The 1999 mean-looking kaiju version, not the Showa-Era “friend of all children” version.
X-Plus takes an interesting approach to packaging, as their tall box and instruction sheet layout are reminicient of the old Aurora monster kits.
This must bring immense joy to those who enjoyed building monster kits from the 1960s. And add 21st century tooling, fit, proportion and detail, and you get a product that is more exciting than that old “glow in the dark” feature!
Okay, so X-Plus’ kit does not come with molded plastic flames to place in his arm and leg sockets, or feature moving parts. But daaaaaaang Gamera has never looked better in injection plastic. I guess that’s the difference these modern monster kits bring to the table - they are more “serious” models than their clockwind motor propelled ancestors.
I find it super cool that the kit makers are reaching back in time to bring us modern kits from long ago - horror kits of the 1960s, sci-fi classics like 2001, and of course kaiju. It’s a good time to be a modeler!
The kit appears to be straightforward to build. But painting will be the big make-or-break deal here. Fortunately, my model buddies are gathering at my place this weekend (the Krab Kave), so I can solicit their considerable figure painting experience.
I’ll definitely post progress pics. It looks like the model can be built in one sitting. I think I’ll keep the shell separate from the body until painting is complete.
And I will definitely be thinking about Cliff as I sing the Gamera theme song while building the model!
Yes, not 1/721 or 1/688 scale! 1/700! A real scale, for real modelers! Heck, those 1/700 ship guys do some seriously scary work - 1/700 PE aircraft canopies and scratchbuilt radial engines are waaaaay scarier than any kaiju!
1/700 scale is good. That means that if you want to build a diorama base, Skywave’s/Pitroad’s catalog of 1/700 scale buildings is available. The naval base buildings would work well.
Which makes X-Plus’ choice of scale most wise! I am trying to get a 1/700 ship modeler friend to do a harbor diorama with Ultra Seven battling Iron Rocks - a robot made by aliens from the wreck of the Yamato! [:O]
I want one of those now! Seems HLJ still has it in stock but I want to order several things at once to get a little better deal on shipping. I have a soft vinyl kit from Tsukuda but this one looks awesome!
1/700 ought make it easier to depict JSDFN destroyers and/or Frigates–which would certainly be canon [:)]
The JDSF Army vehicles wil lbe complicated, one supposes “Patton” vehicles may be easier to source than the Walker Bulldogs. The eletromagnetic gun and it’s transporter could be tricky, though [;)]
I am pretty sure Pit Road or Skywave make 1/700 modern JGSDF vehicles. I’m not so sure about the older stuff like M41s or Type 61s (aka “Gojira tank”).
We’ll see if I can get my ship modeler friend to do the Ultra Seven vs Iron Rocks diorama. I am using my full alien hypnosis powers on him. [proplr]
I never I thought I would say it, That’s a good looking monster Kit. Way, Way better than the old stuff for sure. A"Z"scale train car in his hand would be nice though(I really hate that scale!)T.B.
I managed to glue some Gamera parts together over the weekend.
He’s got “indy-link” scales for his shell - too cool! And every scale has its part number molded to the underside, along with corresponding numbers on his shell. Fit is just about perfect.
I have to fill seam lines and do a little sanding. Stay tuned for the painting of the Guardian of the Universe.
