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12" Freddy Vs. Jason

Freddy Vs. Jason was a surprisingly good movie to add to both franchises.  Was it Shakespeare?  Uh, no...it was a Freddy and Jason movie.  It wasn't the best film of either franchise, but neither was it the worst.

NECA released a pair of figures in the 7" scale earlier this year.  But with Sideshow producing a wide range of ultra cool sixth scale figures of modern horror, including earlier versions of both Freddy and Jason, you knew the 12" versions weren't far off.

This pair of figures were ran in a huge edition size, at least for Sideshow standards.  They were ran at 11,000 each, which I think is the largest edition size for any figure since dropping the major retailers and switching to predominately web sales.  Unfortunately, both Freddy and Jason are sold out at the Sideshow site, but you can get on a waiting list.  Also, I have some other web suggestions for picking these up at the end of the review.

They also did one of their Sideshow only exclusive versions of these two figures, limited to 500 figures each.  That's what you'll see pictured in this review: Freddy is wearing his camp counselor t-shirt, and Jason has his teddy bear.  








Packaging - ***1/2
Both boxes are the usual fantastic Sideshow work.  Each has excellent graphics, using movie stills and photos of the figures in combination.  It lacks the same detailed text that some of the other lines, like Bond or Twilight Zone tend to have, but what's here is decent.  The only failing is that they aren't completely collector friendly, and to remove the stands you'll have to damage the cardboard tray.

Sculpting - Jason ****; Freddy ***1/2
Thank goodness that after such a serious drought over the last few reviews, that these two showed up on my doorstep.  

Jason is easily my favorite version produced so far.  Yes, I like NECA's, but this one is sixth scale!  The head sculpt is excellent, although they went with the non-removable mask look.  There will be no debates as to whether the face under the mask looks like a monkey's butt or not.

The detail work on the mask is excellent, as is the skin texture and folds.  They've added a patch of hair to the left side, and while it's clearly glued on rather than rooted, it looks great.  The mask does fit his face slightly differently, since it's now part of the sculpt, and is tighter on the sides.  Some might find that distracting, but I didn't notice it until I had the original next to the new version.

Another high point is the hand sculpts.  Rather than the hands with unarticulated wrists that they used for the first Jason, they went with hard plastic gloved hands with normal Sideshow wrists.  These look and work fantastic, and he can hold his accessories perfectly, even the teddy bear!

The first Freddy Sideshow produced sported his 'regular' head.  This time around they went with the 'devil' head from the new film.  They captured it extremely well, although there's a permanent tilt to the head that's a tad annoying.  Yes, I know Freddy likes to cock his head to the side like that, but I'd prefer to just use the ball jointed neck to do it.

His hand sculpts are great as well, especially the updated right glove with articulated fingers.  This one seems much sturdier than the original, and less likely to break.

Scale is reasonable.  There was quite a major difference between these two characters in the film, on purpose, and although Freddy is almost two inches shorter here - which in sixth scale translates to a full foot - it isn't as obvious of a difference as you'd expect. 

Paint - ****
The paint ops are absolutely perfect on both figures, although the are predominately on the head and face of each.

I'm sure someone will have problems with the hockey mask - someone always does.  But both versions (the one that he wears and the one that comes with Freddy) look great to me, and there's just the right amount of 'dirty' to give them the proper worn appearance. 

Freddy's skin tone is much redder in this version, and it looks great.  You can even see some of the jaw bone and teeth through the flesh on the sides - an excellent touch.  The detail paint work is spot on, with clean lines and no slop anywhere.

Articulation - ****
These are the fully articulated Sideshow bodies, and even Jason seems more articulated than the usual 14" figure.  The addition of the wrist joints, along with almost all the usual joints across the rest of the body, means that Jason can certainly do any pose you could possibly come up with.

Freddy uses the usual Sideshow body, and if you're a fan, you'll be happy.  He also has the extra cool articulation in his glove hand, so that each of the blades can e positioned independently.  None of the joints on either figure were loose, and I found no need to use the display stands.

Accessories - ***1/2 with exclusive extras; *** without
The standard Jason comes with two machetes.  One is the standard, blood soaked version, while the second is engulfed in flames.  Both fit perfectly in his right hand, and the flame effect works surprisingly well.

The standard Freddy comes with Jason's mask.  The straps aren't loose, but rather sculpted into the inside of the mask.  It has the same sculpt and paint ops as the one Jason is wearing, and looks great in Freddy's hand.

If you were one of the lucky first 500, you get one more accessory with each figure.  Jason comes with his teddy bear, with sculpted stuffing oozing out from ripped seams.  The bear is sculpted to fit perfectly into the fingers and thumb of his left hand.

Freddy's extra accessory is actually part of his outfit - his Camp Crystal Lake counselor t-shirt, as seen in one of Jason's dreams.  It fits tightly over his regular shirt, so tightly that I didn't want to take it off and have issues getting it back on just right.

Outfit - Jason ***1/2; Freddy ***
Speaking of clothing, but figures come with the usual Sideshow style cloth outfits.

There's not much to say about Freddy's if you picked up the earlier version.  Striped shirt, pants and shoes are all pretty much the same, and look good but are really re-uses.  The one improvement here is the hat - it's made of a softer rubber this time, and fits much better.

Jason's outfits is one of the best Sideshow has done in a licensed line.  The damage to his shirt and jacket looks extremely realistic, and the dirty look and feel of the jacket is perfect.  It even feels oily!  There is one negative to the outfit though, and that's his Herman Munster boots.  While they work well to give him a little extra height, they look far too small for his overall body size.

Fun Factor - **1/2
If you have little kids that like these figures, I'd suggest being a very light sleeper.  They do have great articulation, sculpting and outfits, so older kids who are into modern horror are likely to enjoy them.  Unfortunately, most kids that age figure toys are silly.  They'll figure it out again in a few years.

Value - **1/2
I'm judging this on the $45 price tag you would have paid directly from Sideshow.  If you can find them closer to $35, you can add another half star.

Overall - Jason ****; Freddy ***1/2
Sideshow continues to do an excellent job with their modern horror line, and I'm looking forward to the releases of the quarter scale Freddy and the sixth scale Thomas Hewitt (Leatherface). 

This set really works best as a pair, unlike the first Freddy and Jason.  They also work better together than with their original versions, since they are so distinctly designed for this particular film.

Where to Buy - 
Sideshow sold out of these quite awhile ago, but there are other possibilities on the web:

- Time and Space Toys has the pair listed for $75.

- Southern Island has the pair listed at $70, or Freddy for $35 and Jason for $40.  They are still pre-order at this point.

Aisle Sniper has the pair listed at $80, but aren't in stock quite yet.  They should be there any day though.

- Alter Ego Comics has Jason listed at $36, but not Freddy.

- Killer Toys has Jason listed at $40, and Freddy listed at $35.

Special Note - Sideshow is taking pre-orders for their quarter scale Freddy, and I suspect he won't last long either even with the hefty price tag.


Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford.

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