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Introduction
Watcha doing this weekend? Going to see IT Chapter 2 of course! I've got my tickets for tomorrow night, and I can't wait, although at almost three hours long I may have to wear my Depends.
But with all the love the current version of Pennywise has received, the old Tim Curry version is still awfully deserving. Sure, the tv mini-series can't even touch the first film, but the Curry Pennywise does remain the standout feature. He was an excellent bit of nightmare material, and can stand proudly next to the modern version, holding his scary own.
And he can also do that on your action figure shelf, thanks to NECA. While they've really pumped out the 7" scale figures of the new evil clown, they haven't completely ignored the original, and the second 'ultimate' release is now shipping.
You can pick this guy up for around $25 - $30, depending on the retailer, and they are even showing up at some Targets.
Packaging - ***
The large window box works great, and it's fairly collector friendly. There is quite a lot of tape this time holding in smaller accessories, and at
least three twisty ties you'll want to snip your way through.
Sculpting - ***1/2
One of the great things about the 'ultimate' figures is the multiple head sculpts, always a big plus in my book. This time you get a regular smiling
face to start, and can swap in a slightly altered smiling face (straight top lip), or a screeching open mouth look.
All three heads have lots of nice detail work, particularly at this size. Remember, these are a 7" scale, and the Curry Pennywise comes in at almost exactly that height. The bright red hair has lots of strands, and the painted face has a good skin texture. The tiny teeth are gruesome and much in need of a little personal hygiene, and the folds, wrinkles, and ruffles on the costume look terrific.
While the overall character design makes articulation difficult, they have engineered most of the joints to work well with this sculpt, and that's no easy feat. The various hands look great, and swapping them was a snap, but swapping the heads is a little trickier. You might want to employ a little heat to make the job easier.
Paint - ***1/2
The paint work is very clean, including the bright white face, where there's no sign of slop from the hair, lips, eyes, nose, or eyebrows. The edges
are clean, and the bright colors of the costume, especially the yellow suit, are consistent and even.
The teeth could use just a little more paint definition, but it's a very, very minor nit on an otherwise exceptional paint job for this scale and price point.
Articulation - ***
As I mentioned, they've done a nice job melding the chubby character design with decent articulation.
The ball jointed neck is a little restricted by the high collar, and you'll probably want to heat up the neck to swap heads. The shoulders, elbows, and wrists are rotating hinge joints, and in fact, there is a second such joint higher on the arm. This gives you plenty of mobility for all sorts of grasping and grabbing poses.
The rolling chest joint gives you good lean and tilt, and the rotating hinge hips and knees can take at least medium depth stances. My only real complaint is with the ankles. There's very little rocker movement, and even turning them was difficult. You'll want to use the freezer trick to loosen these up a bit before you twist them too hard, assuming they are tight right out of the box.
Accessories - ****
I already mentioned the two additional heads, but of course it's critical to this category as well. For me, extra portraits is a huge bonus, and
will always boost my Accessories score considerably.
But he has a nice share of other goodies too. There are four additional hands: a gripping right for the balloon string, a clawed grasping right, a regular grasping right, and the huge, creepy, monster right. These swap easily, and the sculpts are all very good, especially the large creature hand. This hand gets a new sleeve cuff too, which can slip on the wrist and appears torn.
Every Pennywise needs a balloon, and this one has the words "Turn Back Now" on it. The wire 'string' fits neatly in the supplied hand, and it looks great in any pose.
Finally, he comes with the photo album, with a hand and sleeve cuff protruding from his photo on the page. Interesting tidbit - this hand is removable so you can use it with another figure or can swap in a different one popping out of the book!
Fun Factor - ***1/2
With a nice set of new accessories, this guy adds a lot to the Pennywise display. As the group grows, the fun expands!
Value - ***
You can find him easily for under $30, and as a deluxe release, that's a better than average value. Considering most 6" mass market figures will run
you $20 and lack all the extras, you have to admit the extra seven bucks or so are well spent here.
Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. I did find swapping heads was made easier by heating up the necks, and you might want to use the freezer trick to loosen up the ankle
joints, but otherwise you should be good to go.
Overall - ***1/2
Another terrific 7" release in their 'ultimate' horror line. NECA continues to crank along, pleasing the fans of both the old mini-series and
the new films. I'll be looking at the new 18" 2017 style Pennywise next week, and I have my fingers crossed that we'll get a similarly scaled 1990
version!
Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ****
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - ***
Overall - ***1/2
Where to Buy
Online options include these site sponsors:
- Entertainment Earth has this one for $27 as well.
- or you can search ebay for a deal.
Related Links -
Other IT Pennywise reviews include the recent Toony Terrors 2017 version, the
Toony
Terror Pennywise
from the original mini-series last week, the
Well House,
the exclusive,
as well as the first regular release.
There's also the 1990 Tim Curry V1 Ultimate version
also 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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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.