Categories Galactic Heroes Warduke Aayla Secura Things from my collection

April 27, 2008 Ban Dai Yuji Sakai's Concept Works "Ka-Ma-E" 1995 Burning Godzilla

I am a big fan of Godzilla but only a casual collector of Godzilla toys. I on a rare occasion purchase a Godzilla toy but it tends to be an impulse buy. I recently found this Godzilla while shopping at a local Japanese grocery store in Seattle's International District/Chinatown. Uwajimaya isn't a toy store but they do stock a decent supply of blind boxed Japanese toys.

I can't read a lick of Japanese so I thought I was buying a blind boxed item of sorts with this Godzilla. There are four different Godzillas in this line - 1954, 1962, 1964 and 1995. Each box does have the graphics on the front for the specific one you are buying which is nice since then it isn't necessarily "blind boxed." I am a product of my generation so the 1995 burning Godzilla was the most appealing to me.

The price did scare me a bit at very close to $20. A little Google and eBay research showed me that you can get these for about the $10 area but you will pay about that or a bit more in shipping as most sellers are from Japan. So in the end I paid about going price for it.

The packaging is beautiful - extremely vibrant and appealing. However since I am not an informed Godzilla collector, it was more than a bit deceiving once I opened it. I am used to these types of boxed Japanese toys to a build it yourself kind of item. Because of this and the size of the box, I was immediately disappointed in the small size of the figure inside. I can see now that part of the box size was needed for the length of the tail. The figure is roughly 3 inches tall by 6 inches long.

Once I got over how small it was, I started really giving it a once over and was really impressed with the workmanship in this item. I could be wrong but it looks hand painted. You won't find a mass marketed American toy with this level of quality paint job. It is visually stunning. It is also one solid piece and doesn't feel cheap in the slightest.

The only accessory is a plastic base. There is no peg hole system in the feet or base so the Godzilla basically stands there on it. It doesn't need the base to stand either. Because I can't read half of what it says, I could easily do without it and may not display it with the figure.

I guess there was one more accessory - a small chick let of gum which is common once again in these kinds of toys.

There are chase versions of each of the four figures with an alternate paint job. These would be a fun and difficult chase line to find and as a casual Godzilla collector, I am going to leave that to the pros.

This is a very high quality toy but expensive and small. If you are into toys like this, you will love it. If not, you can easily pass on it.

I am giving it a *** out of 5 rating. The high quality is hurt in my eyes due to its price, availability in the US and its small overall size.