# Monsters of the movies godzilla



## Neverendingmods (May 31, 2006)

Hey, folks -- 

Just found something on YouTube that may already be known to you, BUT, I just wanted to pipe up. Someone has what really looks to be the acetate prototype for the MOTM Godzilla. Here's the URL:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x47zRFsv3w4

Mr. Winspur, might there be ANY chance Moebius could collaborate with this person, and bring this kit to life. . .?


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## Buc (Jan 20, 1999)

That's Phil's video.

http://www.bucwheat.com/aurora/godzMOTM.jpg


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## Neverendingmods (May 31, 2006)

Aha. . . Well, in a perfect world, Phil would get together with Frank Winspur, and make a bunch of monster modelers happy! Wouldn't it be GREAT to have that Godzilla side-by-side with King Ghidrah and Rodan, after 41 years?:wave:


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## Jimmy B (Apr 19, 2000)

Toho licensing if I'm not mistaken. I doubt if Frank wants to go that distance. That is a nice little gem though.
BTW - welcome to the boards MODS


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I think this was discussed on the Modelling forum and the owner said NO to any sort of resin or plastic copy. 

I'm not sure the licensing issue would be a deal breaker, since almost everything Moebius makes is licensed. If they can do Batman, Lost in Space, Universal Monsters, Marvel comics....


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## JeffBond (Dec 9, 2013)

That is a weird, weird Godzilla--obviously they just wanted to do an articulated version of their original 1960s design. I'd have loved it in the day though!


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## Neverendingmods (May 31, 2006)

Yeah, I wish they could work something out. . .


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## MJB (Aug 3, 2001)

Can't they just scan the prototype and out would come the digital blueprints to make a plastic or resin kit? I shouldn't think the scan would be that evasive or harmful. I'm sure someone who knows these things can let us know about that part. 

Licensing is a whole issue by itself.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Yeah you could do that but the owner apparently is not having copies of his one of a kind original made or sold. Its not quite as easy as scanning something, pressing a button, and pow you can cut a mold. But, you can do it.


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## Neverendingmods (May 31, 2006)

Yeah, there are collectors out there in all areas of interest who want to brag about having The Only One, period. Like that guy Martin Shkreli, the prescription drug baron, who bought a one-off Wu-Tang Clan album "to keep it from the people." I also remember that Adam Savage, from Mythbusters, has talked in some of the Jamie and Adam Tested videos that he's met collectors in the movie props world who do the same thing -- won't share, won't post pictures. My preciousss. . .


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Can't say I blame him. If you own a one of a kind, hand made, original you are under no obligation to let someone else make a mass produced copy (and make money off it).


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## Neverendingmods (May 31, 2006)

No, of course he's not obligated. But what makes it desirable for me is that it was originally intended to be mass produced, and then fortunes changed. If the pattern were in the hands of someone more cooperative, a whole community of folks might be able to enjoy something that they lost 40 years ago. I mean, Gary Kerr is not obligated to share anything with us on the Enterprise restoration, either. He just seems to be a very generous fella. The owners of the Jupiter 2 and Flying Sub miniatures aren't required by law to help, either, but they did, and we all benefited.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

To be honest I think that sculpt sucks and I can see why it was never released. If you want a half decent Godzilla in styrene get the Bandai version or the Polar Lights kit.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

It is pretty craptacular. I saw it pictured in an old Starlog (?) magazine nearly 40 years ago as a kid and thought it was pretty dorky. Nowhere neaer as nice as the Aurora Rodan and Ghidorah kits. It's really laughably bad.


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## nautilusnut (Jul 9, 2008)

> To be honest I think that sculpt sucks and I can see why it was never released. If you want a half decent Godzilla in styrene get the Bandai version or the Polar Lights kit.
> Reply With Quote Multi-Quote This Message Quick reply to this message


To be fair, the Aurora kits were not sculpted, they were carved directly out of blocks of acetate, mostly by the late Bill Lemon. Bill would whittle the thing out of pieces, figuring out how it was to fit together. Sometimes he'd do one side, then the other. If he made a mistake, he might glue on a new block after sawing off the old and carve it again. Such was the way it was done then. Today's figure kits are sculpted with much more of an eye to likeness than it used to be. Back in Aurora's day, there were no action figures on the shelves to compete with for most models. Models themselves were often played with, then destroyed. I agree, the kit leaves a lot to be desired as a serious representation, but that wasn't always the guiding factor then.


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## Neverendingmods (May 31, 2006)

Oh, yeah, I agree it's not the best. The original Aurora Godzilla is much better. 
But I have a nostalgic fondness for the Monsters of the Movies kits, stiff though some of them are (partially because of the repurposed Monster Scenes figures). I do still think the Rodan, Frankenstein Monster, and CFTBL are pretty good. 

Probably my favorite of my Godzilla kits is the Billiken 1964 (Mosugoji) version. Anyway, this whole thread grew longer than I expected! :wave:


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

I have recently been restoring some of the Aurora kits, and have been amazed at the amount of detail in them, I restored Willie Mays, and while doing research on the World Series the kit represents, the likeness is stunning.


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## JeffBond (Dec 9, 2013)

The Aurora kits were THE thing for sci-fi and horror fans back then--no one else was doing anything like them and Aurora single-handedly established the art of, and the market for, figure models and science fiction subjects that other companies later expanded on, and led to the renaissance we're experiencing today (it's not a coincidence that both Playing Mantis and Moebius paid homage to Aurora in their logos and choice of subject matter). The MOM Godzilla is really no more stylized than the Rodan and Ghidorah (even back then I thought the Ghidorah model with its muscular human legs was a terrible representation of Ghidorah--but I couldn't wait to own it because it was the first model kit of Ghidorah I'd ever seen). It does amaze me that people are sometimes incapable of looking at subjects and putting them in the context of the era in which they were produced. Of course there are many superior products produced today but these are the kits that laid the groundwork for many of them...


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## nautilusnut (Jul 9, 2008)

> It does amaze me that people are sometimes incapable of looking at subjects and putting them in the context of the era in which they were produced. Of course there are many superior products produced today but these are the kits that laid the groundwork for many of them...
> Reply With Quote


An excellent observation. Because I grew up building the AURORA kits, I still appreciate them and have a fondness for them that new generations don't. It's true the quality varies, some of the likenesses truly ARE remarkable. Some, like Frankenstein's Monster, are a composite of several versions so it's generic. I remember seeing these kits assembled in Hobby Store windows as a kid and couldn't wait to get one myself! AURORA always had the kits I wanted! 

Thank goodness Moebious, Monarch, and others have created kits of subjects we always wanted AURORA to do, but didn't


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

SUNGOD said:


> To be honest I think that sculpt sucks and I can see why it was never released. If you want a half decent Godzilla in styrene get the Bandai version or the Polar Lights kit.


Which Bandai kit are you referring to?
There are 5 of them.
http://www.tylisaari.com/models/kaiju/godzilla/bandai.htm


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