Review of IT Pennywise 'Dead Lights'
Vinyl Figure

Introduction

Had your fill of Pennywise yet? If you have, you're in for a long back half of the year - I expect we'll be seeing a ton of merchandise, not just what we already know is coming (like the NECA 18" version or the Mezco One:12 Collective version) but plenty of additional pre-orders of figures based on the second film.

Star Ace is producing three versions of the character in their Defo-Real series of deformed vinyl figures. I already checked out the regular release, and tonight I'm looking at the open mouth light up version. There's also an open mouth version without the light feature, saving you a few bucks. You can pick these up for $55 - $65, depending on the version and the retailer.

Packaging - ***
The box is a little thin, but the window shows off the figure nicely. It's all collector friendly of course, requiring no real damage to remove the figure.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Another terrific looking vinyl figure from Star Ace! The amount of detail in the costume and hair is really impressive, and the deformed look works really well with this particular character.

The wide open mouth is loaded with teeth, from the edge of the lips all the way down. This gaping maw means the other facial features - eyes, nose - are gone, leaving less for the sculptor to work with outside of the lips, teeth, and gums, but they did a terrific job with this unique look.

I dinged them slightly for the socket on the back of the head, designed for the light up feature. More on that in a minute, but it is fairly obvious and detracts slightly from his appearance.

He stands about 6" tall at the top of his brushed back clown hair.

Paint - ***1/2
With fewer facial details, there's less paint detail as well, but the skin texture looks great, and as with the sculpt, the paint work on the teeth, lips, and gums is truly impressive.

The costume has a good wash as well, designed to bring out the smaller texture details in the clothing and red pom-pom buttons. This isn't a Pop - there's no smooth sections anywhere on this character.

Light Feature - ***1/2
The light up feature is unique. Rather than house the batteries inside the figure, they've provided a separate battery pack that plugs into a socket on the back of his head. You put two AAA batteries (supplied by you) in the compartment, plug it into the back of his head, and flip the switch. His mouth will light up brightly, mimicking the 'death lights' scene from the movie.

The light is quite bright, and very easy to see in a well lit room. It doesn't affect the upper half of the mouth, but the center and lower half are illuminated nicely. I don't love the look of the external battery pack, but it did allow them to use the more powerful AAA batteries.

Fun Factor - ***
I usually don't include this section with a vinyl figure - there's not much posing, re-posing, or playing normally. But the light up feature does add a really creepy effect that will play well with your adult friends at work.

Value - **
The non-lighting version of this guy sells for $60 - you're only ponying up another $5 - $10 for the light up feature, and it's well worth it. The cost is also driven by the import nature of this figure, and it is far, far more detailed and complex in both the sculpt and paint than many in this market. Still, the price point is slightly higher than I'd expect, and if you can snag it closer to the $50 - $55 mark, you can boost this another half star.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - ***1/2
If deformed vinyl is your thing, you really need to check out the Defor-Real series from Star Ace. This variant Pennywise looks terrific, and while I have my reservations about the obvious light up feature, it does make it very, very bright. Combine this guy with the regular release, and you have quite the creepy pair for the shelf.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Light Feature - ***1/2
Value - **
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I looked at the regular version of this figure a week or so ago, and before that we had the Accessory Set from NECA, as well as the Wellhouse version, the exclusive, and the first regular release. There's also the 1990 Tim Curry version from NECA.

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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