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Robert Englund/Freddy Kruger

Sideshow Toys has definitely gotten their money's worth out of the Jason and Freddy licenses. The most recent release is the 'Springwood Slasher' version of Freddy, from the Freddy vs Jason film.  What this really is, is a normal looking version of Robert Englund, the actor who has always portrayed the serial killer.

This is the fifth version of Freddy, if you include the quarter scale one that should be shipping soon.  As is common with Sideshow, there are two versions - a general release, and one that was exclusive to Sideshow's site only.  I'll be reviewing and picturing the exclusive, which was limited to 750 figures, and included the extra right hand with the single finger blade.

This Freddy, similar to the others, runs $40 from Sideshow, but I have a few suggestions at the end of the review where you can save 20% or so off suggested retail.



Packaging - ***1/2
I didn't include a photo this time, because when I was shooting the figure I got a little lazy.  Too bad too, since it's one of the best looking of the Modern Horror boxes.  It includes a great cover shot of the figure's head sculpt, but backdropped with photos from the film itself.  It's one of my favorites of the recent releases, and it's completely collector friendly to boot.

The text on the back is good, giving some details on the film, but I wish they'd do more with the fifth panel (the inside panel).  They simply listed the movie credits, but additional info on the film or actor would have been nice.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Rumor has it that the most recent figures have been a form of 'rotocast', hollow inside.  The figures like Prophecy Buffy and Anna Valorious had to be hollow, to handle the rooted hair, and the word on the street is that they did the same with other heads during the same period.  This Freddy is still a solid injected molded head though, and I have to say the quality shows.

It also helps that this sculpt was good from the start.  Englund has a fairly recognizable face, with some distinct features, so that helps the sculptor as well.  The sculptor, Brian Dooley, was also able to capture the sly grin and wicked personality that Englund brings to Freddy.

The hand sculpts are all great, especially the gloved/bladed version of his right hand.  The two hands pop off and on easy enough, and fit tightly.

Paint - ***1/2
The paint ops are excellent this time around, with a nice, even, consistent skin tone, neat hair line, and error free eyes.  I'm particularly happy about the hair line, after my recent issues with Frank Black.

Some folks have mentioned that the shiny body is a problem, since it contrasts so much with the proper flat finishes on the hands and face.  While I admit that it is very different, and very obvious if you have the sleeves pulled up, I also realize that there's only so much that can be expected, especially at a normal price point.  The hard plastics required for the bodies have a shiny finish, and to alter that would cost quite a bit in additional paint ops.

Articulation - ****
Freddy sports the usual Sideshow body, with all the great articulation you expect.  If you like the Sideshow body, you'll be happy - if you prefer the Dragon or bbi bodies, you'll probably take a half star off here.

All the joints were nice and tight on Freddy, and I had no trouble getting him and keeping him standing in a variety of poses.

Outfit - **1/2
The outfit consists of his pants, trademark sweatshirt, jacket, and shoes.  The outfit is decent, but much of it is reused from previous figures.

The show sculpt we've seen before, but it works fine.  The sweater and pants are also the same as previous figures, and the tailoring on the pants isn't quite as nice as some recent figures.  They tend to be too baggy, and hang oddly.

The sweater has no staining or dirt, but does have the cuts at the neck and waist.  It's good quality though, although we've gotten it before.

The nicest article of clothing is the new leather jacket, which fits fairly well, and is made from high quality material with excellent stitching.

Still, the outfit ends up pretty average considering all the reuse.  That's not surprising since he's the fifth Freddy, and of course it helps Sideshow keep their margins profitable.

Accessories - ***
I'm grading the exclusive version, which includes the one additional accessory.

Freddy has his hat, the same sculpt as before.  It fits well though, and also works great as an Indiana Jones hat if you're doing a custom.

He also has a big book of his collected news articles, opened to one page.  It includes a ribbon book mark, although the pages don't turn.

The regular version has the very well done gloved/bladed hand, but this hand is NOT articulated like the classic Freddy was.  There, you could move each of the individual fingers, but here you can not.  However, the sculpt is great, and the pose selected for the hand looks excellent. EDIT - it looks like this hand IS articulated, but mine was painted tight.  Since I managed to break a finger on the original Freddy, I'm more than a little careful these days.

The exclusive also includes a second, plain right hand, that can wear the removable finger blade.  This was one of Freddy's early inventions, before he went with the full hand.

He also has a cigarette, which you can easily lose in about 4.5 seconds.  I did, but by some miracle managed to find it in the carpet several days later.  Freddy is the third figure from Sideshow in recent weeks to include a smoke - Astronaut Taylor had a cigar, and CSM had a cigarette as well, as you'd expect.

Finally, he has the standard display stand, with the Freddy vs. Jason logo on the base.

Fun Factor - **
Freddy and Darth Vader were really contemporaries of each other, and both were truly evil villains.  But while we now have Darth Tater, something tells me that we'll never see a Freddy French Fry.  He's just not a kid friendly kind of guy.

Value - **1/2
Nothing surprising here, as he runs the average Sideshow price.  Considering the reuse on the outfit, he's a fairly average value.

Overall - ***
The only thing holding this figure back from another half star is the price when compared to the amount of re-use.  You have to be a pretty serious Freddy fan to pick up every version, but this is a fairly keep appearance, and Sideshow has done an excellent job capturing Englund's likeness.

SCORE RECAP:
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpt - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ****
Outfit - **1/2
Accessories - ***
Fun Factor - **
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***

Where to Buy - 
I picked up mine through Sideshow, but there's a variety of online options:

- Sideshow still has the regular version for $40, but the exclusive version is long gone.

- Alter Ego Comics has him in stock for $32.

- Killer Toys has him for $40.

- Southern Island isn't carrying this one, but does have the New Nightmare version for just $30 right now.

- Fireside Collectibles doesn't have this version, but does have the best price I've seen on the quarter scale version, at just $190.


Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford.

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