Skip to main content

Hiya Exquisite Basic Series Godzilla 1991 (Hokkaido Version)



After waiting an extra month, I finally received my preorder of the Hiya 1991 Godzilla. It had originally dropped in late May. However, fans quickly took note of the head sculpt, particularly the eyes. They were painted a shiny gold, with large black pupils. Many complained that this was far different than what the promo pics showed, not to mention, inaccurate. As a result, Hiya listened to the feedback and immediately got working on a new head sculpt that would be ready by July, with plans to send it out to all who had already purchased the figure. I preordered mine through Kowkis, and they decided it was more logical to wait until the new heads came in and then mail them WITH the figure. So last week, my figure arrived, with both the first head, and the newly produced one.










The figure is based on the Hokkaido suit used in the 1991 film Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. The design is similar to the 1989 suit, with a longer neck, leaner, fiercer face, thick legs, very long tail, leaner torso, and dorsal spines where the largest one begins at the back, and then gradually become smaller as they run down through the end of his tail. Hiya did a great job with the sculpt, accurately capturing the 91 look. The material feels softer and more pliable, which helps with the articulation. The details are not as sharp as what you’d see on an SHMA, but I don’t mind. He’s painted in the classic dark grey, with lighter silver on the dorsal spines, pale tan on the nails, and pink on the inside of the mouth and tongue. While the first head has those golden eyes with large pupils (making him look like a cute puppy), the new head has a smaller gold irises and black pupils. While the heads look almost identical, except for the eyes, there are some subtle differences, but they’re hardly noticeable. I do prefer the new head, and will most likely display my figure with that one. The other accessory included is an alternate pair of hands with the fingers more bent, like he’s holding a wine glass. No atomic breath piece (that will be included with the atomic breath variant). I’m happy with what I got, no complaints here.





And now, for the star of this release, the articulation. This is by far the most flexible Heisei era Godzilla produced by any company, even SHMA, which have put out some real bangers when it comes to engineering. This 91 Hiya can look far up, far down, twist the torso fully around and quite a bit to the sides, and has great range in the elbows, knees and ankles. There’s a lot of extra hidden joints throughout the figure that give the flexibility more range. The long tail is really fantastic, can curl quite far, allowing for some really dynamic poses. This figure can kneel, bend, twist, balance on his tail, balance on his legs, do kicks, swimming poses, etc. You’ll have a great time messing with this figure, as his posability offers endless display options. When switching out the heads or wrists, you may need to apply a little heat at first to ensure the parts go into the peg and stay put. Otherwise, go ahead and have fun with Godzilla 91. The sky’s the limit in the various ways you can pose and display him.




















Hiya Exquisite Basic Series Godzilla 1991 Hokkaido Version turned out to be worth the wait, especially that extra month I waited for Kowkis to release him. He’s quickly becoming my favorite Heisei era Godzilla figure, due to the accurate sculpt and impressive engineering. He’s my second Hiya figure, and thus far, I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve gotten. I’m looking forward to their Godzilla 2000, which is set to drop sometime this month, though I expect it may be delayed, as their figures tend to be. If the quality of that release is good, then I won’t mind the wait.














 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Help Me… I’m Possessed (1974) / #Missingcouple (2024)

I've watched some weird, obscure horror movies throughout my life. I can now add this lurid 1974 schlockfest to that growing list. In a castle in the desert, Dr. Arthur Blackwood runs a sanitarium filled with mentally disturbed patients (as well as staff). He claims to be working on finding a way to cure people of any violent tendencies they have, and brags about his younger sister, innocent, child-like Melanie, as evidence that his treatment works. When she was a child, their parents had to keep her locked up and chained in the basement, to control her violent fits. Now that he's cured her, Arthur has his wife Diane come to the castle to meet Melanie, so that they can be one big, happy family. Diane begins to grow suspicious that something is amiss after a Sheriff shows up investigating the murder of 2 local teens, and sets about on her own investigation, hoping to uncover the sinister secrets that she feels her husband is hiding. Help Me... I'm Possessed is an outrageous,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Titanic Creations Yongary 1967

This figure was released in late December, and I got it about 2 days before the New Year, so I'm counting it as a 2025 release. It is the Titanic Creations version of the Korean kaiju Yongary, Monster From The Deep. The film was released in 1967 as a Godzilla ripoff, with several ideas copied from the Gamera series, such as his tusks, his ability to fire a stream of flames from his mouth, and even firing a laser beam from his horn, similar to the slicing one used by Gyaos. The film is pretty goofy, but Yongary, like most of those Asian monsters, was pretty cool (to me, at least), so I was psyched that someone finally made a figure of this lesser known kaiju. When Titanic Creations put it up for pre-order, they announced a series of tiers, where they would add accessories when a certain number of orders were met. Enough fans ordered him, so that Yongary ended up with a shit ton of stuff, making him absolutely worth the price. In addition to the kaiju, you get a flame breath effect, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

RicSan Custom Toys Kyōrū Kaiju (Titanosaurus)

My latest kaiju figure purchase is the Titanosaurus made by Ricsan Custom Toys. I own and love the Varan & Gabara, so of course I had to preorder this one when it was available. He was delivered earlier this week. This kaiju hails from the last Godzilla film of the Showa era, 1975's Terror of Mechagodzilla. The Black Hole aliens are back, rebuilding their robot in another effort to take over the planet. They enlist the help of an ostracized Earth scientist named Mafune and his daughter Katsura, who are able to control an aquatic dinosaur named Titanosaurus. They plan to use both kaiju and mecha to attack Japan. Titano was a cool monster, with his tail that opened into a fish fin, and he would use it to create whirlpools in the sea, and high winds on land. I'm hoping that S.H. Monsterarts makes one for the 50th anniversary of the film, but when I saw this Ricsan Custom version, I couldn't pass it up. Titanosaurus (called the Kyōrū Kaiju), comes in a white box, with its n...
Post a Comment
Read more