Gears of War 3 (Series 1): Anya Stroud Figure Review

Flavor Text:

"Anya Stroud:

Former "Control" Dispatcher for Delta Squad, Anya is now a frontline fighting Gear herself.  Defending the remnant of humanity has forged her into a tough and capable warrior ready to tackle anything that comes her way."



Sculpt:

Kinda looks like Cameron Diaz... weird, huh?

For those who haven't played any of the Gears of War video games or read any of the novels, the storyline mainly revolves around the COGs (Coalition of Ordered Governments) and their fight for survival against the vicious subterranean Locust Horde.  I haven't played the Gears of War 3 (video game) mainly because I don't own an XBOX 360  (I love my PS3 dearly, thank you very much).  However, with the pictures of Anya plastered on all three sides of the clamshell packaging, I have a pretty good idea what she's supposed to look like in-game.

The textures and detailing of Anya's armor is just amazing.  The colors of the outfit and sculpt of various accessories (that are permanently sculpted onto her body) look accurate.  The sculpt of the weapon accessory (bloodied Lancer) is also a really nice touch.  I just noticed that there is a folded-up "handle bar" on the left-side of the Lancer which you can unfold (a nice surprise addition to the overall design of the Lancer weapon accessory) allowing yo to recreate their [secondary] bloody "chainsaw" attack.

I really like how NECA is no longer placing the "NECA 2011 Made in China" stamp (that stamp is now placed less noticeably on the back of Anya's weapons pouch on her right hip) on the soles of the figure's feet.  Just like they did with their recent Isaac Clarke figure (from the Dead Space 2 video game), the soles of Anya's feet are detailed.

I love how Anya's right-hand is sculpted to actually grip the Lancer weapon accessory tightly enough and that her right finger fits in the trigger "area" perfectly.  Before I forget, I just love how NECA handled the overall sculpt of Anya's body.  Even with the heavy armor surrounding her, you can still see the outlines of her feminine charm.  I hope this much articulation and level of sculpt continues down the line for the rest of their female action figures (Lara Croft anyone?).

While Anya's facial sculpt is somewhat similar to the video game version, there are two things that could've improved the overall look.  The biggest problem is that Anya is cock-eyed (this may be due to the paint application).  The only other problem is that this Anya looks like she forgot to apply some makeup.  The in-game pictures of Anya shows her at least having some "eye-shadow" or the like which improves her overall look (now I know why women apply eye-shadow). 



Articulation:

Stretching after a long battle or posing for a magazine?

According to the packaging, Anya has "30+ points of articulation".  Let's see if I can count them all: ball-jointed neck, 3 separately articulated moving parts (for each side) that make up the ball-jointed shoulders, hinged elbows, swivel-hinged wrists, ab-crunch joint, swivel waist, swivel-hinged hips, double-jointed knees, swivel calves, hinged ankles, and hinged toes.

The only problem with this figure is that some of the joints are a bit too loose for comfort.  After a while, the arms will fall down due to the [weapon] accessory's weight.  The ab-crunch joint is too loose to a point that Anya just ends up slouching due to gravity.  Also the swivel waist joint couldn't move most likely due to the paint application, so that took some time before I could get it to move (at all).

Paint Application:

Props to the individual or groups of people involved in the this department.  This is a great example of NECA's ability to get things done right the first time.  A little eye-shadow or a little jab of makeup or whatnot on Anya's face would make this the perfect female figure ever created by these talented group of guys (and gals).  The "blood splatter" paint application of the chainsaw-part of the Lancer weapon accessory is just great.



Accessories:

While this figure only comes with one Lancer weapon accessory, you won't hear any complaints from me in this department.  With all the detailing and articulation that is present in this figure, and the price, you can't get nor find a quality figure that packs this much of a punch anywhere else in this market.

I also think it's a very nice addition to include a peg on the Lancer [weapon] accessory so that it could be plugged into the back of Anya's armor without much difficulty.

The handle (grip) of the Lancer is thick enough to fit into Anya's pre-posed right-hand.  Her hand is pliable enough so that the stiff handle of the Lancer can slide in without (too much of) a hitch.



Packaging:

Anya comes in the typical clamshell packaging NECA's figures are known for.  It shows off most of the figure with the weapon accessory visibly placed on the top-right side of the packaging.  The background design of the packaging is nice and colorful, undoubtedly taken from the video game cover of Gears of War 3.  The front window packaging (at the bottom) shows a portrait of a serious-looking Anya posing with her Lancer (?) with her name in bright-blue color on the left-hand side.  The surrounding sides of the packaging show more pictures of the sexy Anya as well.





Price:

I pre-ordered Anya through Toysrus.com for a total of $15.99 (not including tax and shipping and handling charges).  I've got to tell you though how I noticed Toysrus.com jack up the prices of the Gears of War figures almost a few weeks before Christmas (what a real nasty business practice).



Additional Information:

There's a "chase variant" of this figure that comes packaged with a "pink-colored" Lancer.  If you're lucky enough to find one in the stores without having to resort to eBay or any other online store, good for you.  Otherwise, expect to pay premium prices for essentially the same figure with a different paint scheme on the Lancer [weapon] accessory.  However, I think it's cool that NECA throws in something extra like these "chase" figures.  It makes collecting a bit more exciting (and challenging).

--------------------------

Product Development
Randy Falk


Sculpt
Neobauhaus Studios


Fabrication
Jeff Richard


Paint
Jon Wardell
Geoffrey Trapp


Prototypes
Adam Smith 

Photography
Stephen Mazurek


Packaging
Chris Longo

--------------------------

Epic Games, Inc.

Character Concept and Game Art
Epic Games development team

Figure Art Direction
Chris Perna

Product Development
Cliff Bleszinski
Mike Capps
Rod Fergusson
Chris Mielke

Additional Feedback
Pete Hayes
Kevin Lanning



The Good:

* The highly anticipated Anya Stroud figure is finally here!
* Extremely articulated and highly detailed figure!
* Video game accurate sculpt.


The Bad:

* Very loose joints.
* Needs some additional paint application on Anya's face.
* Please fix the cock-eyed look!



The Ugly:

* The long wait it took to finally get this figure in my grubby hands!
* Retailers "upping" the price for last-minute shoppers.



Score:

(Reminiscing) Resident Evil 4 Series 1: Leon S. Kennedy (without coat) Action Figure

Flavor Text:

"Oh shit...."

None.  Just one main picture of the actual figure (in this case, Leon) that takes up more than half of the back of the package.  The remaining bottom space is used to show [four] pictures of the other Resident Evil figures from "Series 1" which include: Ada Wong, Chainsaw Ganado, Verdugo, and Leon S. Kennedy.



Sculpt:

"Damn paparazzi!"

I remember people complaining about how strange Leon's face looked when he was first released.  His hair sculpt does make him look like a lead singer of a boy band.  But is it really that bad?  It depends on the angle.  You could place a scaled guitar accessory in Leon's hands and he will definitely look like he's rocking the joint.

One of the things that used to bother me was Leon's "hunched over" look coupled with his pre-posed arms.  This really limited the number of poses Leon could do.  That said, Leon is in that pose most of the time in Resident Evil 4 (video game).  Not to mention that most figures during that time had a limited amount of articulation as well (for a 7-inch collector figure line).  Leon looks great when posing with his handgun, but otherwise looks extremely awkward without it.

My biggest problem lies with Leon's inability to hold most of his accessories.  His pre-posed hands need to be "tightened" a bit more, at least just enough so that his weapons won't wobble around (especially the sub-machine gun) when placed in his right hand.  Either that or have the grip of Leon's weapons be thicker. However, I believe NECA designed him with a "looser" grip so that Leon can actually grasp the shotgun accessory.  Also, what's up with that "opened palm" left hand?  Is Leon gonna have to smack a bitch?  Or perhaps do the "talk to the hand" bit?

Without a doubt, NECA is well known for their attention to detail, and this figure is no different from the rest of their offerings (at the time).  The "leather" straps around Leon's upper body is extremely well sculpted.  I especially love the sculpt of the sidearm holster which is under Leon's left arm.  Unfortunately, his handgun accessory doesn't stay for long and eventually falls out.  The other holster strapped around Leon's right leg is a little "squished" for some reason, but it can hold the handgun pretty well.  The only thing that sticks out like a sore thumb is Leon's right hand where one of his fingers has some sort of cyst growing out of control.



Articulation:

Leon S. Kennedy is articulated with: ball-jointed neck, ball-jointed shoulders, swivel biceps, swivel wrists, swivel waist, and swivel ankles. 

The amount of articulation on Leon is pretty standard back then as it is even now with the exception of a few ball-joints here and there.  However, an "ab-crunch" joint would've definitely improved this figure a lot.  Since this was NECA's first foray into the Resident Evil world (and probably because they were given a limited budget), collectors like myself should consider themselves lucky to even have a Resident Evil figure in their hands.

My only question is this: why bother adding articulation for the ankles?  More specifically what's the point of having articulation in his left ankle when the sculpt of his jeans limits any movement?  The right ankles swivels quite nicely, but the left ankle slightly budges.  I would've kept that money and put it towards another area.

That said, I would love to see NECA redo some of the their previously released Resident Evil figures and give them even more articulation (and improve some of their sculpts), like they've done with their Gears of War line.



Paint Application:

Most of the paint application on this figure is pretty spot on.  A few stray marks here and there, spots here and there don't detract from the overall value of the figure.  However, as others have mentioned, when you look underneath Leon's nose, you'll notice that NECA actually painted Leon's nostrils!  It really looks... distracting, but it's not noticeable when you place him on the table.  Just try not to look underneath Leon.  You've been warned.

The main thing that bothers me about this figure is the color of Leon's pants.  I do recall Leon wearing dark blue jeans, not black.  So why has NECA given Leon a pair of black jeans?  Strange, isn't it?  So much for video game accuracy...  (Actually depending on what light you're using, you will be able to notice that Leon's jeans are dark blue or at least they're not absolutely black).

Either because the sculpt of the right hand or (most likely) due to the plastic material of his handgun, the "flesh" paint inside of Leon's right hand is easily scraped off revealing the black underneath.  Maybe NECA should rely on using softer rubber-like material for their weapon accessories (like they did with Resident Evil 5's Sheva Alomar's handgun).



Accessories:

Couldn't find all the accessories for the photo shoot

Leon comes with: a knife, handgun with laser pointer, shotgun, sub-machine gun, 3x grenades (2x regular and 1x incendiary grenade), and a health spray.  Of the eight, Leon can only (barely) hold two, which are [thankfully] guns.

"What... what is this?"

The sub-machine gun (SMG) accessory is a joke because there's no way Leon can hold onto it.  Even the slightest movement will cause the [useless] SMG accessory to fall right out of his "kung-fu" grip.  Leon can't grasp any of his grenade accessories, unless you lay them on the "open palmed" left hand flat, which looks ridiculous.  As you can see in the above photo, I managed to shove in the health spray accessory into his "handgun" grip.  Because most of the accessories are relatively small, they're also easily lost (grenades and health spray).  It would've been really nice to have a place to hook or insert the grenade accessories on Leon's belt.

You know what they say about people who carry really small knives...

Probably the most shameful is that Leon can't hold onto his trusty knife!  If you've ever played Resident Evil 4 (video game) you'd know that Leon can use his knife to either conserve ammo or show off his awesome knifing skills.  His deadly skills with the knife also plays a pivotal role during his first encounter with Krauser later on.  The problem with the knife accessory is the handle is way too small and Leon's pre-posed right hand grip is too loose.  The blade could also be a bit longer and bigger.  At least the knife accessory fits nicely in its leather holster!



Packaging:

This figure comes in a really bulky clamshell, which you'd think protects the figure and the package itself really well, but it doesn't.  Due to the sheer size, I think NECA decided to use really thin plastic because it really doesn't do a good job of staying together and is easily dented and scratched.  The backdrop of the packaging is of the church surrounded by a graveyard with strange Ganado symbols.



Price:

It's been quite some time since I purchased this figure, so I no longer remember how much I paid for this bad boy.  However, you can look online now and see how inflated the prices are.  For some reason though, Leon (with jacket) costs way more than Leon (without jacket).  Strange, huh?  Maybe that rocket launcher accessory is really something...



Additional Information:

Product Development
Randy Falk

Art Direction/Paint
Ed Repka

Sculpt
Kyle Windrix

Accessories
Oliver Brig

Asst. Paint
Karin Simeone

Prototypes
Adam Smith

Photography
Nicolle M. Puzzo

Packaging/Composites
Brian Roll

Licensing for Capcom
Marc Mostman

The Good:

* Finally a Resident Evil figure from the popular "Resident Evil 4" video game (thank you, NECA)!

* Pretty amazing detailing job done by the NECA crew.

* Facial sculpt of Leon S. Kennedy is pretty "video game" accurate!

* Figure made from very durable material (dropped this sucker a few times, not on purpose, I swear)!

* Love the inclusion of the ball-jointed articulation.



The Bad:

* Mostly useless accessories.

* Limited articulation (but that was pretty standard back in the day).

* Strange articulation in certain places.



The Ugly:

* Most of the accessories don't fit in either hand.

* Retailers trying to milk Resident Evil enthusiasts by creating artificial "demand" by hiking prices between the Leon S. Kennedy (without coat) and Leon S. Kennedy (with coat) even though these were available 50/50 per case!



Score:

Dead Space 2: Necromorph Slasher Action Figure

Flavor Text:

"Slasher:

Made from the bodies of their victims, the Slashers are Necromorphs with the sole purpose of creating more corpses.  They relentlessly hunt the living, prowling in ventilation ducts and jumping out when least expected to eviscerate their prey.  They possess a decentralized nervous system and can only be killed by dismembering their limbs."



Sculpt:

Having played the first "Dead Space" so many times, I was surprised at the accurate sculpt of the hideous Necromorph Slasher figure.  Regardless of whether you've ever heard of Dead Space, let alone even played the game, this Slasher is one ugly mother in action figure form.

For those who haven't played any of the Dead Space video games or read any of the graphic novels, you can tell the Necromorph used to be human; just look at its receding hairline and (yes) its nipples.  The ripped apart flesh with all the sinewy red "meat" is extremely detailed and looks so real that it sometimes makes me feel a bit sick.  If you've come across any interviews behind the design of the Necromorph, you'll feel just as sick as I did.

The Necromorph's rib cage pokes through the almost-hollowed out flesh in the front of the torso, which you can follow all the way to the back where the spinal cord and the rest of the rib cage is now exposed.  You can also catch a glimpse of the partially exposed (and mutilated) pelvis along with the partially exposed shoulder blades.

Probably due to the lack of space, the soles of the Slasher's feet don't have the "NECA 20XX Made in China" stamp (that stamp is now placed less noticeably on the back of Slasher's right leg).  Instead, we have sinewy pieces of flesh detailed on the soles of the Necromorph.

The Necromorph seems to be much more smaller in comparison to Advanced Suit Isaac and Mining RIG Isaac.  It could be due to the heavy armor, but that doesn't seem to be the case when compared with Advanced Suit Isaac (since the Advanced Suit is less bulky).  Screenshots from the video game of Necromorphs taking a bite out of Isaac are either equal in size or slightly larger.  Also due to its small feet, the Slasher has trouble standing even with the base.  The base peg needs to be a lot taller and the Slasher's feet need to be wider.

*It would be really cool to see an alternate [Enhanced/Super] Necromorph figure, with the dark-colored flesh tones with the equally intimidating glowing eyes for this year's San Diego Comic Con.*



Articulation:

The Slasher is articulated with: ball-jointed neck, ball-jointed shoulders, swivel elbows, ball-jointed wrists, ball-jointed "claws", ball-jointed [extra] clawed hands (from its stomach), ball-jointed hips, swivel knees, and swivel ankles.

To maintain video game accuracy, NECA incorporated the "removable limbs" feature for the Necromorph figure.  While this is a bit on the gimmicky side (also innovative), it works really well.  However, the biggest issue I had with the "removable limbs" feature is to distinguish which limbs were actually removable.  A little cheat sheet would've been helpful.  I was able to safely pull off the Slasher's: head, arms, and legs with little or no trouble.  I managed to even pull off the elbow (but I wouldn't recommend it; shoving it back in is a bit more of a hassle than the rest of the body parts).  I have to mention the Slasher's "removable limbs" feature is a huge improvement over NECA's Resident Evil 25th Anniversary Zombie figure (although the Zombie's removable limbs came off easily, they were much harder to put back on).

The Necromorph wasn't endowed with any articulation in the waist.  However, I did find a slight line that circled around the Necromorph (mid-torso), which neatly aligns with the spines in its back.  The absence of any waist articulation is probably due to the cost of tooling.

However, with all that aside, this is still a highly-articulated figure that NECA tends to produce from time to time. I would love to see more articulated figures from them.



Paint Application:

Aside from a splotch of black paint on the right leg, everything is just fine.  As expected, there are massive amounts of blood dripping from all over the place.  This is a perfect example of how great sculpting and having the right paint application can make a figure look really really [disgustingly] good.



Accessories:

"Momma?"

Not including the removable limbs, there's only one accessory: a glossy basic plastic base.



Packaging:

Due to the massive amount of space the Slasher figure took up, NECA resorted back to using the larger clamshell packaging (probably also used to prevent the arms and legs sculpt from being crushed), which works quite well.  The background design of the packaging [of Advanced Suit Isaac's face] is nice, no doubt taken from the video game cover of "Dead Space 2".  However, the background design from the first "Dead Space" action figure packaging with the shadows of the incoming Necromorphs is no doubt still the best package design.

Interestingly, the slightly enlarged photo of the Necromorph Slasher at the bottom left of the packaging shows a slightly pissed Necromorph with gaping eye holes.



Price:

::angry Splicer yell::

I pre-ordered Isaac Clarke through CornerStoreComics for a total of $40.14 (this also included a Necromorph figure) and from an eBay seller (also purchased together with the Necromorph) for $34.42.



The Good:

* The highly anticipated Necromorph finally makes its appearance in plastic form!
* Extremely (and disgustingly) detailed Necromorph Slasher figure!
* Highly articulated.
* Video game accurate sculpt.


The Bad:

* Size of Necromorph is a bit small.
* Has trouble standing on its own from time to time, which limits the number of action poses.
* One accessory.


The Ugly:

* The long wait it took to finally get this figure in my grubby hands!



Score:

Dead Space 2: Isaac Clarke Action Figure

Flavor Text:

"Isaac Clarke:

Three years ago, CEC engineer Isaac Clarke barely survived a virulent outbreak aboard the USG Ishimura that twisted the dead into mindless killing machines. Now it's happening again, this time on a metropolis orbiting Saturn known as the "Sprawl". Isaac fights to survive as his mind deteriorates and the space station descends into madness and chaos."



Sculpt:

I've played the first "Dead Space" many times, but I haven't played "Dead Space 2" yet (will try to this weekend), but from the images I've seen online, this Isaac Clarke in the Advanced Suit looks accurate.

As I removed Isaac from the clamshell packaging, I noticed the texture of the figure to be different; it was because NECA incorporated rubbery (plastic) pieces all over Isaac's body. In hindsight, this was a nice move since the jutting pieces of Isaac's sleek armored Advanced Suit might have caused some pain for collectors' [fingers] who like to pose their figures in all sorts of positions. Also, these rubbery pieces would less likely break off during shipment.

Isaac's pre-posed right hand grip is now tighter, allowing him to hold his trusty Plasma Cutter better. The previous Isaac Clarke figures (from the first Dead Space) had a bit too much wiggle room causing some annoyance for collectors as Isaac's weapon constantly fell through. Even with this improvement, I noticed that Isaac still has some problems holding the Plasma Cutter in place (it shifts making it look like Isaac is holding onto it by a thread).

An interesting and most welcome change is the soles of Isaac's boots no longer have the plain and boring "hollowed out" area with the "NECA 20XX Made in China" stamp (that stamp is now placed less noticeably on the back of Isaac's right boot).  Instead, we have detailed soles of Isaac's boots (the right boot has a bit more blood than the left one)!

There are some minor things about this figure (I'm somewhat of a stickler when it comes to details) that I feel need mentioning. For instance, the "light up" feature with the LED lights is a really cool idea (we've seen it done before), but all I see is just the bright white light (just like the SDCC Isaac Clarke Unitology outfit exclusive); and not the "aqua" color.  (**NOTE: The photos show the "aqua" color, but this is not the case when you view this in person**).

I would've preferred to have the "eye-holes" of the mask and RIG painted "greenish-blue" instead. With the LED feature, the painted stasis meter (on the immediate right of the RIG) looks really out of place. While I do appreciate having the RIG with the sculpted "bars" (I really do), I feel the same should've been done for the stasis meter as well. The stasis meter looks so... plain without it. A real minor thing to note is the absence of articulated "booster flaps" around Isaac's shoulders (rather they're sculpted on the backs of his shoulders).

* On a side note, I would love to see NECA release another Advanced Suit Isaac figure with an alternate unmasked head and in "clean" armor, possibly for this year's San Diego Comic Con.  That would really be awesome.*



Articulation:

Isaac has articulation in the: swivel neck, ball-jointed shoulders, ball-jointed elbows, ball-jointed wrists, swivel waist, swivel/hinged hips, swivel thighs, ball-jointed knees, and ball-jointed ankles.

Unlike NECA's usual fare, Advanced Suit Isaac doesn't seem to have the full range of motion from his ball-jointed neck; he's stuck with the swivel motion. The previous Isaac Clarke figures (from the first Dead Space collection) had ball-jointed necks, allowing for more head movement.

The ball-jointed waist wasn't incorporated into Advanced Suit Isaac either, most likely due to the cost of tooling. Again, the previous Isaac Clarke in his mining RIG had that articulation.

However, with all that aside, this is still a highly-articulated figure that NECA tends to produce from time to time. I would love to see more articulated figures from them.



Paint Application:

From the prototype pictures of Isaac, the colors looked a little too bright. Thankfully, this is not the case with the actual released product. The bright colors have been toned down quite a bit, just enough so that it's no longer a distraction.

Interestingly, this sleek Advanced Suit has seen its share of "wear-and-tear" due to the "dirt marks" applied all over his body. There are also generous amounts of blood splattered over Isaac's armor as well. This time around, NECA got it right with both the color and blood "splat" design; it no longer looks like "ketchup stains" (e.g. The Licker figure from the Resident Evil Series 2 line).



Accessories:

Like his previous plastic reincarnation (from Dead Space), this Isaac comes with only one accessory: the Plasma Cutter. What's really great about this particular Plasma Cutter is that it has a "swivel" feature just like in the video game! If you peek in front of the Plasma Cutter, you'll see the "blue-white" color (laser beam) painted on! While I was hoping for more accessories, the surprising addition of the "swivel" feature of the Plasma Cutter kind of makes up for it.



Packaging:

As with most of 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 taken from the video game cover of "Dead Space 2". However, the background design from the first "Dead Space" action figure packaging with the shadows of the incoming Necromorphs is no doubt still the best package design.

Interestingly, the slightly enlarged photo of Isaac at the bottom right of the packaging shows him with his trusty Plasma Cutter (from the first Dead Space video game).



Price:

I pre-ordered Isaac Clarke through CornerStoreComics for a total of $40.14 (this also included a Necromorph figure) and from an eBay seller (also purchased together with the Necromorph) for $34.42.



The Good:

* The highly anticipated Isaac Clarke finally makes his appearance in plastic form!
* Extremely detailed (Advanced Suit) Isaac figure!
* Highly articulated.
* Video game accurate sculpt.


The Bad:

* Missing some minor attention to detail (not a bad thing, but didn't have any other place to put this).
* Color of LED feature.
* One accessory.


The Ugly:

* The long wait it took to finally get this figure in my grubby hands!



Score: