I will be honest, I was a bit on the fence on whether I want to get this figure or not. I was putting it off and in the end I decided to get it anyways. Bought it for $27 at my local comic book store, which is a pretty good price for an articulated action figure. Is it worth the price? I think the Godzilla 62 action figure could be better and here is why.
To start, I really dig the design of the packaging. You have the poster on the front of the box and the details of the figure on the back of the box. Also, the front of the packaging is also a flap that you can open and reveals a window showing the inside of the box (which has the action figure, the atomic breath accessory, and the background of Mount Fuji). The box in itself really sells it for me as it tells right away which movie this particular Godzilla figure came from and it doesn't look generic at all. The only thing I would point out is that the title on the front of the box, King Kong vs Godzilla, looks blurry. The camera can't pick it up, but in hand it just looks sort of blurry to me. Other than that, the packaging is really well made.
The figure itself I find is sort of a mix big with iffy paint and limited range of articulation. When I first took the Godzilla figure out of the box, I noticed that the dorsal plates were warped. So I tried bending it just a little bit just to see how soft the plastic is and suddenly I had paint chipping off the dorsal plates. This made me very wary that the paint on the dorsal plates were probably not applied correctly. However, the warping can be fixed with a hair dryer and the paint issue can be fixed by adding a little bit of paint to areas where paint is needed most.
The next issue is something that I think a lot of people are iffy on and that is the head. It isn't bad like ugly, it just looks off. I know, NECA has had issues with faces since the beginning of the line, but at least they were at least close enough to be recognizable in every angle. Their Godzilla 1962, however, it looks like a mix between the 62 version and later 60's version. In certain angles, the face looks like the 62 figure, but in other angles it looks like one of the Godzilla suits in the later 60's era. This is because when looking down at the head you could see that the snout is flattened on top and rounded on the side instead of being narrow as it should look. In honesty, I don't mind it that much. You can even say that this is more of a stylized version if you want to. I think that if the snout was less rounded and more narrow like in the movie and the poster on the box then it would look a lot better.
Once I started fiddling with the toy, the joints I found really stiff and a hair dryer can loosen those joints, but some of the joints on the figure can't move at all due to how the toy is sculpted. For instance, there is a ball joint at the waist that should allow you to bend and twist the figure anywhere you want. On this Godzilla figure, I can't get the waist to move at all. I can't bend it forward or backward or twist side to side like other NECA Godzilla figures would. This is all because the lower chest is colliding with the upper abdomen restricting any movement at the waist. Other joints that also have restrictions are the neck and the thighs. The neck can swivel side to side, but can't move up and down. The thighs can very slightly move up and down, yet it's not enough to do any posing. The thighs may as well just be glued on there since most of the articulation comes from the knees and feet anyways. Another issue I have with articulation is that the right arm likes to fall off and it's sort of frustrating to put back. If I remotely touch the arm or move it just a little bit it falls off and it makes me nervous when I need to pose it.
With the negatives out of the way, let's talk about what I do like about the figure. I really like how the figure has a lot more color than just grey and darker grey. There are two different shades of grey and a green wash through out the body of the figure making the bumps and ridges pop. There is some white and a cream color for the dorsal plates, teeth, and nails, yellow for the eyes, and a red or pink color for the mouth.
For articulation, I will say I am glad that I can at least move the head. If I want to have Godzilla look down, he can look down. Look up...not so much, but his head can swivel so if you want him to reenact the scene from The Exorcist you can do that. His mouth can open and close to make him look like he is roaring. Also, you can even open and close the hands so he looks like he is about to punch something as well. My favorite part though is the tail. The whole tail are ball joints and I am so glad NECA went with this route. This was something I talked about in my post about NECA's reveals at Toy Fair where I wanted a Godzilla figure with a tail that was all ball jointed instead of a bendy wire. The problems with bendy wire tails are that they usually snap if they are bent too much and they can tear through the plastic and pop out of the tail. So a fully poseable tail that are all ball joints is definitely a sign of improvement in my book and I hope they carry it on to their Godzilla 2019 line.
Godzilla 1962 comes with two accessories, the background of Mount Fuji and Godzilla's atomic breath. When putting it all together it makes a cool little set piece. To use the atomic breath piece, there is a plug inside Godzilla's mouth. All you need to do is line up the atomic breath piece with the hole inside the mouth, plug it in, and that's it. My only issue is that it causes Godzilla's head to only barely hold a pose otherwise it would force Godzilla's head down. So I recommend using a stand that has a grip so it keeps the head in place.
When it comes to size, Godzilla 1962 is your standard 6 inch figure like with most of NECA's other Godzilla figures. He goes pretty good with S.H. MonsterArts King Kong, but I don't know how well he goes with the Mezco figure since I don't have that one. If only there was a King Kong 62 figure to go with this Godzilla.
Overall, I found NECA's Godzilla 1962 sort of iffy, but with issues aside you can't really go wrong with what you're getting out of this figure. It's not my most favorite Godzilla figure NECA has released, but it's not a bad figure for $27. If you can find one without any issues, then I say go ahead and pick this guy up.
What do you guys think of NECA's Godzilla 1962 figure? Is it your favorite figure? Is there anything you think could use more improvement? Let me know in the comments of your thoughts on NECA's Godzilla 1962 figure. Make sure to follow me on my Facebook page and Twitter to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.
Where to find this figure:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2F2O9wA
Big Bad Toy Store: https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/78334