Trendmasters Godzilla Unproduced Doom Island Resin Recast Figure!

 

I'm so excited about this one, I don't know where to begin, so let's take a historical perspective, and begin at the beginning!

The existence of this Godzilla figure has puzzled fans for years.  We all know Doom Island ended up as a cancelled line, but at Toy Fair that year, the Trendmasters display looked like this:

You'll see this page cropped and shared all over the place, but its origin is TOMART'S ACTION FIGURE DIGEST #38, and the full page is presented here, above. There's a prominent photo in the middle of this montage that caught the eye of many a fan.  What was this cool-looking Godzilla figure? To further add to the mystery, it got a full page in the Trendmasters Doom Island catalog:

What in the world was this figure, and why did we never see it?

Well, now it can be told!

Enter Jeff Bergeron.  Jeff is an artist and designer, and worked at Trendmasters from day one of their Godzilla license! He has now shared the long-lost details, and the facts are: this wasn't a Godzilla figure...it was TWO Godzilla figures!

Shockingly, there was to be both a 4-inch and a 6-inch figure of this Godzilla for the Doom Island line.  As Jeff relates on his Etsy listing (which we will get to momentarily), they were designed by Bill Bronson at Trendmaster's request to take the line in a new direction, and to make Godzilla more "edgy." The 6-inch figure was never tooled (therefore what was seen at Toy Fair was a painted prototype, which is not an unusual practice), but the 4-inch figure was, and only somewhere around 12 were produced! So, what happened to those? How many survived?

Well...who knows, but what's important here is, Jeff owns one, and now you can own one too! On his Etsy page, Jeff is offering high-quality recasts of this Godzilla, professionally made in the exact same way that they would've been back in the day, using high-quality resin and dowel rod joints for articulation.  Each piece is custom-cast and all edges are sanded off.  He will even give one a Trendmasters paint job for you, if you so desire!

For me personally, I chose unpainted, because I want it to look like the unproduced figure that it is.  As you can see, the casting job is excellent, and loses no details (I recommend that you view these photos at full size to take it all in).  He looks great.

I forgot to mention, the figure bears the date of 1997!

Interestingly, you can see that this figure would've had lights and sounds.  There are small vent marks on the front, but directly above them is a square cut-away that would've held (or been) a button! Take a look at the photo of Jeff's disassembled figure on his Etsy listing, and you can see that some of the pieces are transparent (not just fins, but also hands)! This would've been an interesting figure indeed.  On the underside, you can also see where the battery compartment would be, which looks similar in design to other Trendmasters figures.

Another thing that's cool about this figure is that its design doesn't shorten the tail, like they had to do with their earlier Godzilla figures:

In fact, as you can see above, the tail would've had an extra joint for added articulation! 

I can't say enough good things about this figure.  It's a piece of history, and it's an incredible feeling to be one of the lucky collectors to own one.  It's in a place of honor in my collection, and will be a bragging point to friends from here on out!

You can buy one for yourself right here:

Trendmasters Unproduced Doom Island Godzilla Resin Recast

Not only will you receive the figure, but Jeff also includes a personalized Godzilla drawing with his orders! An original Godzilla drawing, from an original Trendmasters artisan? It doesn't get any better than that!

BATTLE ARMOR MECHA KING GHIDORAH (Godzilla Doom Island, Trendmasters, 1997)

 

Today we get into the last figure of the Doom Island BATTLE ARMOR series! Trendmasters varied a bit on what they called him exactly, but here (on the back of the box that is) it's "Battle Armor Mecha King Ghidorah" (with no hyphen; on some earlier Trendmasters toys he's just "Mecha Ghidorah").

Just like the Godzilla we looked at last time, this figure began life in the previous GODZILLA WARS series, as "Power-Up Mecha-King Ghidorah" (with hyphen):

Of the four "Power-Up" figures, this one is one of the coolest.  Once again, the figure was given the black Doom Island wash, which really accentuates the sculpt here.  Now, let's get inside the box...

When you look at the packaged figure straight on, it almost appears his tail(s) and wings aren't separate, but they are, as you can see below:

And here is a better view of the heads...I didn't stop to see if the backpack-type piece connected to the middle head was removable like the "Power-Up" figure, but I'm willing to bet that it still is.

The body of the figure also benefits greatly from the extra black paint:

And, just like the other figures, a packet of weapons and missiles can be found under the cardboard base:

Here is something else that you won't see anywhere, well, else.  While the Godzilla figure included a Mechagodzilla card, this figure actually includes the right one.  This card is so rare, I couldn't even find any trace to include it in the Trendmasters Guide (please see our Sphinx Godzilla Guides page for free PDF downloads, updated constantly), but it's there now!

Interestingly, all of the Doom Island cards I've been able to see the backs of are unnumbered, and this one is no exception. For the curious, I count 10 different ones that you can see in the guide!

I hope you've enjoyed not only getting to see these rare figures, but actually being able to see what's inside of the box! It's sad that there were only four in this group, but it's also sad that Doom Island never had the chance to really take off. At least we have a handful of items that made it past the prototype stage!

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

We need to conclude our inside look at the four BATTLE ARMOR figures from the ill-fated DOOM ISLAND Trendmasters series!

To get a run-down on the line, as well as see the first two figures we looked at, see the previous posts about Battle Armor Kumonga and Battle Armor Anguirus! Both are completely awesome figures.

Those figures were brand new sculpts; the remaining half of the line were really re-painted re-packs, though, that you have probably even seen before.  Today's Battle Armor Godzilla began in the previous GODZILLA WARS line as "Power-Up Godzilla."

The "Power-Up" Godzillas came in two colors: Trendmasters Green and the blacker "Supercharged," which you see above.  These are the famous (infamous?) figures that included armor and weapons, and as they have aged, have taught the initial 90's doubters (of which I was one) that they are nothing short of sweeeeeeeet.

As you can see above, the box for my figure has encountered a bit of moisture some time between 1997 and now, but the tape on these usually falls off anyway, so let's look inside!

The Doom Island figures benfitted--and not--from a black paint wash that they were all given, which makes the details of their sculpts really stand out.  Everything looks better, down to teeth and claws.  I say "and not" because some people have complained about this black wash breaking down and getting gummy over the years.  So let's hope for the best.

Unlike "Power Up" Godzilla, this one comes with his largest pieces of armor already in place.  They don't want you to wonder what all of those other vac-metalized pieces are, I guess.

You may have noticed that, like many Doom Island figures, the trading card is completely wrong.  This is very common in this line, and speaks to the rushed way in which they were disposed of.  A Godzilla (as well as Supercharged Godzilla) card does indeed exist.

One more angle, while we are in here.  This gives you a better look at his back and tail.

As with Kumonga and Anguirus, a packet of armor and missiles is found beneath his cardboard stand.  It looks like to me that they match the "Power-Up Godzilla" perfectly.  (He even has a little helmet!)

Next time, we conclude with the fourth and last BATTLE ARMOR figure, Mecha-King Ghidorah! Be there or be square.