Mummy (Color)
Universal Monsters (Neca) - Ultimate Collection
Rated 4.85 stars by RMaster007
NECA's Universal Monsters line has been putting out some great figures, but I'll admit I haven't gotten much of them, mainly because I haven't seen much of the films. I'll make sure to change that, and I recently picked up another figures for my collection. His name is Imhotep, but everyone calls him the Mummy. The packaging is the same as the other monsters, with poster art on the front and figure shots on the back, but it looks good, and there's the usual front flap that reveals a window behind, showing off everything included. There also wasn't a lot of ties to worry about, making the mummy easy to free. The Mummy is the second Boris Karloff-played monster in the line, requiring a lot of make-up to bring the undead to life. He has very dry, somewhat pink skin, fitting for a...[See More]

Creep (40th Anniversary)
Creepshow (Neca) - Ultimate Collection
Rated 4.90 stars by RMaster007
It's Halloween once more, and I've been spending a few of the days leading up to it by watching some horror flicks. If there's one you definitely need to watch around this time, it's Creepshow. The George A. Romero and Stephen King film consists of five eerily entertaining stories, all wrapped up in an aesthetic that makes it look like a comic book come to life. In celebration of the film's 40th anniversary last year, NECA did a figure of its mascot, the Creep. They already did one based off the Shudder series a few years back, but this is what I was really holding out for. As with most NECA movie Ultimates, the Creep's packaging has the Creepshow poster on front, and shots of the figure on the back. It looks pretty good, and there are some comic book-inspired graphics as well, calling...[See More]

Lexington
Gargoyles (Neca) - Ultimate
Rated 4.75 stars by RMaster007
Since the line began, NECA's been giving Gargoyles fans a healthy mix of characters, with both major and supporting players. It's taken them some time to get to everyone in the Manhattan clan, but now they've gotten to the last one needed: Lexington. Lexington gets a smaller box than usual for this line, mainly because he's a smaller figure, but the artwork for it is great. It depicts the character in front of, or inside, what appears to be the clock tower where the Manhattan clan resides. On the inside, there's only two plastic ties holding in the figure, and there's a plastic cover keeping everything inside. Would be great if we could get that more often than tens of thousands of ties. Like Brooklyn and Broadway before him, Lexington isn't as humanlike in his facial features as others...[See More]

Number of the Beast (40th Anniversary)
Iron Maiden (Neca) - Ultimate
Rated 4.85 stars by RMaster007
Since 1980, the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden has made their mark on the world with plenty of awesome songs, and can arguably be considered one of the greatest bands of the genre. For years, NECA has worked with Iron Maiden to produce a couple collectibles of their mascot, Eddie, with the latest release commemorating the 40th anniversary of their hit single "The Number of the Beast." The packaging is much like what you usually get with NECA, presenting the original album cover by Derek Riggs on the front, and plenty of shots of the figure itself on the sides and back. It's simple, but it works. However, there are a lot of plastic ties holding in everything on the inside, so get your scissors handy. Eddie sports somewhat rough, decayed skin, being based off a photograph of a...[See More]

Space Ghost
Space Ghost Coast to Coast (Toycom) - Basic Series
Rated 4.00 stars by RMaster007
Years before the inception of Adult Swim, Cartoon Network put out one of their first original series for older audiences: Space Ghost Coast to Coast. The show took the Hanna-Barbera superhero and turned him into the egotistical, dimwitted host of an out-of-control talk show. It was a hilarious show that got better over time, and would set the stage for CN's aforementioned late-night block of programming. the show hasn't received too much merchandise outside of comics, but in the late 90s-early 2000s, Toycom and Art Asylum saw the potential, and put out a figure of the ghost host. The packaging is a cardback that makes use of nice graphics, with the other main characters being present on the box along with text on the back. The plastic front is actually shaped like Space Ghost's head, a...[See More]

Mechagodzilla (Toho)
Godzilla (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.50 stars by RMaster007
Giant robots are cool, and so are giant monsters. Combine the two and you get Mechagodzilla, the massive weapon against Godzilla. Debuting in the last two films of the Showa era, the character was popular enough to continue appearing in Godzilla media, including the Heisei-era film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, and it's this version of the mech that gets the Ultimate treatment. The box is quite similar to Godzilla, but taller to house the character. The slip cover has a mechanical texture, which certainly fits, and the dark color scheme of the underlying box is good too. There's a more proper bio on the back for this character, which is an improvement over the wave one packaging. It's easy to get everything out, just remove some tape and twisties. As with the first wave, Four Horsemen...[See More]

Chun-Li
Street Fighter (Jada Toys) - Ultra Street Fighter II
Rated 4.60 stars by RMaster007
Befitting a popular fighting game, Street Fighter has received plenty of action figure lines. The first one (related to the games, not the movie) was by ReSaurus, and it was succeeded years later by the much better and longer-lasted SOTA line. Storm Collectibles' line serves as the most recent major one, with plenty of figures, but being produced overseas means they're sorta pricey. Thankfully, Jada Toys is giving us a cheaper option, and they're going through it slowly, but with promising-looking figures. It took me until their third release to actually get something from their line, but said figure is Chun-Li, one of my favorite characters from the series. These figures come in window boxes shaped like an arcade cabinet, complete with printed-on buttons and lifebars, and it definitely...[See More]

Junkyard
Toxic Crusaders (Super7) - Ultimate
Rated 4.65 stars by RMaster007
After reviewing the other two figures in Super7's first wave of Toxic Crusader Ultimates that wasn't just Toxie, it's time to let the dog out. Like the others, Junkyard's toy design differed from the cartoon he originated from, but not as much as say, Radiation Ranger. The toy looked more menacing than the softer show design, with visible gums and a lot of jagged sharp teeth. His fur is also a dark brown, rather than a light tan. Super7's update of the original keeps the same design, but gives him a different expression. The Playmates figure had an action feature in which the mouth could be opened and his tongue would flip on out, but S7 opted for a closed mouth sculpt. That said, their's gets an extra head more directly based off the original, with a long tongue made of a softer...[See More]

Synja Patrol Bot
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Neca) - Last Ronin
Rated 4.75 stars by RMaster007
When NECA first announced they'd be doing figures from The Last Ronin, I didn't expect them to go beyond the titular character, but now it's clear they're doing as much as possible with the license. Recently, we saw the release of the next figure in the line, the Synja, which is basically TLR's version of the robotic Foot Soldier from animated media. The packaging illustration was done by Ben Bishop, and it certainly looks nice, depicting three Synjas with different heads. The bio on the back is the same text from prior releases, and I would've preferred something unique for each character. This is the third figure in the line (fourth if you count the Target-exclusive Ronin repaint), but is numbered sixth on the spine. The art on the other side is meant to go with the mural began by the...[See More]

Napoleon Bonafrog (Colossus of the Swamp)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.70 stars by RMaster007
The 1987 TMNT series has not only provided NECA a wide character selection, but plenty of potential for character variants. We've seen a few already, with Catwoman April, Dark Turtle Donatello, and a few different versions of Bebop and Rocksteady, and there's a couple more in the pipeline now. We're even getting ones that weren't in the show! For now, the latest variant is of Napoleon Bonafrog, based off his hulked-up form from "Napoleon Bonafrog: Colossus of the Swamps." As usual, Dan Elson is doing the packaging art for the single releases, and it looks just as great as always. It resembles the old FHE tapes well, and I'm now wanting those get-ups for B&R as figures. The box is also huge, as to house the size of this figure. The "colossus" version of Napoleon is sculpted by Brodie...[See More]