Packaging: ***
Both figures come in clamshell packages with paper inserts and are
effectively the same. They cannot be sealed back in the
packages once out. Both have about the same amount of
twisties, so that too is a push.
Sculpt: McFarlane
***1/2, NECA ****
Had to give NECA a bit more of the edge here as the NECA Warrior is a
little more proportioned to screen accurate. The McFarlane
one is too leggy and the head is a bit short in length.
Detailing wise, they are both pretty screen accurate, if you are
looking at the hero puppet. The more common Warrior had very
little detail and was filmed in low light so you couldn’t
tell. The leggyness of the McFarlane Warrior also makes him
stand a slight bit taller than the NECA.
Paint: ***
Both Warriors sport a dry
brushing technique to bring out the details, and NECA also does some
airbrush detailing. McFarlane uses only a reddish brown paint
which is the color of the hero puppet in normal light. On the
screen, the Warriors appeared to be black with tinges of blue so NECA
used both the reddish brown and blue colored paints for
detailing. The dry brushing is a bit sloppy on both, but that
is the nature of the beast with that technique.
Articualtion - McFarlane **, NECA
****
McFarlane takes a big hit here because of the arm
articulation. No bending elbows. There are also cut
joints on the bicep and the thigh that really mess up the aesthetic of
the sculpture unless they are positioned in one way. The cut
joints at the bicep and thigh on the NECA Warrior are positioned in a
way that are less obvious and much more conducive to posing without big
aesthetic changes.
Both Warriors have ball jointed
shoulders and necks, bending knees and ankles, cut hips and wrists, and
bendy tails. The NECA Warrior also has bending elbows, an
opening jaw, and sliding inner jaw. One photo shows each
Warrior in the deepest crouch they can achieve and it is about the same
position, but NECA wins on that count again because of the McFarlane
thigh cuts.
The neck joint on the NECA
Warrior is also at the bas of the skull which allows a little more
character to come thru in the posing with slight head tilts.
The McFarlane neck joint is in the body.
One detriment to the NECA
Warrior is the forearm blade is glued to the elbow and to the
hand. The blade is flexible and doesn’t limit the elbow
mobility, as the Alien version has the same range of motion as the
Warrior, but does limit the hand rotation a bit.
Accessories: Bupkis
Bupkis, nada, zero. A little chestburster or facehugger would
have been nice.
Fun factor:
****
Both are great toys to play with and are pretty
sturdy. Kids should like them as much as the
adults.
Value: ****
Both are great figures for the price, although the McFarlane on was
$7.99 when it came out a few years back. You can still find
the McFarlane on the secondary market for about the same cost as the
NECA.
Things to Watch Out For -
My NECA Warrior’s neck hose broke because it was a little
stiff. Didn’t have that problem with the NECA Alien first
version.
Additionally: Here are
a few photos showing the new parts made for the Aliens Warrior
version. The majority of the figure was the Alien version
with a new head, hands, forearm blade, feet, and the neck on the Aliens
Warrior is thicker than the Alien version. The Alien version
had a spike on its elbow which is glued on, for the Aliens Warrior, the
forearm blade is glued to the elbow and to the hand.
Overall: McFarlane ***,
NECA ***1/2
SCORE RECAP:
Packaging: **
Sculpt: McFarlane ***1/2, NECA ****
Paint: ***
Articulation: McFarlane **, NECA ****
Accessories - Bupkis
Fun factor: ****
Value: ****
Overall: McFarlane ***, NECA ***1/2
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