NECA Kenner Predators (Predators series 10 Lava Planet, Nightstorm, Hive Wars) action figure review

The Kenner Aliens and Predator series released back in 1992 have ended up some of people's most memorable action figures from their childhood and NECA has gone back in time to recreate some of the Predators! Here we take a look at Nightstorm, Lava Planet, and Hive Wars Predator action figures. They're all made with existing Predator bodies but with new limb, weapons, and armor sections.

I don't normally cover packaging so a quick google search will show you the retro 90's style artwork of the packages, this time in cardback instead of full plastic bubble which is usually the NECA theme. The figure sculpting is as always, out of this world. (See what I did there?) Lava Planet Predator uses the standard City Hunter body with a new mask and right arm with great extending blade. His entire body is made of clear red plastic with the exception of his mask, the eyeholes clear red however.

A sharp eye will notice there's no paint on the figure's back but there's a reason for this. It allows you to place in in front of a light source and have his body light up through the back. Red shows through the lava paint deco, around the armor, and even through the machete weapon he holds. This effect is loads of fun and harkens to the original figure. Lava Planet's articulation is the same as your current Predator warriors and comes with Tracker Predator's shoulder cannon. The new extending arm blade is great and looks like the one the vintage figure had.

Nightstorm Predator uses the Super Predators Berserker body which is a tad taller but thinner than the rest. There's new armor everywhere all done in an Egyptian style. Across his scarab styled mask are Yautja markings that read 'Kenner Tribe', an easter egg for diehard Predator fans that can read the native language. Sculpting is amazing on the figure but also on the inside of the helmet with all sorts of tech detail that could have been left blank. It fits on beautifully and Nightstorm is the only NECA Predator with a removable mask currently.

Nightstorm's claws extend but look as if they originally were designed to fold up and back onto his gauntlet into slots tho the hinge isn't a working one. His leg articulation is slightly hampered due to the V-crotch of the Super Predator body design and his neck is restricted up/down by the dreads and larger golden collar. The shoulder cannon's turret spins and he comes with a large golden staff with a skull on top just like the vintage figure had.

Nightstorm's paint work is amazingly detailed with all sorts of metallic shades, black detailing, and oxidation to it. The bicep and thigh armor are new designs and have a tendency to slip down the limb so you could remove them for use on other figures or glue them in place. The straps do help hide the thigh articulation cuts however which was a nice touch.

The Hive Wars Predator features the Jungle Hunter body with brand new upper and lower arms. The mask is a City Hunter Predator with additional sculpt down the middle of it. The detail of the new armor's sculpt is great and features a raised checkerboard pattern. Paint applications on Hive Wars is slick with a dark blue fading to light blue and eerie green eyes. A nice glossy wash on the skin is applied evenly, not too thick and contrasts well with the matte armor.

Hive War's range of articulation is great being able to look up and down effective, he's only missing the ball jointed waist using the Jungle Pred swivel here. So close! A new scythe-like weapon is included just like the vintage figure had and looks wicked. His arm blades don't extend but look like they were originally designed to slide on a track, tho this effect may have been ditched last minute. A new rear flap sculpt completes Hive Wars Predator giving him a really unique look.

So what's the verdict on the newest series of NECA Predators? Buy them, they're amazingly designed figures. Even if you're not a fan of the Berserker body the new armor/mask/paint work is enough to warrant it. And at less the price of your average 6" figure you get a taller one with superior paint and sculpt. Our Sponsor Big Bad Toy Store has them in singles and sets along with other series. You can find them on Amazon on sale as well if you're lucky. Add to your Predator clan with these figures, you won't be sorry!

NECA Jungle Patrol Dutch figure review (Predators Movie line)

Woah. I honestly never thought I'd see Arnold Schwarzenegger's character Dutch in action figure form and when I was asked to create one for ToyFare Magazine issue #121 back in 2007 it was because they figured he'd never get the action figure treatment either! But NECA is once again grabbing the wheel and steering the industry standard to another incredible level. Jungle Patrol Dutch can be found in the first wave of 2013 Predator figures that also includes Predator and Dutch wearing his jacket smoking a cigar. You can effectively create different versions of Dutch by buying both and swapping parts. So, let's find out how he stacks up against what's out there shall we?
 
Packaging is your basic card back with bubble blister you've seen all the other Predators on so let's move right to the figure. Dutch's sculpting is out of this world excellent. His skin has texture, his separate rubber vest, separate we gear, seam-stitched pants, veins on his neck and arms, stubble, and and unmistakable Arnold headsculpt that's right at the top with a Hot Toys Dutch head. Yes it's that's good, just smaller. Even his boot laces have a criss-cross texture to them. It's honestly something to behold as NECA has surpassed McFarlane, SOTA, Mezco, possibly every other company currently making toys on the market in terms of detail. Not even the import figures I own have this level of detail on them.

Paint application has been taken to an art form here. Dutch's slightly
translucent plastic skin tone has been given a flesh colored wash and dirtied up to look like honest to god skin. His eyes are spot on, just enough face paint, hair with shadows and highlights, and then you get to the outfit he's wearing. The camo pattern is complete and clean all the way around, even lining up when you position his legs so that you almost can't tell there's joints hidden there. A grimy splatter here, a bit of mud scuffed here, and you have a super realistic combat paint job.

NECA is often hit or miss when it comes to articulation but here's it's a home run. Everything moves and everything is on a ball joint. Dutch's ab crunch, waist, inner hips, and neck range allow you to bend him like a snake. Want Dutch to lean out from behind a corner and look over his shoulder? Done. Lay down prone and aim? Done. The only thing he has trouble doing is a full crouch as he only sports single pin knees but it's still impressive. His ankles turn and are on double rockers. And best of all almost all the joints are cleverly hidden. I use to whine if a figure didn't have the 50-part-joint-count of a Marvel legends. NECA proves you can do the same with half that. His balance is also perfect. The pose you see below of his throwing his knife on one foot requires NO hidden support.

Dutch comes with three accessories, his trusty assault rifle, pistol that sheaths on the right and combat
knife that can be sheathed on the left. His vest and belt are separate pieces but will only come off if you heat him up with a hair dryer and pop his head/arms/waist apart. It's not hard to do once you get the plastic soft and won't harm the figure as long as you pull straight out and twist slightly. His joint pegs are thick and incredibly durable too. I don't see any QC issues here and let's hope this continues in with their Aliens/Colonial Marines figures coming next month.

So what's the verdict here on Dutch? Buy him now, don't wait. At every Toys R Us I've been to there's only been one left on the shelf. I'm going to pick up at least two extra of each one for customizing parts. He's a perfect standard military action figure with crazy articulation. Chris from Resident Evil, Bionic Commando (or just Commando, heh) GI Joe characters, this body is perfect. Dutch is somewhere between 6" and 7" scale so you can fudge him into both Marvel Legends and Player Select lines. Our sponsor Big Bad Toy Store will be getting them in any day so you're guaranteed one through preorder. Your local comic shops should get them in too. In the end NECA is blowing away all other companies in terms of bang for your buck and we're going to see some amazing things with the upcoming Aliens line...I cannot wait!

Boar Predator, NECA Movie Series 4 Review

Toy company NECA has produced some nice pieces over the years and now we're beginning to see some real amazing products from them. We're use to nice paint apps and well-hidden articulation but sometimes that articulation has been a little lacking. Not this time. With the 7" Series 4 Movie Predators we get a whole new slew of reptilian hunters ready to go on a big game expedition on your shelves.

With the Boar Predator you'll notice right off the bat it looks like a scaled down version of a Hot Toys figure. The sculpt is mindbogglingly detailed with all sorts of skin texture, armor tech, and individual sculpted accessories. His helmet is particularly nice with all sorts of pitting and hand-hammered style of detail. The leather armor is strung with fabric cord and the tiny skulls are really well done. This time the netting looks believable as part of the sculpt. His flying disc is well done and fits perfectly in his fingers, but that's the only accessory he comes with.

As paint apps go this figure is a thing of beauty. Different faded flesh tones mixed with a mottled black and orange look to his skin make him look quite realistic. A gloss is applied to only the lighter shades of flesh to give the Boar Predator a really unique look to his skin. Each dread is fully painted and the tiny bands on them sport a 2 color weathered look. Inside his disc carrier are tiny painted gears as well. Truly NECA went all out here.

But what about articulation? I'm happy to say NECA went all out here too. Their Predators now sport a ball waist, ball hips, and double-jointed knees so you can make them crouch. Along with the regular ball shoulders/neck/wrists, and elbows this allows for a full range of posing at last. You'll need to heat the ankles to get full motion out of them as I found out later but once you do it's near perfect articulation for your hunters.

The points of articulation are well hidden too with only the knee pegs slightly visible. Everything else fits snugly like a Hot Toys Predator. Now for a gripe. All the Boar Predators sport two lower left arms. Either way the piece is the same just flipped around so the bottom of the armor sculpt faces up and makes it look different. This was probably done to save on tooling costs and you really won't notice it unless you look underneath to see the armpad display.

I found out you can heat and pop the previous series Predator figure parts on so this gives NECA a wealth of different parts to mix and match to make unique figures. You could to this too, well except for the lower legs which are hinge jointed instead of plug-in. But that doesn't mean you can swap heads with your other figures for some cool looks. So what's the verdict? For around $16 you cannot go wrong. Amazing sculpt, full articulation, and great paint apps make series 4 look like they stepped off the screen. BBTS has them as a set or singles for a great price, or you can check your local Toys R Us as that's the only place I've seen them at so far.