S.H.MonsterArts: The Articulation Series presents... Predator Wolf!

You can also watch it here

This episode highlights proper articulation using Wolf's head, neck, torso, arms, hands, legs, Plasma Caster, and Comp Controller. The special intro picks up where the Alien Warrior's special scene left off and continues with a skirmish between the two iconic creatures. Who will win?

Never Before Released Hi-Res Promo Stills of the Toho Ultimate Weapons & Godzilla Effects Set!

Toho Ultimate Weapons & Godzilla Effects Set

Before you get too excited, this isn't a reissue announcement. Never before released Hi-Res images of the Toho Ultimate Weapons & Godzilla Effects Set.. To this date, the highest unaltered resolution of the set was around 500x500 pixels. Thanks goes out to the folks at Bandai Japan for providing these images. Check them out!

Site Update:

• Mothra & Gigan are now available at USA retailers. Namely Toy Arena and Anime King. Other bigger retailers like Amazon and BBTS are expected to have them in stock by the end of the week or earlier.
• Moved Mothra & Gigan to the PAST RELEASES section.

Mothra: Darkness Collection!

Mothra for the Darkness Collection! Checkout the rest of the album here.

Additional Exclusive Photos Here.

Gigan (2004) Darkness Collection Entry!

Gigan (2004) for the Darkness Collection! Checkout the rest of the album here.
Additional Exclusive Photos Here.

Get Your Monsters While You Can...

Today I visited Bluefin. A lot of wonderful things to come with the S.H.MonsterArts line.

• With Godzilla (2014) coming soon, sales of the S.H.MonsterArts line have been doing very well. So well that most of the past released figures are now currently out of print. Meaning, Bluefin no longer has them in inventory. While I don't have a complete list to offer, I can confirm that most past releases all the way to Godzilla 2000 Millennium are already out of production. What is on the market, ie Amazon, BBTS, Image Anime, Entertainment Earth, is all that is available. Get your monsters while you can because if you're waiting for a deal like 30-50% off, you may lose your chance and suffer the inflated secondary market. Re-issues in the future? It's up to Tamashii Nations.

• The Akiba Showroom on May 10th will be showing off it's complete summer collection. However, due to product restrictions made by Toho for its Japan consumers, the S.H.MonsterArts Godzilla 2014 figure will be covered by a veil. This could change if Toho lifts the product restrictions early, but time will tell.

• As some of you know, Bluefin Distribution is trying to arrange an earlier unveiling of the S.H.MonsterArts Godzilla 2014 figure for American consumers. What it boils down to is approval from both companies, Toho & Warner Brothers. If they do get approval, watch Bluefin's facebook page for the announcement. To reiterate, they are trying to unveil it to American consumers VERY SOON.

• The near future for S.H.MonsterArts line? There's more Heisei coming our way. Release slots have already been locked till the first quarter of 2015. This doesn't mean that there won't be Millennium or Showa surprises in the mix though, so cross your fingers!

Battra (Adult) Review!

Battra (Adult) Review

Continuing the Heisei era, Battra (Adult) joins the S.H.MonsterArts line. Released as a web exclusive in Japan, Battra is priced at $64.99 in North America. It’s not a bad price, but it isn’t greatest deal either. Unfortunately, being labeled a web exclusive tends to increase prices. Nevertheless, Battra is a long awaited entry and I was very excited for it when it was announced. The only figure I’ve ever owned of Battra was the 90s Trendmasters figure, which actually wasn’t all that bad given how cartoony that line was. That being said, I was looking forward to its screen accuracy and scale within the rest of the line. It doesn’t disappoint, however, it’s far from perfect...

Hi-Res Promo Stills of the Toho Ultimate Weapons 2 & Godzilla Effects 2 Sets

Toho Ultimate Weapons Set 2

Godzilla Effects Set 2

You may be asking yourself. But where was the Toho Ultimate Weapons Set 1? Even more of a mystery, was there even a Godzilla Effects 1? How does the number "2" work with these releases? Simple. Back in 2012, Bandai Tamashii Nations released an exclusive set, here known as the Toho Ultimate Weapons & Godzilla Effects Set. 

At the time, Bluefin Distribution's involvement with the S.H.MonsterArts line was just beginning and was unable, or didn't think it was a strategic marketing move, to bring over this web exclusive set to NA. So a lot of us here in the USA missed out on this set. You can still find it today, but the prices are heavily inflated due to it's being OOP for the last couple of years.

The good news is that this may all change in the future. Bluefin just announced that for the first time EVER that they're going to reissue a Web Exclusive, purely for the Western Market. Depending on how well it does it could pave a way to our beloved Garuda & the Toho Ultimate Weapons & Godzilla Effects Set. The figure they're renewing is a DBZ Goku. So lets hope DBZ fans buy it up like crazy. As stated before, this is a FIRST for the company to reissue a WEB EXCLUSIVE. We can only cross our fingers.