"Up from the depths of prehistoric mystery rages.....GORGO!!"

M1 and Club Daikaiju combined to release three non-Japanese giant monsters as part of their "Great Monsters of the Movies" series. (Besides Gorgo, there was also Reptilicus and Rat Bat Spider.) Gorgo is from the 1961 British film of the same name.

Interestingly, there was no consistency among the three releases in terms of packaging. Whle the Rat Bat Spider came in a box and Reptilicus loose with a tag, Gorgo comes in the more commonly used bag and header card.

The figure itself is beautifully sculpted in green vinyl and accented with metallic blue and silver spray. It stands 10" tall and is articulated at the hips, shoulders and tail. Unfortunately, though, you cannot turn the head at all.

In the movie, British scientists find a giant monster and bring it back to the UK. But it turns out that this "giant" monster is just a baby! Mama Gorgo comes for her child and reeks havoc in the process. And as an added bonus, this toy comes with a mini vinyl of the child Gorgo. Using the same vinyl and paint, the baby version has just one joint at the waist.

The Gorgo reviewed here is the "Irasawa" exclusive, but Gorgo was also released through Super7 Magazine in a blue spray, in unpainted beige and blue painted beige variations as well as green with gold spray instead of silver.

My very first glowie...the start of a wonderful obsession.

Folks, this movie is BAD. I mean, it's awful!! It stinks out loud...and I love every damn minute of it!!

"Reptilicus" is another Sid Pink classic cheesefest featuring his studio, Cinemagic--this time, shot entirely in Denmark. Danish actors, horrific English voice-overs, the whole nine! ...All the way down to a little musical interlude touting the lovely sites and night life of Tivoli, Copenhagen...almost randomly inserted, while the threat of apocalyptic monster rampages looms over Europe!! Way to go, Denmark Bureau of Tourism!! Now THAT'S product placement!

Anyhow, I've always had a soft spot for this movie. I mean, it's just SO bad. He's like a rejected concept b-movie monster. Ya gotta have a soft spot for him. From a film perspective, the special effects sure are...special...all right. *AHEM*

Yeah, this movie really needs to be seen to be believed! So, CLEARLY, I desperately needed some sort of toy-rendition of this monster...like Tom Cruise desperately needing a grip on reality! So, anyway, before the glowie obession began--even before I ever got any sort of vinyl kaiju--I hunted this Wonderfest 2000 (annual Japanese toy show) exclusive down [and be sure to check out ClubTokyo.org for more info on other variants]. After all, given the choice, why wouldn't I go with the glow in the dark one!?

Was I pleased with my purchase? ...Do The Simpsons need new writers!? (ouch!)

M1 and Club Daikaiju did a fantastic job on this figure. The sculpt is outstanding! The head really captures the terrific visage of the prehistoric, unkillable beastie!

(I think I dated that once...)

The figure's stance is worthy of note, too. Toho's popular supporting-kaiju, Manda, is a long, serpentine monster as well, and in his(her?) M1 rendition, the creature simply sits flat on its belly in a winding, wavy posture. On the other hand, with Reptilicus, the sculptors decided to try something new: they posed him rearing up defiantly...as he is often seen in the film. His wings are swept back and sort of blend the vertical part of his trunk with the rest of his body still flat on the ground:

Even with the smart design of the wings to distribute his weight more evenly, he's still a bit top-heavy with that melon of his. In order to pull off a figure a little more resistant to shelf-diving, the makers actually filled the tip of his tail with pachinko balls to weigh it down! If you hold him up to a light source, you can see the shadow they create in his tail:

Another interesting note is that the figure did not come bagged; instead, it came with a very nice tag attached with a silver elastic cord. The outside features some great artwork (movie poster art?), and the inside features some cool info about the movie, as well as lyrics to the aforementioned musical interlude, "Tivoli-Night". ...Oof...now, there's a tune you don't want stuck in your head...

And, now, we finally come to the glow! Again, he wasn't purchased *because* he glowed in the dark...but he certainly helped kick-start my obsession! The start of something beautiful...

check out the glow-drool!

The terrifying creature from Sid Pink's "Angry Red Planet" comes to eerie life in glow form!

"Spectacular Adventure Beyond Time and Space", indeed! That was the tagline for 1960's Sid Pink classic, "Angry Red Planet"! Well...it was certainly a spectacle, that's for sure!

I'm a big fan of classic cheese, and this film certainly ranks up there with the best of them. And I was only too delighted to hear that M-1, in conjunction with Club Daikaiju, had made a vinyl of the coolest monster in the film, the (somewhat) terrifying Rat Bat Spider! Now, imagine my reaction when I heard that, not only did they make a vinyl of the character, but they'd released a glow version!!

I was lucky enough to pick up a limited release of this figure via eBay. It featured a very nice box with great graphics. Inside, the standard figure was bagged (unstapled) and came with a tag.

Nice write-up of the movie.

Excellent image (actually used in the film) of the creepy Martian!

The tag, attached to the figure with a silver elastic string, is very well-done, too. It features great graphics on the outside and fun info (including an excerpt from the actual screenplay!) on the inside. Surprisingly, of all the vinyl kaiju toys I have, this is one of only two that I own to have an actual tag. All my others came in clear plastic bags stapled shut with a header card.

The figure, itself, is really amazing. It's only around 5 inches tall, but it more than makes up for its height in girth. This thing's definitely a shelf-dominator! But more importantly, the sculpt is what really makes this figure stand out. It is simply sharp and well-detailed.

Even the articulation is excellent--for a retro-style vinyl kaiju, of course! The two aft legs on either side are actually static, but there are still a total of ten points of articulation on this figure...six of them just in the forward legs/claws.

There are several paint/vinyl color variants of this figure (if you have time, be sure to check out ClubTokyo's fantastic database). I selected the pink glowie over the more plausible (?) black/green Neighborhood variant just to throw an interesting splash of color into the glowie shelves (after all...if you watch the film, you can't actually tell what color the monster is!).

Now, of course, the most important part of a glowie is its GLOW. So, without further ado, I give you glowie Rat Bat Spider!

Remember: it's in CINEMAGIC!!