Ghostbusters II: "Courtroom Battle" Peter Venkman Figure Review

Flavor Text:

"PERSONNEL FILE

Name: Peter Venkman

Profession:

• Doctor of Parapsychology
• Doctor of Psychology

Ghostbuster Status:

• Salesperson for the GHOSTBUSTERS
• Occasionally develops equipment for the GHOSTBUSTERS
• Hosts a psychic-themed talk show

Quotable Quotes:

"We're the best.  We're the beautiful.  We're the only Ghostbusters."

(Page 1)

Habits & Hobbies:

• Enthusiastic voter
• Thinks hairless cats are weird
• Great with kids

Accomplishments:

• Came up with the idea to start the GHOSTBUSTERS
• First Ghostbuster to have "physical contact" with a ghost
• Bravely fought the Scoleri Brothers' ghosts

Notes:

Office Supplies-
Butch Carpathian Compendium
Love potion aerosol, Stool sample kit

(Page 2)"



Sculpt:

Most of Venkman's body is composed of the previously released (and heavily reused) "Movie Masters: The Dark Knight: Gotham City Thug" action figure.  There is no doubt that the sculpted tie comes from the "MM: TDK: Harvey Dent" action figure as well.

Aside from that, the proton pack straps have been sculpted onto Venkman's jacket suit, which looks convincing enough.  It's just a shame that Mattel still hasn't found a way to incorporate a "removable" proton pack (like the old Ghostbusters figures with the proton streams sticking out of the neutrino wand... remember those?).

And speaking of proton packs, since Venkman's isn't removable (like the rest of the Ghostbusters), there's a huge block of ugly plastic that sticks out to accommodate the proton pack on his back.

The facial sculpt of Venkman isn't too bad.  The wrinkles on his forehead and the "wise-ass" smirk on his face definitely match his character.  Of course, it still looks a bit "baby-face" for me, but hey, if Bill Murray is okay with it, I guess it's okay.

And what is up with those veiny hands of his?  Been working out much?  It just looks a bit out of place.

The creases in the [fat] Scoleri Brother's shirt and pants are extremely detailed.  The front of his shirt with the buttons struggling to keep the shirt closed does well to portray the Scoleri Brother's gigantic [ghostly] gut as well.




Articulation:

Venkman has approximately 18 points of articulation.  Fortunately, he doesn't suffer from "perpetual bent elbow" syndrome like the rest of his Ghostbusters brethren (in uniform).  However, he can't seem to bend his elbows at the ninety degree angle, which is due to the design of his elbow articulation.  Also, Venkman's leg joints are way too loose.

Although the [fat] Scoleri Brother is considered an accessory, he has 5 points of articulation: swivel head, swivel arms, and jointed feet.  His head can only do a partial "swivel" due to his gigantic face being restricted by his open-collared shirt.  The right arm can be "swiveled" without much trouble.  However, the left arm is so tight, that it takes a bit more work to move it (I actually prefer the tight arm joint).  While it's nice to have some articulation in an accessory, it would've made more sense if the Scoleri Brother was given ball-jointed arms giving him a bit more life (it would also partially justify the overall price of the figure).  This limited articulation is a throwback to the times when most action figures had limited articulation (look back to the old "Real Ghostbusters" action figure line).

Being able to "switch out" the Scoleri Brother's feet is a nice touch, but wholly unnecessary.  Including a flight stand for a "flying" ghost would've made more sense (and again would partially justify the overall price of the figure).



Paint Application:

Mattel has done a pretty good job on this figure with painting, but then again almost the entire figure is in black.  Unfortunately, my Venkman figure had visible brown paint on his left cheek, under his chin, and in his left ear.  At first glance, I didn't catch this, but for some unknown reason, Mattel thought it was okay to paint Venkman's lips.  The more I looks at it, the more it seems Venkman was trying on a different shade of lipstick.  Awkward...

The color of the [fat] Scoleri Brother is a bit too bluish-green for me.  In the movie, he seemed to be more grey with a slight tinge of blue.  Also, what is up with black-colored "outlines" on the Scoleri Brother's face?



Accessories:

"Courtroom Battle" Venkman comes with his trusty [non-removable] ghost-bustin' proton pack with neutrino wand stick.  He also comes with a "pack-in" ghost: one of the Scoleri Brothers (the fat one).  Surprisingly, the large Scoleri Brother comes with an extra pair of "flying" feet, which can be found at the bottom left of the package (don't throw your packaging out before you take them out!).



Packaging:

It's the same old "Ghostbusters" packaging with the angry Stay-Puft Marshmellow in the background with the figure behind a large "window-like" display.  The only difference is the "Ghostbusters" logo is correctly showing the "Ghostbusters 2" logo ghost.  I admit, the way the figures have been presented thus far in their  respective packaging really enhances the overall look of the figures.  Unfortunately, once removed, that magic is gone.



Price:

It goes without saying the price paid for this figure is just ridiculous (and that goes for the rest of Mattel's "Ghostbusters" line).  I've seen far more articulated and better sculpted figures go for cheaper than what Mattel is charging for each individual Ghostbusters figure.  If you've subscribed to Mattel's "Club Ecto-1," you'll continually pay highly inflated prices for not-so-good quality figures.



The Good:

* If you missed the previously released Peter Venkman figure(s), this is another chance for you to get him!
* A Scoleri Brother in plastic form!
* Comes with additional [ghost] feet.



The Bad:

* Constant reuse of body parts from previous figures.
* Paint applications not up to par as usual.
* Venkman's legs are bit too loose for comfort.


The Ugly:

* The highly inflated pricing of these figures.  Definitely not worth it (not too pleased with being a "Club Ecto-1" member)!



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:

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.