Playmates Toys Doing Godzilla Figures With Godzilla Vs Kong To Follow

[JayC]

GojiBill sent word that new Godzilla figures have started to show up on shelves from Playmates Toys. Figures that looked very similar to the ones previously put out by Bandai America only with less paint decos. Even the packaging is very similar to the Bandai America ones only now you have a Playmates Toys logo on them instead of Bandai America. You can see an image for these new Playmates Toys figures below via GodzillaWolverinefan.

While details are limited at this time for why Playmates Toys has started releasing very similar product to the Bandai America stuff, we do know back in August Playmates Toys quietly announced they would be producing product in 2020 for the new Kong vs Godzilla movie which right now is slated with a November 20, 2020 release date.

We've reached out to the folks at Playmates Toys to see if we can get anymore details on this but with the Holidays upon us we may not hear back until the new year. Once we do hear back we will be sure to update this story but for now don't be surprised if you come across similar Godzilla product on shelves with the Playmates Toys logo on it.

[marionlawless]

The pictures I've seen of these online don't look too promising... sigh.

[GojiBill]

Thanks for the shoutout. I got word of the releases from various Godzilla fan communities and the overall consensus is that the figures are absolutely horrible. A few have bought the figures and provided reviews. A toy line for kids should still have some standards. 

[GojiBill]

Looks like Playmates is doing two lines in different scales. The smaller one is 5-6” while the larger line is around 9-10”.

Someone shared a pic of the larger Kong on KaijuBattle.net’s Facebook. Not NECA level in detail, but better looking than the smaller Godzilla figures shown this far. I would be ok with getting this one for the kids.

 

[SpiderS]

I am surprised to see Playmates making anything else but TMNT, I wonder if we gonna get some TMNT Godzilla Kong crossover line, I do recall Playmates loving to experiment with such stuff. 

[GojiBill]

6 minutes ago, Neovorticism2 said:

Hm, Toho won't allow it.

Yea, Toho is notorious for protecting its brand. It has a legal team at the ready for anything that wasn’t sanctioned and may infringe on the property.

Even NECA has been blocked by Toho on figure ideas (Marvel Godzilla & Ghost Godzilla). The relationship between the two has improved since NECA was able to remove WB as the middleman, but Toho can still be difficult.

[GojiBill]

Another image from KaijuBattle.net. This one is of the larger scale figures (9-10”) Godzilla 2004. Better than the smaller line but still inferior compared to the Bandai Creation figures.

[GojiBill]

4 hours ago, Neovorticism2 said:

Another recycled mold, the next one we'll see in that scale is Kiryu. Is there any info about vinyl figures based on the Legendary's Mothra, Rodan or Ghidorah?.

Yea, Playmates dropped the ball big time on this one. My kids are super into Godzilla now and I was looking into a solid toy line for them to play with. The Jakks stuff was mediocre and NECA can be too fragile in their hands. Have to track down the local Bandai stuff while it’s still available at a reasonable price ($13 in stores).

I haven’t seen any KotM from Playmates yet, but Bandai Japan did release vinyls of all the monsters in the 5-6” scale and one larger scale Godzilla at 11-12”.

 I’ve seen the small ones range between $20-30 and large Godzilla run between $40-60.

Not sure if that’s what you meant, but Amazon has most of them available for average prices right now.

 

[GojiBill]

5 hours ago, Neovorticism2 said:

Yeah, $30 is kinda crazy for a hollow vinyl figure, I wanted some of the KotM kaijus as a gift for a friend, I guess one of the Neca figs will do the work.

NECA would be your best bet if you want to go for quality and affordability, they usually run between $25-30 at stores. NECA also announced a sale for their products at Target stores, see pic below.

Another option is the KotM toy line from Jakks Pacific. Quality is extremely meh, but the figures are currently on clearance at Walmart. The  small two figure packs are at $5 and the larger figures are under $15. Not bad for desk decor.
 

[GojiBill]

More pictures from KaijuBattle.net courtesy of Twitter user The_Deadzilla. Other figures in the line appear to be exact copies of the ones previously released by Bandai, just with the Playmates packaging. Perfectly acceptable for a line intended for kids. Not sure why the others are so different in quality. Maybe  Bandai just handed off what they had left over for Playmates to sell.

[JayC]

I'm not sure who is going to really buy these when they are so similar to the Bandai stuff which at least at my local walmart last time I check was still warming the pegs.  I assume these are being release now to hold the shelf space for when it gets closer to the Kong Vs Godzilla movie release and hopefully Playmates will have something to differentiate it from the Bandai stuff.

[GojiBill]

The YouTube channel Geek Chest recently released a video potentially identifying the Playmates Godzilla series lineup. They stated their source has been reliable in the past but nothing was confirmed at the time of the video. Pics and link below.

Link: https://youtu.be/M8klTS0s440

 

 

 

[GojiBill]

On 1/3/2020 at 7:03 PM, JayC said:

I'm not sure who is going to really buy these when they are so similar to the Bandai stuff which at least at my local walmart last time I check was still warming the pegs.  I assume these are being release now to hold the shelf space for when it gets closer to the Kong Vs Godzilla movie release and hopefully Playmates will have something to differentiate it from the Bandai stuff.

A few others have shared your theory that Playmates is using the Bandai figures and the other poor quality figures in attempt to fulfill their Godzilla toy line obligation to Walmart. Godzilla vs Kong was originally scheduled for a March release and was pushed back to November. This may have screwed up Playmates’ previous plans and now they’re scrambling to provide Godzilla figures while not revealing the GvK figures. That would explain why they’re reusing the Bandai figures, why the “new ones” are poorer in quality, and why Kong is one of the better ones in the bunch.

A video review (https://youtu.be/QV42q-IZhvQ) confirmed that a few are the same Bandai figures with a black Playmates stamp over the Bandai imprint on the foot. Pics below. This gives me hope that the later figures have a much better chance at being better overall.

 

[JeffCoJeffCo]

I have been hype for this movie since 2014, and everybody wants to jump on that train now? Pff

[K9K1N6]

Battle damaged Godzilla and Kong? Now that's interesting, it kinda catches my curiosity to see how these figures go

[JayC]

I still dont get why the so called Mechagodzilla looks more like a skeleton than a robot?

[GojiBill]

From the early shots and designs, the figures look far better than what Jakks Pacific put out for KotM. I know those figures were meant for kids, but they were horrible in play quality as well. My kids are into Godzilla too and bought a few of the Jakks KotM figures. In addition to having limited paint apps, the plastic was soft and breaks easy. Poor quality for items intended for play. For my kids, I hope that the Playmates GvK line follows what they’ve put out so far in terms of durability. As for me, I hope that NECA gets some of the GvK rights to put out affordable collectible options.

[Lord_Scareglow]

I guess they look cool for the kids, not so much me, look to cheap, but I mean they arn't suppose to be collectors pieces, I do like that the Kong looks fairly articulated, godzilla not so much

[Roadpigmaster]

4 hours ago, Mr_Scary92 said:

Some images of the upcoming GvsK have surfaced.

The 11" figures were available on Walmart.

Personally the 6" Battle Damage are the only ones I might pick, but no there's no much info about them right now

 

That Kong looks terrific they nail the details and meanest...

[Satam]

How is this even supposed to work if Kong is like half Godzilla's size?