Wednesday 5 January 2011

Toybox REVIEW: Revoltech SFX Rodan



....or Radon if you'd prefer. Yes, the latest in Kaiyodo's SFX (or if you're like me, Kaiju excellence) line is the star of his own 1956 movie and all around Godzilla chum. After my review of Revoltech's Mothra figure, I had to wonder what the super-articulate line could do with a giant pteranodon. I mean, much like Mothra surely the articulation would amount to head, legs and flappy wings?

Well to start I have to say this guy is a lot bigger than I was expecting. What he doesn't have in height he sure makes up for in wingspan (I didn't take a picture, but I'm looking at him now and his wingspan is just over 18 DVD cases in length....note to self: adopt that as a unit of measurement). The wings are also made out of rubbery plastic, making them a lot more light and flexible while attempting to recreate that wing-like feel. Each wing has a tiny hand attached, which is also articulated. For the rest of the body there is articulation in the feet, legs, knees, waist, neck, head and jaw.

Like Mothra, Rodan comes with a stand that's a cut above the basic clear/black ones that come with the Yamaguchi line - this time is a building (that can be transformed into a crumbling building by twisting it in the centre). Rodan can stand atop the building via inserting a rod where no rod has gone before, or the giant monster can be posed stomping through the roof (this pose involves removing the foot and pushing it into a peg hole inside the building - something that is extremely fiddly and I've not managed to actually do yet). An additional extra is a mini mid-flight Rodan, which can be attached to the mini-stand provided.

With HobbyLinkJapan's prices on Revoltech's getting cheaper, fans are starting to get a lot more for their money - and while much like Mothra I wouldn't call Rodan an essential purchase, he's certainly got a lot of character in him. He's poseable, makes a great display piece and is great for any kaiju/giant dinosaur fan. Revoltech have made great figures of the flying Kaiju, so it'll be interesting how they handle biped monsters Anguirus and Gigan - both of whom have figures due out in the coming months.


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