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Packaging - ***1/2
They've stuck with the usual Predators packaging, with clear red die
cut slip cover showing the underlying Noland disguised as a Predator
graphic. Overall, it's the usual excellent work, although the wrap around cover is held in place with Velcro instead of magnets. I
did have one issue though. The jacket is held on the inner cardboard
slip with a couple pieces of tape, and these have to be cut from the
back. You can't peel them off the cardboard without damaging it, and
you can't cut it from the front - be forewarned.
Sculpting - ***1/2
Realistic? Check. Skin textures? Check. Spooky real eyes? Check. Perfect hair? Check. Likeness? Almost check. We
already know that Hot Toys always does a lifelike sculpt, better than
almost every other company out there. And I have to say that in the
photos, even those I took for this review, the likeness to Fishburne as
Noland is pretty damn good. But in person, particularly when I
first pulled him out of the package, something seemed off. He was a bit
more...uh...puffy in this movie than we're used to, but this sculpt
seems to have too much width at the very top of the jawline. He is
fuller in the face around the lower part of the jaw, and that works for
me - it looks like he did on screen. But the wide skull around the ears
is just too much in person. It's still a pretty damn minor nit though, and not enough of a problem to really pull the score down very far. All the sculpted hands look great, and they work well with the accessories. They are also in scale, a big plus.
Paint - ****
Another
amazing paint job - it's as if they've been graced with some sort of
paint work numen, a divine power when it comes to production
applications. The eyes are looking slightly upward, giving him a
rough, mean expression. The skin tone is perfect, clean and consistent,
and the hair and hair line look great. It's another realistic,
life-like paint job - nothing too surprising there.
Articulation - ***1/2
This
is the large, muscled TrueType, with thick thighs and larger chest. It
also is less articulated than the smaller bodies, especially in the
elbows and shoulders. While I was able to get plenty of decent poses,
it was still more restricted than usual. Even the neck seemed a bit
tighter, making it less posable than I expected.
Accessories - ***1/2
Noland comes with three serious weapons - the huge laser gun, the jawbone ax, and the extendable spear. All
three look terrific, but that extendable spear takes the prize. On both
ends there are two extending sections, and the sculpt and paint are
excellent. The gun is pretty sweet as well, with a leather
wrapped grip and rough leather strap. The paint work is fantastic, and
the sculpt includes many small details. There are six more hands
to go with the two he comes wearing. One pair of fists are gloveless,
while the rest are covered. There's various grips for various
accessories and poses, and the scale is great. Swapping them was a bit
of a trick, because the posts fit within the hands much tighter than
usual. There's a couple extra wrist pegs as well. I'm going to
include the ammo belt as an accessory as well, and it fits easily once
you pop the head off. The Accessories are a little light this time
around however, even with the belt in this category. If you count the
various pieces of armor as accessories rather than Outfit, then this
score would be higher.
Outfit - ****
Here is where this figure really shines. There's a ton of goodies with
the outfit, including a bunch of Predator armor for his disguise. The
base outfit includes his tan t-shirt, camo pants, and sculpted boots.
They look fantastic, and the cloth pieces are perfectly tailored. On
the right leg is a knee pad as well. Over the shirt is his chest
and back armor, including some shoulder pieces attached with real metal
chains. This armor is NOT removable, so don't even try. There's a
blue-gray shirt that is also included and can be worn over the armor. I
didn't use it, but it's a good look for him if you aren't going with
the Predator armor in your display. Personally, I think the
Predator look is what makes him so damn cool. There is thigh armor,
shin armor, shoulder armor for the right side, a belt and cod piece
type arrangement for his waist, the touch pad control box for his left
arm, and the bladed gauntlet for his right. All the leg armor is
held in place with straps and buckles. I got lucky and didn't have to
adjust any of the straps - the length was perfect right out of the box.
All the snaps worked great as well. The one piece of shoulder
armor uses just an elastic band to hold it in place. The sculpting on
the gauntlets looks great, and the overall detail is just amazing. To
finish off the Predator look he has his cobbled together mask and
helmet combo. It fits nicely over his head, and looks properly in
scale. There are also two rubber hoses that run from the
sides of the mask to the touch pad controller. They fit over the posts
on the gauntlet just fine, but I had some trouble getting them in place
on the helmet. On the right side, there is a small hole but it was
largely blocked by the small wrap on that edge. I couldn't even find
the hole on the other side. I was able to get them in a rough
approximation of right for the one photo, and then removed them. They
were simply more trouble than they were worth. Fun Factor - ***
This
is a sturdy figure, at least in terms of Hot Toys designs. It's
unlikely to break under normal posing and handling, and is a better
'toy' than some of their more delicate figures. Still, you'd be insane
to give him to a six year old. He's perfect for your average adult that
never grew up, however, and fans of the film will appreciate getting
another human for the Predator shelf.
Value - **1/2
At around $160 - $170, he's a slightly more
manageable price than some of their more expensive recent releases, and
the complex outfit makes the price sting a bit less.
Things to Watch Out For -
Not a lot. Like usual, you'll want to handle the straps and clips carefully, but everything here was fairly sturdy.
Overall - ***1/2
I have a hunch that this figure is going
to be under appreciated, at least at first. But when you see it
in hand, you can appreciate how cool he really is. It's like you're
getting a human character and a Predator all rolled into one, and he
makes for a great addition to the display no matter which way you
outfit him.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ****
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ***1/2
Outfit - ****
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2
Where to Buy -
Online options include these site sponsors:
- Fanboy Collectibles has him at $167. - Alter Ego Comics has him for $168.
- Big Bad Toy Store is at $170. - Super Power
Collectibles has him at $178.
- or you can search
ebay for a bargain.
Related
Links -
Other Hot Toys Predators reviews include the Classic Predator, Royce, Falconer Predator, and Berserker Predator. Hot Toys has done several figures from the original Predator flic as wellk,
including the big guy himself, Billy and
Dutch.
Then there's the Hot Toys Lost Predator,
and the Machiko She Predator.
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