GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS Bendy Figure (GLJ, 1978)

 

This is one of the only items on our Chronological Guide to Vintage Godzilla Items that I hadn't yet gotten round to featuring in a post...for some reason...but it's time to rectify that.  

For lots of kids, this was their first Godzilla toy, and/or even their introduction to Godzilla.  Technically, it's a "rack toy," a rubber monster with bendy wires inside to give it some posability, but can also count as an action figure (still a pretty new concept at that time):  it's even packaged in a bubble, on a card very close to the size of a Kenner Star Wars figure.  The "rack toy" status is revealed though, when you discover the back of the card is completely blank!

Speaking of the backing card, above is a good scan of one.  This one comes from an early example I owned that included the original bubble, and I was able to restore it a few years back to its natural glory (and sell it as recarded of course). I had a custom-made acrylic case built for my personal carded example, which was a good thing because apparently the prices for custom cases have gone through the roof in the last year:

This and the Shogun Warriors Godzilla are the two most iconic toys from the 1978 U.S. Godzilla merchandising boom.  We really wouldn't see another carded action-figure type Godzilla figure until 2021!