Godzilla

This figure is another one of those toys that when I first saw it, I thought it was stupid. “A shirtless guy with Godzilla legs? What’s the point?” But a few years in the hobby and I’ve come to understand the appeal of the more unusual things like this. And fortunately, unlike when I fell into this trap with other toys, I didn’t have to pay a premium to correct my mistake. In fact, I think I got this and two other vinyls for about $50 a couple months back.

As you might guess, this toy depicts legendary actor Haruo Nakajima as he may have appeared half suited up on the set of the original Godzilla movie in 1954. At 9″ tall and 6 points of articulation (waist, tail, hips and shoulders), the figure, like most vinyls, is basically a display piece. Especially considering the subject matter. I can’t imagine anyone really playing with this. I mean, what are you gonna do, re-enact the coffee break the guy took? And in case you’re wondering, the watch on his wrist appears to be set to five o’clock. I’m not sure if that means he’s just beginning or just ending a day’s worth of shooting.

As we’ve come to expect from M1, the sculpt, paint apps and vinyl thickness on this toy are all top notch. There are at least a couple different versions of this sculpt. This blue “Irasawa” version, and brown and green event exclusives. For the initial release, Mr. Nakajima was available to sign autographs. (Thanks as usual to Club Tokyo for the info.) In fact, one of the reasons I finally broke down and bought mine was because he was supposed to be making an appearance at a Godzilla festival in San Francisco around August, I think. So I was thinking of getting mine signed, too. But unfortunately, the event had to be canceled. Ah, well. I’m not a big autograph collector anyway. It just seemed like a good opportunity to enhance a toy I was already planning on buying anyway.