Well, just to take part in the all the fun, here's a couple of quick side by side pics of the Koto statue and the NECA figure I took with my iPhone this morning:
Please excuse the crappy pics, I was in a bit of a hurry.
When I first started posing the NECA figure to imitate the Koto statue, the NECA alien's mouth was more open, but I decided to close it more to get the closest look to the Koto and I ended up altering the pose slightly. The NECA can actually lean forward a bit more at the waist, and still keep its balance.
Another little detail is that this is my "spare" alien, it's the one with flaws: the left elbow is stuck, the neck has less movement than my other NECA Giger alien, and it has a slightly wonky jaw... otherwise, I think I could've gotten the pose even closer. The wire in the NECA figure's tail doesn't go down to the tip, so I couldn't curl it up.
The knees can be brought together more to get Bolaji's odd posture, you just have to heat the legs and put an elastic band around them, but I couldn't be bothered.
Of course the Koto statue has a fluidity to the pose that I doubt even a Phicen figure could replicate, but, all in all, not bad.
I think I might try to get a full repaint of the NECA alien and see just how much is lost under those cheap paint apps. While the Koto sculpt is much more finely detailed (the softer plastic used by NECA's factory really hurts the neatness and precision of the sculpt), the NECA figure does have a fantastic sculpt, and I think a better paint app can really bring it out. I might also try to take it apart and fix the right hip that juts out and gives it that wide-hipped look.
