Review of Frankenstein's Creature
Figura Obscura action figure

Introduction

It's Halloween time, and hopefully you've got your costume and your plans all ready! The Four Horsemen are adding another great figure to their Figura Obscura line to help you celebrate - Frankenstein's Creature!

As with the other releases in the series, this is their own design on a classic character. He comes with a ton of extras, and was available directly from them at the StoreHorseman for $70, and they shipped immediately.

Packaging - ****
Beautiful artwork on a well designed box, this is a stand out. It's all collector friendly of course, which means you can remove the figure and accessories without any damage, and return him to the package for storage or sale.

There's also a nice cardboard backdrop as part of the package that you can use for your display, similar to other releases.

Sculpting - ****
There are three heads included for the creature. There are actually two more that can be technically used, but I don't believe that's their true purpose, and I'll discuss them more in the Accessories section.

Of the three heads, one has long, black hair. The hair is stringy and matted, and the expression is sorrowful and pained. All three heads have that dried out, corpse-like skin texture and wrinkling, very realistic and very creepy.

You can easily swap to either of the other two heads, both bald. One is also sad and woeful, while the other is clearly pissed off. The detail work on the skin, eyes, lips, nose, everything about the faces is extremely good, and you'll have a tough time deciding which head to use. Why not swap it up every few months?

There's also the excellent work on the body, where a figure like this had tons and tons of detail. There's all the stitched scars, along with the rotting flesh texture and taught musculature. Thanks to some nicely hidden articulation, the overall figure is extremely life-like in a dead sorta way.

He stands just over 8", and will fit in great with most 7" lines.

Paint - ****
This dude is very green, with some bright red lips, and when his teeth are showing, some pretty amazing paint work on the tiny bits.

The various scars also look great, slightly reddish and clearly painful, with the rough stitching cleanly painted. These clean lines look great all around, and while most companies would throw paint at a figure like this and let the slop be a part of the look, the Four Horsemen have gone for a cleaner yet more realistic look.

I'm particularly impressed with the work around the eyes. The slightly darkened skin with the bright, straight eyes peering out at you creates an appropriately creepy vibe.

Articulation - ***1/2
There's tons of articulation, and almost all of it is free of restrictions.

The ball jointed neck - both at the chin and at the torso - allows for good lean and tilt with the two bald heads. Of course, the head with longer hair is going to be impacted in this category, but the hair is fairly soft and more malleable than you might assume.

The rotating hinge elbows, shoulders, and wrists can take most normal poses, but the elbows don't quite bend as far as they might with a double joint. These are a bit more attractive though, which can be a big plus for a figure like this.

The waist can crunch and turn, and the hips, knees, and ankles can take some pretty deep stances. Again, the rotating hinge knees can't bend quite as much as a double pin joint, but they look miles better.

Accessories - ****
There's a ton of goodies here, all designed to enhance the display.

There's a total of three heads designed for the creature. There's the long haired version, plus a bald head with a closed mouth, and one with a grimacing mouth. The latter has a much more angry look, while the former is a bit more serene. They swap easily enough, especially if you use a little heat.

There are actually two additional heads, and technically you could put them on the body - they both have holes to pop on the neck peg. They aren't really intended for that, however. One is a skull, and the other is a rather rotted head with bulging eyes. These look great inside the included specimen jars.

Yes, there are three specimen jars, each slightly different. Two work great with the heads, and the third, smaller one works well with the included shriveled hand.

The shriveled hand, like the two heads, can also be used on the body if you want - there's a peg - but isn't really intended for that. There are two gripping hands you can swap out with the set of grips he comes wearing, and this time I do recommend some heat.

You also have a choice between boot feet, similar to the 1931 Frankenstein, or a pair of nekkid feet. These swap easily and both look great, depending on what your going for.

There are also manacles for the feet and hands that you can put in place when swapping the hands/feet, and these have short chains attached.

Every lab needs some good reading material, and there are three books included. There are also three small jars, and two pieces of unique lab equipment.  These can be placed on the small table they provide.

And there's also the lab table with stand, which you assemble. This table can lay flat, or can be tilted thanks to an articulation point where you snap the parts together. To keep the creature in place, there are two straps for the table.

As I'll discuss in the outfit section, there's a cloth pair of pants with a rope belt, which can be swapped for a sculpted bandage 'diaper'. The tattered robes can also be removed, again, depending on the look you are going for. And thanks to all these very useful extras, there's a lot of ways you can display this set on your shelves.

Outfit - ***
There's not a ton of cloth outfit pieces here, with just the pants and rope belt. Still, they are well fitted for the scale, and look great. While the 'diaper' and robes are sculpted, they also look excellent and give you a ton of display options.

Fun Factor - ****
Add this guy in with your other Frankenstein monsters and you'll have a ton of fun coming up with poses and displays. The scale works well with NECA items, and you can swap in these lab pieces with them as well.

What we really need now is a mad scientist!

Value - **1/2
These figures aren't cheap at $70, but considering the volume of accessories and the multiple display options, the price point isn't far off. You get all that lab equipment plus multiple heads and various clothing options, making it a better deal than it seems at first blush.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Everything is sturdy and well made, and I had no worries about swapping hands or feet. I did warm up the arms a bit with a hair dryer just to be careful with the wrists, but it wasn't a problem.

Overall - ****
I haven't been disappointed with a Figura Obscura holiday release yet. And there's a couple I passed on that I know think I might have to go back and pick up (can you say Headless Horseman?).

With the Frankenstein Creature, you're getting so many possible display options that you can swap him up regularly and freshen up the display. You can use the lab equipment with him or you can use it with any other horror themed 6" or 7" line. I've even seen these extras being used with great effect in One:12 Collective set ups.

For the Universal Monster or Frankenstein fan, this is another take that really works and adds to the collection. Hopefully we'll see them do more in this vein - see what I did there? - and perhaps we'll get some other Four Horseman classic monster concepts.

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

Where to Buy 
He was originally available through the Four Horsemen store, but the window for ordering is now closed. Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Figura Obscura releases include Father Christmas and Krampus.

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