Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

[canofhumdingers]

It's amazing we're living in a world where, thanks to digital rendering, we know what the Super 7 and Mezco stuff looks like months (if not a year or more) before they come out...

...but many of the upcoming Bandais come out when? Next month? March? And we have no idea what they're going to look like.

Honestly? Good. All these pre-release renders from companies usually look way off the mark from how they eventually turn out.



I'd much rather we have our first look at Bandai stuff when it's as close as possible to what we'll be getting in hand.

Yikes!! Is that the super7 silverhawk figure? If so I’m having second thoughts about my handful of Godzilla ultimates preorders….

[Fermix]

Honestly? Good. All these pre-release renders from companies usually look way off the mark from how they eventually turn out.



I'd much rather we have our first look at Bandai stuff when it's as close as possible to what we'll be getting in hand.

Yikes!! Is that the super7 silverhawk figure? If so I’m having second thoughts about my handful of Godzilla ultimates preorders….

It's supposedly a hand-painted, early sample that didn't use the stencil. An updated sample was shown off in an interview in December 2022 that better aligns with the promo shots.

[Creature22]

I don't know what to expect of FW Manda (considering how... 'simplistic' the S.P variant looked) or Ebirah with his crustacean legs and antennae (which I hope won't just simply be molded into/onto the main body, like Biollante's rear tentacles were...). I bet that the new Ghidorah '91 will most-likely be heavily underscaled yet again and thus look tiny compared to the others.

My biggest concern with Manda is that they take the “Shin Mefilas” route, aka molding the pieces in a cheaper solid vinyl because his skinny and snake-like appearance. Not to say Shin Mefilas is a bad figure, but it FEELS incredibly cheap. Especially considering the retail price. I would not be opposed to the solid vinyl being used for something like Ebirah’s antennae, but for the figure’s body itself I really hope that’s not the route they take.

The other concern I have for Manda is the pose, as you also mentioned. But the SP Manda was more shark than snake-like, so I don’t think it lent itself to a good figure from the get-go. With FW, I would expect it to be more “curvy”.

[canofhumdingers]

Finally finished my Bandai Shin Godzilla custom repaint. The teeth and eyes were really hard to paint!! They are so tiny!

[onerichman]

Finally finished my Bandai Shin Godzilla custom repaint. The teeth and eyes were really hard to paint!! They are so tiny!

Great job! That looks amazing!

[Platypus Prime]

That is beautifully done!

[Petezilla]

I don't know what to expect of FW Manda (considering how... 'simplistic' the S.P variant looked) or Ebirah with his crustacean legs and antennae (which I hope won't just simply be molded into/onto the main body, like Biollante's rear tentacles were...). I bet that the new Ghidorah '91 will most-likely be heavily underscaled yet again and thus look tiny compared to the others.

My biggest concern with Manda is that they take the “Shin Mefilas” route, aka molding the pieces in a cheaper solid vinyl because his skinny and snake-like appearance. Not to say Shin Mefilas is a bad figure, but it FEELS incredibly cheap. Especially considering the retail price. I would not be opposed to the solid vinyl being used for something like Ebirah’s antennae, but for the figure’s body itself I really hope that’s not the route they take.

The other concern I have for Manda is the pose, as you also mentioned. But the SP Manda was more shark than snake-like, so I don’t think it lent itself to a good figure from the get-go. With FW, I would expect it to be more “curvy”.

We can only hope that they don't go the Shin Mefilas route with FW Manda. The arm joints of my Shin Mefilas are completely flimsy and loose due to the solid vinyl they're made of. Although it would look much better, there'd be concerns that Ebirah's antennae would probably tend to sag if they'd be solid. But I still think they're going the cheap route and just mold them into the main body. I hope I'm wrong, though.

[Legion1979]

As long as the sculpt is accurate and looks like Ebirah, I'll be happy. And I'd rather have no antenna than those long, thick stalks the YMSF figure had.

[Mac Daddy MM]

Still half expecting to see only half of Ebirah sculpted and him sitting on a translucent blue and white blob that supposed to be sea water, sort of like the old gasaphon from 2003(?).

[Creature22]

Still half expecting to see only half of Ebirah sculpted and him sitting on a translucent blue and white blob that supposed to be sea water, sort of like the old gasaphon from 2003(?).

Don’t put those ideas out there, man
I need a full body Ebirah to attach my submarine motor to! Gonna take that sucker to the park and let him loose in the pond!

[Mac Daddy MM]

Still half expecting to see only half of Ebirah sculpted and him sitting on a translucent blue and white blob that supposed to be sea water, sort of like the old gasaphon from 2003(?).

Don’t put those ideas out there, man

They could get double use from the water "base" mold as well, and have Manda coming out of it the same way so we only see half of his body too. And once they see people buy them and don't go for the Sakai Bandais, they cancel those and introduce a new "MMS Emergence" line with the likes of Godzilla and crew just popping out of the blue/white blob.

[canofhumdingers]

Fwiw that gashapon had parts included to do either the “rising out of the sea” pose or the full body ebirah. It was pretty sweet honestly.

But of course I don’t expect the vinyl to have options like that.

[Legion1979]

Here's the problem I've always had with Ebirah figures. On film, Ebirah's looks and personality come from the fact that he's standing upright in the water, swinging his claws around, his legs and tail not shown. When I picture Ebirah, that's what I visualize. But full body toys need to include the legs and tail so most Ebirah figures (CCP, YMSF, Xplus 23cm) just end up looking like your average lobster.

I'm so curious to see what Bandai does.

[Creature22]

Sculpt-wise, I have no clue, but I wouldn't be surprised if it resembles the Y-MSF.

Regarding the colors at least, I expect it to match the SD figure Bandai released in the 2000s. A lot of those figures seem to share the same base and paint colors as their 6 inch counterparts, so I'd assume a 6 inch Ebirah would have an orange vinyl with some red/silver highlights such as this. I could see the face sculpt being pretty similar as well:

[Mac Daddy MM]

"Let me introduce you to me son, his name is Mecha."

[Legion1979]

Hahahahahahaha! Oh man that thing looks like SHIT.

[GodzillaXGomoraFight]

Lol man that looks disappointing. Ordered that and 84 a few weeks ago and they are gonna come in together I suppose. Gonna love the 84 but sheesh this SMG looks small and derp. I would have thought it be a layup to beat the Bandai Creations Mechagodzilla 2 I've owned since I was a kid ... I am afraid not lmao.

[Creature22]

I try stay fairly objective with new releases until I have them in hand, but I've gotta echo the other responses here. This is awful, and borderline unacceptable regarding the scale and cost. It looks like an enlarged version of the Tokyo SOS candy toy.

Also kind of ironic considering this character is a heavy hitter, while Varan is a small-scale character but was treated to a vinyl so oversized it fit in better with the 8 inch line

[Legion1979]

And this was the guy Bandai wanted to win the past two polls so badly. That's even more ironic.

[Creature22]

And this was the guy Bandai wanted to win the past two polls so badly. That's even more ironic.

Conspiracy Theory: Bandai planned to fix the contest with a purposefully-crummy Super Mechagodzilla and make it a one-and-done thing. Then Gorosaurus won, they had to comply, and found out they could get some good marketing research out of it. Second contest determined the next G-Store Exclusive and what figures would go to retail for 2022-2023.