Godzilla is Godzilla. I know that’s probably the smartest comment you’ve seen all day, but when you hear the name Godzilla you pretty much know what you’re getting. When you want to see some nutzoid designs, you’ve got to spread your focus to the larger Godzilla universe beyond the gigantic green dude. That’s where you end up with big robots like M.O.G.U.E.R.A., which stands for Mobile Operation Godzilla Universal Expert Robot Aero-Type.
M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is an updated version of a similar creature called, simply, Moguera, from a 1957 movie called The Mysterians. That earlier version showed up later on the TV show Godzilla Island, where presumably the Skipper kept hitting Godzilla in the head with his skipper hat. M.O.G.U.E.R.A. showed up in his updated and acronymed form in Godzilla Vs. Space Godzilla, and that’s the form that this toy represents.
M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is the third MonsterArts figure I’ve bought from the Godzilla universe now, and one constant among them is an extreme level of faithfulness to what’s on screen. These figures are a lot like holding a small 3D screenshot. With some deft photoshopping, I’m pretty positive that a toy could be easily inserted into a screen capture from the movie and nobody would be the wiser. It’s scary accurate. He’s got a ton of panel details and looks every bit as metal as he’s supposed to be. On that note, M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is a heavy toy. There are some die-cast elements to him, so he’s got a nice heft, and the sculpt and paint are so immaculate it’s hard to tell which parts are plastic and which are metal.
Articulation is a bit of a mix, which I knew going in. His design is set up so there are going to have to be some concessions to some of his articulation points. While I’m usually a proponent of as much articulation as possible, I’m willing to let some of that hampered movement slide because he has a bit more than I was expecting.
His head will turn, but only slightly. It’s on a ball joint, so you can get some left and right motion out of it, but if you try and turn it too far, it will pop off. His nosedrill, however, spins.
His shoulders have a wide range of movement, and he can put his arms straight out by his side without problem. His elbows bend, but the design does get in the way slightly, so he can’t quite get a full 90 degrees, but he can get enough to aim his pincers at his opponent. Pincer hands can pop off, so there is a full rotation there.
He has some waist swivel; there’s about as much give there as there is in his head.
His legs are where the majority of the stunting comes in. While his legs themselves are fully articulated, with ball joints at the hips and full knee articulation, the large armored section that covers the front and back of his legs pretty much renders that articulation moot. He can get a little forward and backward motion, but he won’t be doing any lunging or sidekicks.
His tail has two points of articulation.
M.O.G.U.E.R.A. comes with a great range of accessories. He comes with a pair of permanently closed pincers and an alternate opening set that allow you to see the missile inside. Since this second set closes to resemble the actual permanently closed set, I just use the opening set as my default. Both missiles are removable and peg into the end of a long segmented missile contrail to give M.O.G.U.E.R.A. that “just fired” look. There are supports to hold up the contrails if you want him posed with them a long time and want to prevent warping, but they’re sturdy enough to be posed without the supports for a limited time he also comes with a chest maser that can be plugged into a hole in his chest. Press a button on his back to pop out the default chest piece and the maser can be inserted into his chest. He also comes with a blast effect that needs support from one of the included stands in order to stay in mid-burst.
His final accessories are a few segments of a city block that you can have him loom over.
M.O.G.U.E.R.A. also has the ability to be transformed into flight mode. He comes with a second neck to allow you to pose him looking ahead while flying. It’s not a mode I see myself using all too often, but it is a neat alternative.
M.O.G.U.E.R.A. Is a spectacular-looking figure and a welcome addition to my growing Godzilla collection. He’s got play appeal and he has shelf appeal.
