BATTLE ARMOR ANGUIRUS (Godzilla Doom Island, Trendmasters, 1997)

 

Today we are going to look at something that doesn't exist, and yet it does.  It was never released...and yet, it was! Sort of.

Recently, we have added an entire sub-page to The Sphinx which is a checklist of all Godzilla Trendmasters items that were produced between 1994 and 1997.  The third and final Trendmasters line (the 1998 American movie doesn't count) was called DOOM ISLAND, and it died right as it came out of the gate.  It was the ultimate cool 90's idea:  Godzilla versus dinosaurs! How could anything be more awesome than that? It was an idea that was completely "epic," but unfortunately was as doomed as its name, because Trendmasters went bankrupt and it all fell apart.  And it's a huge shame, because we were going to get lots of figures that hadn't been made before.

Fortunately for collectors, there are a few Doom Island toys that can be found.  The small amount that were finished were packaged in whatever materials were already printed and sold overseas, mostly in southeast Asia.  A couple of prototypes were even given away as sweepstakes prizes.  But that was it, and nothing ever made it to shelves in the West.

One part of the Doom Island line that was completed was the "Battle Armor" line.  This sub-series had begun the year before, and featured Godzilla, Rodan, Mecha-King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla figures that could be powered up by adding armor and missile launchers.  For Doom Island, Godzilla and Ghidorah would be carried over, and two new figures were added, Anguirus and Kumonga (who we will look at next time)! As the available stock was cleared out quickly, the figures all ended up in boxes labeled "GODZILLA," and the trading cards don't always match the figure (apparently a Kumonga card wasn't yet produced when the axe fell, but a Doom Island Anguirus card does exist, because mine has one).  Note that the one at the start of this post is packed with a Biollante trading card.

Sure, he's "Angilas" to me, because I grew up with American dubs, but let's take a close look at this ultra-rare figure...starting at the beginning.  Here is the Trendmasters production art for the figure:

Next, here is a page from the Trendmasters 1997 catalog, showing painted examples of he and Kumonga.  Notice that he is heavily purple, and better matches his previous Trendmasters incarnation (which was only available as a 4-inch non-posable figure, and in multi-packs, by the way):

Here he is at Toy Fair that year, still purple (most likely the exact figure shown above; his armor here isn't vac-metalized though):

I am going to save detailed packaging scans for next time, since the boxes are completely identical, but here is a top view of the finished product.  As you can see, the window box allows for a great look at the character, and you can see all of the awesomeness (take note of this, Hasbro):

And now, something you can't get anywhere else:  a detailed look at a loose Anguirus in all his glory!  Cooler heads prevailed, and the purple was (fortuntately) toned down to an extremely light wash.  While some of the Trendmasters depictions are miles off (Megalon comes to mind...and Varan...and Baragon), this one is actually pretty close to what he looks like...well, the 90's buff version I mean.

One of my favorite features here (that I was completely unaware of) is how Anguirus' armored backpack can stand as an independent vehicle! It's both awesome and adorable at the same time:

But, have you ever wondered what this figure looks like without his armor? Well, wonder no more:

Another thing that isn't exactly clear from viewing the packaged figure is his extremely thin neck. I suppose the idea was to give the ball joint as much room as possible, but from this angle, it just looks wrong. I wonder if it would've broken under play (probably--we are talking 1990's action figures here, which weren't always the best plastic anyhow).

Finally, here are close-ups of his face, and also his back (carapace).  As you can see, there are two holes in his back where the body of the missile launcher apparatus attaches:

I hope you've enjoyed this rare in-depth look at this mega-rare figure.  I paid a small fortune for mine, but as one of my favorite kaiju, I certainly never thought I'd get the chance to own one, and I treasure the Doom Island items in my collection.  Like many collectors, I didn't have as much Trendmasters stuff as I wanted, back when they were out, and over the last several years, I've been remedying that problem.  And so has everyone else, which is obvious when you look at Ebay prices!  

Next time, the Kaiju Formerly Known As Spiga!