Radon

Rodan is the big bad kaiju from the excellent Toho films of the same name. For those that are a little confused, “Radon” is this character’s name in Japan. It was crafted from the word “PterRAnoDON”. When the original movie was dubbed over into English, however, they opted to change the name to Rodan. So technically, the toy’s name is Radon, but I’ll refer to it as Rodan for the remainder of this review because I am a filthy gaijin.

So, now that we have that nastiness out of the way, let’s take a look at this awesome toy! I hope I didn’t give any spoilers to this review just then. In fact, forget about me saying that. This is the 19th release in Kaiyodo’s Sci-Fi Revoltech line. This toy line was created so they could move away from the normal robots and mecha to pretty much anything they wanted. I was thrilled when they started releasing kaiju because Toho films have always been a guilty pleasure of mine! Plus, Rodan is one of my all-time favorite giant monsters, second only to King Caesar. 

Check out this gorgeous sculpt! This is some of Kaiyodo’s finest that I’ve ever seen! I should also point out that this is not an action figure of the monster. It is an action figure of the MAN IN THE SUIT. This gave me nerd-bumps (they’re exactly the same as goosebumps, except not a mediocre children’s horror series)! Plus, the paint on this guy is amazing. They got all the subtle color changes and wrinkles that you see in the original 1956 movie! I can’t say it enough: THIS THING LOOKS GREAT!

Articulation is where Revoltechs can either shine or die in the firey pits of Mordor. I’m happy to say that, for the most part, Rodan can do pretty much anything he needs to! There are Revoltech joints in the torso, hips, feet, and shoulders. For those who are uninitiated in the wonders of a Revoltech joint, they are very clicky and satisfying to bend. Plus, both ends of the joint act as a swivel so you can maintain great poses. Aside from the Revoltech joints, there are knee joints, several neck joints, a jaw joint, hand joints, and bendable wings! With all these articulation points, you can achieve pretty much any pose you can imagine. The only problem that I’ve encountered is that the neck is very limited. I wanted to point the head completely up, but the articulation just wouldn’t allow it. It’s a minor complaint, because Rodan never really did that in the movies.

One other major point of awesome is the accessories that Rodan comes with. He comes with a crushed building stand, baby-Rodan with stand, nameplate, and the Magic Orange Cube of Orange. Let me start with the baby Rodan. This guy is adorable. I actually have no idea if this is his ‘just hatched’ incarnation or just a cool mini figure, but either way I love it. He gets to sit on my desk and be a bamf.

He’s also Sam the Eagle.

The nameplate is self explanatory, so I won’t go into detail on it. It says “Radon” in Japanese. The next thing is the Magic Orange Cube of Orange. You receive this with every Revoltech release. It’s “purpose” is to hold the accessories, but I know that it is actually a sentient creature. One day their armies will blot out all existence of humanity and recreate the world in their image. Their Orange, slightly opaque image.

Next up is the crushed building. This thing has a great amount of detail. You can actually twist it to wreck it more and cave in the ceiling so Rodan can perch himself on it. All you have to is take the metal rod they give you and shove it up his-

Umm… Exhaust port? I’m positive that there could’ve been a better way to do that. Anyway, once you violate Rodan with the rod you can attach him to the building and display him on your shelf or desk.

This really is a great set! Kaiyodo really hit the nail on the head with this release. If you want a great articulated figure of the Showa-era Rodan, then you absolutely CANNOT go wrong here.