Toy Review: Godzilla's Gang Muruchi

Here's another nostalgic toy from my childhood.  My brothers and I had a few of Mattel's Godzilla's Gang figures when they were released in 1978.  These toys were actually manufactured by the Japanese toy-maker Popy, but Mattel did the distributing here in the States.  I suspect those that made it into our hands were purchased from the local five and dime store.  Selling for around a buck, these toys would have been particularly hard to resist for little monster-loving boys.

Despite being a member of Godzilla's Gang, Muruchi here was really a villainous monster from the Return of Ultraman show that aired in Japan in 1971.  

Muruchi seems to be suffering from some blobby paint application.  Yeah, these were cheap, but couldn't they have put a bit of care into this?

Muruchi is sort of the bizarre love-child of Godzilla and a kielbasa.  Unlike some robots I know, kaiju don't seem to suffer too much when viewed in profile.

Paint applications on toys like this aren't usually too complex, but there's a certain charm to the way vast swaths of color are applied, highlighting the sculpt's texture.

Muruchi gets a little mustard yellow for his bee-hive mitten hands.  Clearly, this was a much-used toy.

The yellow made its way only other body parts, including his toes.

Articulation was (and still is) extremely limited on vinyl kaiju toys.  In Muruchi's case, he's actually got quite a bit more than the normal.  His arms, legs, and tail are all moveable.  "Run, Muruchi, run!  See Muruchi run!"

Yup, he's a fun old toy, and one that I acquired very recently, having been gifted it by my younger brother on my birthday.  This is the actual toy we had as kids, and he graciously passed it on to me (along with a few other kaiju who may wind up getting the Geezer treatment).  Thanks for the assist into the WABAC Machine, APH!