The iconic creature known as Godzilla originally debuted in Japan in 1954 as Gojira. The film featured groundbreaking visual effects, a haunting score, and a timely story of nature punishing man for experimenting with nuclear weaponry. The film was brought to North America in 1956 and renamed Godzilla: King of the Monsters. The film was re-edited, with a number of scenes and plot points removed. Filmmakers inserted actor Raymond Burr into the film as American journalist Steve Martin, who functioned as the lead of the Americanized version of the movie. A striking poster was released to advertise the film, and it has become one of the most recognizable pieces of art for the U.S. release of the film.
When NECA struck a deal deal directly with TOHO, it gave them a bit more freedom in what they could produce. One of the first items that NECA showcased under the new license was a Godzilla inspired by the original 1956 theatrical poster for the film. Today we have a first look at the new Godzilla 1956 Movie Poster Version! Our friends at NECA have sent over the figure, and we have a full photo gallery and review. Check them out after the jump.
Godzilla 1956 Movie Poster Version 12″ Head -To-Tail Figure by NECA Toys
Pros
- Outstanding figure packaging
- Color scheme looks fantastic
- A poster diorama display is included
- Blast effect piece included
- The 1954 figure is still a really nice sculpt
- Good articulation
Cons
- None
Overall
The figure comes packaged in a flapped window box, similar to the NECA Ultimate line of figures. The front features the original poster that inspired the figure. The back simply showcases a few photos of the figure itself. On the interior flap, there’s a recreation of the poster, with the figure inserted into the design. The window area is also modeled after the poster, with the figure places to mimic that design. Godzilla sits on a plastic tray, and includes a detachable Atomic Breath effects piece. Also included is a cardboard diorama display, where you can insert Godzilla into the poster itself.
For this release, NECA took their 1954 Godzilla figure, and repainted it based on the poster. Much like their 8-Bit and 16-Bit video game features, Godzilla has a heavy use of paint to create lights and shadows to act as a better homage. So while the base figure is a bright green, there’s plenty of dark blues, yellows, light greens, and dark grays applied, which blends in nicely with the painted diorama backdrop. The dorsal fins have heavy use of reds, pinks and blacks. A dark wash is then applied, which adds extra dimension, and brings out the sculpted scales throughout. The paint work looks absolutely fantastic in person. It makes the figure feel completely new, even when placed side-by-side with the 1954 version. Paint lines are crisp and clean, with no noticeable paint bleed into white areas like the eyes and teeth.
There’s a quick bit of assembly needed for the tail. NECA is now including a small instruction sheet that details how to heat up the tail piece if the ball joint won’t connect. The included Atomic Blast piece is welcome, and sits snugly into a small connection socket in the back of Godzilla’s throat. The sculpt and articulation are the same as the 1954 version. I quite liked that release, and had no problems here. Joints had a solid range of motion, with no locking issues.
The real surprise of the release is the cardboard diorama the represents the poster. The dio has a floor piece that extends outward, and has the panicked people as a piece that displays in front of the figure itself. This allows you to stand Godzillabetween the backdrop and the people, giving it a nice bit of depth. There’s even spacing between the front and back that allows the tail to stick out without having to disconnect end of the tail. To stand the dio, simply fold the side flaps to the rear of the display, and hook in the tabs from the back piece (see images 017 and 018). there are instructions to cut the side pieces down, but I wasn’t planning on doing that as it does not detract from the overall visual.
I really enjoyed how well this release turned out. It’s a unique take on Godzilla, with a fantastic display option. The mix of the dio display along with a great paint scheme make for an easy recommendation. Godzilla begins shipping to retailers on July 1st, and should hit stores by mid-July. NECA will likely have it on their storefronts on or around the first of the month. Check out some select photos below, and the full gallery after that.
NECA Godzilla 1956 Movie Poster Version - Toyark First Look Photo Shoot




Beautifully done.
Paints can make me purchase anything.
I really does colorful stuff....my favorite vga type figure was Rambo a few years ago. This may be the new king
I sold off all of my NECA Godzillas, because they were too small to fit in with everything else, plus the tails took up way too much space. But, with the awesome included display piece, I can display him separately. Definitely going to pick him up.
Beautiful!
Anyway, is the tail still a bendy wire tail like the original had or did they change it to match the 62 one?
Anyway, is the tail still a bendy wire tail like the original had or did they change it to match the 62 one?
Great pictures.
I have mine pre-ordered online but I wonder -what stores carry NECA anymore. I have recently been in several Targets in Texas and Oregon and none of them had any NECA items to speak of.
I have mine pre-ordered online but I wonder -what stores carry NECA anymore. I have recently been in several Targets in Texas and Oregon and none of them had any NECA items to speak of.
They were sitting at TRU for a long time taking up a whole shelf. An employee told me they didn't have room to put out new stuff, so I bought them all to clear the space. Plus, I'm an addict.
As the months went by the amount displayed diminished and now every NECA display in Dallas Targets is mostly barren except for some McFarlane products and Funko -no NECA to be seen anywhere.
I was in Oregon last week and I was hoping to pick up a NECA Godzilla 2019. However all I saw in four Target stores in Oregon was the same thing I experienced in Dallas.
So if Target officially hasn't stopped carrying NECA then maybe the problem with restocking wasn't TRU but it was NECA.
I don't know though, TRU had a problem stocking everything.
If they did restock then the hot items were quickly gone and there would be a few of the less desirable items left as evidence that a case was actually put out for sale.
As far as Godzilla figures go Shin Godzilla and the Atomic Breath GMK Godzilla seemed to sit for a while but the rest were always quickly gone.
At any rate the typical NECA display at TRU was mostly empty pegs.
But you're saying that your TRU had so many Godzilla items they didn't have room to stock the other NECA items, so you bought them all even though you're not a Godzilla fan so there would be room at TRU, however you then got rid of them because they were...
Taking up too much room.
Do I understand the situation?
Yep, you pretty much got it. Though, the scale issue was as much a problem as the space.
And, oh yeah, POTA is Planet of the Apes.
Here's a good video review.
It doesn't have the perfect lighting and composition of Joe's photos and the figure still looks great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjb7wJRYS4I
I've heard a lot about NECA quality control issues but I've been very lucky.
Smasher, that's because Heisenberg isn't a photographer, but just a reviewer.
I didn't mean to be critical, I was just pointing out how good the figure looked even without Joe's photographical magic.
Full Thread: Godzilla Poster Version - Exclusive Photo Review
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