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Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Deadpool - 1/4 scale action figure

NECA
Date Published: 2017-01-12
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 4 out of 4

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Deadpool 1/4 scale action figure by NECA

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Introduction

During the holiday break, I re-watched my pick for best movie of 2016 - Deadpool. It has everything, from action to comedy to romance to a little soft core porn. What more could you possibly ask for in a superhero movie?

The Merc with a Mouth has been the subject of multiple collectibles companies thanks to the success of the film. While the Hot Toys sixth scale Deadpool is high on my list for best figure of the year, he's got some competition in a late shipping release from NECA - their 1/4 scale version!

NECA has dominated this scale over the last few years, and produced several great releases in 2016.  Deadpool started shipping in mid-December, but I just received mine this last week. You can pick him up at most retailers for around $100, some a little more, some a little less.

Click on the image below for a Life Size version
Deadpool 1/4 scale action figure by NECA

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Packaging - ***
Manufacturers of figures in this scale know the problems with packing and shipping. They are HEAVY, and putting too much stress on various joints during the shipment process can lead to breakage issues. Remember the Lord of Darkness?

But NECA has done a good job of twisty tie-ing this monster into his cardboard tray, avoiding damage and keeping him safe. It's annoying to cut him free (you'll want your wire clippers handy), and it's certainly not a collector friendly design (the box will be in ruins once you tear out the sealed accessories), but it gets the job done.

It's also quite attractive, with some smart ass graphics and text.

Deadpool 1/4 scale action figure by NECA

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Sculpting - ****
This is not a movie Deadpool, but rather a comic inspired interpretation. That means they could provide their own style within certain general boundaries. And it's a bad ass interpretation.

One of the beautiful things about this scale is the amount of detail that it allows. As a 1/4 scale figure, Deadpool stands just over 18" tall, towering over those other puny action figures in your collection.  There's tons of texture and small detail, from the suit, to the pouches on his belt and leg, to the weapons themselves. This is an outstanding piece of work, wringing everything out of the opportunities this scale provides.

The various hands are sculpted to work with the accessories, and they are properly scaled.  In fact, all the various internal proportions are great, from the head to the torso to the limbs.  From some angles the head can look a little small, but that's largely an effect of the angle and the comic book style...and his beefy neck!

The sculpted details go all the way down to the soles of his feet, where there's a message for his foes.  And one of their teeth, still stuck to the bottom of his boot.

I do have one nit I'll relay here. The scabbards for the swords are a single piece of course, which attaches to the center of the back via two small pegs. These pegs fit into the rubbery harness you see around his shoulders. Only, they don't attach all that well. I was constantly re-attaching them as I worked with him, and I suspect that when I put him on permanent display, Mr. Pool will be meeting Mr. SuperGlue.

Deadpool 1/4 scale action figure by NECA

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Paint - ****
Along with great sculpting, this figure sports some really great paint operations.  Clean, sharp, and realistic, even in a comic style.

The dark red suit is highlighted with a wash that brings out the texture details beautifully. There's no bleed or slop on the white eyes or the surrounding black mask. Tiny details on the pouches, straps, and accessories look fantastic. They've even used a mix of finishes from matte to gloss to differentiate some of the black sections of his costume. And to top it all off, they've included a brightly colored yellow message on the bottom of both feet for any opponent!  A front kick from the right foot, and the last thing you would see is an exclamation point. A side kick from the left, and you'd be greeted by the word "SNAP!" just before losing consciousness. They even added a little red blood to the tooth sculpted on the sole of his left foot - how cool is that!

Deadpool 1/4 scale action figure by NECA

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Articulation - ***1/2
It can be very difficult to get good articulation and mobility in this scale.  It's not as simple as merely upping the scale from something like Marvel Legends.  That sort of hyper articulation isn't possible with rotocast (hollow) parts, although rotocast articulation has come a long way.  It requires solid plastic pieces, and these are heavy. The sheer weight can be detrimental to the joints and making posing problematic, and if the plastic mix isn't just right, the pieces can be brittle.

All that is just a lead up to say what an excellent job NECA has done here. No, you won't get the same level of posability out of this figure that you will out of the sixth scale Hot Toys release, but you will get way more than you might expect, and the poses will be quite fluid and natural.

He does start out with a somewhat restricted neck, however.  The marketing photos show some pretty serious lean action, adding lots of cocky personality to any pose, but I could only get a little here and there.  It tilts forward and back slightly too, but not nearly as much as I'd like.

The rotating hinge shoulders and cut biceps work pretty well, although the sculpt only allows the biceps to turn so far. The hinges at the shoulders, as well as the elbows, knees, and hips, are the ratchet style, so they click into place to better maintain poses.

The elbows and knees are double pin, with rotating hinges at the wrists. The hand and wrist joint aren't separate pieces though, making the wrist a much stronger, more stable joint.

The rotating hinge hips are well covered by the sculpted thighs, but it does mean that the ability to turn in and out at the thigh is restricted.  The hips themselves do allow the legs to move in and out from the body quite a way though, creating deep stances. The hinge/rocker ankles work great, allowing the feet to remain flat on the ground in even those deep stances, adding lots of stability and a touch of realism to any pose.

The waist can turn, and there's an ab-crunch rocker joint as well in the torso.  While some of these many joints are restricted by the design of the costume, overall he's a very posable, very sturdy figure that will take a ton of fluid, natural poses and maintain them long term.

Deadpool 1/4 scale action figure by NECA

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Accessories - ****
One area where most quarter scale figures come up short is accessories. They are already very expensive to produce, and the market pricing often forces a company to make cuts in this area.

Not so this time around. NECA has outfitted him with a ton of useful extras, starting with seven different hands. It's a little tough to swap them at first, but after a time or two they'll work the opening out a bit. Thank goodness for the one piece design of the wrist and hand!

He comes wearing a pair of gun grip hands. There are three additional gripping right hands, and one additional gripping left. The three rights are only slightly different, but they are different. There's one additional left, posed in a very specific way (throwing the goat, baby!) with the 'DPUL' rings sculpted on.

He has an arsenal of weapons, starting with a single sai. Couldn't really find a great spot for it on his person - you can thread it through the belt at certain angles - but he can hold it in one of the gripping hands.

There's also a single double pack magazine wrapped with sculpted tape.  Again, no real good place to put it that I could find, but it's a nice extra.  Somehow I managed to include it in both accessory photos below, but there's only one.

NOTE: Duh. A reader pointed out my stupidity. Of course this isn't an extra magazine - it's THE magazine for the rifle.  I can't believe I didn't notice one wasn't already in place, but I blame the media. There's also a small slot in the harness in back to insert the sai. It's been a long week, no doubt about it.

Deadpool 1/4 scale action figure by NECA

Then there's the bladed weapons, including a knife and both katanas.  As I mentioned earlier, there's a removable set of scabbards for the swords that attaches to his back, and the swords fit neatly inside. These katanas also have a fantastic sculpt, with detailed grips and lettering on the blades.  They are all plastic of course - metal in this scale would be very heavy - but look fantastic.

The knife goes in a sheath on the right boot.  In a later photo, you can see it in place (along with the handgun and swords), but ignore that. I put it in backwards, or at least backwards to the way the sheath is sculpted. I put it in the way I would wear it, since I can't imagine reaching across my body to draw a knife from my opposite ankle, but hey - they did it that way, so the knife needs to turn around.

Along with the blades, he has guns. Plenty of guns.  There's the handgun, looking very much like a Desert Eagle, that fits perfectly in the large holster on his right hip, as well as within either gun grip hand.  Then there's the MP5K with Deadpool's personalization (the smiley face on one side, 'Deadpool's Gun' written on the other), and the large rifle, which I managed to leave out of the accessories photo below. Put the magazine pack in twice, left out the rifle.  It's been a long week.

All three guns look fantastic, with a highly detailed sculpt and great paint. By adding the cute text and graphics, they added a realism to the guns that a basic black paint job would lack. They also mixed things up a bit with the finishes, and added other tiny details were appropriate.

Deadpool 1/4 scale action figure by NECA

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Deadpool 1/4 scale action figure by NECA

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Fun Factor - ****
With a ton of great accessories, lots of useful, sturdy articulation, and a really impressive size, this guy is a whole lot of fun to pose and display.  Kids will love him too, although his movie might still be out of their reach.

Deadpool 1/4 scale action figure by NECA

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Value - ***
The current rate for any NECA 1/4 scale figure is $100.  That's up from $80 or so a few years ago, but let's be honest - these things have really gotten amazing.  The recent Donatello is another great example, and I can't wait to get the Batman Returns Catwoman.  With all the additional extras we got with Deadpool, along with a whole lot more articulation than usual, I had to bump him up a half star above average here.

Deadpool 1/4 scale action figure by NECA

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Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. I never felt nervous or afraid when working with the joints or swapping hands, and the accessories are sturdy and well made.  Under normal handling conditions, you should have no issues.

Deadpool 1/4 scale action figure by NECA

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Overall - ****
There have been three Deadpool figures released in a little more than 12 months.  And all three have garnered top marks from me. Perhaps it's just my love of the movie, perhaps it's my love of the character...or perhaps it's just that all three have been damn fine collectibles.

This guy has everything from great sculpting and paint to plenty of useful articulation and lots of great accessories, all at an appropriate market price. If you aren't a fan of the scale, I get that, but if you like 1/4 scale figures, this is one you should NOT pass up.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ****
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ****
Fun Factor - ****
Value - ***
Overall - ****

Deadpool 1/4 scale action figure by NECA

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Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has an excellent price at just $93.

- has him for $105.

- also has him in stock for $105.

- or you can search Ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Two other terrific Deadpool figures have come out in recent months. There's the sixth scale movie version from Hot Toys, as well as the sixth scale comic version from Sideshow. If you're looking for something a little smaller, there's also the 1/12th scale Marvel Legends release.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

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Deadpool 1/4 scale action figure by NECA

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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

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