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Gamera Memorial Boxed Set

Tonight's guest review is from Brandon, a long time reader who submitted this review ages ago.  I've been slow at getting it posted, but I finally got to it - take it away, Brandon!

I want to thank Michael for letting me guest review once more on his great web site. It is one site that I visit quite often! For the people who are not familiar with Gamera, he is a Japanese monster very similar to Godzilla but he is a turtle. Daiei Studios produced many Gamera films in the 1960s and 70s, before they folded. I have always liked Gamera and Godzilla and just about any monster movie for that matter and in fact I often watch Gamera and other monster flicks today. Bandai did a terrific job on these figures and they are no strangers to making monster action figures. 







They have been making Godzilla figures since the early 80s and just not the figures from that decade but also the 90s that are extremely rare and extremely expensive. If you have started a Godzilla collection and need a couple figures to complete it you know what I mean. It is rough because of the prices but hopefully Bandai will use their American line effectively. Go to Club Tokyo to find out more about Bandai's action figures they have made through out the years.

Bandai has become one of my favorite action figure companies and I believe if they have the right lines, like the Ultimate Muscle figures and especially the Godzilla line will have Bandai in the spotlight for a long time to come! This set I am about review was expensive but well worth the price and I thank the Lord that I was able to get it. It has always been my dream to have these very monsters and Bandai made it possible! Now on to the great set I am about to review, The Gamera Memorial Box Set! First of all, the monsters in the box set are from seven of those films. The monsters are as follows: Gamera from Gamera the Invincible, Barugon from Gamera vs. Barugon, Gyaos from Gamera vs. Gyaos, Viras from Gamera vs. Viras, Guiron from Gamera vs. Guiron, Jaiger from Gamera vs. Monster X, and Zigra from Gamera vs. Zigra. That's the list of films theses monsters where in and here is how I rate the figures - I hope you enjoy it!

Packaging - ***1/2
The Gamera Memorial Box Set has a great box. On the front is a large picture of the giant fire breathing turtle himself and mini pictures of the films and monsters - I'll get to that in a few. It shows the names and box title mostly in Japanese and very little English and the prototypes of the figures inside. The figures inside are carefully packed in small plastic bags
and I thought this was a great idea. The box itself is sturdy and the lid slides off to take out the figures and whether you leave them in the box or not the box looks great being displayed. Since this was an exclusive over in Japan it is in mostly in Japanese but I would have liked it in both languages but I do think the box looks great nonetheless!

Sculpting - ****
Bandai originally made these seven monstrosities many years ago at a larger scale. The box set is simply a re-release of the same figures with different paint schemes and a smaller scale of between six and nine inches but they did change some of the molds and for the better as they are sculpted more perfectly than before in my opinion. These monsters in the GMBS look just like their counterparts in the films. The figures are made out of soft vinyl. Bandai put all the necessary details on the figures. Like Jaiger, she is sculpted so good like her warts on her body and the bottoms of her feet. Another great detail is the prints on Guiron's paws. Gamera's shell is shaped exactly like the real monster. Barugon's tongue is seen in his mouth and instead of fins like the original had the new Zigra has feet which in the film he stood up but you couldn't see his feet but you new they were there so its an "secret" added feature in my book. I could go on all night about it! I like figures in scale with each other and these figs do a good job at it. Outstanding work by Bandai!

Paint - ***1/2
The paint schemes are more satisfying than the originals. The creatures' figure and toe nails, teeth, and horns are painted nicely. I only noticed one small spot on a figure that wasn't painted. There is one thing I'm confused about and its Barugon's color. The original was a brownish-red and the Memorial version is of a yellowish-gold color. I really have no clue why his body is colored the way it is and it looks cool but the color does look like the movie. I like how Bandai paints the finger and toe nails. Jaiger's horn and tusk color looks really attractive compared to the metallic looking original. An excellent painting on the part of Bandai!

Articulation - **1/2
The figures only have a simple amount of articulation like arms, legs, and heads but if these figure would have had a ten or more points I don't think I would have been satisfied because in the films the monsters didn't move a whole lot and thus it makes the figures more realistic.

Accessories - ***
The monsters only come with the traditional Japanese tags which are attached through the backs of the figures. I give it three stars because these are big in Japan and if these weren't included I wouldn't have been a happy customer. Even though the tags are completely in Japanese I still love the tags because of the great pictures of the promo art of the films. Of course some people may not like the look of a tag on a great looking figure but I think it looks good and it always reminds me how special these figures are!

Value - ***1/2
I bought Mine in the fall of 2001 from Extreme Collectables and I paid 74.95 for the box set which is well worth it. Sure its a high price but your getting all seven monsters in the original Gamera films. Most of the original Bandai Godzilla and Gamera figures cost that amount just for one. If you are big fan of Gamera like I am then this is the set to have because of the realistic looking figures and great looking box and not to mention this was limited special edition. You'll feel proud to own it!

Overall - ****
The set will cost around sixty to eighty dollars but The box set however is very rare and very hard to find. Extreme Collectables only had three at the time and they have been out of stock for quite some time now. Like I said you get seven monsters that are sculpted great and they all look awesome near each other. The box looks great on the shelf. The figures and their box are a welcome addition to your collection. To me it's a fair price because it's imported, it was released in 1999, and it's no longer in production. Its truly a great set to own!


Figures from the collection of Brandon Miller.

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