NECA Atomic Blast Godzilla 2001 Figure – Toyark Photo Shoot

In 2001, Toho released Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. The film, a direct sequel to the original 1954 Godzilla film, ignored all previous sequels and reboots. In the film, Godzilla returns after an over 50 year absence to destroy Japan. As he sets his path of destruction, he must battle other monsters such as Baragon, Ghidora, and Mothra. Unlike other films through the years, in the Giant Monsters All-Out Attack film Godzilla is portrayed as an outright destructive and sinister monster. The design was updated to give him a more menacing look.

Last year, NECA released a Godzilla figure based on Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. Now NECA has re-released the figure with an all-new paint scheme and with an Atomic Blast effects piece, the first time their figures have included this. They have sent along the figure for us to check out. You can read on for my thoughts and a full gallery of the Atomic Blast Godzilla 2001 Figure.

Giant Monsters All-Out Attack – Atomic Blast Godzilla 12″ Head-to-Tail Figure by NECA 

Pros

• Excellent sculpted details
• Blue paint apps look great with the effects piece
• Very heavy figure
• Good articulation
• Strong joints
• Atomic Blast Effects piece is a welcome addition

Cons

• Snout seems just slightly elongated
• Hip joints are extremely tight
• Two left hands

Overall
I won’t really go into the packaging, as all of the Godzilla figures use identical packaging. When I reviewed the original figure release last year, I was definitely impressed. The sculpt and paint work were very well done, though the snout didn’t seem to match up fully with the film version. The sculpt is the same on this release, so that’s still worth mentioning. I’ve been a fan of the line since the beginning, and the GMK Godzilla has remained one of my top Godzilla releases by NECA, with the 1954 version still hard to beat. For this release, NECA included their first effects piece in the Godzilla line, an Atomic Blast piece. They completely repainted the figure, giving the skin a cooler overall tone, while adding pre-done highlight paint apps.

For many of my previous Godzilla photo shoots, I’ve been pairing the NECA figures with the effects parts released by Tamashii Nations for their Godzilla figures. They’ve worked well for me, however the sets that include those pieces are not cheap. They tend to sell out quickly and aftermarket prices will usually be even less affordable. From following NECA on Twitter, I’ve seen numerous comments they’ve made talking about the restrictive nature of their licensing, which has prevented them from releasing specific figures in the past. It’s nice to see the reigns lifted a bit, allowing a more “NECA” approach to a Godzilla figure. I’ve always liked figures from just about any line where they use the paint to evoke a specific effect, like the video game figures with cel-shaded paint apps, or comic inspired figures with ink lines. The included Atomic Blast is an accessory that’s been sorely lacking. While it’s not a new overall figure release that is getting the piece, NECA did take care in making this variant quite different from the previous release. As I mentioned above, the entire figure has been repainted as opposed to just adding blue to the existing paint scheme. The skin overall has been shifted to a slightly blue-ish color compared to the original release. They then added in bright blue highlights to the front of the figure. This works well in mimicking the light emitting from the Atomic Blast. It fades out nicely into the figure, ensuring it’s not just a harsh splash of blue.

The Atomic Blast piece takes a cue from the Tamashii Effects pieces. The end piece is designed much like a flat peg, which fits perfectly into the back of Godzilla’s mouth, holding it firmly in place. There’s no need for a stand or to wedge it against another object as it’s light weight enough to float freely once correctly placed. It also helps that the joints are solid here. Just about every joint here is very solid. In the case of the hips, they are a bit too tight. I’m not sure what it is as they weren’t paint locked or anything, just simply overly tight on the ball joint there. It does help to keep the figure, which has a hefty weight to t, from tipping over. After heating each hip up a bit, I was able to get the range of motion that the previous release had. I’d rather have them too tight than too loose tho. *EDIT: It was pointed out that the figure has two left knuckle sets

At about $23, this just a few dollars more than the original GMK Godzilla. If you enjoy stylized paint apps or missed out on the original release, I recommend picking this up. It remains an excellent Godzilla figure with a cool paint design and good articulation. The effects piece also makes it worth it for those who want to use that with this or another Godzilla figure. It fits with those, but I used the tightness of the jaw hinge to hold it in place for those. Check out some select photos below and see the full gallery after that.

The backgrounds in some shots comes from Extreme Sets. Use code TOYARK at checkout for 15% off your order!