Action Figure Spotlight: Baragon (Trendmasters, 1996)

 

Waaaay back in 1996, before social media, the rise and fall of forums, and toy websites with any current info, news traveled much slower than it does today.  The best way to hear from fellow collectors was a thing called newsgroups, which were bulletin board-type areas organized by subject matter.  It was here that information was shared--and believe it or not, deals were made (the format didn't allow attachment of photos, and trades or purchases were made sight unseen!).  It was there that I first read of the discovery of three late-breaking figures being released at the tail end of the GODZILLA WARS line, without fanfare.  Figures that nobody really knew were coming, especially because there was no clue of their existence.

You probably know that one of the flagship items in Trendmaster's two Godzilla lines are the boxed action figures with sound (the company referred to them as "6-inch," but in reality they are closer to 5 inches tall).  Here is the back of the box for the GODZILLA WARS series:

However, not all of these were made in GODZILLA WARS packaging, and there was never a sound "Anguirus" figure at all, so you can see how keeping up was pretty confusing.  (Another wrinkle was that most of the sound figures were sold in carded versions, with the sound features removed, but that was not the case for these final three figures).

And so, on that autumn day in 1996 when I first read that there was a Trendmasters Baragon, Megalon, and Varan, I left at lunch and traveled to Kay-Bee Toys (you are missed), which was less than a mile from my work! And there they were; with their familiar KB price tags with the original price lined through and another written in red pen.  They miraculously had one of each.  I lined up the three figures on the shelf in front of me, and took a step back to get a good look at them, and...walked away.  I know; I'd like to tell you they were just too muscular in a 1990's way for my tastes, but also, I was extremely poor back then, and that was probably closer to the reason.  Instead, I tracked the "big three" down in very recent years.

And today, those boxed figures are pushing two hundred dollars apiece. Great Scott!

Seeing as how we recently launched a Trendmasters Godzilla Checklist Page, it seems like a good time to take a closer look at these three figures.  Today, we begin with Baragon.

In defense of my 1996 self, try to remember that this is what Baragon actually looked like:

And that this is what we actually got:

I personally see more King Caesar in this finished figure...but man, those biceps are jacked.

"Snap into a Slim Jim!"

They did get at least incorporate the ridges on his back (something you can't really see in boxed examples).

I can't speak to what his roar sounds like, as the batteries in mine are kaput, but Trendmasters roars never were right anyway; they were just for fun.  It would've been more than awesome if Toho had supplied audio for them, come to think of it (as it is, King Ghidorah actually purrs).

All in all, a solid 5 out of 10.  I think I was most disappointed in this figure because Baragon is one of my favorites.  It's not that I wanted this figure to be cute, but it turned out as...a lumpy brown mess.  In the retrospect of the many dusty decades that have passed since their release, I'm not 100% sure I would've made it through with "the big three" intact, but I'm thrilled to have acquired them at this point.  They became White Whales after enough time passed, as these sorts of things often do.  Join us next time, and we will look at another of these guys!