Bandai HG Series: Shin Godzilla mini figure set
SERIES DETAILS
Nothing beats the classic especially if it’s one of the iconic movie monsters that have been giving us nightmares during our childhood.
As what the producers of the 2016 Godzilla film had envisioned, they wanted Shin Godzilla to embody your worst terror. Well, that incarnation of Godzilla delivered. Together with various forms, the monster made sure that a large part of Tokyo was obliterated leaving the people in despair.
We did mention that Shin Godzilla has many forms and Bandai made sure that they weren’t behind the fad when the movie was released. With four mini figures in the set, the collectibles cover Shin Godzilla’s 1st to 3rd form and an atomic breath version of the monster.
And when there’s a popular anime figure on the market, figure pirates make sure that they are quick into copying these items to sell as bootlegs.
ORIGIN OF FAKE
Bought on: AliExpress
Origin: China
Vendor: Fanbase powered by U Store
Distribution Area: Worldwide
Admittedly, the internet isn’t safe for shopping collectible figures. More often than not, item postings can easily be manipulated and if you’re not on your guard, then you’ll most likely fall for fake items in general.
Although if you’re going to shop for figures on AliExpress, you won’t even have to wonder if the items here are fake or not. Many if not all of the figures on the website are bootlegs, period. And judging by the name of the vendor we bought the figure set from, it’s safe to say that they’re up to no good. So it’s better to just stay away if your purpose is to shop for quality figures.
Looking at the figures, you could already poke out a few faults from a fair view, and we’ll be glad to talk more about that.
DESCRIPTION OF FAKE
For quite a while, we haven’t received any items that’s properly sealed since the last few items we’ve talked about were only wrapped in thin plastic if they’re not totally bare at all. Who’s to say that this fake Shin Godzila mini figure set is properly packed though?
The fake HG Series Shin Godzilla mini figure set - in plastic
The fake figures in plastic wrapping
A small booklet from the plastic packaging
Close up on the paper booklet
Close up on the paper booklet
Each of the mini figures, as it looks like, are sealed individually which looks sketchy enough considering that the real figures are obtainable through Gashapon or Gachapon — a popular way of getting collectibles through a vending machine in Japan. Most likely, these figures should initially be sealed inside plastic capsules. Aside from that, there was a trace of Bandai that was found on the pack, and the quality looks faded. Nevertheless, this type of wrapping the fake has should have already raised the red flag.
The bootlegs’ flaws can easily be pointed, and we’ll go through them one by one for a thorough check.
The fake Shin Godzilla - 1st form - in plastic
The fake 1st form assembled
Overhead view of the figure
Close up on the base
Close up on the tail
The Shin Godzilla – 1st form is by far the simplest appearance of the monster. As for the fake, though, it’s also the most vulnerable to being found out as a bootleg.
As you can see, it only shows the tail of Shin Godzilla. This is also how the real figure would look like, but if you look at its base, there’s something odd about how it was painted with white. It looks messy and doesn’t quite make the wave effect of the water.
While the base has a flaw that appears weird, it was kinda tough attaching the ‘tail’ figure to the base.
The fake Shin Godzilla - 2nd form in plastic
Close up on the fake 2nd form
Close up on the fake 2nd form
View of the fake figure's belly area
Copyright imprint on the tail
Moving on to the next form, the Shin Godzilla – 2nd form doesn’t have a base of its own unlike the first one. You can see, though, that its tail is detachable.
This bootleg is as such because the color’s already kinda off. Comparing it with the appearance of the real 2nd form, you’ll notice that the fake’s overall color seems a bit lacking from spine to the body itself. Apart from that, a copyright imprint on its tail can be found, but that doesn’t excuse the noticeable flat surface on the area.
The fake Shin Godzilla - 3rd form in plastic
Close up on the assembled figure
View of the fake figure from its right side
View of the fake from its left side
Overhead view of the fake 3rd form
View of the fake's front body
Close up on the fake figure's tail
Copyright imprint on the fake 3rd form
As for the Shin Godzilla – 3rd form, the color of the figure seems a lot dull and the details on it just leaves an uncanny feeling. Like the 2nd form, it’s also separated into parts, and in this case, it has the feet and tail detached.
The tail on this bootleg also has the copyright imprint, however there are hardly any other traces of flaws since it could be complete copy of the original although it’s being sold without proper authorization.
The fake Shin Godzilla - Atomic Breath ver. in plastic
Close up on the fake figure
View of the fake Atomic Breath Shin Godzilla from its left side
View of the fake figure from its right side
Close up on the fake figure's spine
Close up on the toes
Close up on the toes
Lastly, the Shin Godzilla – Atomic Breath version has some effects on its build. As you can see, the spine and the tail has a different material which imbues a slight glow effect on the mini figure.
Flaws on this form are hardly distinguished since the texture of the figure was intentionally made to have bumps and curves. However, you’ll notice some irregularities on the toes as they’re inconsistently shaped and painted. Aside from that, the eyes are almost dim as if there are less details on it.
By now, you might be looking up on how the real figures look like on Youtube since, admittedly, there are a lot of videos that tell how the real figures look like. To be honest, there are less official details on how the authentic HG Series Shin Godzilla set looks like since they’re meant to be obtained only as prizes. And as for the price, it vary depending on your luck.
PRICE
Truth be told, the real figures are obtainable ‘safely’ from vending machines. Reportedly, these machines cost around $1 USD in the US while in Japan, it can go as high as $6 USD per attempt since they have more premium prizes in the pool.
The fake Shin Godzilla mini figure set costed us almost $7 USD which is kinda off since you shouldn’t even spend a single dollar for a bootleg mini figure in the first place.
WHERE TO GET THE REAL HG SERIES SHIN GODZILLA MINI FIGURES
There are quite a number of websites that claim they have the officially licensed HG Series Shin Godzilla set, however we wouldn’t bet much on the convenience of google search since the websites are mostly e-commerce pages. What’s worse is that we found out that the seller of that certain ‘officially licensed’ HG Series Shin Godzilla set is a third-party seller, so there’s a high chance that the item is still a bootleg.
The safest bet to get the authentic set of figures should be from hobby shops that have Gachapon machines. Of course, you wouldn’t know what you’d draw, but the prize pool is most likely indicated on the machine — unless the shop’s trying to milk off money from customers or fans which is unethical for hobby shops.
Nonetheless, once a fake, always a fake. Whether bootleggers try to mix it up with legit items, it will always reveal itself.
OUR VERDICT
The fake HG Series Shin Godzilla set has quite a set of flaws even for a bunch of mini figures. From the packaging itself, you could already tell that it’s something you should stay away from though admittedly, you’ll still be having second thoughts.
The bootleg mini figure set doesn’t deserve a spot in your collection of Godzilla figure. It’s a horrific sight not because they’re monsters and all, but the deformities they emit earn them a 75% terrible rating.
