Packaging - ***1/2
NECA went the collector friendly route - it's a nice sized box, not too big, that you can easily remove the figure and put it back later, if you desire. The graphics are attractive and catchy, there's some decent explanatory text on the back that delves into Freddy's history, and it's nice work for an exclusive figure. Of course, using nice packaging is a good idea for exclusives, since they tend to stay boxed. NECA went the extra mile here and gave you the ability to open it, and not destroy the box in the process.

Sculpting - ***1/2
The sculpt on the head is four star work, but we've seen this body before, and the pose is a tad forced and difficult to work with.

The new head really looks like Englund, particularly Englund from a few years ago. Hey, it's not that he's aged badly, but it was 20 years ago that the first film came out! There's nothing to complain about in terms of likeness, although the expression is a little odd...I'm not sure if he's gleefully sadistic, or watching one of those episodes of Friends that's only moderately amusing.

Although it's the same body as the previous Freddy, that's certainly not a surprise. Keeping costs down on exclusives is the norm, and since this body will fit in nicely with the other NECA figures, it makes sense that they'd reuse it.

Paint - ***
The majority of the paint ops on this figure are quite good, but there were a couple issues that kept this score from being an overall top score.

The face work on Englund is great, with a good skin tone, clean hair line, and neatly done eyes. There's just the right amount of wash, and this is a great example of good paint work highlighting an excellent sculpt, rather than hurting it.

As mentioned in the sculpt section, the body is the same as in the Freddy VS Jason set from NECA, released earlier this year. The paint ops on it are solid, although not surprising.

The one area that bothered me was the blades on his right hand - the silver paint here is clumpy and inconsistent. Considering what an important paint op that is, it brings down the overall score.

Articulation - **1/2
Freddy, or Robert, has neck, shoulder, cut elbows, wrists, waist and ankle joints. The waist and ankle joints are there purely to find the sweet spot and keep him standing. The real poses come from the three joints in each arm, and they work pretty well.

I did have some trouble with his right shoulder - you'll notice in the photos that it hasn't changed position much. That's because it's pretty well stuck, and since I'm letting someone else have this figure as part of this month's contest, I didn't want to risk damaging it. You can always use the old freezer trick to help free up joints that are stuck with paint like this.

Accessories - ***1/2
Included with the figure are four additional accessories - the burned head, burned hand, hat and doll. The burned head and hat are the same pair that came with the Freddy vs. Jason set, and pop on to the body very easily.

The doll is actually from that movie as well, on screen in the early minutes. It fits nicely in the unburned hand, and is extremely well sculpted with great paint ops.

Fun Factor - **
This is a figure designed for the collector and not the player. The limited articulation is intended to allow some posing, but he's not really a great toy. Besides, if your kids like playing with the Springwood Slasher, you'd have to sleep with your bedroom door locked.

Value - ***
At fifteen bucks, this is a nice, solid exclusive value. Many exclusives are starting to bump up closer to $20 and above, but the $15 range is just about right for something like this, in limited numbers.

Overall - ***1/2
As con exclusives go, this one is a stand out. I like him more the longer I have him, which is the hallmark of a great figure. He fits in nicely with the Freddy VS Jason set, and there's no doubt who he is. For folks that didn't want to buy the earlier set, they also get the burnt Freddy head, giving them a different option to have a NECA Freddy. NECA is doing a nice job with this license, and I hope we see some more of both Freddy and Jason in the coming months.

Where to Buy - 
As I said earlier, you have several show options, or you can enter this month's contest. If you have a helpful friend hitting one of the shows, you can always mooch off them!

And if you're looking for a Springwood Slasher in a little larger scale, Sideshow is producing a 12" version as well.  This is also based on the Freddy Vs. Jason movie, where we get to see Englund's face as the pre-burned version of Krueger.  They have an exclusive version up right now, limited to 750.

KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE PHOTOS!