Once I saw some of the Kaiju being
featured in Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim I was a little
more curious about the toy line. The robots still didn’t interest
me that much, though. As I said on Episode 2 of the NeedlessThings Podcast, they all just kind of looked like standard anime
robots. Nothing I hadn’t seen before.
That was before I saw a robot with two
right arms.
So I saw Crimson Typhoon and I thought,
“Ooh – I want that.”
On a recent trip to Toys R Us I found
that. Along with a set of Aliens figures and Knifehead – which I
reviewed the other day – I picked up this rad red robot.
I had no idea what to expect from this
figure. NECA’s sculpting is almost always top-notch. Their
articulation has been improving by leaps and bounds, but I wasn’t
sure how they would handle this sort of figure. The company’s paint
apps range from astonishing to mistake-laden. There was no telling
where this figure would fall on the scales of quality, accuracy, and
playability.
That’s the main reason why I had to
buy it.
First Glance: I could
immediately tell that the paint app was better than I was expecting.
This guy also appeared to have more articulation than I thought he
would.
Articulation: Crimson
typhoon is absolutely loaded with articulation. Not like a
Japanese toy, but as much as I could have wanted. And apparently NECA
have been watching Hasbro’s Transformers lines because many of
these limbs are of the ball-jointed variety that can be removed and
replaced without damaging the figure.
Head – ball joint
Neck - pivot
Shoulders – ball joint
Right Bicep - swivel
Elbows –pivot
Right Wrist – ball joint
Left Wrists – pivot
Abdomen – ball joint
Hips – ball joint
Knees – pivot
Reverse Articulated Knees - pivot
Ankles - pivot
The first thing that happened when I
opened Crimson Typhoon was one of its legs popped off. I was
mortified until I realized that it could pop right back on, as could
the other arms and leg. The ball joints on all of the limbs work very
well, though the front left arm has a somewhat more limited range of
motion than the other arms. You will likely pull a couple of limbs
off while posing the figure for the first time, but they don’t just
fall off.
All of the joints are tight and hold
poses extremely well, even the ball joints.
Ideally Crimson Typhoon would have had
just a few more joints – the right hands and biceps could have had
swivels, and maybe the knees and ankles. But that’s just being
picky.
Overall I’ve got to say I am hugely impressed with what NECA
put into this one. I spent a lot longer playing with and posing this
figure than I do for most releases.
Sculpt: One of the
things I think Pacific Rim has going against it is how similar
the robots look to the ones in Transformers and Battleship.
Your average viewing audience likely doesn’t have the awareness or
mental capacity to separate those things entirely. Clearly they were
smart enough to see Battleship as a dumb Transformers
knock-off, but I’m not sure Pacific Rim will be recognized
as more than that. While I love Guillermo del Toro and recognize him
as a unique and amazing director, I’m not sure the General Public
does. I guess we’ll find out in about a week.
Having said all of that, I think
Crimson Typhoon looks awesome. The design is more practical and
armored than those of the Transformers, though these robots don’t
have to transform, so there’s a lot more freedom. Actually, this
design in particular reminds me more of the Manga Spawn series than
anything else. That was an amazing looking line of well designed and
absurdly fragile action figures. Now that I think about it, one of
the figures from that line had an uneven number of arms.
Crimson Typhoon is much sturdier than
any of the McFarlane releases. I’m not going to try it, but I’d
say it would survive a drop from the shelf. The robot is made from
sturdy plastic and doesn’t have a whole lot of small parts sticking
out. The fingers and vanes and little bits around the neck are all
flexible plastic that you don’t have to worry about snapping off.
The lines of the figure are very nice
and the articulation blends in perfectly. Obviously this is an easy
thing to do on a robot figure, but NECA really nailed it. The armored
parts are smooth and rounded and really have a different appearance
from the main body. While each piece is all one mold, there is a
definite feeling of armored pieces on top of functional, moving
parts. On top of that, everything does look functional. Closer
examination does not reveal any nonsensical widgets or things that
seem to be there just to look cool. Granted, that’s more the
designers of the original robot than NECA, but the NECA team did a
great job of capturing the look.
Coloring: Sometimes
NECA’s paint jobs can be a little dodgy, but they have nailed it
here. The moving parts are a gunmetal grey with a dark wash and look
perfect. The armored portions are tightly done and don’t bleed over
into the mechanics at all. There is some wear painted on, but with
minimal use so the figure doesn’t look all crappy. Sometimes I feel
like toy manufacturers get carried away with wear and battle damage.
The detailing is where Crimson Typhoon
really stands out from some of NECA’s other releases. They must
have used a different process to achieve all of the logos and
insignias because these are all very clean and well-placed. The
decorative striping and tiny markings on the upper portion of the
robot are all eye-catching and precise.
The illumination of the eye is also
well done. It’s a slightly pale yellow that suggests a light.
Packaging: Ugh it’s a
clamshell. But that’s how NECA rolls most of the time, so whatever.
I will say this for the clamshell – it seems to preserve that
treasured New Toy Smell better than a regular blister card.
I mentioned in the Knifehead review
that I found it odd and disappointing that NECA had not included
their usual credits on this line. I now know that it’s because an
entirely different process was used to make the Pacific Rim
figures. NECA had access to the actual 3D renderings used in the
movie and was able to scan those into plastic form (I’m sure I’m
mangling the description of the process). Therefore minimal work was
needed on fine-tuning the actual sculpts. Most of the actual design
was done in computers.
Value: $14.99 is a steal
for the figures in this line, particularly one this well done and
thoroughly articulated.
Overall: Crimson Typhoon
is an awesome figure and one of those rare releases that I would
recommend to any toy collector, regardless of their interest in the
movie. It’s well put-together and fun to play with – a great
example of an American toy.
5
out of 5
This figure is so good, in fact, that I
am compelled to purchase the less visually interesting - but
seemingly more integral to the plot – robot, Gipsy Danger. This
first series of Pacific Rim figures from NECA consists of
Knifehead, Crimson Typhoon, and Gipsy Danger. I passed on Danger
because I was already spending a bunch of money that day, but now I
want one. I’m curious to see how NECA handled a more
straightforward, humanoid robot.
-Phantom
No comments:
Post a Comment