Godzilla (1998) (Electronic Rumble Roar ‘N Power Blast by Toy Biz Inc.)

Although I enjoy virtually all the Godzilla movies there’s one Godzilla film that I cannot abide, the 1998 Roland Emmerich film. That’s not a hot take. The movie has a 20% critic’s score on Rotten Tomatoes, which means it must be bad, since Invasion of the Astro Monster has a 50%. Panned by critics and audiences alike you’re unlikely to find a diehard Godzilla fan that even acknowledges it as a Godzilla movie. And most G-fans refer to its creature as ‘Zilla to differentiate what’s featured in the movie from the authentic Godzilla. So hated is the creature that Toho included it in their 2004 film, Godzilla: Final Wars, just so their Godzilla could kick its butt.

Although I abhor the film, I don’t hate the creature design for its Godzilla. It deviates a bit too far from the source material but it’s neat as its own thing. According to the film’s lore, Godzilla is a mutated marine iguana, but instead of looking like a lizard it looks more like a theropod dinosaur, standing bipedally with a horizonal posture and tail lifted off the ground, and complete with digitigrade theropod feet. Ironic, since the original Godzilla was inspired by dinosaurs but has plantigrade feet like a lizard, or a man in a costume.

Today we’re looking at the Electronic Rumble Roar ‘N Power Blast Godzilla by Toy Biz, from 1998. The toy measures 19.25” (48 cm) long and stands 9.5” (24 cm) tall to the top of the head. The toy has rubbery skin like Jurassic Park toys from the same era, but its arms and legs are a harder plastic. The only articulated bits are the arms, which can swing forward and back. A small green tank comes attached to the toy via a wire. When pressed, the tank makes a firing sound and Godzilla opens its mouth, roars its iconic roar, and vibrates (or rumbles) around in a circle. It’s kind of weird but also amusing, the head vibrates so fast that it blurs. Unfortunately, on my copy the mouth no longer opens.

The toy itself looks pretty good. It has the rectangular head and instantly recognizable giga-chin of the ’98 Godzilla, with a spiky dewlap along the throat, a cluster of large scales on the lower jaw, and wide osteoderms atop the head. Rows of osteoderms and spikes run down the back with the spikes above the shoulders being the largest. The abdomen is comically undersized compared to the large head, long muscular legs, and thick tail, but it is movie accurate. Rows of scutes run down the arms and fingers, and legs and toes. Crosshatching and wrinkles make up most of the finer details. The hard plastic arms and legs are significantly more detailed than the rubbery parts of the body.

The toy is painted in various dull green tones with the dorsal surface being darker than the underside. The arms and legs have an orange wash over them and the larger spikes are blue. A bit of blue coloration is also airbrushed along the chest and between the legs. The teeth and tongue are white, and the eyes are orange with yellow irises and black pupils and a touch of white eye shine. Very detailed for their small size. All the claws are painted dark brown with a light brown wash over them.

My copy of the toy has been stored away for a couple decades, in various environmental conditions, and it has held up rather well. Some caked-on dust, paint rubs, and a slightly warped leg betray its age, but the rubber is all intact and the electronics mostly still work despite me finding badly corroded batteries within it before writing this review. This appears to be a well-manufactured toy.

For fans of 1998’s Godzilla, fans of the creature design, or 1990’s nostalgics, this is a fantastic toy. It’s big, imposing, screen-accurate, and comes with a cool gimmick and always desirable rubber skin. The toy is widely available on eBay for about $80+.