Diamond Select Toys' first non-Godzilla bank, and the release is a winner. Depicting the Heisei version of the character, the King Ghidorah bust is dynamic looking and menacing. It strikes the right level of detail and a great pose to make it an impressive piece in someone's collection.
Based on the Futurian born version of the character from Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), the bust is split just below the midsection as to include the upper parts of the legs. It measures 9 inches in height, although just barely and the highest point is the upper wing tips so the main body is a bit shorter than this. Thanks to an impressive wingspan, the bank is longer than it is tall, measuring about 12 inches from wing-to-wing.
Although not true to its movie portrayal, the bank has a really stunning approach to the wings.
While the wings were very stiff in the 1991 film, they flow around the character like a cape. The left wing curves inward, while the other curves outward, giving a very dynamic look to the bank that flows well with the three central heads.
The overall detail placed in the bust bank is nothing short of extraordinary as well. The rows and rows of scales look excellent, as does the different look to the neck plating. The wings, especially on the back, are given a generous amount of detail as well and its nice not to see any corners cut. The heads also look great, especially the protruding "spikes" from the back.
The bank comes pre-assembled. It is comprised of ten pieces which are the two wings, two heads, the three heads and the three mouths. It appears that the paint has been applied after the bank was put together. This has has the benefit of adding a faint layer between where the gaps in assembled pieces might once of have been, obscuring that the neck pieces are attached at all.
As for the paint job, the character has a lovely, sparkling gold paint to most of the body. Its a single shade, but the glimmer masks the lack of shading and makes it look impressive under most lighting conditions thanks to the natural shadows that will form. The heads are the only pieces with a different color, which include a light pink inside the mouth and a deep red for the tongue. The center head has a tongue that sticks out a little, making this detail more obvious. Given that the inside of the mouth isn't really visible unless you strain to look in there, its appreciated that they went the extra mile to color it in. The teeth are also given a white color to them, and while this coloring is a little loose it looks good from a distant.
The only downside to the paint job are the eyes. The character should have darker eyes, which are set further in to make them look obscured unless viewed up close. Its because of this that many movie posters colored over the eyes with yellow and black slits, since otherwise they were just dark shadows where they should be. This bank instead colors them a vibrant red. While this choice is not in line with the look from the film, it gets a pass for artistic license. The end result is very menacing and adds to the twisting, snake-like heads motif to result in one of the more threatening looking releases I have seen based on the three-headed monster.
For its functions as a bank: the coin slot is located in-between the two wings directly in the center of the back. To remove the coins, the bottom of the figure can be opened up. There is a large sticker here that you will have to remove to do this, but unless you are hoping to resell the bank in mint condition that shouldn't be much of a concern. On a downside, in terms of practicality, the actual body of the figure isn't going to store many coins. So those looking for a long term bank might be disappointed at the general lack of space inside.
Overall, this bank is a winner, and the jewel of the Diamond Select Toys releases for the Godzilla franchise. Its a dynamic and unique update to the 1991 version of the character, and drips with menace and personality that make it one of the more memorable items related to the King of Terror. As an added bonus, the character pairs really well with the Godzilla Classic 1989 Vinyl Bust Bank. While King Ghidorah is smaller then he should be in contrast to Godzilla, the two are situated in just the right way where it's easy to interlock them. This will make it look like Godzilla is ready to bite his rival, while King Ghidorah is ready to lunge with his heads. All in all, if you get one bank from the Diamond Select Toys line, this is the one to get.
In closing would also like to thank Diamond Select Toys for sending this in for review.
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