Nice behind-the-scenes shot

Always good to hear from August Ragone:

Mike,

Here's a behind-the-scenes photo for your blog; it's of Eiji Tsuburaya with Minoru Takahashi preparing to do a take for Episode 16, "Garamon Strikes Back" (Garamon-no Gyakushu) of ULTRA Q -- hope you like it!

Cheers,
August

Very wonderful, August- thanks again!

This pic is so nice, giving us a great look at some of the suit's details- the size and shape of the hands, the beveled texture and fine edges of the spines. Check out the thickness of the foam rubber around the head opening- think this thing was nice and comfy to wear under hot studio lights? Like so many kaiju suit actors before and since, Takahashi really gave his all, not just moving a pile of foam rubber around a set, but actually embodying the monster- breathing life and particular, peculiar personality into this creature...while he himself could probably barely breathe! He truly deserves a ton of credit for his performance, which helped to ensure the character's endurance as a monster icon.

Herr Ragone's timing in sending this over was right on, as just this past weekend that great lost page of Gara-production photos crossed my mind a couple of times...I keep thinking it might turn up, somehow!