My pre-order of MonsterArts Biollante Special Color Version arrived before the new year. That was a nice surprise as I was expecting it by the end of this week, or maybe even next week. I'd always wanted to get this figure and missed out on the first release, so I jumped on getting my pre-order in when this new version was announced.
It's basically the same figure as the first release, with a slightly different paint scheme. The original was mostly different shades of green, whereas this one sports some more greys and browns. Anyway, the sculpt and details are superb. The figure has wonderful molding and lines throughout the body. The 4 tentacles are each covered with veins and spikes, ending in mouths with teeth. The main head looks great, the teeth (both outside and inside of her mouth) painted a bone white, with white eyes. And finally, her membrane torso, with a translucent inside that lights up 2 different colors.
Underneath her torso, she sports a small switch with battery compartment. If you move it towards one side it lights up red, the other side it lights up orange, and the middle is off. This is a nice feature that I didn't think I would enjoy as much as I do. Everything about this figure's sculpt is impressive!
One thing about Biollante is that she's freaking HUGE. She towers over NECA's Godzilla 89 figure, so Tamashii Nations went for accurate sizing with her, as she was much bigger than Goji in the film. She is now the largest of the articulated kaiju I own, surpassing my 3rd party Showa King Ghidorah.
For articulation, all four of her tentacles are on multiple ball joints, with the jaws of each mouth also on ball joints that allow them to open and close. The stumps where her tentacles begin can move forward and backward. The head and neck are on ball joints and can look up and forward and down a little. There's an extra piece of plastic on her torso that you can adjust when moving the neck so there's not a large gap, and it also helps to hold the head in place. The body can move forward a bit. And finally, the large mouth can open and close. For being a tentacled stump, she has a lot more articulation than you would expect. However, here's where the frustration lies.
The tentacles on the right side pop off fairly easily. It's really annoying. I know that the original release had this issue, but that was released several years ago. Tamashii Nations had plenty of time to make them a little stronger so they're not constantly flying off when moving the tentacles. This has been an issue on and off with MonsterArts, and honestly, it's straight up bullshit! Their Nargacuga figure had outstanding articulation; I could move the joints in all sorts of directions with nothing popping off. And considering the 3rd party Showa King Ghidorah has 3 long necks with multiple joints that allow you to bend them in all sorts of directions without falling off, this is inexcusable, especially for a figure as expensive as Biollante was. Even the S.H. Figuarts line hardly has that issue. C'mon Tamashii, get your shit together!
This figure is nice to look at, but due to the easily popping off joints, it brings the rating down. This is definitely NOT a figure you'd want sitting on a high shelf, because I imagine that a fall would cause some serious damage. There is a super glue method that can be used for loose joints that really helps to tighten them up; it worked on the loose hand of my Space Godzilla figure. You add a small drop to the joint, then put it back on but keep moving it around for several minutes so it doesn't set. Maybe i'll try that with Biollante's vines. But considering her price, one shouldn't have to do extra stuff. For being such a large, memorable kaiju, her figure sure seems fragile. But at least they got the sculpt right. You cannot deny that she's a beauty.
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