"Magnetic Godzilla Character TV & Cartoon Pals" (Item #2129, manufacturer unknown, 1979)

 

An extremely rare set of Godzilla items today--these 7-inch giant "puffy magnets" were produced to promote the Hanna-Barbera cartoon.  Three different styles were available: two Godzillas and one Godzooky.  These are scarce on their own, loose, but practically unheard of in their original packaging.  The same nameless company also made smaller "puffy magnet keychains" and various sizes of puffy stickers......apparently "puffy" was this company's specialty.

These were drug store and gift shop types of things, and, for the record, the magnets are extremely weak and hardly do anything. They would've been sold on spinner racks which would've been full of the same sorts of products for dozens of other properties.

Packaged, they measure about 11 x 6 inches (roughly, as there was some variation in the way the header cards were stapled).  For completeness, here is what the backs of the magnets look like:

The printing reads "© 1979 Toho Co., Ltd & Benedict Pictures Corporation." 

I have shared this here in past years, but I even own a quarter machine header card from that era that includes one of the Godzooky jumbo puffy magnets:

I can only assume that these were unsold overstock, and that the magnet would've been grotesquely folded beyond recognition to fit into one of those quarter machine capsules...IF it's even true that they were even a possible prize...after all, there were those full-sized digital watches that nobody ever really won, but every kid tried to.

Godzilla / Dr. Pepper AWESOME TASTE Mail-Away T-shirt (1986)

 

Here is the end of a long quest....just ten years ago on this very blog, we looked at this vintage Diet Dr. Pepper can from 1986:

This kicked off a long-standing sidequest, namely, to find this shirt in question.  It, of course, is based on the extremely memorable Godzilla/Dr, Pepper ad campaign:

Amazingly, all you needed to do was to send them $4.95 before December 31, 1986, and you would receive your shirt.  No proofs of purchase, receipts, or anything! You could've literally copied down the address in the grocery store, gone home, and ordered this fantastic shirt!

There simply can't be too many of these shirts out there (honestly, I bet the can is even rarer than the shirt), especially in decent condition. After all, you can't blame anybody for wearing out a shirt like this! I'm glad to finally put this one to bed, and it has now taken its permanent place in a T-shirt frame, on the wall of The Sphinx!

KING KONG vs. GODZILLA Unused Ad Mat #102 (Universal/National Screen Service, 1963)

 

It doesn't look like much, and it's only the size of a trading card, but you are looking at a piece of history. 

Here is a rarity that would confuse most people today.  This is an unused Ad Mat (called Ad Molds in some places) for a smallish newspaper ad for KING KONG vs. GODZILLA.  These were shallow trays made of wood pulp, which were designed to be poured with molten metal (often lead) and attached to a wooden piece, creating a printer's block that could be added to the layout of a newspaper page...which looked like this:

It goes without saying that this process would destroy the Ad Mold, and printer's blocks themselves were rarely saved at all, as the lead would be re-used.

As a result, unused Ad Mats are rare as hen's teeth; Godzilla ones even more so.  

This particular Ad Mat isn't cut from a larger piece, but is exactly as it arrived 62 years ago! Amazing.

(Reverse side)

When a theatre owner received the pressbook for an upcoming film, it would often show all of the different permutations of ads that were available (each with a number), and Ad Mats could then be ordered from the National Screen Service Exchange.

This one is "Ad Mat 102," and since we have the actual pressbook at hand, we can show you exactly what that finished ad looked like in print, and how much space it would take up on the page:

You can see an entire unused Ad Mat with multiple ads--ironically, for the same Godzilla movie--at this post here from a few years ago.  If you like this sort of thing, we have an entire page of Vintage Godzilla American Theatrical Promotional Items that collects everything in one place!

WORLD'S GREATEST MONSTERS RODAN Instruction Manual (Mattel, 1979)

It's easy to refer to the incredible Mattel Rodan as being in the Shogun Warriors line, but it technically wasn't! Instead, Mattel gave it the category of "WORLD'S GREATEST MONSTERS," of which it is the sole member in the line.  Anyhow, he is at the very least an honorary part of Shogun Warriors, because we all know he is meant to be counterpart to their mighty Godzilla toy.

And here is ANOTHER missing rarity that we can now fill in.  The instructions for the Mattel Rodan toy are mega-rare. They came as a small trifold, measuring the unusual dimensions of  5 & 7/8 by 7 & 1/2 inches.  

Even though the folded panels of the pages are the same size, the individual sections of the instructions do not exactly correspond to this, which is why some of these scans are slightly smaller or even larger, as you will see:

(Steps 1-3) You will need lots of #27-sized rubber bands.  For starters, Rodan's claws are rubber-band powered.  This is both a blessing and a curse, because kids never understand that storing a toy with rubber bands leads to dry rot, which ultimate leads to goopy rubber bands bonding to the toy's plastic, and (depending on several factors) causing quite a mess! At least he doesn't have batteries.

(Step 4) How to remove the back plate (carefully, oh so carefully please).  Mattel included holes which gave the owner the ability to swoosh him around, or even hang him from the ceiling!

(Steps 5-8) This page shows you that Rodan's wings are also rubber-band-assisted, and how to hook them up.  It probably goes without saying, but the wings are the most fragile part of this toy, and they are very often found cracked. Entropy is hard on this toy.

(Steps 9-10) More wing assembly! Aren't we done yet?

(Steps 11-12) Replace the back panel, and take to the sky (avoid volcanoes)!  

I'm not sure about the "cry" part; there is sort of a ratchety friction thing that makes a noise when you open and close the mouth, but I wouldn't call it a "cry" exactly...I will have to look at mine again, but I'm sure this feature could wear out over time anyway.  I mean, points for trying, Mattel!

So there you have it--one of the rarest Godzilla-related paperwork items that's out there.  Prepare for these scans to inevitably show up in other places, or even be sold on Ebay as reproductions (not by me though)...I am just trying to make information available that otherwise wouldn't be out there, because that's what we do here! Enjoy!

SHOGUN WARRIORS GODZILLA Instruction Sheet Variations (Mattel, 1978- )

 

Quite simply the greatest toy ever made--or very close to it--Mattel's giant Shogun Warriors Godzilla enjoyed a few years on store shelves and in Christmas catalogs, alongside the rest of the Shogun Warriors line.  Because of this, there are at least three variations to the included (and very rare) instruction sheet!

Let's look at these in the order I have put them in, and I will explain why as we go:

Version 1 (front)  Measures 7.25 by 5.5 inches, and has artwork of Godzilla from the waist up, facing the left.  You will notice there is no blurb for the Godzilla Game, which tells me it wasn't quite released yet.

Version 1 (back)  On the reverse, we have Raydeen, Great Mazinga, and Dragun. Fine print says "PRINTED IN JAPAN," which tracks, because the first version of the Shogun Warriors Godzilla was produced in Japan for Mattel.

Version 2 (front)  For some reason, the next instruction sheet is a full-sized page, at 8.5 x 11 inches.  Now Godzilla's artwork has been changed to a full-body image (adding tail instructions), with him facing the right.  There is also now a box promoting the awesome Godzilla Game, so the Warranty information has been moved to the left side.

Version 2 (back)  The back of the sheet looks unchanged, except for the fine print, which now says "PRINTED IN U.S.A."

Version 3 (front)  Now the size of the sheet has reverted back to 7.25 x 5.5 inches.  The front looks identical to Version 2.

Version 3 (back)  The reverse side is where we see new information:  Daimos has been added to the line-up, in place of Dragun.  This figure was the last addition to the line in America, and was added in 1979, so it makes sense that this version would come last, chronologically.

Now, is it possible there is a fourth iteration out there, somewhere? One thing I have learned over years of collecting is, anything is possible...so if something turns up, it will be included here, and added to our Godzilla Guide as well!