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Introduction
When One:12 does a new DC or Marvel figure, everyone loses it. And yes, I love those figures too. But for me, it's the lesser licenses that I really love (it killed me to miss the windo on the Pink Skulls and Lone Roach), and I hope we see them continue to crank out cooler figures from older, more obscure, or just oddball properties.
One of those older themes is 70's/80's horror icons. They've given us a terrific Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, and they've just followed them up with Freddy Krueger. Let's hope we see more in this theme released in this format.
Freddy just started shipping, and will run you around $80 at most retailers.
Packaging - ***
The usual packaging, with sturdy cardboard and double plastic trays. Everything is quite collector friendly and easy to work with. It's a simple
design, but it works.
Sculpting - ****
There are a whopping four portraits with this release. He comes wearing a rather dull version, with closed mouth and down turned lips. He looks like
you've deeply disappointed him. My personal favorite is the grimace showing a little teeth, as it reminds me of most of his more violent scenes.
Then there's a weird smiling version, which works for the more sarcastic poses, and last but not least, a version with removable face, showing the
underlying skull.
Each of these is very detailed, with a ton of rotting flesh texture and open wounds. The burned, scarred skin looks great, and the shape of the nose, chin, and eyes lends a ton of accuracy as well. The heads swap easily, and there's not a single one that isn't an excellent portrait. Choosing which one is your personal go to will be a matter of taste, not quality.
The hands are nicely sculpted as well, much more in scale than the sixth scale counterparts. He's a little shorter than the burly comic book heroes, coming in at about 6 1/4" tall.
Paint - ****
A great sculpt deserves great production paint. Mezco is leading the way in 1/12 scale in this department.
All four heads have well painted, squinty eyes. The teeth on them are well defined, although I would like them just a smidge cleaner - some of the blood work ends up there, and it looks sloppy, not gruesome. The skin tone is appropriately shallow and crusty, and the deep red muscle underneath looks realistic.
Small detail work on the hands looks great as well, as does the realistic boots. Overall it's a terrific job, particularly considering the scale.
Articulation - ***1/2
The bodies work great, although I did have one specific nit.
The heads swap easily, and the ball jointed neck (inside the torso) gives you enough tilt and lean to add personality to the poses. The shoulders, elbows, and wrists work great (the double jointed elbows have plenty of bend), and the hands swap cleanly.
The torso didn't bend quite as much as I'd like, but it was reasonable, and the hips and knees can handle any leg pose. Unfortunately, and here's my nit, this two piece boot sculpt doesn't give you much ankle movement, either side to side or front to back, reducing the ability to manage deeper stances.
Accessories - ****
Another well equipped serial killer from Mezco!
But Freddy mostly uses his glove, so he doesn't get a ton of weapons. He comes with one additional gloved right, in a pointing pose, to go with the wide spread gloved hand he comes wearing. The original left is relaxed, and there's an extra fist, grasping hand, and a fourth with 'spurting' chopped fingers.
I already mentioned there were four heads in total, but the one with the removable face should really count as two accessories. There's also a trash can lid, and of course, his hat. I'll talk about the latter a bit more in the Outfit section.
Finally, he has the usual display stand, which can be used with either a foot peg or the larger, clear plastic support rod.
Outfit - ***1/2
The outfit is his sweater, pants, and boots. Oh, and let's not forget that hat!
Usually, when a hat is sculpted as its own piece, scale is an issue. This time, they get it just about right. It fits neatly on all the heads, and looks terrific.
The sweater is quality material, and there's some nice wear and blood staining. I think the fit could be a smidge better, but it's a minor nit.
The pants look good, and the tailoring is fine, but the basic appearance is no surprise. The boot sculpts and paint work are great, but as I said earlier, the ankles needed a bit more mobility.
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Better ankles would have equaled another half star here, but this is still a really fun figure to pose and re-pose. Add in Jason and Michael, and
you have da boys together!
Value - **1/2
Eighty bucks has been the average price for these for awhile now, and Freddy has enough extras and quality overall to warrant the cost. You'll pay
$30 for a 7" scale version from NECA, and there's really no comparison.
Things to Watch Out For -
When swapping the gloved hand, you should take note of two things. First, the obvious - the blades are quite thin, and you don't want to squeeze or
push on them in any way. Second, the less obvious - the glove itself is actually two pieces. There's the sculpted glove on the hand, plus a small
hunk of sculpted glove that fits over the wrist post. This is a separate, and very tiny, piece. When you pop off the right hand, it would be very
easy to lose this smaller bit.
Overall - ****
Terrific work from Mezco overall with this guy, and easily my favorite of the three 80's horror icons they've produced. Great head sculpts, and the
two right hands give you a ton of posing options. The hat is in scale, the costume looks great, and even the articulation (ignoring the ankles) was
were it should be.
Now where's my Leatherface and Pinhead?
Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ****
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ****
Outfit - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - ****
Where to Buy
Online options include these site sponsors:
- or you can search ebay for a deal.
Related Links -
If you like Freddy, you have to check out Jason of course! And then Michael
Myers
as well.
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 purchase for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.