This year at New York Comic Con (NYCC), Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America turned the King of the Monsters loose on Brooklyn’s iconic boardwalk. The booth reimagined Coney Island as a kaiju battleground, complete with crashing waves, neon lights, and nods to classic attractions — all anchored by a show-stopping diorama from artist and photographer Isaiah Takahashi, featuring Godzilla mid-rampage on a rebranded Cyclone roller coaster.
Though this is Takahashi’s second diorama for Bandai, the medium is new for the artist, who is a toy photographer and collector. “In the last few years, I’ve gotten more and more into building out my own sets,” he says. “It’s kind of just slowly evolved into this thing.” Takahashi says the NYCC diorama is “a culmination of all the things I’ve learned over the years.”
The first diorama, displayed at Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC), was a set that perfectly complemented the booth’s theme. This time, Bandai approached Takahashi for its “Coney Island takeover.”
Aside from the initial concept, Takahashi had full freedom. Takahashi provided outlines and updates, incorporating feedback (such as moving the Wonder Wheel, renamed Godzilla Wheel, behind the roller coaster) along the way. Both agreed it was important to include the Cyclone, the Wonder Wheel, and Nathan’s, known for its annual hot dog-eating contest. “There are obviously so many really cool things, and I’m sure iconic things to the locals there, that I would have loved to have put in if I had more time to work on,” he says.
Takahashi has been to New York City, but he hasn’t been to Coney Island. To commit to a high level of detail, he watched videos online, examined reference photos, and viewed virtual walkthroughs, noting not just landmarks, but the pattern of the wood on the Riegelmann Boardwalk and the design of the ornate iron lampposts.
The diorama is 3D-designed and -printed. Takahashi has a background in 3D animation and modeling. “I’m sort of new-ish to the 3D printing side of things,” he says. After printing, he built and painted the pieces by hand. He says the quality and accuracy of 3D printers have improved, making the process easy and efficient.
“It was actually quite challenging in the design phase to make something that would actually print,” he says. “I have a box of all my prototypes that failed or didn’t work. I was very nervous about the Wonder Wheel and the Cyclone.” He printed the Cyclone a few times before the scale was right. When the Wonder Wheel was printed, glued, and painted, “I was like, ‘I can’t believe I actually made this. I’m surprised it came out,’” he says.
In all, the diorama took two months and hundreds of hours. “There were lots of sleepless nights,” Takahashi says. The day before it was delivered to Bandai, he was up past dawn. “I was painting and doing all sorts of little things right until the second I delivered it.”
Where will the King of the Monsters turn up next? Maybe Orange County, where Takahashi is from, or Newport Beach, or Dodger Stadium, known for its championship MLB team and hot dogs. Regardless, Takahashi is open to new opportunities. “I’m really looking forward to building upon what this one was and creating something even bigger and better in the future,” he says.
The space blended nostalgia and monster movie spectacle, inviting fans to wander through a Godzilla-fied version of New York. Attendees could explore a chaotic subway station, watch Mothra and King Ghidorah face off beside the Wonder Wheel, and pick up keepsake tickets for experiences like airbrush tattoos, face painting, and the fan-favorite Godzilla meet and greet.
Adding to the immersive theme, roaming “newsies” handed out copies of the Godzilla Gazette — a vintage-style newspaper that doubled as a booth schedule and collectible catalog. Between exclusive figures and Bandai’s limited golden Godzilla Minus One variant, the booth delivered both spectacle and must-have merch, making it one of NYCC’s biggest monster moments.
Learn more about Takahashi’s work at blksrs.com and more about Godzilla at godzilla.com.
