In 1984, Toho presented
Godzilla (
Godzilla 1985 in the U.S.)
as a direct sequel to the 1954 original, thus ignoring the existence of
the 14 other films in the series. At the same time, the height of
the new Godzilla was increased to 80 meters (267 feet). Toho probably did
this to make Godzilla appears more imposing alongside Tokyo's modem skyscrapers.
Godzilla is also 80 meters tall in
Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989).
In
Godzilla vs. King Ghidora (1991), futurians attempt to prevent
Godzilla's creation. However, their complicated time-travel plan backfires,
and Godzilla is reborn in 1992, now towering at 100 meters (334 feet). Godzilla
is this size in
Godzilla vs. Mothra, released in the U.S. as
Godzilla
and Mothra: Battle for Earth (1992) and the following sequels;
Godzilla
vs. MechaGodzilla (1993),
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994) and
Godzilla vs. Destroyah (1995). When the series returned after
the TriStar fiasco with
Godzilla 2000, the King of the Monsters returned
to the 80 meters (267 feet) version, and has stayed at that height ever
since. These changes in Godzilla's height has meant a little confusion
for collectors, especially when trying to estimate Godzilla's scale in relation
to his height. But first, let's go over what scale is.
Scale is the factional way of showing a model's size in comparison to the
real thing. For example, if a Godzilla model is in 1/250 scale, the real
Godzilla (if he truly existed) would be 250 times greater than the model.
With Kaiyodo's fine set of soft vinyl Godzilla models, which we'll
call
The Godzilla Gallery, a basic scale of 1/250 is used. Therefore,
Kaiyodo's 1954, 1955, 1962, 1964, and 1968 Godzilla kits are all 8" representations
of a monster that is 50 meters tall. However, the Kaiyodo 1984 and
1989 Godzilla kits are also 8" tall, but are shown to be in 1/500 scale.
Further, the 1991 Godzilla kit is 9" tall and is in 1/400 scale.
Why this discrepancy in scale between the pre- and post- 1984 Godzilla
models? Remember, the 1984 and 1989 Godzillas are 80 meters tall and
the 1991 Godzilla is 100 meters tall. Since Kaiyodo apparently wanted
to work in. the same size rather than scale (and probably also stay in the
same price range), the 1984, 1989 and 1991 Godzilla models had to be reduced
in scale in order to match the rest of the series. Also, Kaiyodo broke the
8"-9" constant size of their "Godzilla Gallery" by releasing their 1992
Godzilla in 1/350 scale (11" tall). Perhaps Kaiyodo did this to give
the 1992 Godzilla better detailing, as it's a superb kit. But not only does
this put the 1992 Godzilla out of size range of the other Godzilla models,
it's also out of scale for Kaiyodo's two excellent Battra models which are
in 1/400 scale! It was hoped that Kaiyodo would eventually release
a 1992 Godzilla model in 1/400 scale to match with these other kits, but
that seems unlikely at this time.
Granted, all this may make little difference to some Godzilla collectors,
like one poor dumb schmuck from Las Vegas whom we will affectionately call
"David H." But what if, like me, you're a perfectionist on correct
scale? The solution would be to collect the Kaiyodo
Godzilla
Gallery set and substitute the following Godzilla models with the ones
below:
Kaiyodo Kits:
- 1984 Godzilla (1/500 scale. 8" tall)
- 1989 Godzilla (1/500 scale, 8" tall)
- 1991 Godzilla (1/400 scale, 9" tall)
- 1992 Godzilla ( 1/350 scale, tall)
Substitute Kits:
- Kaiyodo vinyl 1984 Godzilla (1/250 scale, 12" tall). Availability:
no longer produced, but still in circulation.
- Max Factory vinyl 1989/1991 Godzilla (no scale given 11" tall).
This kit is not quite in the correct size for our purposes, but it's pretty
close. Availability: no longer produced, but still in circulation.
- Yolks resin 1991 GodzilIa (no scale given, 14" tall). Availability:
short production run, very hard to find. Alternate substitute: Bandai
14" tall
- Billiken 1992 Godzilla (no scale given, 14" tall). Availability: no
longer produced, but still in circulation.
Finding some of these substitute kits may be a little tricky, but
once obtained and displayed along with the Kaiyodo 1/250 pre-1984 Godzilla
models, an interesting and accurate display of Godzilla's different appearances
and heights will be created. By the way, my suggestions are not meant in any
way to criticize the Kaiyodo 1984-1992 Godzilla kits. On the contrary,
place these four kits together as a "Godzilla New Age" display!
To close, C.S. Lewis, author of the
Chronicles of Namia fantasy
series, believed that the things we consider important in life appear bigger
as we grow older. Could Godzilla's progressive increase in height mean that
Toho is hinting that we should be more appreciative of the King of the Monsters?
Perhaps not, but then again...
(Sizes in meters havoc been glanced from various Japanese "Godzilla Digest"
books. Conversions have been calculated by the author and are approximate).
