Two weeks in & I’m still unpacking, installing fixtures, & assembling new furniture. I haven’t had much “toy time”, but luckily some of my fellow toy bloggers have graciously stepped in for Guest Review Week III! Today’s post comes from a site that has fast become a favorite of mine, Preternia.com!
Preternia: I’ve been on a Predator kick recently, no thanks to NECA and their amazing toys they have been putting out for the property. The latest series includes three figures: Big Red (from the “Dead End” fan film), Cloaking Falconer (from Predators), and Masked City Hunter (from Predator 2). Part of my process of getting excited for this new series is to do my research, and that involved seeing all these different Predators in action. Reliving Predator was a treat and entirely unneccessary because no original Predator movie figures are in this wave. This brought me to Predator 2 which was always regarded as the “bad” movie. Little did we all know back then that the Alien vs. Predator franchise would become a reality.
Predator 2 is a movie that could never have lived up to the original, but has aged well in time. The second movie also made this seven series (up through ten in 2013) Predator line possible. For those not in the know, the movie ends with Danny Glover on the Predator ship where he finally downs the City Hunter I am about to review. After killing him the lost tribe of nine Predators show up and present him with a flintlock pistol. In this scene you also get a look at the trophy wall where they keep the skulls of their greatest hunts, which will be coming next year as well.
The Masked City Hunter is almost a rarity to find in this wave of figures, as the cases are packed with six Big Red, six Falconer, and two City Hunters. The City Hunter comes with a bloody skull with the spine attached, a smart disc, and an extended spear. I believe this is also the first single carded masked version of the City Hunter. Another features on the City Hunter is that the hands are removable if you pop them off the ball at the wrist. This gives you options as to what hand you would like to display on your figure, especially if you have other Predators in your collection. For those that like to customize, this figure is very friendly to your cause because a lot of parts, like the head, can just pop off and on.
The first and probably most important thing you will notice about the City Hunter is the amount of detail packed into these seven inch figures. Every miniscule detail is painted into this guy from the rings of his dreadlocks down to every last line of his fishnet bodysuit. For a fully painted figure it is pretty amazing how little slop there is. Just take a look at those lines, very few if any miss their intended spots. On top of that the color shades and splotches on the body never miss a beat.
Detail is great but where these figures are truly innovating the movie action figure market is the articulation. We’ve always had the Movie Maniacs and even early NECA movie figures that were basically just statues. Something changed and NECA seems to have taken it upon themselves to make movie accurate figures as articulated as possible. These figures, especially from the waste down, have a huge range of movement boasting over 25 points of articulation. The City Hunter body type also has the added benefit of a ball jointed waste. It doesn’t add a huge amount of movement, but it is a welcome addition because you can achieve some nice leaning poses with it. Continue to Page 2…
I love these guys. I wonder why he is only 2 per case? Possibly because he has been previously released in a 2 pack? Strange. I assumed that Big Red was the short packed figure. I’m hoping NECA makes the AVP predators for Series 9, and the Wolf Predator from AVP2 in series 10. Not sure where they would go after those 4, perhaps new (more articulated) Berserker, Falconer, and Tracker from Predators. Maybe they’ll start doing Predator designs from the comics. Getting Danny Glover’s character from Predator 2 would be vanilla. In an unrelated side note, I really hope NECA can get the rights for all the Colonial Marines so that we can have the whole squad on our shelves. Ripley, Bishop, and Newt would be icing on the proverbial cake! Anyhow, it’s late and I have started to ramble!
If you shop at the TRU I shop at, you definitely would think that Big Red is the short-packed figure. Those guys are moving like hot cakes (which is ironic, because the hot cakes really aren’t moving).
I can see lowering the case pack on City Hunter a tad, since there have been several figures of him before, both masked, unmasked, and battle-damaged. But why keep the Falconer’s ratio high? That figure’s also see several releases, and the half-cloaked paint scheme really isn’t all that exciting.
Yeah I am a bit surprised the Falconer was packed so heavy, I would think the iconic look for the Masked City Hunter would be a big hit.
Sweet review, excellent pics! Would love to collect this line, but budget and space limitations prevent that.
By the way, I think you mean “waist” articulation. };D
Thanks! No matter how many times I proofread I’ll still miss something as simple as that 😛
Great Job Jon!
Ha, I remember being stoked when I found that McFarlane Predator all those years ago.
But your pic says it all! The NECA stuff goes beyond setting a new standard.
Glad to hear Big Red will be plentiful; I’ve never bought a Predator figure (though I’ve read many glowing reviews of them), but Big Red looks nice.
…though I do think the “add samurai swords = BAD ASS” concept is a little lame. And I wish he had a plasma caster.
You can attach the plasma caster from the Classic Predator and the Jungle Hunter to Big Red’s back. It’s just not red. lol.
further proof that NECA, right now, rules the world.
Are his various armor pieces and little bag attached with string or a thin rubber? I have the City Hunter from the two pack with the Berserker, and one of the armor plates tore off. If they’re string I may consider picking up this guy.
His belt and pouch are string so they can be replaced, most the other armor is plastic and glued on though. But they are made with customizers in mind so you could definitely fix up broken armor.
I happened to find the last City Hunter on peg, and used my rewards dollars and it only cost 13.00. Sweet. I am in the process of buying the lost preds.
I’ve been getting Neca predators from the begining and its too addictive not to keep going. Lot easier to track down than transformers or marvel figures these days. THey also put motuc to shame.
this is my first NECA predator. i’ve always been on the ‘no ab-crunch, no buy,’ but i really wanted to try one out. this figure is sweet!