Oct 25, 2016 | By Alec
I always believe that movie villains are just misunderstood, and the same can certainly be said about Godzilla – who is sometimes presented as nothing more than a natural disaster. If you love this not-so-friendly giant as much as we do, here’s some good news: it’s not too late to create a Godzilla-inspired Halloween party just yet. Bandai has 3D printed a man-sized Godzilla statue that perfectly captures every detail of the iconic cinematic monster, the first in a line of human-scale monsters, and it is now available for a massive $40,000.
Godzilla has undergone several changes throughout its history, since its 1954 film debut, and this particular version is based on the 1991 movie Godzilla vs King Ghidorah. It is part of Bandai’s Human Size Project, which seeks to relaunch iconic franchise characters as human sized models. Godzilla is the first in line, and this particular 192 cm tall figure (including pedestal) is now available.
If there’s any doubt about the model’s quality, you’ll be happy to learn that renowned sculptor Yuji Sakai, revered as one of Japan’s greatest sculptors from the kaniju (monster) movie scene, was in charge. His team designed the model by 3D scanning an existing 30cm tall version of the 1991 Godzilla, and adjusted that data for a full-sized model – complete with high quality textures, coloring and a few other dimensional alternations. According to Japanese sources, the industrial strength 3D scanner captures all size intricacies perfectly, including the mouth and dorsal fin, and provided the chief modeler with all the data necessary to create a high-quality model.
In fact, the final model is a dead ringer for the Godzilla suit used during the movie in terms of texture, color and overall feel. To make it, the sculptors used the custom COCOMIYAGI76 high-precision 3D printer, featuring a build volume of 60 x 60 x 70 cm – by no means big enough for a full sized model, but much bigger than most. Yuji Sakai’s team therefore divided the model into sections, which each part 3D printed in the highest quality using Nanodax's glass-wool filament. 3D printing was followed by sanding to optimize the texture quality, especially for the fangs, claws and dorsal fin.
As Mr. Sakai explained, his team incorporated a variety of design tricks into the modeling process to perfectly capture the charm of Godzilla, and he provided very close supervision. “It aimed to reproduce the Godzilla that does not exist right now,” he says. This was further enhanced with a paint job featuring the exact paints used for the original movie props, though taking the additional textures into account for color consistency. According to Japanese reporters who saw it first hand, the final model is “three-dimensional Godzilla with overwhelming force.”
But of course a statue of that size and with a sculptor of such stature behind it, you do pay good money for the result. This man-sized Godzilla sculpture will set you back ¥4,150,000, or about $40,000 USD – not including shipping.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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