Beetlejuice (Shish Kebab)
Beetlejuice (Kenner) - Series 1
Rated 3.00 stars by Karl T. Face
Let's see if I can get through this without saying it three times. Beetlejuice was a huge part of my childhood. The movie, the cartoon, the toys. I adored all three aesthetics, each with their own charm. The toyline (outside of role-playing toys) was the most simplified of the bunch. Shish Kebab Beetlejuice is one of several variations on the Ghost with the Most, most of which corresponded to the film somewhat. This particular outfit, with the cap and long coat, is his "tour guide" look, from the scene where he stabs Barbara with several spikes and then dances into a brothel. Y'know, for the kids to play with. It's all been smoothed over, of course. No badge on the hat, a rather bland sculpt. The face is decently Keaton-ish for the era, smiling with his tongue waggling about. Looks real...[See More]

Pamela Voorhees
Friday the 13th (Neca) - Ultimate Collection
Rated 4.80 stars by RMaster007
When you think of slasher movies, Friday the 13th is one that often comes to mind, and Jason Voorhees has made a name for himself as one of the most well-known slashers, but how many people know that he wasn't always the villain? The first film had his mother, Pamela, as the killer, turning bloodthirsty after blaming Camp Crystal Lake's counselors for little Jason's watery death, and the second film had the now-adult and seemingly immortal Jason follow in mommy's footsteps. Just in time for both the original film's 45th anniversary and Mother's Day, Pamela is finally getting the Ultimate treatment. The packaging is typical for NECA's movie-themed Ultimates, utilizing the original poster art, though the poster here doesn't have the main youths of the film on it. I assume it's a licensing...[See More]

Shredder (Start Shredding the News)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.85 stars by RMaster007
You think with how long NECA's TMNT toon line has been going on, they'd go back and reissue a few of the older figures, but nope, barely any of them got that treatment. I assume it has to do with the fact that they're Target exclusives, but still, they at least reissue the movie figures every now and then. NECA has gone a step above and upgraded some of the earlier figures, such as April and Slash, and Shredder now gets the 2.0 treatment. The box art is once again done by Aaron Hazouri, and the concept here is unique. Shredder's got himself a "Turtle Booers Club," with a couple of other villains as members (including Mr. Ogg; potential figure tease?). The text on the back, rather than a character description, is written through Shredder hosting another club meeting. It's pretty funny,...[See More]

Panda Khan (Crouching Panda, Hidden Turtles)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.50 stars by RMaster007
The original TMNT cartoon has provided NECA with a lot of ideas for figures, including even the most deep-cut of characters. Around last year or so, they started putting characters in outfits that haven't appeared in the show, like Space Usagi and Samurai Michelangelo, but now they're including characters that haven't appeared in the show at all. Panda Khan is the first, and like Usagi, he's an indie comic character who found recognition through the 80s-90s TMNT toyline, and his creators are letting NECA do a "what-if" figure. Aaron Hazouri once again does the box art, and it matches both the old FHE tapes and the better-animated episodes of the cartoon ("Green with Jealousy" is a notable example). Panda Khan is wielding his sword, and the turtles are hiding in the bamboo, unsure if he...[See More]

Santa Jack
Nightmare Before Christmas (Neca) - Ultimate
Rated 4.60 stars by RMaster007
Too early to feel Christmassy? It usually isn't, but it's feeling that way now that temperatures are rising. Since NECA's new Nightmare Before Christmas figures were all ready for release near the holidays, they obviously had to do a Santa Jack Skellington. The more Jack, the merrier! The same crew behind the other figures - Marty Henley, Kyle Windrix, and Andrew Lawson - did Santa Jack, and they didn't reuse any of the expressions the regular Jack had. However, this Jack only has three heads: one happy, one surprised, and one winking. Like before, the work here matches the source material very well, and the clean paint certainly helps. You can use these with the regular Jack… if you don't mind the obvious sockets on the top and sides of the heads. These are for the Santa cap and beard,...[See More]

Robocop
Robocop (Neca) - 35th Anniversary
Rated 4.25 stars by Dark Fire Action Figure Art
This is a decent figure of RoboCop, but it is essentially a reissue of the old Spring Holster RoboCop with some added accessories. The articulation is limited just like their previous RoboCop figures. This isn't a huge deal since RoboCop has pretty stiff movements in the films, but I feel there could have been some upgrades made, given the Hagane Works RoboCop is the same scale and has much better articulation then the NECA figures. The spring holster is very fragile and easy to break on these figures, so I avoid using them at all given I had bad experiences with the previous three releases. This one also should have been the one to be included with the Repair Chair, but that was more of a smart move on NECA's part forcing fans to buy both pristine and battle damaged versions if they...[See More]

Machiko
Predators (Neca) - Series 18
Rated 4.45 stars by Dark Fire Action Figure Art
This was another long awaited figure for me personally. Machiko Noguchi is easily my favorite human character in the Alien and Predator Universe, and NECA did a fairly good job at capturing her appearance from Aliens vs Predator: War. This figure comes with a couple of accessories in the form of her burner rifle, a removable bio-mask, and an alternate hand. The mask is accurate to the one she wore in Issue 0 though it would have been nice if it had included a more Jungle Hunter-like one, too, as she wore one like it through the rest of the series. The mask's tubes can plug into her shoulder cannon, but it's a bit of a pain to plug them in and keep them in. I put some super glue on the ends, allowed it to dry and that seemed to make them fit more snugly. The rife is accurate to the one...[See More]

Hagane Works Robocop
Robocop (Good Smile Company) - Basic Series
Rated 4.75 stars by Dark Fire Action Figure Art
In my opinion this RoboCop is the best 7" scale depiction of the character and is leagues above the NECA figures of the same scale. It is a bit on the higher price side but well worth it if you're a RoboCop fan and can find it at retail price. The sculpt is pretty film accurate and the figure is made of a mix of die and plastic. The metal gives it a bit of heft and actually makes it so it stands on its own well, though it also includes a stand. The figures comes with an array of accessories and alternate parts including: hands, mouth pieces for different expressions, battle damaged parts, two different Auto 9 Pistols, and a Cobra Assault Cannon as well as a base and a stand arm. The base also opens for part storage, which is really nice. The only accessory I wish it had included is a...[See More]

Duffman
Simpsons (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.50 stars by RMaster007
The first wave of Simpsons Ultimates had a guy who serves beer, and now we have a guy who promotes beer. Makes sense, doesn't it? Duffman is said to be played by many different people in the show, but he always looks the same (is there a bunch of guys who look the same in Springfield?). The man has a somewhat cylindrical head shape, wearing a Duff hat and sunglasses. The sunglasses aren't removable, but there are eyes sculpted and painted underneath, though he doesn't seem to have pupils. The default portrait is a grin, but he also has an open mouth head, as well as a head with a Duff sticker slapped onto his face, coming from "Pygmoelian." The sticker can actually be removed, pegging into the mouth, leaving you with an "oh yeah" expression. All three heads look nice, and the clean paint...[See More]

Scumbug
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Super7) - Ultimates!
Rated 4.80 stars by RMaster007
Scumbug isn't a TMNT character you see talked about much. He wasn't really present much in past media, being just a one-time character in the original cartoon, and some other versions like the Archie comics barely looked like him, though Mutant Mayhem reintroduced him (or in it's case, her) to today's audiences. NECA already made a great figure of him a while back, but that hasn't stopped Super7 from making their own version. While NECA's Scumbug was a recreation of the toon design which was no different from the original Playmates toy, Super7's more directly updates the toy design. Most of that involves simply making him more colorful, with all those little bugs crawling over him now being painted, along with a few other additional colors. There are some changes to the overall design as...[See More]

Mighty Morphin Eye Guy
Power Rangers Lightning Collection (Hasbro) - Mighty Morphin
Rated 3.50 stars by Karl T. Face
Ironically, I eyeballed this extensively when it came out. Finally pulled the trigger on a trade, but there's a reason I waited. As a Kaiju nut and mythology fan, I couldn't turn down another classic Dora Monster in the end. This one's based on Argos, the hundred-eyed giant that guarded one of Zeus' side pieces from his frequent advances, despite her having already been turned into a heifer. Dora Argus, meanwhile, was created to trap a little girl in a nightmare dimension to break her spirit so their pathetic resident vampire could actually drink human blood for a change. Either way, this is some wacky stuff. First, the good. This thing is big, hefty, and very well sculpted. Various eyes are half-closed, and the freaky skin texture looks great. The articulation is the usual Lightning...[See More]