Shogun Warriors Godzilla – Random Toys
In the late 70’s Mattel released the Shogun Warriors toyline. The toyline was made from imported robots from multiple different anime and included different sized figures from 3″ tall to the 24″ tall “Jumbo Machinders” subset of Shogun Warriors. 1977 saw the release of the shortest Shogun Warrior in the Jumbo Machinders subset, Godzilla!
Godzilla stands about 19″ tall and has swivel shoulders and hips. The entire body has a rough texture more like tree bark than giant lizard skin. The sculpt of this figure doesn’t really look like the typical Godzilla. There is a Japanese version that looks more like Godzilla and features an electronic roar. I’m not sure if either one is a retool of the other as both look so different that I’m inclined to believe they are two completely different toys.
Like many of the Jumbo Shogun Warriors, Godzilla has wheels on the bottom of his feet to roll around the floor. Due to how the feet are constructed, the toes are part of the bottom of the feet. The area where the toes meet the feet is pretty thin and can cause the toes to break off easily.
One of the main features of Godzilla is the fiery tongue. This is to simulate his Atomic Breath. The tongue is extended outward when you pull down a lever on the back of Godzilla’s neck.
One of the biggest problems with Godzilla is that the tongue lever is typically broken off. Later versions of Shogun Godzilla has reinforced levers, but most of the ones on the market are the earlier versions with broken levers (There are repair kits online but I haven’t tried any of them since it entails taking the head apart, which doesn’t appear to be an easy task)
Both of Godzilla’s wrists rotate. This is a nice feature since the right hand is actually a spring loaded missile!
The spring launching hand can be fired off with the press of a button near the elbow. My Godzilla has a broken button. The launching feature still works since the button is just a protrusion of the launching mechanism/catch that holds the fist in place. The fist easily launches about 4 feet in distance.
The launching fist and the tail are the only removable pieces on Shogun Godzilla, so they are the typically missing pieces. The fist is easier to find loose than the tail, but both can be a bit pricey. Another issue with piecing together a Godzilla is that sometime during the Shogun Warriors run, the color was changed on Godzilla’s body from a bright green to the darker green that I have.
Along with the color variations, there were a few different tail variations. The first one doesn’t have the three ridges continued from the back. If you look at the lip of the three ridged tail I have (where it attaches to the body) you’ll see that there is a small flat section at the bottom of the tail creating a semi circle to attach to the body. There is another version that doesn’t have this flat section and the lip is a full circle where it attaches to the body.
Since this Godzilla came out 2 years before I was born, I never knew about it till I was an adult collector (Other than a Mego Spock I saw in 2nd grade show & tell once, the earliest toys I was exposed to as a child were 1982 He-Man & GI Joe) Even though I have no nostalgia factor attached to this Godzilla, I still love it. It’s a giant lizard with a rocket fist and fire tongue! What is there to not love? It’s a fun vintage toy that can still be had for a decent price considering it’s 39 years old (As low as $40 missing everything, around $100 with broken lever and anywhere from $130-$200 complete and unbroken (Prices are as of this writing)) I suggest saving up and getting one with the tail and fist as each of those parts can be expensive and you’ll have to find one that matches the color of your Godzilla body.