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Packaging: ***1/2
Now the PA stands an amazing 18” in his stockinged feet, but I was surprised to
see all three of these come in the same sized boxes. This one has a large
photo of the figure on the foil slip-case with a number of smaller poses on
the back. Once you’ve slid the sleeve off you have the flap-fronted box
where you’re greeted with another large close-up of the PA and on the back
there are images of all three creatures from the range.
The flap opens to show a full-figure photo of the PA with a brief bio
underneath, facing this are the die-cut holes just like all the other alien
boxes so far. Slip out the tray and you’ll see he/she is, as I said arranged
just like the previous aliens, half constructed. All his/her rear breathing
tubes are already in place so you just need to ‘snap-on’ its left leg and
arm, left foot and then choose which hands you want, there are four to pick
from, two rigid and two bendy. I like both for different reasons, so, like
my Aliens’ warrior, I chose one of each for mine.
So a nicely designed bit of packaging that is not only attractive but
should ensure your figure gets to you unharmed.
Sculpt: ****
I really do sound like a broken record, but HT just seem to get better and
better, I shall get to Wolf and the AvP:R Alien drone as soon as I can, (I
have to say the new drone is in my opinion the weakest ‘Alien’design so far,
that’s nothing really against the HT figure, well, apart from the fact it
could’ve done with bigger more accurate feet) but it’s more down to the
actual design chosen for the movie.
This, the PA is, however, AWESOME!
I, like many, studied the prototype when it was first unveiled and my
only real issue was with the dreads, I felt they ‘over’ ‘Predatorised’ it,
and I still feel they are perhaps a Predator trait too far. But that is my
issue with the character design. I am here today to look at the sculpting as
interpretation of, and accuracy pertaining to the actual screen-seen
creature, and this is amazing. Joseph Tsang (JT) the sculptor has created a
small work of finely engineered art, it feels more like a finely crafted
stop-motion model than an action figure.
The basic construction of the body is very similar to the Aliens that
have gone before, so we get a rubber/silicone covered, multi-articulated
torso. I particularly like the way the creature designers have given the PA
ribs that look like the bony articulated legs/fingers on the face-huggers.
Onto this torso ‘snap’ the ball-jointed shoulders and hips; the elbows and
knees have rubber covered joints that can bend to about 90 degrees. The
hands slot onto pegs like before and the feet snap into ball-mounted cups.
All the joints are nice and stiff; and they need to be for his size and
weight. The feet are more elaborate than the old Aliens, as they are in more
of an arched position. In the movie the PA kind of walks on tip-toe.
The true area of expertise is, however, the head. The silicone body
extends seamlessly up the neck and fixes to the rigid parts of the head. We
then have the outer ‘Pred’ mandibles fixed on either side of the mouth
proper, these can move in close to the head or be pulled out, where they can
also be opened for the classic roaring pose, the inner jaws can be pushed
forward and as you do so the mouth automatically opens for them to extend
out till they lock. The dreads are made of the same material used on the
newer Predators and they hang fantastically, and even sway as you move the
figure, but the standout detail is the transparent domed head, through which
you can see the skull, it’s just freakin’ beautiful!
You can follow virtually every step of Joseph Tsang’s creation of the figure
on his amazing (non English)
blog site.
Paint: ****
Sculpting this good demands a paint job that helps bring all these amazing
details out and let them shine, and these fantastic apps do just that.
Viewed from the rear the figure has a mostly grey palette where as from the
front it is more browny/beige with flashes of reddish/terracotta. But the
use of washes and airbrushing alongside some nice tight brush work really
bring this figure alive. There’s some nice subtle spotting and paternation
on the outer mandibles and the opaque dome, the teeth are picked out in a
dull steel/gun metal colour that really add to the sinister edge this
character needed.
I just know some customisers are going to get their hands on this and
make it even more amazing, but for factory fresh apps, these are up there
with the best.
Slight spoiler paragraph-
As we come to realise in the movie, this hybrid is a queen, with a rather
unpleasant style of procreation, and so being a queen she has a head shape
that has echoes of the classic ‘Aliens’ queen, especially at the rear of the
skull. But because we have a cross-species hybrid here we get a more
elaborate colour scheme, so some areas are picked out in the beige colour.
These areas are nicely picked out and the washes bring it all together. As
we know the classic Aliens have what is in effect a chitinous outer shell
where as the Predators are flesh, blood and bone, so this creature shows
traits of both physiologies, and this paint job captures that amalgamation
fantastically.
Articulation - ***1/2
There’s a fine line between getting the sculpt to look just right and
satisfying articulation junkies like me! Would I have liked more
articulation, you betya, but this is still pretty amazing. I’m very
impressed with the poseability of the main torso: it can twist, bend
forwards, backwards and from side to side. This caries on up through the
neck which again shows a fantastic range. The arms and legs are made from
rigid plastic and, as I said, they snap onto double ball-ended posts at the
shoulders and hips. This means these joints show a pretty good range, the
elbows and knees bend to about 90 degrees; the feet are on double ball posts
as well, and the hands are on pegs that can spin and tilt. The tail is
thick, like the AvP Aliens with a wire running the length inside, this
really helps with balance for posing as it can in effect be used as a third
leg. As I mentioned above, the mouth can open to let the inner jaws move
forward and the side mandibles, which are a rigid scissor mechanism covered
in a rubber skin, can move in close to the face or extend away as they are
on small ball joints; these can also open and close as well.
So all in all I’m very impressed, a joint mid bicep would’ve helped, but
it would almost certainly have upset the way this sculpt flows, so I think
they got it pretty spot-on.
I’ve tried an experiment here with a small demo of some of the
articulation, you can view this on
youtube here. If
you think it’s of use let us know and I’ll try and include them on some
future reviews.
Accessories: N/A
He/she doesn’t really come with any accessories as such, and he/she doesn’t
need any, as nothing other than women’s mouths (you’ll know what I mean if
you’ve seen it) were interacted with. You do however get two sets of hands
as I mentioned above, one in a rigid pose the others bendy, but I consider
these more of a welcome added bonus to the functionality of the body rather
than accessories.
Outfit: N/A
Ditto.
Fun Factor: ****
This figure is fantastically poseable, and pretty imposing when stood next to
your other Aliens and Preds. It was also a joy to put it together after the
recent run of Preds, P2, P2 Elder and Wolf it was nice to put a figure
together in under five minutes.
I have to say that though this creature’s design isn’t my favourite in
terms of overall look, as an action figure construction, it’s the winner by
a long mile.
I hope that the love and detail brought to this will now be lent to the
original H.R. Giger ‘Big Chap’ when they get to him (please make it soon Hot
Toys, there are a lot of people getting pretty desperate out here!).
Value: ***
This figure was retailing through SST for $184.99, you don’t get any
accessories for that, but you do get quite frankly a ‘huge’ figure with some
of the most impressive ‘hidden’ articulation I’ve ever seen. When stood next
to the Wolf figure it literally dwarfs him, showing what a ‘David and
Goliath’ battle that final fight was, it’s also nice to see all the detail
on these beasts that was virtually invisible in the poorly lit rain-drenched
final scenes.
Overall: ***1/2
An amazing figure that demands an appropriate score. The only thing that keeps
it from a perfect **** is the price, the factor that keeps so many import
figures from a clean sweep. But were it not for the price it would’ve got
top marks. For me, I think it’s one of the most impressive figures of the
last 12 months alongside the Power Loader, Elder Pred 2 and the Appleseed
figures.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpt - ****
Paint - ****
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - N/A
Outfit - N/A
Fun Factor - ****
Value - ***
Overall - ***1/2
Where to buy-
SST has sold out on pre-order at $184.99. I know a lot of people decided to
cancel this guy faced with the dilemma of three expensive figures coming out
at the same time, but I have to say, in my most humble of opinions it is
(sorry Pred fans) the strongest figure in the set.
Even though SST has sold out, as has Dark Shadow which I usually recommend,
you can find it at Michael’s sponsor below:
Amazing Toyz $166.49
There are also a few floating around on eBay for between $145 to $199.
You can use
MyAuctionLinks to search for them.
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