It’s not old. It’s timeless.
The time was the 1980s. Star Wars, He-Man, GI Joe, and the Transformers ruled the merchandising landscape, and there was very, very, VERY little in the way off Godzilla. There was an inflatable one, a bendy one with a wire skeleton that would eventually burst through the rubber, and perhaps most familiar a traditional 5-point articulated one whose mouth was as wide as its bargain-bin distribution. If I’m being generous, I shouldn’t omit the one that was part of the Shoguns Warriors line. But I’m not being generous, cuz it sucked, and I spurn his monkey-faced dorsal-finless visage!
What I’m saying is that if you lived in the continental United States and wanted to get your hands on any manner of Godzilla facsimile, you were pretty SOL. And I do mean YOU because I did the best to ensure that my own base was covered. For I had the rubber one, and the plastic knock off. The former was stunningly heavy, and the later was a durable son-of-a -gun. In fact, I believe I passed him down to my nephew, and it’s more than likely that he’s still intact, resting at the bottom of some toy box in the basement waiting to be awaken from his slumber by a new generation. But we’re not here to talk about rubber and plastics, we’re here to talk ceramics. Even my youthful bedroom wasn’t without a touch of class.
My oldest surviving tome to Godzilla came straight from Japan. I guess they all are in one degree or another, but when I say “straight from Japan” I don’t mean in the way my local Toys R Us and Kay-Bee had aisles dedicated to imports from Takara. I mean it was HANDED to me from SOMEONE I KNEW who had actually been to JAPAN. In particular, a friend of my sister who was in the Marines and stationed in Okinawa. In the pre-internet age, anything and anyone international was immediately fascinating!
Behold Godzilla, in all his kiln-cooked majesty. Taller than a DVD. Heftier than a hunk o’ cheese. He looks like he’s based off his design from Mothra vs Godzilla, but it’s hard to place. Except on my mantle or bookshelf. That he’s been around the country with me and still completely intact and with nary a chip in over 30 years is a testament to Godzilla’s pow-ah!
