NECA
has been killing it with their selection of these Mego-style action
figures. They’ve hit so many HUGE pop culture icons – Freddy,
Jason, Leatherface, Snake Plissken, Ashley J. Williams, and even the
Crimson Ghost. They also produced extremely limited runs of figures
in this style for Django
Unchained
and The
Hateful Eight.
Now NECA is stepping into new territory with franchises like Bill &
Ted and this new Weird Al figure.
But
then my Hateful
Eight
figures came in. They were in resealable boxes, so I opened each and
every one.
I’ll
get into more detail later, but I was pleased.
As
you all know by now, Weird Al is one of my personal heroes. I’ve
written about him a lot, including this
piece
from when I sort of rediscovered him a few years ago. I mean, I never
stopped loving him, but… just read
the thing.
In
that post, I got pretty worked up about the lack of Weird Al action
figures. To me it was an outrage. I am happy to say that I now own
two figures of Al – both by NECA – and will buy any more that any
company cares to put out.
Side
Note: I am aware that Hasbro released Wreck-Gar from Transformers:
Animated
and that he was voiced by Al. That doesn’t count. Or at least, not
as an actual Weird Al action figure.
I’m
talking Funko Pop and ReAction Weird Al. Heck, do the entire cast of
UHF.
Do an Al for each album. I’ll buy ‘em.
I’m
talking a super-articulated Mafex or Figurarts release with eighteen
interchangeable hands, an accordion, four heads, and Jedi robes.
I’m
talking – and Hasbro you can have this for free – a Transformer
with Al’s likeness that is an accordion that changes into a robot
and that is called “Alvatron” and has a sound chip that plays
“Dare to Be Stupid” in its entirety and is released to celebrate
the 30th
Anniversary of The
Transformers: The Movie.
My
point here is that I want Al’s likeness to be reproduced in plastic
so much that someday I will look at the Previews
toy section and think, “UGH. Another
Weird Al figure?” the same way I do about Dragon Ball Z figures.
FIRST
GLANCE
The
sculpted parts look to be a notch above NECA’s all-plastic
releases. The fabric clothes look excellent.
I
can’t get over the detail on the accordion. It would be so great if
you could actually squeeze the bellows, but that would also be
ridiculous and needless. And it would probably break.
PACKAGING
I
can’t even tell you how delighted I was to open the shipping carton
and see this beautiful window box inside. I assumed Al would come in
a clamshell like most of the other NECA releases in this style. The
Hateful Eight figures came in boxes, but they weren’t released to
the mass market.
What
this means is that I don’t have to buy two of these. I had fully
intended to open this one and buy another one at a later date to hang
on the wall with the rest of my retro cloth NECA figures. Now I can
put Al back in the box or whatever.
The
box itself is a work of 80s-infused wonder. The graphics are
fantastic. Just look:
As
always NECA has credited the artists involved, but I couldn’t get a
very good picture of it. It just makes me happy that they do this.
Al
is tied into a tray that slides out of the box easily.
LOOKS
The
default head is perfection. This is modern Al, complete with long
hair and free of facial encumberments like glasses and mustaches. He
looks quite pleased with himself, as he should because the sculpt and
paint are excellent. I feel like this is a slight caricature of Al,
as it looks just a bit exaggerated, but it’s hard to tell because
Al himself is a bit of an exaggerated caricature. And I mean that in
the best possible way. Unlike Al, the figure’s head is a firm but
soft plastic so that it is easily removable.
I
didn’t bother taking the clothes off because I really don’t care
what’s under there, but it certainly appears to be the same
standard base body that NECA uses for most of these figures. It’s a
good frame for Weird Al. He doesn’t look like a superhero or
anything crazy.
The
hands are a bit large and monstrous. There’s some weird coloration
in this picture that isn’t really visible in person. I don’t know
what’s up with that. There are some issues with matching the skin
tone between the head, hands, body and arms. It’s not terrible, but
the textures, color, and detail level are all slightly off between
parts.
The
shirt is a very light material that hangs well and looks like it has
weight. It moves well with the figure as you pose it. The colors are
vibrant and the printing is clear and distinct. The stitching is
tight and clean and doesn’t look as much like a giant stitched it
as some stuff in this scale looks. I’m most impressed by the effort
put into making the collar look like a collar and not some weird flap
of fabric that doesn’t lie down correctly.
Al’s
trousers are also a light fabric that moves well. They remind me of
the material used for tuxedo pants. Unlike many releases in this
style, they are tailored perfectly. The waist and inseam allow for
movement of the figure without too much pulling up or displacement.
Al’s
shoes are perfection. They look just like the slip-on Vans that he’s
been wearing since the 80s. They aren’t removable, but are his
actual sculpted feet and that’s just fine.
ACCESSORIES
Weird
Al comes with an extra hand, a microphone, an accordion, and an extra
head.
The
accordion is magnificent. The level of detail makes it one of those
special accessories that you have to just sit and look at for a few
minutes. The accordion itself is a hard plastic and the straps are
soft so that they easily fit over the figure. It’s a bit tricky to
slide the straps through the loop on the bottom of the instrument,
but once they’re through it they stay put. The paint is immaculate.
The
microphone isn’t exactly exciting, but it looks great and I’m
glad it was included. Despite the incorrect costume, all I’m
picturing is Al singing “Wanna B Ur Lovr” to some uncomfortable
lady. The extra hand is to hold the microphone. It switches out
easily.
The
other head looks like a UHF-era
Al. It’s amazing and is definitely the one I’ll be displaying.
Nothing against modern, handsome Al, but this is the Weird Al
Yankovic I grew up with. The hair sculpt and paint are incredible.
The glasses are clean and clear and extremely shiny, which made it
hard to get a picture of the eyes. Trust me – everything looks
great.
The
heads swap out easily, which is great. Be careful around the glasses,
though.
Side
Note: Phantom Jr. was very impressed with this figure. He is not
always impressed with the ones in this style. His eyes got all wide
and he said, “Wow. That is cool.” I need to ask him which head he
prefers since he’s had more exposure to modern Al.
FUN
NECA’s
figures are far superior to Mego’s, articulation-wise. The
shoulders and hips are proper ball joints with swivels at the thighs
and biceps. This figure can achieve and hold far more poses than most
Mego-style releases.
That
being said, I was disappointed by a couple of things. His right hand
can’t bend at an angle sufficient for it to look like he’s
playing the accordion. You can kind of fake it by swiveling it down, but if it bent just a bit more it
would have been nice.
The
knees don’t bend deeply enough. I wanted to get a shot of Al
kneeling over his accordion like he was getting ready to set it on
fire, but they don’t bend nearly enough.
The
left elbow on mine was stuck. I used a hairdryer to loosen it up and
it’s fine now, but the way the joint was expanded made me very
nervous. If you buy Weird Al – or any of these NECA releases –
use hairdryers on those joints. Don’t force them. I could tell this
one would snap if I’d messed with it much without heating it.
All
in all this figure is very posable and is much more satisfying than I
expected it to be, play-wise. The accessories are excellent and add a
lot of fun.
OVERALL
All
of the stuff I said up there about the joints? That’s just me being
a judgy toy jerk. Aside from the stuck elbow none of it is any kind
of big deal considering the style and the look of this action figure.
The only real
issue is the difference in skin tones across the parts, and even that
isn’t super noticeable. It certainly won’t be catching your eye
every time you walk past the shelf or anything.
This
is a fantastic Weird Al Yankovic action figure. If you are a Weird Al
fan, you have to have it. It isn’t totally, completely perfect, but
it still gets my highest recommendation.
4
out of 5
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