I’ve
been saving this review because not only is this guy a scary monster,
he also basically looks like a Halloween variant of a Predator. Like
Target does with Batman figures and stuff, except really nice.
This
Predator is another one from the excellent fan film Batman:
Dead End.
I still can’t get over the fact that NECA is producing characters
from a fucking fan film. And that 20th
Century FOX is letting them. The mind boggles, especially considering
all of the hilarious restraints other toy lines operate under. I’m
not going to name any names because this is 31 Days of Halloween and
we’re all here to have fun, right?
Fortunately,
NECA was sort of reasonable about how they offered their 2013 SDCC
stuff. They set up a retail site online to sell it all. The only
thing was, they couldn’t go all out and be total nice guys about
it. They had to release random offerings at random times throughout
Comic Con. So if you wanted, say, this Predator and the video game
Jason Voorhees there was a good chance they would be offered at
separate times (they initially were) and you were going to have to
pay for shipping for both rather than just ordering them together and
saving. I’m sick to death of this sort of thing because of Matty,
so I just passed on Jason. No way was I going to pay double shipping
for what is pretty much just a repaint.
As
far as this Albino goes, I had to have him. Was he worth it?
First
Glance:
This is the most distinctive-looking Predator I have bought yet, even
over Big Red. The colors are very cool and I love the markings. I am
a little surprised that he doesn’t come with a single accessory.
C’mon, NECA.
Articulation:
The Albino has the fanciest, newest and most improved articulation of
the series (as of right now, anyway).
Head
– ball joint
Shoulders
– ball joints
Elbows
– swivel/pivot
Wrists
– ball pegs
Waist
– ball joint
Hips
– ball joints
Thighs
– swivels
Knees
– double pivots
Ankles
– ball pegs
NECA
is so
close
to producing perfect Predators (say that five times fast). If they
could just make an ankle that doesn’t suck so these guys could
squat properly I’d be happy. Until I thought of something else they
should be able to do. Like move their shoulders under the armor and
cannon.
As
always, you’d think that the sculpted dreadlocks would limit the
posability of the figure’s head, but they don’t. Not very much,
anyway. You can get a whole lot of poses out of this thing.
The
shoulders are both limited by the armor on them, but I think the only
way to fix that would be to make the armor look shitty. And I’d
rather have great-looking armor than a Predator that can hug or
whatever it is I think those shoulders should be able to do.
I
don’t like the ball pegs that NECA uses for the hands and feet.
They have limited posability and the extremities just pop off
sometimes. I think the only way they could sell me on these is to
include alternate feet posed to squat. Actually, that might be an
ingenious idea. Call me, Randy.
This
is rarely, if ever, an issue with NECA products, but all of the
joints on my figure are tight and can move freely. The Albino can
hold a pose and everything works as well as it was designed to.
Sculpt:
Without all of the Predators sitting in front of me I can’t say for
sure, but I’d bet money this is a repainted head. I don’t have a
problem with that, as it is a great sculpt and the deco is unique
enough to set it apart, even if you were to put the original figure
right next to this one. Also, it’s a character you see for a few
seconds in a fan film. How perfect does it need to be, really? As
always this is a fantastically detailed head. The eyes, jaws, and
crown are all distinct, with no shortcuts. The dreadlocks are a
separately sculpted, softer plastic. They can be pushed around to
facilitate posing the head and are sturdy enough to take it.
The
torso and legs are covered with the distinctive netting you see on
every Predator. It is sculpted onto the figure and looks great. Each
line is individually done and the sculpt even covers the joints so
that the figure still looks good when posed.
The
armor sculpted onto the figure – the left shoulder, forearms,
knees, and calves – looks detailed and worn. The parts with tech
and mechanics look complicated and way too involved for me to
understand. The parts that are pure armor are pitted and cracked. It
all looks aged and battle-worn, but not in a cheesy “Battle
Damaged” way.
Like most Predators, Albino has a pair of blades that
can be extended from his right gauntlet. They’re sturdier than they
look and function well without the ugly tab that McFarlane’s early
figures had.
The
hands look great. As always I am pleased that NECA has sculpted
individual fingers rather than clumping them up. The left hand is in
the same splayed-out pose we’ve seen a lot from this line, but the
right is in a more relaxed pose that could either be neutral or
grasping something. I dig it. It’s a nice change from the matching
“BOO” hands we usually get.
The
feet are big and clumpy. He has little armored flip flops on. I have
never mentioned this before, but I am not a fan of the Predators’
footwear.
Coloring:
As I mentioned above, this guy is very distinctive. While Big Red
stands out for his red armor, Albino has a unique skin coloration.
The pale base color isn’t actually all that different from other
Predators, but the orange and black markings are. It’s a great
combination of colors and NECA applied the patterns nicely. I like
that the black is confined to the upper body. It makes it more
interesting somehow.
The
face is mostly white, with some orange around the top and a nice
black mark. The mouth has the same ghastly, pinkish interior as other
Predators; as well as the ivory teeth. The eyes are distinctive with
their tightly placed and centered red irises. Those were a nice
touch.
The
armor has a paint job to match the pitted and worn sculpt. The
metallic coppery color is accentuated with a dark wash that really
brings out all the wild sculpted details. While this copper is pretty
much the standard color for the Predators, it contrasts Albino
particularly nicely.
Flair:
I believe the only uniquely sculpted part of this guy is the torso
armor. It’s just a small piece that fits over the top of the chest
and lacks the cannon plug-in of the most of the rest of the line. It
looks good and actually makes this guy seem like more of a badass. He
don’t need no stinkin’ shoulder cannon.
Albino
has the same little skirt/armor codpiece combo that several of the
other releases have. It’s made of a soft plastic and does a good
job of covering the hip joints without interfering with movement.
Accessories: have enough faith in NECA to believe that the complete lack of accessories is accurate, but c'mon. Nothing? Really? Pretty lame.
Packaging:
Albino came on the same sort of blister card that the rest of the
line has. Blister cards are the best. The picture on it is a little
ugly, but that’s mainly due to the character being from a fan film.
I don’t care because this is all going in the trash. Oh, and
there’s an “SDCC Exclusive” sticker on there as well.
The
bio on the back doesn’t reveal much (other than the fact that Albino didn;t need to come with accessories), but that’s because there’s
not much to be revealed. Not until Dark Horse Comics publishes Untold
Tales of the Albino Predator.
And I do love it when companies actually credit their teams.
Value:
I lost my receipt, but I do believe this guy was $24.99 plus about
eight dollars shipping for a grand total of around thirty-three
bucks. On the one hand I want to say that there’s no way he’s
worth that, but on the other ol’ Albino here is much nicer than any
Masters of the Universe Classics figure and that’s about what I pay
for them. I suppose if you compare him to that line he’s a good
value. If you compare him to anything else NECA has released, though,
he simply isn’t worth it.
Overall:
I honestly can’t recommend this one. Even with his unique look, the
complete lack of accessories or significant new parts makes him kind
of disappointing. I honestly don’t think I would have bought him if
I had seen him for $17.99 at retail. He’s well executed, but simply
not very exciting.
3
out of 5
If
you really need this one, you’re probably going to pay a premium.
He was selling for over fifty bucks on eBay last I looked. Yikes!
Phantom
Troublemaker vs. 31 Days of Halloween
I’m
changing the format a bit this year in order to more accurately
portray SyFy’s schedule and also to preserve my sanity. I had the
genius idea to cut and paste the schedule directly from SyFy’s page
rather than typing it out in my own format. This has saved me an
awful lot of time and also means that individual episodes are listed
rather than blocks of programming like previous years. So what I’m
going to do is provide commentary where I feel it is needed rather
than posting next to every single entry. Don’t worry – you’re
getting the same amount of hilarious, then kind of funny, then
labored, then thoroughly disenchanted Phantom content. Just in a
different way.
Like
last year, I am covering the programming from the time this posts
until the time of the next post. That means that on Fridays you are
going to be treated to a shit-ton of this stuff.
Let’s
do it!
Oct
3 11:00 AM Syfy Original Movie Flu Bird Horror
This
seems like an awkward title to me. I mean, beyond the fact that the
idea of a movie about the bird flu is just silly. Or maybe this is
about the original bird that carried the Avian Flu. The Patient Zero
bird. Or “Flu Bird”, as it were. I don’t know, but I sure am
curious. Probably not curious enough to wake up at eleven AM while
I’m working nights, but mildly curious.
Oct
3 01:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Growth
This,
on the other hand, is an absolutely horrifying title. My own personal
fears would suggest to me that the movie is about some sort of tumor
or wart or something that grows out of control on an individual and
eventually eats the neighborhood. I had this recurring dream when I
was a teenager about mushrooms growing out of all of the joints on my
body – starting with my hands. They were rooted very deep and I
could feel them in between my joints and twining around my bones. I
could pull the smaller ones out with a bit of pain, but the larger
ones were too firmly rooted. This dream haunted me for a year or so.
Then one evening I was hanging out with a friend of mine who had been
having the same dream. I never told anybody
about that dream because it was too freaky and weird.
I’m
sure this movie is just about overgrown rats or something.
Oct
3 03:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Primal
I
think this is the one about the giant crocodile in Australia. I’ve
never seen it, which is weird because I fucking love Alligator
– that movie about the giant alligator in the New York sewers. I
guess I’d rather see New Yorkers get eaten than Australians.
Oct
3 05:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Stake Land
This
is an excellent movie about post-apocalyptic vampires starring the
mega-hot Danielle Harris. Watch it. And it’s not just good because
she’s hot. It’s actually just really good.
Oct
3 07:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Underworld: Evolution
Okay,
so the first two Underworld
movies were really good. Or I really liked them, anyway. They worked
well as a joined narrative and looked amazing. Then the third one
came out and it was a wretched piece of crap. I couldn’t even get
through the whole thing. This is the fourth one, which I have heard
mixed reviews about but have not watched yet. Maybe this is my year.
Maybe SyFy is the place. We’ll see.
Oct
3 09:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Resident Evil:
Afterlife
I
love the Resident
Evil
movies. Needless Things’ Lead Horror Reporter Beth may or may not
agree with me. All I know is she’s writing a piece about them for
31 Days of Halloween and we’re all going to have fun reading it.
That lady has quite a way with words.
Oct
3 11:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Underworld: Evolution
Oct
3 01:00 AM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie The Ferryman
The
guy drives a boat. With a pole. How good could this be? I’m not
saying I want an animate skeleton in a bathrobe chasing me or
anything, but that’s not even his job. It seems to me that Charon
is pretty laid back. Of course, this might be about some homicidal
guy who pilots a ferry in Michigan or something. They have ferries in
Michigan, right?
Oct
3 03:00 AM Syfy Original Movie Dark Relic
This
one is about some knights that release a demon from a can or
something. Definitely pushing the boundaries of what can be
considered Halloweeny. But I’d prefer SyFy use some lighter titles
at the beginning of the month as opposed to blowing their load now
and sticking crap like this on in the last days before Halloween.
Because goodness knows they never repeat programming in October.
Every
year I have made it clear how I feel about Jennifer Love Hewitt and
her excellent show. And she still isn’t following me on Twitter.
I hate Twitter.
Oct
4 06:00 AM Paid Programming
Oct
4 08:00 AM Forever Knight Dark Knight - Part 1
Oct
4 09:00 AM Forever Knight Dark Knight - Part 2
Oct
4 10:00 AM Forever Knight For I Have Sinned
If
memory serves – which it should; I was just writing about this last
year because SyFy shows it every
year
– this is about a vampire detective. Mrs. Troublemaker tells me
it’s actually a pretty good show, but she watches Vampire
Diaries
and is way more excited about that spinoff show than she is about…
well, pretty much anything else.
I
just came up with another post for the month. I’m gonna do a review
of that dumb show. So stay tuned for that.
-Phantom
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