SEARCH      FEATURES    NEWSLETTER    EMAIL     HOME
Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Pennywise - It Chapter 2
Quarter Scale Action Figure

NECA
Date Published: 2019-09-11
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3.5 out of 4

Please share with your friends!

Pennywise IT Chapter 2 quarter scale action figure by NECA

Dividing Bar

Dividing Bar

Introduction

Have you watched IT Chapter 2 yet? No? What the Hell are you waiting for!  Yes, it's terrific, although it's not going to be able to quite reach the quality of chapter 1 no matter what. Excellent casting, with a terrific adaption of the story overall, the pair of films are now one of my all time favorite Stephen King book based movies.

Of course, much of this is thanks to the great portrayal and character design of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. NECA has been killing it with their 7" releases based on both these films and the old television mini-series, and their latest release is the huge quarter scale version.

This guy will run you around $120, much like their other standard quarter scale figures. They haven't yet announced a Curry Pennywise in this scale, but I'm going to remain hopeful.

Pennywise IT Chapter 2 quarter scale action figure by NECA

Dividing Bar

Packaging - ***
The basic box shows off the figure nicely, and is relatively sturdy. It's not collector friendly, as you'll be snipping your way through multiple twisty ties, but freeing this figure for shelf display is really the point, is it not?

Pennywise IT Chapter 2 quarter scale action figure by NECA

Dividing Bar

Sculpting - ****
The one sculpt is terrific - that's not to say I'm a little disappointed we didn't get an alternate too.

This scale allows for a ton of realism. He stands almost 20" tall, and takes up the volume and space you expect at that scale. The detailing in the hair and skin is excellent, and the teeth, lips, and eyes look movie ready.

The internal scale is excellent too. By that I mean various areas are properly sized in respect to the others - the forehead to the chin and jawline, the body to the head, etc.

The evil, maniacal expression works well with plenty of poses, and gives the perfect emotive feel. I do wish we had a second more monstrous head (how about selling us a set of four or five extra heads for this guy for $50?), but if you're only getting one portrait, this is the right one to get.

The work on the costume is great as well, with plenty of tiny folds, wrinkles, and textures.  The pom poms on his shoes looked so good I thought they were actual soft goods at first! They also did a nice job blending the reasonable articulation in with the sculpt itself, getting plenty of joints without sacrificing the overall appearance.

Pennywise IT Chapter 2 quarter scale action figure by NECA

Dividing Bar

Paint - ***1/2
The paint work is well above average, with a clean hairline, a nice wash to bring out the skin texture and crackling, and a shiny finish to the costume that gives it a cloth-like appearance.

The face is where all the best work is, of course. The hair has dry brushed highlights, and the skin has those deep cracks and crevasses accentuated with a darker wash. The eyes are sharp, if a little crooked, but crooked eyes is part of his whole persona. In fact, they could have gone wild with the eyes and still not be as crazy as some of the scenes in the movie. Very important at this scale is the lack of bleed and the clean whites.

The teeth and lips around them could be just a smidge cleaner, but that's the only thing holding this production paint job back from a perfect score from me.

Pennywise IT Chapter 2 quarter scale action figure by NECA

Dividing Bar

Articulation - ***1/2
These large scale figures can be tough to articulate thanks to the weight of the figure itself, but they do a nice job here.

The ball jointed neck can tilt and lean a bit, but I do wish it was slightly more mobile. You can get a lot of creepiness out of just the right head tilt, but it's a bit restricted with this release.

The rotating hinge shoulders, cut biceps, double rotating hinge elbows, and rotating hinge wrists all work about as you'd expect.  They are really, really tight though, particularly in the wrists and elbows. Take care breaking them free to avoid actually breaking them.

The rolling waist joint allows both tilt and turn, helping you break up most stances. The rotating hinge hips are ratchet style, important with a figure this heavy. The skirt isn't too restrictive, so while you'd have a tough time getting him to sit, short to medium stances are no problem.

The double hinge knees are a little easier to work with than the elbows, thanks to longer appendage to provide leverage on the joint. There's some really good ankle articulation too, with plenty of rocker movement. You should be able to keep the feet flat on the ground in most poses, and the ankles are strong enough to support the weight.

The balloon string is a wire, but it's a really thick, strong one this time. You can probably bend it, but I'm not sure I'd try. It's arrow straight out of the package, and looks just fine that way.

Pennywise IT Chapter 2 quarter scale action figure by NECA

Dividing Bar

Accessories - **1/2
Here's where he falls short for me, although at the standard price it's not too surprising.

There's one extra hand, designed to hold the balloon, and his red balloon. There's nothing printed on the balloon. It's heavy too, so you'll have to keep the balloon fairly low in his hand to balance it.

While extra heads at this price are not common, I do wish they'd thrown in another hand or two, something a bit more creepy than just the gloved versions.

Pennywise IT Chapter 2 quarter scale action figure by NECA

Dividing Bar

Dividing Bar

Pennywise IT Chapter 2 quarter scale action figure by NECA

Dividing Bar

Fun Factor - ***
If you're a fan of these figures, than you have other great horror characters like Jason, Freddy, Pinhead, Leatherface, Michael, etc. etc. etc. on your shelf already. Adding this guy in just ups the ante on the evil, and the articulation is good enough to allow for some re-posing over time.

Pennywise IT Chapter 2 quarter scale action figure by NECA

Dividing Bar

Value - **1/2
Regular readers know a **1/2 in this category means 'average value', which also means it won't affect my personal Overall either up or down. At around $120, he's going for the market average right now, and while I'd love it if we could still get these guys for $100, I don't see that happening any time soon.

Pennywise IT Chapter 2 quarter scale action figure by NECA

Dividing Bar

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. The wrists were the tightest joints on the figure, and have the least amount of leverage to get them to work. Take extra care when posing them.

Pennywise IT Chapter 2 quarter scale action figure by NECA

Dividing Bar

Overall - ***1/2
If I could only own one version of Pennywise from the new film, this would be it. Of course, that's because I love this style of large scale figure, and they did him proud in the format.  Great sculpt, solid paint and articulation, it's really only a lack of accessories and that holds him back from perfection.

And if I haven't mentioned it enough yet, I really, really, really want a Curry Pennywise to put next to him. We all float down here!

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

Pennywise IT Chapter 2 quarter scale action figure by NECA

Dividing Bar

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- has him for $119.

- Entertainment Earth is at $120 with free shipping!

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Pennywise reviews include the Tiny Terrors 1990 and 2017 versions, the Ultimate 1990 version 2, 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.

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

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!

Dividing Bar

Dividing Bar

Please share with your friends!

Pennywise IT Chapter 2 quarter scale action figure by NECA

Back to Main Page
This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

This page copyright 2000 - 2019, Michael Crawford. All rights reserved.