Official NECA Terminator Thread

[DiFabio]

It's about what they can sell as much as want to make. A severed Endo from T1 would essentially look like a broken Endo figure, nothing that exciting. They did mangled Bishop from Aliens but he has guts and gore and doesn't just look like a broken figure.

Include it with a "new" Kyle Reese with some pipe bombs and a pipe or a T1 Sarah Connor or something then.

There's so many little improvements that they could do to make some of these figures perfect. They could totally improve the Endoskeleton. The sculpt is cool (despite being 10 years old) and the current headsculpt they use is perfect, but it's not a very good figure. The rubber cords in the head/neck restrict the great ball jointed head, the plastic they use is cheap, the skeleton is permanently warped in places and it really should have a ball joint in the abs. You can actually make your own damaged crawling Endo without breaking the figure (simply unscrew the two screws in the back and lift the abdomen/torso off the spine and pistons), but it still needs the hanging mechanical "guts" and swap out severed hands. They could make a better Endo, give it the severed parts AND have alternate hands so it can duel wieldasma Rifles like T2.

I like what they've done for Terminator as a whole, but they have been really cheap in their reuse and offerings. Some of those things that A-dev listed, like swap out hands, should be mandatory. There is no reason why the T1 Arnold and T2 Arnold figures shouldn't have atleast alternate fists. He punched a lot in the first two films.

The 2007 Cult classics Endoskeleton and the original four tools (Uncle Bob, T-1000, Tech Noir and Police shootout) are nice, but they need to be retired. They're outdated and I think it's safe to say they got their moneys worth out of them. While I'm thankful for the articulation, they kind of did a botched job of implementing it on their figures between the leg issues and the fact that those original 2009 sculpts were sculpted with a particular pose in mind (you can see it in the way the clothes fold against the body). They look weird in neutral stances, especially the original T2 Arnold figures.


Would it kill them to offer an all new figure like Sarah Connor was last year? Can we get improvements beyond short leg syndrome and a bunch of old heads and hands that are haphazardly thrown into a box?

 

[jye4ever]

NECA is Gozilla's ***** now.

 

[Drone]

It's really surprising that NECA doesn't seem to think Kyle Reese is a worthwhile choice for their Ultimate format. 1984 Kyle fits the format perfectly as an easy 3-in-1 figure. All he'd need would be two sleeveless coats, the corresponding arms to go with each coat, a pair of bare arms, the few weapons that he used throughout the movie, and maybe a new head sculpt. Boom - a figure that would inspire plenty of us to buy multiples even if we do already have the prior release. And a Future War Kyle? Can't believe that hasn't already happened, but Randy's responses to every inquiry about a new Kyle makes me wonder if perhaps sales of the first one were too low. Pity if that's the case, but maybe they're just pretending that nothing really new is on the horizon so they can surprise us. I am pretty optimistic that we'll at least see John Conor as part of the anniversary offerings next year and would expect a similar release strategy to what they did with Newt this year - you know, to get all of us in a frenzy to build even more demand for a character who may or may not currently be a poor candidate for retail.

 

[a-dev]

They don't care enough about Terminator to do anything like that.

Not just the accessory packs, but anything really. You would think a crawling, damaged Endoskeleton from T1 or a new Kyle Reese would be a no brainer, but they don't even have interest in that. From here on out on the Terminator front, I figure all we're going to see are either video game figures (of the Robocop vs Terminator variety) or quick rehash cash grabs of pre-existing tooling.

Their other lines have dedicated waves featuring new releases that have been going on for years. With Terminator, we're lucky to get a couple of "Ultimates". I highly doubt we'll ever see anything new in the ways of sculpt and tooling. I wish we could get some dedicated waves like they used to do and what they continue to do with Aliens and Predator.

I've actually been tempted by the existing Robocop VS Terminator stuff and the NES T2 figure yet they were ''easy passes'' when they came out. Maybe I'm just starved for new stuff. I think the paint jobs and packaging art are pretty nifty though.

Include it with a "new" Kyle Reese with some pipe bombs and a pipe or a T1 Sarah Connor or something then.

There's so many little improvements that they could do to make some of these figures perfect. They could totally improve the Endoskeleton. The sculpt is cool (despite being 10 years old) and the current headsculpt they use is perfect, but it's not a very good figure. The rubber cords in the head/neck restrict the great ball jointed head, the plastic they use is cheap, the skeleton is permanently warped in places and it really should have a ball joint in the abs. You can actually make your own damaged crawling Endo without breaking the figure (simply unscrew the two screws in the back and lift the abdomen/torso off the spine and pistons), but it still needs the hanging mechanical "guts" and swap out severed hands. They could make a better Endo, give it the severed parts AND have alternate hands so it can duel wieldasma Rifles like T2.

I like what they've done for Terminator as a whole, but they have been really cheap in their reuse and offerings. Some of those things that A-dev listed, like swap out hands, should be mandatory. There is no reason why the T1 Arnold and T2 Arnold figures shouldn't have atleast alternate fists. He punched a lot in the first two films.

The 2007 Cult classics Endoskeleton and the original four tools (Uncle Bob, T-1000, Tech Noir and Police shootout) are nice, but they need to be retired. They're outdated and I think it's safe to say they got their moneys worth out of them. While I'm thankful for the articulation, they kind of did a botched job of implementing it on their figures between the leg issues and the fact that those original 2009 sculpts were sculpted with a particular pose in mind (you can see it in the way the clothes fold against the body). They look weird in neutral stances, especially the original T2 Arnold figures.


Would it kill them to offer an all new figure like Sarah Connor was last year? Can we get improvements beyond short leg syndrome and a bunch of old heads and hands that are haphazardly thrown into a box?

It's really surprising that NECA doesn't seem to think Kyle Reese is a worthwhile choice for their Ultimate format. 1984 Kyle fits the format perfectly as an easy 3-in-1 figure. All he'd need would be two sleeveless coats, the corresponding arms to go with each coat, a pair of bare arms, the few weapons that he used throughout the movie, and maybe a new head sculpt. Boom - a figure that would inspire plenty of us to buy multiples even if we do already have the prior release. And a Future War Kyle? Can't believe that hasn't already happened, but Randy's responses to every inquiry about a new Kyle makes me wonder if perhaps sales of the first one were too low. Pity if that's the case, but maybe they're just pretending that nothing really new is on the horizon so they can surprise us. I am pretty optimistic that we'll at least see John Conor as part of the anniversary offerings next year and would expect a similar release strategy to what they did with Newt this year - you know, to get all of us in a frenzy to build even more demand for a character who may or may not currently be a poor candidate for retail.

Well, I'm pretty happy with what NECA has done up to now but I definitely see how Alien and Predator get more extensive and better treatment and I get the sense that less will be coming than actually could be. There's still T-800 variants they could do for T1 let alone Ultimate Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor. And things like Cleaved Man T-1000 and Pretzel Man T-1000 seem like no brainers to me and yet I'm not confident that NECA sees it that way.

And I will be bitterly disappointed if John Connor isn't among the 25th anniversary offerings next year considering the Aliens line got Newt. If it doesn't happen then there better be an explanation better than ''wouldn't sell''. It would sell just as well as Newt and could utilise exactly the same strategy to do so.

 

[DiFabio]

After seeing NECA Ash vs. the Evil Dead Bruce Campbell Ash figures, I wouldn't even mind all new Arnold and T-1000 figures if they think that's the only thing that sells. The likeness they achieved for Bruce Campbell in those 4 portraits are perfection. The paint apps? Best I've seen for 7" figures.






Those are are on a whole other level and those original T-800s and T-1000s and Kyle Reese from 2009-2011 are dated considerably. Imagine what they would be capable of now, especially when we see figures like Nathan Drake that have double hinged knees and hidden ab crunches under the shirt (something figures like Kyle Reese and Batman have).

I don't see why they wouldn't want to do a cleaved man or Pretzel man T-1000, or jump at making an all new damaged cyberdyne escape/steel mill T-800 atleast (where the hell is that Quarter Scale figure they planned!?).

It sucks that there isn't any enthusiasm for the T1/T2 line. There are so many cool things that they could be popping out. They completely abandoned T2's anniversary this year. There's only two months of 2016 left and they have nothing to show for it. Yeah, T2:3D is happening next year, but even with that Randy stated they're not going to go all out and we'll be seeing "new" figures like this,








Don't get me wrong, I loved these sculpts when they first came out, they were amazing 8 years ago. It's just, you see what they're doing with other licenses and it's a little tough to not want that for the Terminator line too. Something about the posture, shoulders, the bad posture/hunchback and lack of range of the elbows on the original T-800 really bugs me now. It's like they were only sculpted to be posed one way (facing/leaning right, weapon in hand). The sculpt of the clothes, the pose of the hands and the position of the muscles/folds really reflect this.

 

[a-dev]

Dayum, I hadn't looked at those Evil Dead figures up close - they do look amazing, definitely a step above the quality of the Terminator line. Note that they're injected flesh tone figures whereas Terminator is all sandpaper-skinned and painted (often sloppily).

I'm sold, they not only could do more for Terminator than it seems they intend but they could do it with improved sculpts and increased quality.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

NECA seems to put more of an effort into some licenses because of personal preference, imo.

 

[DiFabio]

Definitely.

I don't know why they wouldn't want to put maximum effort into Terminator 1 and 2 though. How could you not love cyborgs and Arnold? Both Ash figures are amazing and quite close to definitive (buy both versions and you have loads of options). The paint and sculpting (heads and bodies) are about as good as it gets in this scale. Terminator deserves better.

I'd love if they revamped the line and did real ultimate figures, starting with the T-800

Spoiler

T1/T2 Endoskeleton

- all new skeleton with ball jointed ab/torso crunch that can be popped on and off
- softer pvc/unglued neck wires and cables so the ball jointed head can actually move and rotate
- x2 plasma rifles
- gripping hands
- fist hands
- severed hands

T2 Arnold (Mall to Pescadero)

- all new sculpt/tooling with super articulated body
- hidden torso ab crunch
- improved elbows
- new sunglasses head
- new clean head
- shotgun w/rose box
- pistol
- knife
- gripping hands
- new fist hands

T2 Arnold (Enrique camp to Cyberdyne)

- same body as above but with grey shirt
- new smirking "trust me" head
- new exposed scalp/chip removable head
- articulated swappable sleeved arms and bare hands (Garage guardian scene/Dyson arm reveal)
- swappable torn off skin endo arm
- bandolier
- minigun
- axe
- glove fist hands
- glove gripping

T2 Arnold (Cyberdyne to Steel Mill)

- same body as above but with damaged torso and knee
- new semi damaged head
- new full battle damaged head
- swappable left arm with severed endo stub
- tear gas launcher (finally)
- grenade launcher
- machine gun
- steel rod
- damaged gloved fists
- gripping hands
- thumbs up hand

And do reuse where applicable (weapons and accessories obviously). Then apply that to 3 T-1000s and Kyle Reese. I'm perfectly content with the Tech Noir figure and Police shootout. It would just be nice to get a new ball jointed torso, better elbows that had more range, some fist hands so he can punch and a new gargoyle sunglasses head.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

Yeah, that's a pretty great list. It's mind boggling how no one has made a "trust me" face sculpt or the "it's definitely you" smirk


I recently got the Ultimate Tech Noir and as great as it is, I think the "flesh/sweaty" plastic could work with the T1 Arnie figure because his face often looked glossy in T1.

 

[a-dev]

''Injected Flesh Tone'' is what Randy is calling it on twitter so I go with that. And yeah, I regret that we have never seen it - and continue not to see it - with the Terminator line. And for some reason some of the human figures in the Aliens line have it and others don't. I don't get it. Can we pick the superior method and stick with it please? And from what I've seen that's injected flesh tone.

 

[Joda]

Honestly as sad as it is, I imagine the sales of Terminator figures aren't great enough to justify a deeper line presence. It's one of NECA's more maligned lines, much like Friday the 13th. (There was a guy on Twitter the other day trying to convince Randy that Roy from Part 5 would be a great hit among "A New Beginning" fans. I restrained myself from adding "Yes, all 5 of you." )

 

[a-dev]

Honestly as sad as it is, I imagine the sales of Terminator figures aren't great enough to justify a deeper line presence. It's one of NECA's more maligned lines, mush like Friday the 13th. (There was a guy on Twitter the other day trying to convince Randy that Roy from Part 5 would be a great hit among "A New Beginning" fans. I restrained myself from adding "Yes, all 5 of you." )

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

Honestly as sad as it is, I imagine the sales of Terminator figures aren't great enough to justify a deeper line presence. It's one of NECA's more maligned lines, mush like Friday the 13th. (There was a guy on Twitter the other day trying to convince Randy that Roy from Part 5 would be a great hit among "A New Beginning" fans. I restrained myself from adding "Yes, all 5 of you." )

I'm number six, I guess

I'll buy every 7 inch Jason. Yes, even Roy. They need to make a part 7 though.

 

[Drone]

I'd love if they revamped the line and did real ultimate figures...

Hmmm, didn't even realize that I wanted to see any of those figures re-worked, but yeah, that list shows that there's even more potential for this line than simply tackling the unproduced Kyles, T-1000s, Johns, and Sarahs.

One item that many of us might enjoy adding to our collections if it ever gets made is this diecast Honda CB 750.

The bike is 1/10th scale and is about as close a match as one could hope to the on-screen motorcycle used by the Terminator in the first film. Notice in the 'Related Items' link below that a red version is supposedly on the way as well. The only glaring inaccuracy would then be that it's missing the custom windshield that was used on the movie bike, but I guess accuracy doesn't matter for much if the toy never gets produced. That's the frustrating thing about it. From what I can tell, this bike was first shown back in 2013. I first found out about it roughly a year ago, and at the time it's release date was listed for June of 2016. That release date kept getting pushed forward each month until recently when it became listed as 'TBD', so hopefully this possibility won't be lost forever and the bike one day gets made.

 

[a-dev]

Well if that got made I think we could probably find some way to get an appropriate windshield onto it. I'd love to have that plus the correct model police bike for the T-1000. Doesn't seem to exist though.

 

[a-dev]

I remember saying I wouldn't bother making the ''teapot'' T-800 with the NECA figures, this



because the jacket is supposed to be closed and NECA didn't do a closed jacket sculpt. It just occurred to me though that the jacket should also be closed on the Tanker Truck Pursuit figure and it isn't. Since I deal with that I guess I now have no choice but to buy more figures to make a Teapot T-800.

I may also press ahead and attempt a kitbash of the eye-surgery T-800 out of the spare torso I'd have leftover from the above. It wouldn't be perfect because I'd be using the arms from Dutch which are injected flesh tone and more tanned than the pale-painted T1 headsculpts - and I have no repainting expertise myself to address this. Also Dutch wears a watch on his left arm - maybe I could shave this off. Adding the bandages to the right arm should be easy enough and then I could use the before and after headsculpts of the bleeding closed eye and the exposed endo eye.

Of course, I'd either have to pay aftermarket prices for another Dutch figure to harvest his arms or more likely I'll wait till he gets rereleased by NECA, which apparently he will for Predator's 30th anniversary next year.

 

[DiFabio]

Oh, that reminds me. I took pictures of teapot T-800 a couple of days ago. Here a-dev, these are for you.





















These two are by far my favorite Arnold Terminator figures.

 

[a-dev]

Thanks Difabio, yeah the teapot bash looks cool.

As far as favourites I think I'd nominate the original Pescadero Escape T-800 for T2 and Tech Noir for T1 as the best Arnie Terminator figures from NECA. Special mention also to the eyebrowless sculpt - the one Hot Toys have never made. I love the eyes painted looking to the side (provided you get a half-decent paint job), it really nails it. I wish I had the skill to turn one of those into a T2 head.

this one -

 

[DiFabio]

Yeah, that's probably my favorite headsculpt (the eyebrowless, eyes looking to the right head).

It would be much better as a T2 head with longer hair though. That's why overall I prefer the long haired Tech Noir (granted you get one with nice eyes and paint). The Pescadero used to be my favorite, but the more I look at it, the more it's aged. I had the shoulder hunch it has and I think his arms could be a little thinner and have more range of motion (same with the T1 figures). I love the sunglasses head, I just wish the regular ones without the glasses were as good/better.

I wish they'd make an all new T2 Arnold. Assuming the 1/4 is all new and looks great, maybe we could get an all new 7" version, especially if it rocks a mid torso ab crunch joint and double jointed elbows and knees.

 

[a-dev]

Yeah, that's probably my favorite headsculpt (the eyebrowless, eyes looking to the right head).

It would be much better as a T2 head with longer hair though. That's why overall I prefer the long haired Tech Noir (granted you get one with nice eyes and paint). The Pescadero used to be my favorite, but the more I look at it, the more it's aged. I had the shoulder hunch it has and I think his arms could be a little thinner and have more range of motion (same with the T1 figures). I love the sunglasses head, I just wish the regular ones without the glasses were as good/better.

I wish they'd make an all new T2 Arnold. Assuming the 1/4 is all new and looks great, maybe we could get an all new 7" version, especially if it rocks a mid torso ab crunch joint and double jointed elbows and knees.

I'd be down for these improvements. Great thing is if they went down this road of proper SA Terminators with not only increased POA (ab-crunch and ball-joint head) but increased range of motion in the elbows for example - it may involve some compromise on the aesthetics - which would be OK because we have the more statue-esque alternatives already.

The T2 heads without sunglasses definitely could be better, thinking more of the clean version but I suppose the BD ones are based on that (?) and maybe could be improved also. Like you I think the sunglasses head still holds up well and that's what I'm thinking of when I use a word like 'best'. But if they were to just keep releasing this head I'd at least like to see it in injected flesh tones.