Mothra (6”) (Trendmasters)

In my last review I introduced the company Trendmasters to the blog, and in the review before that I introduced Mothra, albeit in larval form. Considering that, it seems like an ideal time to look at the adult Mothra by Trendmasters. As I mentioned in my Biollante review, Trendmasters produced toys in 4”, 6”, and 10” size ranges, with some able to make sound. This figure is the 6” Mothra but that length is for her wingspan. Her head-body measures about 5”.

For this toy I have retained the packaging, although it is far from being in mint condition Mothra has spent most of the last 30 years within it, so she practically looks brand new. For Mothra the packaging reads “hatched from an egg that fell from space, Mothra fires an ultra-sonic wave beam from his antennae of considerable destructive force, and the poisonous powder stored on his wings can temporarily paralyze the muscles in Godzilla’s body and neutralize Godzilla’s atomic blast.” It’s annoying that Trendmasters misgenders Mothra, who has always been a female.

Although this figure was once capable of making sounds, I was unable to take the battery compartment off to see if it still could. A version of this toy exists that doesn’t produce sound but still has holes in the back where the sound would be emitted! There is a bit of articulation here, with the head able to rotate around and the wings able to flap. This figure was released in 1994 and represents Mothra as seen in the 1992 film, Godzilla vs. Mothra.

None of the Trendmasters figures are 100% accurate to the creature designs we see in the films, and more like simplified caricatures. In the case of Mothra the wings are comically small, the abdomen is too short, and the legs are too thick. The downsizing of the wings is especially unfortunate but likely to allow the figure to fit inside its packaging. The thick legs make them more durable and since they’re rubbery it enables you to perch Mothra on your finger or other small diameter object. The wings are rubbery but also stiff and the body is hard plastic.

Mothra is a notoriously adorable kaiju, characterized by her large round eyes and fuzzy coat. Trendmasters tried to make Mothra more menacing here, by changing the shape of her eyes and giving her deep furrows around them, giving her an angry visage that just ends up looking ugly. Additionally, Mothra is given deep grooves along her abdomen that shouldn’t be there. Her legs should also be white and fuzzy, with only the claws being bare and yellow. Like a bird. Here, they’re entirely bare and yellow.

The colors are bright and vibrant but again, not entirely accurate to the Heisei Mothra. The mouth is gray instead of black and there is no black band between the eyes, bridging the red portions together. The red portions of the body should also be orange. There’s also no color on the underside, except for gray on the underside of the abdomen (again, it should be black). The missing color on the underside of the wings is especially unfortunate. The blue on the eyes looks good though, as does the bumpy texturing depicting their compound nature. The head and body are given an appropriately fuzzy texture. The patterning on the wings is mostly correct but the eye spots are so small that you could easily overlook them.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. The Trendmasters Mothra is decent enough for a Trendmasters toy, 30+ years old and made for kids, but not a good Mothra figure overall. Among the Trendmasters toys I still like it due to the vibrancy of the colors but unless you have nostalgia for and collect Trendmasters this toy probably won’t be of much interest to you. If you do like it though, you’re in luck, the various Trendmasters Mothra toys are readily available on eBay for about $15-20.