Thursday, May 31, 2012

Import Monsters News


  The First S.H. Monsterarts King Ghidorah preorders appear....  At Toyfreakz?  Now I don't know much about this site, but it lists that Ghidorah ships in September/October.  It also has him listed at retail.  I'd recommend people shop around for a discount ( www.amiami.com often offers over 25% off), but it was worth noting.  The site is here, for those interested:  http://www.toyfreakz.com/shop/index.php?_a=product&product_id=304

  A few interesting facts about SHM Ghidorah: 

  *  At around 10 inches it towers above the previous offerings in the line.
  *  A preliminary seam count puts the points of articulation at 60+!

  Keep tuning in for more news on preorders for what I'm predicting will be Figure of the Year!

  -Justin

Import Monsters News

More from ThreeA........




-Drew

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Import Monster News!!!

Hell Freezes Over......Blue Fin looks to bring Tamashii exclusive S.H. Figuarts Double Chaser to the U.S.


Tuesday, May 29, 2012

  Whatta Haul!

  What was perhaps my biggest haul yet just arrived today from Amiami.com!  Included in said haul were 2 S.H. Monsterarts Mogueras, Ultra Act Zoffy, and 2 Ultra Brothers' Mantle sets (one for Zoffy, one for Ultraman Hayata 2.0, due in July)! The box was enormous....  but not as big as my anticipation!  So... how are the figures, you ask?  Well, a review is going to have to wait.  Until then, here are a few pics I snapped just for fun:

Stay tuned for full reviews!
-Justin

 

Import Monster News!!!

New pics of Revoltech Spiderman.











Figma Tekkaman Delayed.

Initially planned for a June release, will now be released in July.  



-Drew


  Foto Funtime!!!

 S.H. Monsterarts SpaceGodzilla! by Justin

Review: S.H. Monsterarts Godzilla

By Justin
                    

  Introduction:  In all of pop culture, few monsters have endured quite as well as Godzilla.  Through 58 years, 29 films, two cartoons, and countless pop culture references, the King of the Monsters has remained in the public eye against all odds.  Even so, the S.H. Monsterarts line by Bandai/Tamashii caught even the most diehard Goji fan by surprise.  Including yours truly.  Super Articulated Godzilla figures had been a dream line of mine for years.  Kaiyodo's Sci Fi Revoltech had fans hoping we'd finally get highly poseable figures of the Big G with their releases of various Toho kaiju.  Alas, the announcement was made that Godzilla and Ghidorah were not going to be made.  Fans' hopes were dashed.  Little did they know, but Bandai had something BIG in store...

          
  Package (5/5):  The package for S.H. Monsterarts Godzilla is nothing short of stunning.  It is predominently blood red with a huge picture of Godzilla's snarling face on the front. A transparent cutaway section reveals the figure inside.  The back side is covered in Japanese text and promotional images of the figure.  It really is perfect and spectacular.  Depending on whether or not you got the first release, a sticker showing the promotional Atomic Ray is included on the front of the box along with a blurb declaring:  "S.H. Monsterarts is a new standard figure series that incorporates the BANDAI action figure "Art" under the theme "Pursuing Character Expression through Monster Action."  Exciting stuff, folks.


  Sculpt (4.5/5):  This figure is meant to represent the 1994 incarnation of the Heisei Godzilla (Moge Goji to the initiated) from the film Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla.  It s a dead on likeness, and there's no denying which version they were going for.  There are a ton of sculpting details on this figure, many of which make it very much its own character.  The scales and folds are flawless, as if the beast himself stepped right out of the film.  The head contains a lot of interesting details as well.  The face is sculpted in a vicious snarl, with one side lifted slightly.  The mouth is filled with rows of individually sculpted teeth.  There are several rows of intricately rendered dorsal plates all the way down his spine  Only one detail slightly mars what would be a Perfect score:  His right hand is sculpted in such a manner that it appears to be anther left hand.  Upon closer inspection it is a proper right hand, but it appears awkward at a casual glance.



  Paint (5/5):  The paint on my figure is perfect.  Everything from the eyes to the frosty looking spines is faithful to the monster's color scheme.  The eyes are on center and convey an animalistic rage.  There is no slop apparent.




  Articulation (4/5):  S.H. Monsterarts Godzilla boasts 29 points of articulation, most of it ball jointed.  His tail alone has ten joints!  Unfortunately, much of his articulation is rather restrictive.  The ball jointed hips move fine sideways, but are extremely limited with back and forward motions (such as taking a step).  The ball jointed torso joint doesn't move very much either, and the dorsal plates make it hard to turn the joint from side to side.  On the upside, S.H. Monsterarts Godzilla's arms have a much larger ranger of motion than the actual movie monster's arms did!  The head/neck/jaw articulation allows head tilts and other motions that add a lot of character to the figure.  Overall the articulation is the best we've ever gotten on a Godzilla figure.  Despite some restrictions, it really is awesome to have such a poseable Godzilla!!



  Accessories (3/5-0/5):  Depending on which version you purchase this figure's accessories range from okay to abyssmal.  The first production bonus was Godzilla's Atomic ray along with a custom stand depicting what I can only assume is a radiation shockwave.  There is a Tamashii arm that holds the beam up to Godzilla's mouth.  I like the beam (though it does resemble a water blast rather than an Atomic ray), but the stand is a bit distracting.  It's too bad Tamashii didn't figure out a better way to allow Godzilla to be displayed with his beam.  Now, if you didn't get the first production version the figure comes with NOTHING.  This is very disappointing, especially considering Tamashii's tendancy to include amazing accessories.


  WATCH OUT!  The only thing I would advise is to look at the paint on the figure before you buy it.  I've heard horror stories about paint slop and off-center eyes. 

  Overall (4.5/5):  Despite some negative points, this is indeed the type of Godzilla figure I've always dreamed of owning.  It is incredibly detailed and highly articulated.  I recommend it wholeheartedly to any Godzilla figure collector. 
 

Monday, May 28, 2012

Import Monster News!!!

New pics of ThreeA Metal Gear Ray



One word: MASSIVE!!!

-Drew

Import Monster News!!!

We present the newest Tamashii Web Exclusive

S.H. Figuarts Double Chaser









Good Smile Company recently had a vote on which Figmas should be re-issued.  The winners are:

Sayaka Mika




Sayaka Mika pre-order: AmiAmi / HLJ



Kyoko Sakura

Kyoko Sakura pre-order: AmiAmi / HLJ


-Drew









Import Monster News!!!

Figma Gunslinger Girl
Just shown Henrietta!!!  Bring on the rest of the girls

Shipping out soon.......


Come on Bluefin get this out already!!!



-Drew

Review: D-Arts Zero (1st. Version) By Drew

How do I stack up?



Intro: With the release of D-Arts Zero (type 2), lets take a look at Bandais attempt at Zero (1st. version)



Package

Package: (4.5/5)  One thing I love with import packages is the ability to re-pack the figures when you are done with them or have to move or whatever it maybe. It is very convenient.  Beautiful pics of the figures are shown in the back, while showing us whats inside the box thanks to the window.  Only problem is these boxes add up once you acquire a few imports.

Sculpt: (4/5)  Everything is pretty accurate to the source material.  The hair is somewhat of a soft sculpt, but very passable and acceptable.  Give Bandai extra scores for sculpting the blue triangle on Zeros' head and the green dots on his chest plate.  Nice little touches.  One thing I noticed was that the red portion of the helmet on the head is die cast, which is a blessing and a curse.  More on that later.........

Paint: (4.5/5)  Solid paint.  All the tampo stamps and decals are nice and clean.  As well as the red, white and black, no paint bleeding.  A nice bonus, all the white parts of Zero are painted in a metallic pearl white.

Articulation: (3.5/5)  Zero has the standard points of articulation.  Ball jointed head, shoulders, and hips.  His waist moves 360 degrees and the chest moves ever so slightly for more dynamic poses.  Elbows and knees are double jointed and have a nice range of motion.  Now to the bad.  Zeros' hair is articulated on a small ball joint, careful cause the joint is very small and could break easily.  I don't know if its just me, but there isn't any wrist articulation, making it very limited how the wrist can be displayed.  His foot/shin joints are relatively useless due to the design of the character.  And that die cast helmet?  If not the neck joint isn't "locked in," due to the weight of the helmet, Zero will have the tendency to look up. 



Accessories


Accessories: (4/5)  Zero comes with good amount of accessories.  Two face plates, one looking angry and the other looking to the right.  Three set of hands, two open, two thumbs up and two fist.  A blue beam and options for normal non blaster arms.  Also of note, the blaster can go on both either left or right arm.  If only Bandai gave us a stand, Zero would of got a scored higher.




Watch Out!!! :
Aside from being careful with the hair joint.   Zero is a solid figure.  But one thing that did bug me was when I first got him, he was rather greasy right when I opened him.  It might have been an isolated incident, but I know of another collector who had a greasy Zero.  Also, just a heads up, this isn't the saber sword welding, box shoulder armor  Zero we all know and love.  This was the first Zero, for the saber sword welding, box shoulder armor Zero stay tuned.....

Overall: (3.5/5): While I gave the review generally positive reviews, this Zero just isn't the iconic Zero I had hoped for.  As a figure, while having flaws is a decent figure.  For any fans of Rock Man X, pick this guy up.  If you are waiting for the iconic Zero, get the type 2 release.  




Welcome to Import Monsters with Justin and Drew


Welcome to Imports Monsters with Justin and Drew.  Where you can find news and reviews of latest import toys.  We specialize in S.H. Monsterarts, S.H Figuarts, Figmas, Ultra-Acts, Revoltechs and ThreeA and from time to time some other outside brands.  Please stay tuned...............