Review of Jason Voorhees action figure
Friday the 13th Part V

Introduction

It seems appropriate to review a Jason figure this week, what with the new American Horror Story season premiering last night. Why's that? Because season 9 is called '1984', and deals with a campground, a slasher, and about a million 80's horror movie tropes.

One of the most recent Jason figures from NECA is from perhaps the least favorite movie for most fans - part 5 or the "new beginning". After the death of Jason in part 4, this movie was supposed to start things off with a new villain in the mask...it did not work out the way they planned. Fans hated it, and Jason was back from the dead in part 6.

But part 5 still is important in the overall Friday the 13th legacy, and your action figure collection wouldn't be complete without Roy Burns - the man behind the mask - represented. NECA has just released their Burns version in the 'ultimate' format (they already did a part 5 dream sequence Jason), and you should be able to find him for around $25 - $30.

Packaging - ***
The window box with hanger looks good, and you an check out the figure and multitude of accessories quite easily. However, it's NOT collector friendly, thanks to a ton of tape holding in pretty much every extra.

Sculpting - ****
This guy is large for the 7" scale, coming in at 7 1/2" tall. That's good though, since you want Jason to be an impressive figure standing next to the others.

The costume is a very traditional full body overall, and the patterns, texture, and wrinkling look quite realistic. There's also a stomach wound sculpted across the torso, and the mask is a very good match to the on screen appearance.

It's also worth noting - and I will note it again in the Articulation section - the terrific job they did marrying the sculpt with the joints. He's far more articulated than most 7" scale figures, and yet it didn't damage the look of the limbs.

But it's the face of Roy Burns, covered by the mask, that really sets this one apart. Lots of realistic detail, from the strands of hair peeking out from under the 'hood' to the texture of the skin. This is a fantastic sculpt for this scale, and the accuracy to the actor is extremely good.

It also helps that while the head and face look great on their own, covered by the mask they look terrific too. That's because the internal scale is accurate, and the masked face doesn't end up looking large or oversized.

Paint - ***1/2
The paint work is quite good, from the detailed face work to the overall costume.

The costume could use a bit more dirt, grime, and blood, to give it a bit more depth and break up some of the monotonous color. Smaller details on the boots look good, and the mask has a dirty white appearance that looks about perfect, and includes the unique blue chevrons.

Of course the face has most of the detail work, with clean eyes, great skin tone, and just the right color lips. Add a little blood and dirt, and you'd have four star outing.

Articulation - ***1/2
I mentioned this in the Sculpt section, but one of the things impressing me here is how good the articulation is, yet it doesn't overly affect the sculpt.

The ball jointed neck has some reasonable tilt and lean, although the neck itself is pretty thick. The rotating hinge shoulders, sculpted to look like there's no joint at all (we used to call these "NECA shoulders" because they started the trend) work well, and the rotating hinge elbows allow the arms to cross the body better than most. The wrists are a bit restricted by the cuffs, but the rest of the upper body articulation works quite well.

The sculpt hides the hip and knee articulation quite well, and yet you can get great range of movement out of both. The ankles not so much, since the long pant cuff makes it tough, but I did get enough forward and backward movement to make just about any stance steady.

Accessories - ****
He's got plenty of weapons, right from the film.

But first, it's important he has a second left hand. He comes with a gripping right already in place, but the left is open. This extra gripping left works with all the accessories, and makes the critical two handed grip on the garden shears or steel rod possible.

After the hand, it's nothing but deadly weapons. There's his road flare, garden shears (which open and close), knife, cleaver, machete, and railroad spike. And while several of these weapons are quite specific to this movie, there's one that's even more specific - the tree log and leather strap.

All the accessories look fantastic, with realistic sculpts and terrific paint jobs. When little Jason comes to life in the middle of the night, he's got plenty of options for killing you.

Fun Factor - ****
With a ton of extras and great articulation, you should have no shortage of great posing ideas. This is a figure you'll revisit time and again, and he fills a void in your Jason diorama.

Value - **1/2
The 'ultimate' figures all run $25 - $30, and the price tag is in line with the current market. You won't feel like you paid too much, and you won't question whether he was really worth it or not.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. The hands swapped cleanly, and the accessories are sturdy and well made.

Overall - ****
I went full four stars here because of the excellent Roy Burns sculpt, the terrific assortment of accessories, and the well designed articulation. It's nice to see a character like this get his due, even if the movie wasn't the diamond on the crown of Jason lore.

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

Where to Buy 
These guys are popping up at Targets in the U.S. if you have one handy, where they run around $30. Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has him for $27 along with a lot of the other Ultimate Jasons.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Jasons include the Mezco One:12 version, Mezco's terrific 4" version, the Kotobukiya statue, the recent sixth scale figure from Sideshow, and the sixth scale versions from Jason Goes to Hell, Part 6, Part 2, Part 3, and Freddy vs. Jason. Sideshow also did a great Premium Format statue. And don't forget the real start of Friday the 13t, Pamela Voorhees!

Other smaller versions include the Cinema of Fear Jason based on the remake (also from Mezco), Mezco's Part VII version, Mezco's cool stylized Jason, and NECA's Freddy Vs Jason 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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