Review of MacReady - The Thing
Action Figure

Introduction

I'm not a big believer in the concept, popularized by Alfred Hitchcock, that a film is predominately good or bad thanks to the director. Instead, I believe a perfect film comes from the perfect combination of many critical team members, which is why many of the most successful directors work the same editors, cinematographers, writers, actors, producers, and others across projects.

That being said, the director, their vision of a script on film, and their ability to get the team to share that vision is critical to the success. There are only a few directors out there who have been so consistent in their ability that their involvement on a film actually sells it to me, without reservation, convincing me to see it no matter the subject matter, no matter the reviews, no matter who else is involved. One of those directors is John Carpenter.

His first film to catch my attention was Assault on Precinct 13, but it wasn't until the next movie, Halloween, that I noticed his name. He followed that up with The Fog and Escape from New York, but it was really The Thing that etched his name into my Director's Hall of Fame. One of the top 5 horror movies of all time, I can revisit it over and over and enjoy it every time.

Sadly, we have not been treated to a whole lot of collectibles based on the property. SOTA did a nice boxed set as part of their Now Playing series, but that was almost 15 years ago (I'll have some comparison photos in the review). There's been the occasionally rumor about a sixth scale release, but nothing outside of custom work.

NECA has finally turned that around. I'm looking at their 'ultimate' R.J. MacReady tonight, who sells for about $30 at most retailers. You can pick him up online, or hit the local Target where he's currently popping up. And fear not, NECA has stoked further rumors of additional figures from the license.

Packaging - ***
Like all their ultimate figures, he comes in a box. The flap is decorated with artwork from the Drew Struzan poster, and it opens up to show off the figure inside. It's all pretty collector friendly too, with little damage necessary to remove the figure and accessories.

Sculpting - ***
This figure goes along with all their other current horror releases, coming in at a 7" scale. This has been a pretty consistent scale for quite awhile now with NECA as well as a number of other companies, making him fit in nicely with many other horror licenses.

The detail work is quite impressive. The hair and beard are finely stranded, the skin has a realistic texture, the costume has realistic folds and wrinkles, and even the textures sculpted on the jacket and pants look exactly as they should for the particular materials being copied. Tell me that sculpted leather jacket doesn't have the wrinkles and texture of a real leather jacket!

MacReady comes with three heads, each with a different expression. Two of the three are covered by the blue hoodie. The third has the enviable Russell hair, flowing free. Oddly, I like this head the least. Part of the reason is the hair - while it looks super realistic, especially for this scale, it sits too high on the head. It's glued in place, but I may try removing it and seeing if I can get it to sit down further on the forehead.

This face, with a serious but not extreme expression, also looks the least like Russell. It's very realistic and lifelike, but not super accurate. That being said, it looks a million times better than the SOTA release, but you expect that considering the 15 years of improvements we've seen in the industry since that one came out.

The two heads wearing the blue hoodie have slightly different expressions. One is angry, the other surprised. While these are the same basic head sculpts as the first, there's something about the slight adjustments that were made to create these looks that give the portraits more of a Russell vibe.

As I mentioned, the sculpting on the costume is fantastic, and the work on the accessories is generally quite good, although I'll have a few nits to pick when we get to that category. If you want to see how you use small details to create a more realistic figure, notice the front pocket on his right thigh where they have sculpted something square - probably a pack of cigarettes - on the inside. It's these subtle details that you won't necessarily notice at a conscious level, but which make a figure register as much more realistic to your subconscious mind.

This figure is slightly shorter than the old SOTA version, coming in at 7 inches tall without the hat, and because of that, it looks better in the diorama that came with the earlier figure. See the last photo in the review for what I mean.

Paint - ****
At this scale and price point, the paint work here is fantastic. All three heads have super clean eyes, lips, eyebrows, and beards, with a super realistic transition from the facial hair to the skin. The two hooded heads have open mouths, and the teeth are just about perfect. The skin tone is excellent, and the attention to detail translates to the costume with the small zippers and buttons.

Overall, the paint operations we are seeing NECA pull off with their Ultimate figures is amazing, and sets the bar right now at this price point.

Articulation - ***1/2
NECA does a great job providing useful articulation in this scale, and hiding it with the sculpt and design.

The ball jointed neck is a little restricted by the collar, but the hair is sculpted to fit along it, and the blue hoodie is less restrictive than I expected.

The shoulders, elbows, and wrists can manage realistic arm poses, and the double pin elbows have a lifelike range of movement, considering he's wearing a pretty thick costume. The waist has a roller joint, so you can get some tilt and lean in the torso without an obvious break in the sculpt.

The ball jointed hips are a little restricted, but the knees and ankles make it for it with a good range of movement. You can get decent rocker and forward/back movement in the ankles as well.

Accessories - ****
Most of the Ultimate figures come well stocked, and Mac is no different.

I already mentioned the three head sculpts, but they go a long way to increasing this score as well. Swapping is easy.

There's four extra hands too, some gloved, some not. They are sculpted to work with a variety of the other accessories, and swapping is pretty easy as well.

There are two sets of eye wear - the clear googles, and the dark shades. Add in the funky hat, and you have a ton of potential looks for the figure. Different glasses on different heads with and without the hat - the possibilities are huge. The blue hood is a separate piece on the heads, so you can attach the dark glasses and slip the short arms underneath for a perfect fit.

He liked to drink, and there's a bottle and glass to help him cope with the stress of being slaughtered by an alien presence. To help him light the way, there's a lantern, and to shoot his friend-now-monster, there's a shotgun.

Almost all of these accessories are well sculpted and spot on accurate. My only nit is with the gun, which is a tad undersized.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
With plenty of really useful accessories, three heads, and the possibility of future releases, this figure has a lot of posing potential on the shelf. I may retire my SOTA figure, but I'll keep the diorama to go with this modern release.

Value - **1/2
You can expect to pay around $30 for the NECA Ultimate figures. Considering the number of accessories and the quality of the work, I'd say you're getting what you're paying for.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Everything swaps easily, but some of the accessories are pretty small, so keep an eye on them. It's also worth noting that the cuffs of the gloves are separate pieces, which you should remove when you put the bare hands in place. But be careful, don't lose them during hand swaps.

Overall - ***1/2
I haven't been buying a lot of NECA figures lately. I have plenty of Alien, Jason, and Freddy figures already, and while they continue to do great work, it's not like I need more. But recently they've announced a number of new licenses, including American Werewolf in London, the Fog, and of course, The Thing. These classic 80's movies have never gotten the figure love they deserve, and it's going to pull me back into the 7" scale.

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

Where to Buy 
Your best bet right now is Target, where these are starting to show up for around $30. Of course,  you can always search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Check out my review from 2007 of the SOTA release of the boxed set.

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

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