NECA
has been utterly charming me with their excellent releases over the
past year or so. When I saw this Jason Voorhees in Toys R Us I
realized I only have one Jason in this scale and it’s the McFarlane
one. Well, I also have the one from the remake,
but that doesn’t count.
Part
3 was
the one where we got the Jason Voorhees that everybody knows and
loves, which is part of the reason that I felt I had to have this
one. In this movie Jason is still mostly mortal and seems to die –
although in a somewhat mundane manner – at the end. It’s the
movie with that irritating jackass Shelly that pulls pranks on
everybody.
Anyway,
NECA makes awesome figures and any rationalization other than that
simple fact is just me making shit up. I just wanted another NECA
figure.
First
Glance:
This guy is big and somewhat misshapen. Which works. I couldn’t
tell for sure if his mask came off or not. It does. And what’s
underneath is grody.
To the max.
Articulation:
NECA’s releases have been getting progressively more articulated as
the Reel Toys line has gone on. They’re very good at getting in a
good amount of articulation that makes sense.
Head
– Ball joint
Shoulders
– Ball joint
Elbows
– Swivel/pivot
Wrists
– Ball pegs
Waist
– Rocker joint
Hips
– Ball joint
Knees
– Swivel/pivot
Feet
– Same as wrists
None
of Jason’s joints have a really wide range of movement. His
shoulders are particularly restricted, though by the sculpt, not his
shirt. They just aren’t meant to move a whole lot.
His
hips are also restricted, but this is due mostly to the crotch piece.
The
elbows and knees move quite well. The swivel portions have a full
range and the pivots are as deep as they need to be.
In
all honesty, Jason doesn’t need
to have that much movement. The dude pretty much just walks and
slices and this figure can be posed to do both of those things just
fine.
All
of the joints do move just as much as they are meant to and hold
poses perfectly well.
Sculpt:
Obviously this is a 100% new sculpt, though most parts are shared
with the other figure that was part of this series. This is the
battle damaged version, which I prefer because of the wound to the
head, which the machete fits into quite nicely.
Jason’s
head under the mask is nasty. It’s like Sloth from The
Goonies
got boiled. And fried. I love the unevenness of the sculpt and how
this guy looks menacing and goofy at the same time. This version is
much less gory than later versions would become and holds slightly
more of a vestige of humanity.
The
arms are sculpted as shirt sleeves and look good. The articulation is
worked into the sculpt very well. I love that the hands protrude so
far out of the sleeves. It gives a nice, creepy look that emphasizes
how large Jason really is. His right hand is posed as an open fist to
hold whichever weapon you choose to put in it. The left is in the
classic “Getcha!” pose. Both hands have a high level of detail
and look human, yet creepy.
I’m
not gonna lie – Jason’s crotch piece looks kind of like a diaper.
It isn’t terrible and I appreciate the design choice to attempt to
hide the hip joints. I think it’s more that the coloration is very
slightly off from the legs than the shape of the thing.
Jason’s
pants are strangely undamaged. I am going to assume this is accurate
for the look because I honestly don’t know any better of the top of
my head. I just realized his shirt is the same way. It’s actually
kind of nice to have something different than a bunch of torn,
tattered clothes. This is Jason at his Sunday Best!
His
feet are boots. They’re fine and are thankfully not made of rubber.
And no – I will never let go of that years-long run where NECA made
everybody’s feet out of rubber.
Coloring:
I absolutely love the paint on this guy. The washes on the pants and
shirt look very good. The blood spatters are somewhat reserved and
that makes them creepier than if the figure was just covered in gore.
The
washes of dirt and grime look good and are well-placed. The bottoms
of his pant legs are nice and dirty, but fade as the stains go up.
There’s some grime at the top of the pants as well and overall the
paint job creates a nice effect. His boots are fairly dirty and check
out the detail – even the little eyelets are painted!
Jason’s
face is detailed in a disgustingly impressive manner. Again, it isn’t
completely crazy and mutated like later versions. Just nasty. The
detailing of the mouth and eyes is a stark contrast to the fleshy
parts.
Flair:
Jason’s shirt is a separately sculpted piece that is loose enough
to allow for the abdominal joint to move a bit. It’s crooked on his
torso and shoulders, which lends to his slightly misshapen form. The
coloring matches the arms perfectly and the blood spatter isn’t
overdone like it is on the McFarlane version. The holes where the
arms protrude are tight enough that you can’t see anything of the
torso underneath.
Accessories:
Jason comes with his hockey mask, a machete, a knife, and an axe.
The
weapons look great. The knife has an amazing paint job with not only
a painted handle and blade, but painted rivets and blood stains. The
axe is blood-free but features nice detailing.
The machete looks
pretty much like you’d expect. Great.
The
mask is fantastic, with a flexible plastic strap and actual holes cut
in it rather than just sculpting. The paint job perfectly reflects
the movie; as it is yellowish and stained. And of course it has the
red triangle. The mask fits on the figure easily but in a very
specific way. It also stays put.
Packaging:
Bech. Clamshell. I don’t like these, but it’s what NECA uses.
Sometimes. I do like the way that they do the graphics and the
inserts, though.
Not
only does NECA’s packaging feature credits for the creators:
There’s
also a brief biography:
Value:
I have no problem paying $17.99 for these figures.
Overall:
This is a great Jason Voorhees figure. It isn’t my favorite version
of the character, but it is probably the most iconic. NECA did a
great job representing that and if you’re only going to own one
Jason this would be a good one. I can’t think of a thing NECA could
have done better.
5
out of 5
If
you can’t find one at Toys R Us, you're probably going to have to check out eBay.
-Phantom
Ya mad, bro?
ReplyDeleteHa! No, but that pretty much answers my questions.
DeleteCame back strong with part 9? What are you smoking? I do not even consider 9 to be a Friday movie...
ReplyDeleteJason Goes to Hell is fucking awesome. How can you not consider it to be a Friday the 13th movie?
Delete