this statue, my light banter, and an earful of those roars! Be sure to pay attention to the way the Ghidorah and Godzilla statues interact–this textual review does the lights and sounds little justice…but the video simply kills!

Enjoy!

Get your Far East Monsters “Destroy All Monsters” Battlezone King Ghidorah here today!

King Geedorah would be proud. 😉

Finally, I would like to take a moment to mention something that goes beyond this passion for Japanese robots and monsters we all share. Bill and Tom obviously started Far East Monsters because of their love for this hobby…but they are also working to provide for Tom’s son, Tommy, who is autistic. Among their goals is to raise awareness about this disorder that affects so many children. Please check out Tommy’s Page for more information. Thanks!