Assassin's Creed 2: Ezio (Master Assassin) Action Figure

Flavor Text:

"I will seek vengeance upon those who have betrayed my family, only to uncover a conspiracy bigger than I could have imagined...  I am EZIO AUDITORE DA FIRENZE.  I AM AN ASSASSIN."


Sculpt:

I haven't played Assassin's Creed 2 yet, but from the images I've see online, the "Master Assassin" outfit looks accurate.  If you need further proof, just look at NECA's past work.  NECA is one of the best toy companies out there who actually pay a great deal of attention to detail.  Ezio's facial expression is neutral,as should be of someone of his killing stature.

However, the main drawback of this figure (sculpt-wise) are the awful "scar" marks on his lip and chin.  I really hope that wasn't intentional because the whole "scar" thing would be real... stupid.  I'd feel better if I chalk that up to bad luck.

Despite having received a shit version of Ezio, I was impressed with NECA's use of extremely flexible and thin material to sculpt the cape that's arched over Ezio's left shoulder.  (DC Direct, take note).  Also the armored pieces wrapped around Ezio's upper torso and over his right arm are intricately detailed.


Articulation:

Ezio has articulation in the: neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees, and ankles.

I really liked that Ezio was given ball-jointed hips, giving him more upper-body mobility which most certainly boosts his "playability" and "poseability" factor up a bit.  The ball-jointed neck is also nice to have (albeit a given for most figures nowadays).  What really hurts in this department, is the knee joints.  Because of Ezio's [knee] boots, it makes bending his knees quite awkward and slightly confusing.  I also don't understand why Ezio's right ankle joint moves so easily while his left ankle barely moves an inch.

Because of the strange articulation, Ezio has trouble standing.  Once again, I hope this is because of my bad luck, rather than NECA's poor design.


Paint Application:

As usual, this is where things go extremely south for NECA.  Under Ezio left eye are few stray red paint application marks with a little black paint thrown in.  Might as well call him, Ezio, the Black Nose Assassin.  Okay, so maybe we can pretend that that's blood from his enemies.  But if Ezio is the "Master Assassin," shouldn't he be skillful enough not to get any blood on him in the first place?

It seems that the black paint or wax is coming through on Ezio's face due to little or no application of face paint for Ezio's face.  As if that weren't enough, stray black marks are visibly scattered throughout Ezio's body (check his arms, boots, robes/cape, etc.).  Even the tiny daggers placed around the front of his waist are badly painted.

I just noticed this, but what the hell is this dirty-looking piece of tape doing on the back of Ezio's right foot?  Also, I've noticed a whole bunch of glue or "white hair" all over this Ezio figure.  Did I receive a factory defect or some factory painted prototype?


Accessories:

There's only one, if you count the "retractable blade" as an accessory.  NECA has really scaled back on their products, but I don't blame them (it's the economy stupid).  But then again, NECA is known to be inconsistent with their products, so no real surprise, just the same disappointment (at least they're consistent in something).


Packaging:

As with their recent offerings, NECA has reduced the amount of space in their clamshell packaging (most likely to save both money and space), which works quite well.  The background design of the packaging is nice, no doubt from "Assassin's Creed 2" the video game itself.


Price:

I pre-ordered Ezio (Master Assassin) through Toysrus online for $13.99.  Shipping and handling cost was free because I signed up for "free two-day shipping" service called ShopRunner.  With tax ($2.41) added in the total came to $16.40, which I guess is to be expected although I think it's a bit expensive for such a lame figure.


The Good:

• The long awaited Ezio from "Assassin's Creed 2" has finally arrived!
• Nicely detailed Ezio (Master Assassin) figure!
• Ball-jointed waist.
• [Video] game accurate sculpt (I think...).

The Bad:

• Questionable articulation from the waist down
• Lack of "poseability."
• Lack of accessories.

The Ugly:

• Total lack of quality control (funky leftover tape; dried glue "hairs" all over; extremely sloppy paint application; "scar" face sculpt).
• High price for factory defect.

Score: 

This figure isn't even worth scoring.