Kane's son has arrived.
I don't know why I'm such an Alien nerd, but I don't think getting any collectible gets me more anxious and excited than getting Alien collectibles.
So anyway, here are my first impressions and some pics.
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Amazingly enough, I got a well nigh-perfect figure!
Paint apps are decent, only moderately stuck joints (almost in the "just too tight" category), perfect dome (no blemishes, no warping), only a slightly bent leg (will get to that later) and small problems with the hands. I know, it sounds like a lot, but for NECA standards, I think I'm one lucky bastard!
Sculpt
Well, it's pretty much the same sculpt as the 35th anniversary version that had the lowered upper lip and cloudy dome, so in terms of accuracy, it's about the same, but with some slight modifications...
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The actual changes have more to do with the engineering of the articulation than anything else.
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The legs are the most obvious change, where a completely different articulation was designed for the knees. I'm really not too sure it was for the better, I thought the earlier double joints worked fine, but it is what it is. Also, the upper leg, where it connects to the hip is now one piece, whereas in the earlier sculpt it was two different pieces... why this is so I've no idea, it seems to have absolutely no effect on the articulation or range of motion.
The hips however, are much slimmer, making the silhouette of the figure a lot less feminine.
There's also a slight adjustment to the torso/chest, which it seems to me has a longer peg connecting it to the waist, giving it more freedom of movement (although it also means that the chest wants to look misaligned all the time), the chest was also slimmed down a bit under the armpits, allowing for the arms to come down much more than on the earlier version. Speaking of the arms, they have also been modified slightly: no more bicep swivel (great for the sculpt), but now there's a double joint at the elbows (great for articulation).
The tail now has a swivel cut at the base, which I'm not too keen on... seems unnecessary and breaks up the sculpt.
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The face I believe is the same as the one from the Walmart exclusive of a few years ago. Basically the same as the 35th anniversary, but with the teeth lowered so that they are fully exposed. It doesn't really work for me, because it completely screws up an already problematic side view... If the dome came down lower in the front, covering the ribbed detail, it'd be much better. But no such luck. I wonder why NECA don't just do what Mafex and other companies do and give the dome a damn peg so that it adjusts the way it's supposed to.
The rest is pretty much the same, as far as I can see.
Paint apps
I call this "variations on a theme". It's glossy black plastic with some dry-brushing (greenish-brown) and some splashes of airbrush (grey). The paint on the teeth looks a lot more metallic, and the finger- and toe-nails are more gun-metal than silver.
If NECA were really serious about an "ultimate" figure, they'd use the "prototype" version and paint that one up, instead of doing the lazy all black thing again.
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Compared to the 35th version though, the detail on the skull does look fantastic.
Articulation
What can I say, it's improved. The new joints, the slight adjustments all work to make this figure much better at posing than the 35th one. Special mention goes to the ankles, which actually work now! The tail is also made of a different material, softer and easier to bend.
Accessories
They're nice. It's cool to have a properly sized egg and an Alien-specific face hugger. Having said that, it would've been cool if NECA had made the egg translucent like in the movie. The chestburster is great.
QC issues
It wouldn't be NECA if it didn't have any, would it?
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Something happened to its left hand. I don't know if it's the mould that gave up, or if it's just mine that has those stubby fingers. And the right hand has the peg for the wrist articulation misplaced. Thankfully, it's not very noticeable and doesn't affect movement.
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The right leg was poorly placed in the tray, which resulted in it being a bit warped. But since I prefer my Giger aliens with properly shaped Bolaji Badejo legs, that was actually quite fortunate, because it meant I only had to heat up the left leg to get the legs looking right (I did the same to the 35th version).
So that's it!
Is it an improvement over the 35th anniversary version? It certainly is, and I would recommend it to any Alien fan.
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