9.04.2014

Inside the box with Ichabod presents:

S.H.MonsterArts Battra and Mothra Larvae from Tamashii Nations/Bluefin 


 The cutest pair of skyscraper-sized grubs you'll ever meet.



 Look at that motherfucker right there - 20,000 tons of badass armored insect. All spikes and claws and just sheer mass. The larvae form of Battra is covered in amazing detail and is WAY BIGGER than I anticipated.

 Look at all of those paint apps. In the 1992 film, Godzilla vs. Mothra, most of Battra's appearances were darkly lit, so the rich color was hard to see. But here, in all its red, black and yellow glory, the colors pop. The details sculpted into the body are pretty good, replicating the look from the movie. The claws have a nice fade to them, adding to the realism.

The head gets the same delicious treatment, and it has those lovely compound eyes. The paint on the head looks almost like war paint, adding to the menace of Battra.


 His head is cast in mainly translucent plastic, so the large horn and some of the head crest catch the light, giving off a neat glow effect. Sadly, no beam effect parts are provided here, but the "glow" of the horn does ease that pain a bit.

 The mouth has a TON of articulation. The jaws move outward, the four mandibles are all on small ball joints. The larger mandibles are also on ball joints, though they seem to be a bit restricted. There is lots of good "chompy-chompy" action to be had here.

 Speaking of articulation, the 3 sets of larger claws are all jointed, and can move in and outward. This was a nice surprise, and they all help to emote. The smaller set is just on ball joints, while the large set is on ball joints with a secondary swivel.

 The head/neck utilize a solid series of joints that move forward and somewhat backward. It has a interesting flap -- that is connected at the top, but loose at the bottom-- which helps to cover the back of the head when moving forward and back, without being a more obvious joint. Its tail spike is on a balljoint that provides a good range of motion.

 The body's side-to-side motion is similar to most SHMA tails, but is slightly restricted, due to the weird shape of the body.
 The giant, beefcake neck can turn side-to-side, which caught me off guard a bit. 

 Battra is gigantic --  much, much larger than the Adult form, at least in body size. It's almost hard to believe the Imago form came out of such a massive creature. 

 See? He is nearly as tall as Big G himself. With tail, Big G is longer, though.

 No effect beam, so I'm just gonna stab you in the neck. No hard feelings, pal.

 And now for the cutest toy of a giant grub ever to exist - Mothra Larvae form!!! LOOK AT HOW TINY AND CUTE SHE IS!

 Look at those eyes and try not to fall in love...yeah, you can't. Those tiny, adorable blue eyes are just screaming to not be thrown around. And those screams will fall on deaf ears.

 The detail here is impeccable. From the tiny, little fur like legs, to the suckers on the underside of the lower half and the mottled brown skin with pockmarks all over, this adorable little grub shows no signs of turning into her next form as a giant angel Moth. I love the detail here. They went all-out and made this look like an actual model used in filming. 

 The mouth and two mandibles are articulated, which, by now, shouldn't be too shocking. They, much like Battra's, move without much trouble.

 The body can retract and extend, to better replicate the motion she uses to move while in grub form. It is a subtle, but neat feature.

 The body has some amazing articulation, and makes Battra look like a statue in comparison. 

 And she has EFFECT PARTS!!!!!!!!!

 Mothra comes with a stand to hold her head up, as the joints are too weak to do so on their own, considering the size of her head. It would have been cool to be able to not use the stand, but, really, it's not that big of a deal. She also has her silk spray, and it is a clear piece with a white wash over it to catch the details. It looks like it's in motion, and, hell, it looks better than the silly string they used in the movies, anyway.

 Now, she can properly annoy Godzilla.

 Also, you can replicate the time (or all of the times) she bites onto the tail of Godzilla and he flings her around. That one pic here is totally unassisted and is all under the power of the figures themselves. 

 Mothra Larva and Adult forms both look fantastic next to each other. Damn adorable Moths.

 She is properly scaled next to Godzilla. 

 Battra is properly scaled, too, but...just damn. Look at that mass. You barely see Battra in this form running around, so the size took me off guard. Looking at screenshots, however, it all adds up.

 Hey. Hey, lets stop fighting over the Earth and party. You down?

 3...2...1...

...GIANT MONSTER GRUB PARTY TIME!!!

I TOLD YOU NOT TO WEAR MY HAT!!!

This is a fantastic 2-pack, and, yes, I'm thankful it's a 2-pack. In reality, it almost feels like you are buying Battra and getting Mothra as an accessory, just on scale alone. They are both pretty damn fun, expressive little buggers! And this is the first time they are both this articulated. Honestly, this Mothra works if you are a Heisei, Showa, or just a Mothra fan. Her larva form has barely changed over the years, and this is a fantastic toy of it. The bonus here is Battra, who is big and impressive, and looks ready to defend the Earth by any means necessary. 

This toy was provided courtesy of Bluefin and Tamashii Nations. 

2 comments:

  1. Giant Monster Grub Party! I'm picturing a new video, Joe. Make it so! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I do really want to get this set. It looks absolutely fantastic. But I needed a review first and you certainly provided!

    ReplyDelete