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12" Freddy Krueger

Last week I reviewed the new 12" Jason figure from Sideshow, and this week I received the second figure in their Modern Horror Classics line - Freddy!  If you don't know who Freddy Krueger is, you can just turn in your geek badge at the front desk and be on your way.

This Freddy is based off the first film, but there's another Freddy and Jason coming from Sideshow that is based on their appearance in the new Freddy vs. Jason film.  It's important to note that the first 500 are going to come with a special additional accessory - a teddy bear for Jason, and  Freddy with a sixth scale Camp Crystal Lake t-shirt. Your best bet for buying these is off the Sideshow site, but I have some suggestions at the end of the review as well.  Retail is around $40, similar to most other Sideshow releases.  If you're thinking about picking up this classic version of Freddy, you want to hit the site soon - they were originally sold out, but got a few back in due to cancelled orders.  They aren't likely to last long though.

There's also a Furnace display piece by Sideshow designed to go perfectly with this figure.  I just received that as well, and I'll have a review up sometime this week.






Packaging - ***
The Freddy is designed to fit right in with the Jason box, and the rest of the Modern Horror line.  This consistency in design across the boxes is a great touch, allowing the MIBBer to display them together.  The front pictures a nice closeup of the big bad, with some basic text on the back and the credits on the fifth panel.  Some additional text would have been nice, and the boxes aren't really collector friendly - you'll have to tear up the insert to get the stand free - but I really do appreciate the consistent look of the front.

Sculpting - ****
Another excellent job by the Sideshow sculptors.  I thought the did an excellent job with Jason too, but that version of Jason is likely to be lower on the list of the fan's favorite versions.  This is the classic Freddy, and the burn marks, deformed ears, and menacing grin are all perfect.

The sculpting of the hands is also quite good, especially the bladed right hand.  You can see the burned flesh through the palm of the glove, and the burned left hand matches the overall appearance well.  The left hand is capable of holding accessories (although there's none for him to hold), and the design and execution of the gloved right hand is extremely good.

However, since the blades are plastic and not steel, they will come out of the package slightly bent.  I shot these photos without making any changes, since I don't want you surprised when you open yours, but I used some warm water to straighten them out later, and then cooled them off in the new position.  It works well because the plastic is very stiff and hard, compared to some of the other soft figures we've gotten from other companies in recent days.  It's not brittle plastic, but stiff enough to be reformed.

Paint - ****
The paint operations cover the head and hands.  In both areas, they've used a pretty sophisticated wash to produce the highlighted burn effect, and the color of the damaged flesh looks accurate.

The eyes and mouth detail work is extremely good as well, and I think Sideshow can be proud of both the sculpting and paint work here.  When you match up great paint application with great sculpting, you get a figure that really stands out.

Articulation - ****
Sideshow bodies usually get high scores from me, and this is no exception.  There's tons of articulation, and unlike Jason, Freddy has not only the ball jointed neck but the cool special Sideshow wrists that have all the extra articulation.

I did have a minor issue with the body.  The bands were so tight in the upper body, that the chest and waist articulation was tough to use.  But that minor issue was greatly outweighed by four additional points of articulation that are special to this figure - the fingers of his glove!

Each of the four fingers on his right hand is articulated at the main joint, allowing you to move them forward and backward independently.  This is a fantastic touch, and really adds to the realism of the figure.

Accessories - *1/2
This is easily the area that this figure takes it's big hit.  There's only one accessory, a stand with the Nigtmare on Elm Street logo.  The Sideshow stands are nice, and they do ensure that your figures won't be toppling off the shelf every time somebody slams a door, but that's not sufficient for this category, especially at this price point.

Outfit - **1/2
The outfit is made up of his hat, sweater, pants and boots.  His outfit is crucial of course, since it's so much a part of his trademark.

The hat is made from a soft rubber, and it fits great.  It looks accurate, with good sculpting and paint, and won't fall off when you look at him funny.

The boots are also a good sculpt, and fit his feet nicely, although I could swear we've seen them on some other figure.  Likewise, the pants fit well, and look fine.  There's not much you can do wrong with the pants though, unless the tailor was drunk.  The are a slightly lighter color than the prototype wore, but they look fine.

The big problem in this category is the sweater, his most crucial piece of clothing.  It is made of a polyester type material, not a sweater-like material.  This really hurts the overall appearance, and the black stripes are printed (or silk screened) on the red material, rather than being knitted together like a normal sweater.  The fraying at the neck and arms doesn't really look quite right either, because with this material the best they could do is machine cut edges.  This doesn't really look like a fraying sweater, but a shirt with fringe.

Value - **1/2
Sideshow's site sells Freddy for $40, at a run of about 7500 figures.  That's not a terrible price if you consider the license probably cost some decent coin, but with no accessories it's still only average at best.  The articulated glove added cost, but at this price point we should have gotten a knitted sweater.

Overall - ***
I'd love to give this figure another half star, but I just can't quite do it.  I really do like Freddy, and he looks fantastic with the Furnace, but the less than thrilling sweater combined with the shortage of accessories, hold this figure back from perfection.  If you're a big fan of the films, and you don't have psychological issues with the idea of 'dolls' (read my article on action figures vs. dolls if you do), then you'll be happy with this figure.

Where to Buy - 
It's unlikely you'll see these in any bricks and mortar stores, unless it's your local comic shop. On-line:

- The Classic Freddy is still available at Sideshow, but not for long.  He was originally sold out, but due to some cancelled orders they still have a few available.  And don't forget about the Freddy vs. Jason versions of both Freddy and Jason, and the Furnace play set!  The Furnace is a run of only 500, so it's likely to sell out fairly soon.  The other Modern Horror Classics should be released soon, including Michael Myers and Leatherface.

- Aisle Sniper is sold out of the classic Freddy and Jason, but they have the others up for pre-order right now, at about $35 each.


Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford.

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