Mini Destdon: Figure Focus

Mini Destdon is one of the most unique and interesting original kaiju figures to come out in a while.

The figure is a collaboration between Toumart and Monstock. The idea to produce the figure came from Isao-san, Monstock's owner. Touma-san designed the character, and it was sculpted by Okuda-san, the G1 Atelier sculptor responsible for the company's gorgeous Hedoran.

Along with the mini, a very impressive regular sized version of the figure was also created.

Onto some close-ups: The Destdons are made of soft vinyl, and many versions use an "MT" technique - meaning metal flakes are mixed with the soft vinyl during production. That gives the figure a kind of glisten, which highlights the contours.

The technique works very well with this figure, since it brings out its scaly texture, which perfectly suits Destdon.
One of the other things I like about Destdon is the interesting paint apps that Isao-san comes up with. They don't always follow the traditonal "reference" color schemes of a lot of other kaiju. Instead, the paint works to bring out the figure's character. So, for example, in the above figure, you've got dark blue spray on a dark purple body. Brooding and very fitting.
This is also one of those figures where the unpainted versions are some of the best. Looking at Destdon, you can imagine a statue perched outside a medieval castle. So, seeing the figure in unpainted black, grey, or silver works very well. It also helps bring out the character's stony look.Finally, of course, Destdon has some of the tradmarks of a Touma character - especially the eyes, mouth, and enormous grin. I think this figure is one of Touma-san's best.