Tag Archives: NECA

#0522: Gipsy Danger – Anchorage Attack

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

GIPSY DANGER – ANCHORAGE ATTACK

PACIFIC RIM (NECA)

GypsyDangerAnchorage1

Sometimes, a figure has obvious flaws. Things that you might like to see fixed on a future release. Sometimes, you buy a figure, and you think to yourself, “Wow, this figure is just fantastic. I really love this figure, and nothing can replace it.” And sometimes that stands. Other times, you’re dead wrong, in ways you just couldn’t imagine. Today’s review represents one of those times.

If you haven’t seen 2013’s Pacific Rim yet, I urge you to fix that as soon as possible. Unless you don’t like giant robots fighting giant monsters. In which case, you have my pity. Life must be so dull. NECA picked up the license to do the toys and released two series in rather quick succession, before doing a slight retool of the line with Series 3. Main Jaeger (aka fighting robot) Gipsy Danger has been a consistent fixture of the line. Today, I’ll be taking a look at NECA’s most recent version of the character.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

GypsyDangerAnchorage2Anchorage Attack Gipsy Danger was released as part of Series 5 of NECA’s Pacific Rim line. She’s the 4th Gipsy to see release and the second of the re-tooled Gipsies. Gipsy stands almost 7 ½ in height and even with the missing arm, she manages to have 21 points of articulation. She’s one arm down and she’s still got 4 more points of articulation than the first two Gipsy figures. Gipsy is based on her appearance following being damaged by Knifehead in the film’s opening fight scene. It’s a pivotal moment in the movie, illustrating the end of the “Golden Age of Jaegers,” while simultaneously giving the lead character a little bit of pathos. It also happens to be a look that Gipsy was seen sporting on a few of the posters for the movie, so it’s a rather key look. The figure uses the Hong Kong Attack Gipsy as a starting point, adding a new head, upper torso, left arm, and lower right arm. Simply put, this figure’s sculpt is nothing short of amazing. The small details are incredibly sharp and defined, the proportions are spot on, and not a single detail is out of place. At a small scale like this, it can be easy to lose some of the finer details (like on the first two Gipsies), but not here. This looks like a miniaturized version of the model in the movie. The new lower arm featuring the plasma cannon looks spot-on. That’s a piece that was worth the wait. In addition, the figure’s articulation has been worked in amazingly well. The figure features a great range of motion without sacrificing the sculpt. In general, this figure just feels really solid. More so than sculpts, paintwork was something that felt a little lacking on previous figures in the line. That’s changed almost completely here. There are a few small instances of bleed over, but in general the paint on this figure is clean and full of lots of layers of detail, making it look like the figure is really built out of iron. If I had one complaint, it would be that I’m not sure how well the bright orange ends on the damage work. From a normal distance, the work well to convey super-heated metal, however, they do just kind of look like orange dots up close. Still, they don’t really detract from the rest of the figure. And I can’t get over how cool that pearlescent finish looks. Gipsy is packed with a spare lower arm, so that she can be displayed sans-cannon. It’s nice to have the option, and it makes that poster look even easier to pull off!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When NECA first announced that they would be re-working their Gipsy Danger sculpt, I was intrigued but uncertain. Seeing the Hong Kong Attack figure in the package, it didn’t seem that different from the Gipsy I already had, so I passed on it for other things. While seeing a friend’s play with Super Awesome Girlfriend last weekend, I came across a Toys R Us which had both Series 5 figures in stock. I knew I wanted Gipsy’s Series-mate Romeo Blue, and I figured this Gipsy looked different enough to warrant a purchase. Having actually taken one of the new Gipsy figures out and messed with it, I can see that passing on Hong Kong Attack was a mistake. Comparing this Gipsy to the Series 2 Gipsy is like comparing night and day. They look like they’re from two different lines. It’s rare for a toy company to top themselves on a figure this quickly, but NECA really shines on this figure. Holy crap, this figure is so cool!

GypsyDangerAnchorage3

#0513: City Hunter

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

CITY HUNTER

PREDATORS (NECA)

CityHunter

For me, my NECA collecting is widely due to their current, super-awesome, handling of Aliens. That line is definitely one of their signature lines, but the line that really, truly defines NECA is their fantastic Predators line. The line first began as a tie-in to 2010’s Predators film, before gradually moving on to the designs of the creatures from the other films in the series. Like a lot of properties from the ‘80s, the Predator franchise has a really strong, really distinctive first film, before switching to films that are of a noticeably lower quality. Predator 2 definitely isn’t up to the first film by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s really not the worst thing ever, and, more importantly, the main Predator design is really cool. So, let’s have a look at one of NECA’s versions of that character!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

CityHunterWilsonThe City Hunter, as he is officially named, was released in the 4th Series of NECA’s Predators line. As noted in the intro, he’s based on the primary Predator featured in Predator 2 (there were actually quite a few secondary Predators featured.) The figure is just shy of 8 inches in height, with 24 points of articulation. City Hunter is appears here sans-bio-mask, meaning it’s after his first run-in with Harrigan, however, he still has both hands, so it’s before they do significant battle. Structurally, the figure shares a number of pieces with the Predators that preceded him, however, he has a character specific head, as well as some unique armor pieces. He also has a brand new pelvis, hips, and upper legs, as the figure is one of the first in the NECA line to sport the ball-and-disc-style hip joints that would eventually become standard for the line. Probably the best part of the sculpt is the figure’s head, which gives a great look at what lies beneath that Predator mask. The mandibles have been sculpted as a separate piece and glued in place, which not only gives the figure a great bit of dimension, but also allows for the mouth to be really detailed. Beyond just the head, every piece of this figure’s sculpt is covered with some sort of texturing or detailing, just like the prop-suit from the movie would have been, and it all looks pretty fantastic. City Hunter’s paintwork isn’t quite as good as his sculpt, but it’s not terrible. The colors all match up pretty well with the colors from the movie, and for the most part the paint stays where it’s supposed to be. The figure also has the appropriate sheens on his skin and armor, to help differentiate them, which is definitely cool. However, there’re a few areas with a bunch of slop, and, most notably, the painting of the fishnets is, at best, erratic. It results in an overall decent effect, but it doesn’t stand up to close scrutiny. The City Hunter is armed with one accessory: the smart disc. While it’s not as cool as the Combi-Staff, the piece is significant in the movie, and it’s nice to see it here. He has a little trouble holding it, but it can be stowed in his side holster quite nicely.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After getting pulled into NECA’s Predators line with Dutch and the Jungle Hunter from the first movie, I hadn’t really planned on getting any of the other Predators. But, a re-watch of Predator 2 reminded me of how much I really liked the City Hunter design, so I ended up tracking this guy down on Amazon. He’s a really great figure, and he shows of the best qualities of the line very well. Now, if only there were a Harrigan to go with him!

#0465: Tacit Ronin

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

TACIT RONIN

PACIFIC RIM (NECA)

This site is in desperate need of some giant fighting robots. Seriously, our quota is way down. It’s been like seven or eight months. Obviously, the go to when you want cool giant fighting robots is Pacific Rim. And, would you look at that, I just so happen to have one of the Jaegers from NECA’s latest series of Pacific Rim figures sitting here, waiting to be reviewed. That’s convenient!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Tacit Ronin is part of the fourth series of NECA’s Pacific Rim line. Beginning with Series 3, the line split into two concurrent lines devoted to Jaegers and Kaiju, respectively. Tacit is a member of the former line. If you saw Pacific Rim, you might not recognize Tacit right away.  Unlike all of the previous Jaegers released by NECA, Tacit Ronin does not have any actual scenes in the movie. The Jaeger is only seen briefly during the opening montage of Jaegers. It did, however, serve as a prototype for Striker Eureka, one of the film’s primary Jaegers.  Essentially, Tacit Ronin is the Mk 1 version of Striker Eureka (and early versions of the film’s story even had Tacit in Striker’s role). The figure is roughly 7 inches tall and features 24 points of articulation, as well as dual-piece sliding blades on each forearm. Like the majority of the Jaegers from this line, Tacit is an all-new sculpt. The sculpt is pretty well handled. It’s a little soft in some areas, but not excessively so. In a few cases, the sculpt also impedes the articulation, especially on the lower legs, which can make getting Tacit to stand a very difficult proposition. Going by images I was able to find online, the sculpt is pretty accurate to Tacit’s on-screen appearance. The cool thing about Tacit’s design is that, while it’s none of the individual elements are unique to this Jaeger, a lot of them have been taken a generation or two back, which makes this guy a really cool precursor to the other Jaegers. Tacit doesn’t have the most thrilling color scheme; it’s mostly just white and red. That said, the paintwork is fairly cleanly applied, and NECA’s added a thorough amount of detail to the figure’s armored bits. Tacit includes no accessories, though he does feature a set of slide out blades on each forearm. They’re pretty cool, though they are a little difficult to slide back and forth.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Upon seeing Pacific Rim and receiving the first assortment of figures, I was pretty much on board to buy just about any of the Jaegers NECA saw fit to release. One of my particular favorites was Tacit here, so I was absolutely thrilled to find out NECA would actually be releasing him. I ended up finding the figure at an FYE at my local mall. I actually had to pass on the figure at first (I was buying a few Christmas gifts). After the Christmas season, I went back and was pleased to find that they still had a Tacit left. While Tacit isn’t quite as thrilling as, say, Cherno Alpha (still my vote for the best of the line), he’s still a very strong figure, and he fits in very nicely with the rest of the Jaegers.

#0457: Dog Alien

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

DOG ALIEN

ALIENS (NECA)

So here we are with the third and final part of the Aliens Series Three reviews. It occurred to me after getting the figures that there was in fact one from each of the first three movies in this particular assortment. For whatever reason, I felt compelled to review them in the proper order (although, to be truly proper, I’d first review Kane, then Bishop, and then the Dog Alien wouldn’t exist, but that’s splitting hairs I guess).

Since I’ve made it no secret that Aliens is perhaps my favorite movie of all time, it’s probably not a surprise that I don’t really care for Alien3, a film which did just about everything it could to murder its predecessor and piss on its grave. Were it not for a little film by the name of Man of Steel, Alien3 would easily get my vote for the worst movie ever. All that said, the movie didn’t get everything wrong. The movie’s redesign of the creature managed to not suck (though it’s still not up to par with its predecessors.) Plus, it offered another possible Xenomorph for NECA to include, so that works pretty well. Let’s see how said figure turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Dog Alien (which, by the way, is the first NECA alien not to use “Xenomorph” in the title) was released in Series 3 of NECA’s Aliens line. It’s based on the creature from Alien3, which was either spawned from a dog or an ox, depending on which cut of the film you watch, and is known as the Dog Alien, the Runner, or the Dragon, depending on who you ask. Dog Alien seems to be the one that stuck. The Dog Alien is a whopping 9 inches tall when standing up straight and it has 39 points of articulation. Structurally, the Dog Alien is all-new. Previous NECA Xenos, including the Big Chap, all made use of at least some of the basic Aliens Warrior pieces, but that’s not the case here. From what I can tell, the details of the sculpt are an incredibly close approximation of the prop suit from the movie. The tail is incredibly long and very intricate, and the head dome rivals the Big Chap in terms of execution. As far as proportions go, it seems NECA has gone more for proportions based on the initial design and the rod puppet, which gives the creature a more inhuman appearance. NECA also seems to have toned down some of the more “gooey” aspects of the film’s design, which results in a creature that fits in better with the other Xenos and is overall sleeker looking (which further emphasizes the creature’s streamlined design.) In the movie, the Dog Alien is a bit more “colorful” than previous creatures. Like some of the design elements of the sculpt, NECA has toned this down a bit with the paint work, though the creature is still one of the more intricately painted Aliens NECA’s done. The Dog Alien is molded in back, with lots of brown used to bring out the details on the main body. It’s more than we’ve seen on previous Aliens (even the heavy handed Series 1 version) but not quite as brown as the actual prop Dog Alien. My favorite bit of paint is the work on the creature’s dome, which goes from opaque black at the front to almost completely clear on top with the perfect amount of gradation. The Dog Alien includes a special display stand, allowing its more “canine” poses to be carried out a bit easier.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the other two figures in Series 3, the Dog Alien was a slightly delayed Christmas gift from my parents. On the outset, this was the figure I was the most skeptical about. I’m not a fan of the movie, and I don’t really care for how the creature looks in the film proper. In hand, this figure’s a very different story. NECA’s remained faithful to the design, while at the same time making some tweaks that result in a better overall figure. The end result is that the Dog Alien might just be the best figure in the series, which is a sentence that really surprises me.

#0456: Bishop

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

BISHOP

ALIENS (NECA)

Alright, on to Christmas Review # 16 of 14 (try not to think about that too much).

NECA’s Aliens line is, as you can probably tell by the name, primarily based on the second movie in the Alien Franchise. That being said, NECA hasn’t been afraid to venture into some of the other movies here and there as well. For me, Aliens is the best, so while I don’t mind the occasional figure from another movie, I find myself most excited for the true Aliens-based stuff. So, of the three figures in Series Three of the line, it should be no surprise that the one I’m most excited to get is Bishop, the second film’s faithful artificial person.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bishop was released in Series Three of NECA’s Aliens line and he’s the only figure in the series to be actually Aliens-branded. Bishop is based on the character’s basic jump-suited appearance, which is his look for 90% of his screen time. The figure is just shy of 7 inches tall (Lance Henriksen isn’t the tallest of guys) and he has 22 points of articulation. Bishop features an all new sculpt, and unlike the vast majority of human figures in this line, it seems doubtful that this one’ll see any re-use (unless NECA really wants to give us a half-Bishop. Please?) The sculpt is the same quality as just about every other NECA sculpt. It’s not perfect; the overlay for the torso looks somewhat like a diaper at the bottom. Also, the front of the knees make the figure stand with a slight crouch, which looks odd in certain poses. However, the majority of the sculpt is very good. The likeness on the headsculpt is a pretty good Henriksen, and all of the body’s proportions seem pretty spot on. From the neck down, the paint work is superb. Everything is nice and clean, there’s some pretty great detail work, and there’s practically no bleed over or slop. There’s a little bit of paint chipping on the elbow joints, but that’s not too obvious. The paint on the head is clean, but perhaps too clean. The eyes are rather cartoony and I don’t quite know what’s going on with the outline. The eyebrows also look as if they’ve been drawn on with a sharpie. Henriksen’s eyebrows are brown and a bit bigger, so this hurts the likeness a fair bit. Bishop is packed with a flashlight, a knife, and a spare hand to hold it (for the famous knife scene). These are all pretty decent accessories, although it would have been cool to get a facehugger for him to dissect, especially since we’ve yet to actually get a properly scaled facehugger from this line. Still, the flashlight is very well done and the knife is from one of the character’s most definitive scenes, so they were well chosen.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Bishop was part of a full set of Aliens Series Three that was given to me by my parents as a slightly delayed Christmas gift. Bishop’s the figure I was looking forward to the most from this series. Ultimately, the figure’s not perfect, but he’s pretty good. He’s well sculpted, decently accessorized, and he looks pretty great with the marines. Plus, he’s the only character in the line who actually had a scene with the Queen (though that half-Bishop would be more appropriate. Just saying…)

#0455: Kane

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

KANE

ALIENS (NECA)

So, hey guys, remember back in that Wolverine review I did where I indicated that there was a possibility that I might not be done with my Christmas Reviews? Yeah, turns out I wasn’t. I have this habit of asking for things that aren’t out quite in time for Christmas. Case in point, NECA’s third series of Aliens figures. But now they’re here and I’m totally stoked to get these guys reviewed!

In the second series of the line, NECA released the Big Chap, the version of the creature from the first film. This kicked off NECA’s 35th Anniversary tribute, which continues through both Series Three and Four. For Three, the figure is Kane, the ill-fated astronaut who serves as the creatures “parent.” Let’s have a look at how he turned out.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kane is part of NECA’s Aliens Series Three. The figure is based on Kane’s space-suited appearance, from when he, Dallas, and Lambert are exploring the derelict ship. Specifically, this figure is based on Kane from the end of that sequence, after he’s been “face-hugged.” Essentially, this serves as an excuse to release a Kane figure without the impossible to obtain John Hurt likeness. Kane is about 7 inches tall and features 24 points of articulation, which is quite impressive for this design. Kane features an all-new sculpt, though most of his sculpt was done with a bunch of re-use in mind. Series Four will see this body re-used on not one, but two other figures, and if NECA ever gets Veronica Cartwright’s likeness rights, we’re guaranteed another. To be fair, the Nostromo space suits are all built the same way, so re-use is very much warranted. The suit is fantastically sculpted; every surface is properly textured and all of the details look pretty much spot on to the movie’s design. Many pieces are made from rubber add-ons, affixed to the main figure, which adds some really great dimension to the figure. For figure specific pieces, there’s a head and a two-piece removable helmet. The helmet is a great match for the suit, and it even features the proper melting on the faceplate, replicating the facehugger’s entry-point. Under the helmet is the figure’s head, which, for being a sculpt that legally can’t be John Hurt, is remarkably movie accurate. The facehugger is a completely separate piece, glued in place, and it looks like it should. What can be seen of the head is pretty great too, looking just like John Hurt…..’s ears and hair (and just in case you’re wondering, no, there isn’t an Hurt face under the facehugger, though it does get pretty darn close). The figure’s paint is decent, though not quite as good as the sculpt. There’s a moderate amount of bleed over. The suit and armored pieces feature some nice weathering, but the armored parts are tacky, I’d assume due to some chemical reaction. Other than that, the paint is actually quite nice. I especially like the differences in the finishes on the head, which further emphasize the differences between Kane and the facehugger. Kane is packed with a flare gun and a flashlight, both of which are nicely done and movie accurate.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Kane, along with the rest of Series Three, was a slightly delayed Christmas Gift from my supremely supportive parents. I’ll fully admit that Kane was not at the top of my list for this series. Still, it’s a pretty signature look, and it’s a good design, so I knew it had potential. Aside from the issue with the sticky armor, Kane is far beyond my expectations for the figure. He’s a really great figure, and he’s made me anxious to get some of the other space suited figures.

#0438: The Alien Queen

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

ALIEN QUEEN

ALIENS (NECA)

After a bit of a pseudo start yesterday, the Christmas Reviews officially begin today! There was something of a theme to a lot of my Christmas gifts this year, and that them was Aliens. Let’s be honest, though, what better theme could there be? Aliens is, after all, the greatest movie ever made. Today, I’ll be looking at the center piece to all the wonderful Aliens stuff I got this year, the Alien Queen.

The Alien Queen is probably the most distinctive thing from Aliens. Ripley’s Power Loader-aided battle with the beast is one of the best parts of the film, and it’s the kind of thing that a toy collector like me might want to immortalize in plastic. However, the Queen hasn’t been the easiest thing to toy-ify. She’s a pretty massive creature, and she has lots of intricate little details. She’s had a few figures over the years that didn’t totally suck (I even reviewed one of them recently), but none of them quite lived up to the creature seen in the movie. Enter NECA.

NECA has already been killing it with their regular Aliens series based on the normal sized people and creatures from the movie. But if there’s one thing that NECA does well, it’s large scale figures. So, it’s not exactly a shock to see this figure pop up. Still, it took some time. You don’t just start with the Queen; you work your way there. After some waiting, the Queen is finally here! Let’s see how she turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Alien Queen was released as a supplement to NECA’s main Aliens line. She found herself bridging the rather lengthy gap between Series 2 and 3 of the line (Although, as chance would have it, Series 3 is right behind her). Officially, the Queen is billed as a “Deluxe Set,” which is not surprising, given the size. Speaking of size, this sucker is big. She’s roughly 12 inches tall and a whopping 27 inches long (though about 15 inches of that is tail). The figure truly towers over the rest of the line, as she well should. The Queen has the sort of design that can be difficult to articulate, but NECA’s done a pretty amazing job. The figure has 57 points of articulation, as well as a wire armature tail that can bend all along its length. There’s quite a lot of posability, though most of the joints require some very particular positioning if you want the figure to have any sort of balance. The Alien Queen has appeared in three films, all of them based on the same basic design, but this one is very definitely based on the original Aliens design. The figure features an all new sculpt to replicate the design. It’s a little hard to tell, because the creature was generally shot in the shadows, but the sculpt appears to be incredibly faithful to the movie. All of the basics are definitely there, and the figure is definitely the Queen. In addition, the sculpt is loaded with lots of fine details and texturing, all done in a way that perfectly conveys the creature’s meld of biology and mechanics. The details continue on every side of the figure. I was particularly impressed by the volume of detail on the underside of the figure’s head, an area that could have easily been overlooked. Perhaps the only downside to the sculpt (which isn’t so much an issue with the sculpt as it is an issue with implementation) is that the Queen’s back spikes are separate pieces that have to be attached when the figure is taken out of the package. It’s a bit difficult to get them in place, and they have a tendency to pop out of place while the figure is being posed. That said, they’re just as well sculpted as the rest of the figure, and the match nicely when in place. Just like it’s difficult to get a 100% accurate view of the figure’s sculpt due to the film’s lighting, it’s also hard to get an accurate comparison of the paint. At first glance it seems like the figure may be too bright, but upon reviewing the film, it seems accurate to what she looks like when we see her properly lit in the airlock. Generally speaking, the paint is very well handled. The figure was originally black, with a fair share of blue highlights added. There are also a few touches of bronze, so that this figure should match okay with both colored varieties of Xeno Warriors. Perhaps my favorite touch, coloring-wise, is the transparent teeth, which are just plain cool! The Queen is a pretty massive figure, so little to no accessories is fairly acceptable. That said, the figure includes a few items. Since the design doesn’t allow for the sliding version of the inner mouth seen on the Warriors, the Queen includes two of them, of differing lengths, which can be swapped out for the desired look. They’re both very nicely sculpted, and help spruce up the figure well. The figure also includes a much needed display stand. It’s done in three parts, and the actually support piece comes in both short and long varieties, which allows for a nice selection of poses.

   

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Queen was my main Christmas present from my truly amazing parents, given to me this past year. I have anxiously been waiting for this figure for quite some time. I was absolutely thrilled to open her on Christmas morning. This is a figure that could have turned out badly if it weren’t well handled, but I’m happy to say NECA truly hit it out of the park on this one. It makes for a wonderful centerpiece to my collection. Now I just need to figure out where to put it….

#0424: Batman – Video Game

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

BATMAN – VIDEO GAME

BATMAN ’89 (NECA)

The last several reviews highlighted some of the positives of Mattel’s hold of the DC license. So, hey, for a change, how about a discussion of how they totally suck? That’ll be a real change…

Mattel’s DC license has exclusivity built into it. This means that DC won’t license to anyone who would provide Mattel direct competition. The larger scale stuff is a bit more open, but anything under 12 inches is pretty much Mattel’s game. Given Mattel’s lackluster offerings as of late, this kinda sucks for DC fans.  For years, fans have wanted proper figures based on the 1989 Batman movie, specifically Michael Keaton’s take on the title character. However, when Mattel finally released a Keaton Batman, it was A)in 3 ¾ inch scale, rather than the preferred 6-7 inch range, and B) not very good. Enter NECA.

NECA, who are known for their killer movie sculpts, produced their own Keaton Batman, but due to the Mattel license, it had to be 18 inch scale. But, NECA is the king of making impossible things happen (Sigourney Weaver likeness FTW!), so they were working on a way to get out a 7 inch figure. As it turns out, while Mattel’s license covers all of the comics, the movies, and the cartoons, it only covers some of the video games. In particular, it doesn’t cover the 1989 NES game done to tie into the movie. So, by painting up their Keaton sculpt in those colors, they were golden. He was just sort of wonky colored…

(Incidentally, about a week after this figure was released, it was announced that NECA had worked out a deal to have a properly colored version released with the new Batman Blu-ray release. So, yeah.)

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Batman here was a special single release from NECA, but he follows the theme set by previous NES-style releases. Batman has the notoriety of being the first such figure to feature a new(ish) sculpt. I don’t usually discuss packaging, but it’s actually pretty cool here. It’s been done to look like the box for the original game, and it looks really cool. The only downside is that it’s shrink-wrapped, which means looking at the figure inside won’t happen until you’ve actually purchased it. This might up deterring some potential buyers, which is a bummer. The figure is a little over 7 inches tall and he features 25 points of articulation. So, you’ll notice up at the beginning there I referred to the sculpt as “new(ish).” This sculpt is essentially the same as the one used for NECA’s awesome 18 inch Keaton Bats. However, this is the first time it’s been seen in this scale, and it’s received a number of tweaks to make it work at the smaller size. Whatever its origins, it’s a really good sculpt. The coolest thing is that it’s not lots of straight pieces, it’s pieces on top of pieces, which gives it the appropriate amount of depth and layers. It really adds to the realism. What little can be seen of the Keaton likeness is spot on, and the figure’s proportions in general look to be a great representation of the actor. The sculpt is topped off with a cloth cape. It’s serviceable, though the hole for the head can show if you don’t have the figure posed properly. Paint is the one area where NECA sometimes has issues, but this figure has not been struck by any such issues. Overall, everything is very cleanly applied, and there aren’t any issues with slop or bleed over. The paint is also what makes the figure so distinctive. The colors are bold, and just wacky enough to make this figure the highlight of any Batman collection. Batman is armed with a grapple, a batarang, and two hands to hold them.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure is my lone Black Friday purchase. This was the one. I got him from my local Toys R Us, late in the evening, in between rounds of rapid Christmas decorating. I’ve been waiting for this figure to be released, pretty much since it was announced. What’s funny is, I actually hadn’t gotten him yet when the proper colored one, which I thought I wanted more, was announced. But, after seeing both of them, I just can’t get as excited about that one as I am about this one. I just really like the colors, and the general uniqueness of this guy. Another winner from NECA!

#0348: Cornelius

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

CORNELIUS

PLANET OF THE APES (NECA)

Well, I still haven’t gotten around to seeing Dawn of the Planet of the Apes yet, which means I still don’t know if my purchase of NECA’s Caesar figure from the movie was warranted or not. Okay, actually it’s a great figure, and even if the movie was terrible, I wouldn’t feel bad about spending the money to get it. However, that figure was more or less a trial run for what was to come. See, I haven’t seen the latest Apes movie, but I’ve seen all of the originals. And NECA, who are well on their way to being my very favorite toy company, are making a line of Classic Apes figures to compliment the new ones. The first series consists of a generic Solider Ape, the esteemed DR. Zaius, and Cornelius. I’ll be looking at that last one today. Cornelius is one half of the pair of apes that assist Taylor and Nova in the first film, as well as returning for the second film, and gaining a starring role in the third.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cornelius is a part of the first series of NECA’s Planet of the Apes line. The figure is about 7 inches in height and features 24 points of articulation. Cornelius only really ever had the one look in the movie, so that’s what the figure has been based on. The sculpt is completely unique to this figure, and it is just fantastic. It would have been easy for NECA to phone things in a bit on the head, and make it more generic, but they haven’t. Roddy McDowell was pretty well buried under the ape makeup in the movies, but there’s no denying that this figure is based on him as Cornelius. On top of the great likeness, they’ve also included some wonderful details in the face and hair that make the figure look incredibly lifelike (well, for a fake monkey…). The body is pretty great too. Cornelius’s garb is nicely detailed. I really like how they’ve differentiated between the different materials of his clothing. They’ve used a rubber add-on piece for his torso, so that he can have some torso articulation without ruining the flow of the sculpt. Cornelius’s paint is just as good as his sculpt. Everything is nice and clean, with no slop or bleed over. They’ve done a great job using the paint to really accent the sculpt. The paint offers just as much detail and texture as the sculpt, and it looks really nice. Cornelius’s only accessory is one of the ancient scrolls. This same piece is also included with the Dr. Zaius figure from this series. I don’t mind the re-use, but it seems to be a last minute addition to the figure. His hands haven’t really been sculpted to hold it, so there’s not much he can do with it. He’s a perfectly nice figure without it, so it doesn’t bother me too much.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I was younger, I used to stay at my Grandparents’ on a fairly regular basis. My dad wanted me to have some things to play with, so he brought out his old Megos. Mostly, I was just focused on the super heroes, but he had a Cornelius, and I remember playing with that one a fair bit. When I finally got around to seeing the movies, Cornelius was far and away my favorite character. When NECA announced they had gotten the Planet of the Apes license, Cornelius was the figure I knew I wanted right away.

Cornelius was purchased for me by my dad from a local toystore by the name of All Time Toys. I wasn’t certain if I wanted the whole first series of this line, so I wanted to get Cornelius by himself. Cornelius is a fantastic figure and I would wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone who is a fan of the movies. Or if you just like really good action figures. Or monkeys!

#0314: Atlas

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

ATLAS

PORTAL 2 (NECA)

Atlas

I’m not much of a video gamer. It’s not to say I don’t enjoy playing them, but I’m not devoted like some. One of the big things that does pull me into a game is multiplayer capability and cooperative modes. One of the best Co-op modes in recent years has to be Portal 2, which really hits home the need for the players to, you know, cooperate. My brother Christian and I had a great time playing through the game, and we both wanted a set of the figures based on the Co-op mode’s stars, Atlas and P-Body. Christian’s already taken a look at his set, and now it’s time for me to look at mine. I looked at P-Body yesterday, now let’s look at the other half of this dynamic robotic duo, Atlas!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

AtlasWilsonAtlas was released in tandem with P-Body in the second series of Portal 2 figures from NECA. Atlas is a little shorter than P-Body at just over 7 inches tall and he features 15 points of articulation. Possibly more, but it’s a bit hard to tell with this figure. I’m hesitant to move some pieces, given the fragility of the design. Just like P-Body, Atlas features an all-new sculpt. It looks like a pretty straight recreation of Atlas’s design from the game. All the details look spot on, which is really great. Again, like P-Body, the sculpt and design lead to some decreased articulation, which is annoying, but comes with the territory. The design of the lower legs and feet also makes Atlas a bit wobbly, so he has a tendency to shelf dive. The paintwork on Atlas is all pretty clean. There’s a few areas of fuzzy lines, and a few small instances of bleed over, but overall it looks pretty good. Atlas adds a light up feature to the list of traits shared with P-body. Atlas’s light seems a bit dimmer than P-Body’s, which seems more accurate to the game. Still not something I see being left on long term, but cool nonetheless. Atlas also includes a portal gun, which has been detailed with blues to match Atlas’s color scheme and lights up a nice purple color.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Atlas was part of a set with P-Body, which I purchased from Big Bad Toy Store. Even though I’m ususally the second player, aka P-Body, I have to admit I think Atlas features the better design. It just seems to work a bit better. The figure is a very nice representation of that design. Stability issues aside, it’s a pretty great figure, certainly worth the purchase if you’re a fan of the game.

Atlas&P-Body