A Review Of 2 Amazing New Toys:

A Review Of 2 Amazing New Toys: - Printable Version

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A Review Of 2 Amazing New Toys: - The Death Curse - 06-26-2010

Well, I was lucky enough to find both the "Galleria Mall" and "Pescadero Hospital" versions of the T-1000 at the local FYE yesterday...I'd been calling Toys R Us every week for the last MONTH trying to find these things. Finally, just one completely random, desperate call to FYE led to me snagging half of their only shipment so far, presumably because nobody ever shops at that golly gee willikers overpriced place... :yucky:

I think about writing NECA toy reviews all the time, but I'm so ESPECIALLY happy with these that I reeeeeally want other people to check them out. Since I'm obsessed with T2 and everything about the T-1000 character anyway, it seemed like a good idea to write a short review and take some pictures for anyone who is potentially interested in picking these toys up.

Kyle "Tankman" Windrix (along with other sculptors involved in this project, if any) obviously considered this a labor of love. It looks like he scoped out a lot of screen-used props and wardrobe pieces on websites like Propstore of London, Profiles in History, and Screen-Used.com to make the most exhaustive Terminator 2 toys imaginable. It also looks like he's studied lots of production images, along with a few movie-molded prop replicas and lifecasts of Robert Patrick from YourProps.com and other fan websites...Below are some of the most astonishingly thorough - and very small - additions to these toys that will help to keep NECA's 7" collectible action figure lines in a class all their own:

1.) The police badge's number reads "572"...Normally, this should be an obvious detail, not worthy of mention. However, THIS toy's badge is friggin' MICROSCOPIC! (It's only about 7 millimeters tall.) For the sculptor to ensure that such a tiny detail remains completely visible even at this scale is totally awesome.

2.) All bullet hits on the "Pescadero Hospital" figure are placed accurately to one specific - and very fast - scene from the chase sequence, right before T-1000 throws down his handgun and pries open the elevator doors. (Minus the "leg hit", which should be located on the hip, below the belt. It was probably placed above the belt to save money on part creation or for general convenience in production. Therefore, I can easily overlook this mistake.)

3.) In addition, these sculpted bullet hits, unlike McFarlane's "Movie Maniacs" T-1000, are actually modeled to look more like the original foam props appeared on screen. Instead of heavily artistically-licensed, deeply-set, inaccurate "holes" gouged into the body, these shotgun blasts "sit" on top of the existing torso design, just like the real spring-loaded FX police costumes used for filming. Mega cool.

4.) Apparently, all the arms and hands are completely interchangeable between both figures(!) This way, you can create your own slightly custom appearance for the T-1000 and let that complete lack of knee or hip articulation slip your mind... :whistling:

5.) This is the only T-1000 collectible ever commercially produced that is even remotely close to capturing the soul (and various asymmetries) of Robert Patrick. The left side of his jaw protrudes out further, his earlobes fan out away from the head, and his scowl is just perfect, though the paint app can be a drawback. If you can find one with a decent paint app, it really comes to life. The "healing" head is comprised of two separate pieces, and manages to maintain most of that beautiful likeness from the "normal head" just fine. The "Saucehead" sculpture is unbelievably attentive to detail, and looks exactly like a couple of resin replicas from the original movie mold that popped up on Ebay recently. One of which can be viewed here:
http://www.larsramstad.com/busts7.htm

6.) THIS is the most IMPORTANT detail of these figures that blows my mind...and to date, I'm not sure if it's intentional. However, there's this minor morsel of info about all the screen-used T-1000 cop shirts out there in public hands. It's not a big deal, but some of the FX shirts (especially the shirtless kind used in conjunction with the claw arms) are sprinkled all over with little chrome bits from screen use. I own one of these shirts and it's very noticeable upon close inspection that a lot of tiny paint particles have been embedded into the fabric from close contact with many flaky chrome-painted props. If you go back and look at some of the pics from Toy Fair of the prototype two-up figure designs, you may notice that the paint on T-1000's cop shirt is "sparkly", with little bits of metallic glitter all over the black/blue shirt. (Seen here: http://www.cooltoyreview.com/TF2010/NECA/image14.asp) I thought this was just a weird coincidence until I got these figures yesterday...The Pescadero Hospital figure has a very noticeable, though subtle, dusting of "silver glitter" all over the torso...Not the arms, not the legs, JUST the torso. I'm beginning to think this is not just a coincidence, but I have not yet received confirmation from NECA themselves. I will be asking soon enough, but if this detail is purposeful, then WTF??!!!@# That is AMAZING.

In conclusion, these two figures are the bomb (minus the frequently cruddy metal paint apps and my ongoing frustration with "off-center" eyes). I fully recommend them to everyone who collects these useless things. :laugh: By the way, the "Steel Mill" T-800 is also spectacular, but I didn't take photos because it's mostly a bunch of re-used parts from Series 2 with a *slightly* different paintjob and one new weapon...I assume everyone already knows what that stuff looks like and there are already a few reviews on that product, too. That said, here are a few macro shots of the T-1000 figs (including all the sparkly paint as previously noted), along with a Photobucket link to check out the rest of my photos:

[Image: P1310863.jpg]

For more of my pics, visit here: http://s62.photobucket.com/albums/h98/MoonlitDevil/My%20Toys/

Thanks for reading and cheers!

Ryan

P.S. - Sorry for the clamshell reflections. Confused

weat: I don't open most of my action figures. It's a bad habit developed from childhood.

A Review Of 2 Amazing New Toys: - Mutilated - 06-26-2010

I've never seen anyone write such a long review about action figures, you should look into getting paid to review for sites man, you're really good. Hell, you make me want to go out and buy these two figures, LOL. They look awesome man!

A Review Of 2 Amazing New Toys: - Hellbilly1965 - 06-26-2010

Nice quote Mr Bean..." A fool and his money will soon part" that holds true about FRIENDS as well.

:tongue:

A Review Of 2 Amazing New Toys: - JOEY - 06-26-2010

I'm a fan of this particular line from NECA. I have the Series 1 figures sealed, but I have not been out to pick up these new ones. It sounds like it's gonna be hard to find these T-1000's.

Anyway, that's one heck of a thorough review dude. You should talk to Aaron/Horrorhound about doing reviews for his magazine. Although I understand this character is a personal favorite. Congrats on finally finding them.

A Review Of 2 Amazing New Toys: - dougie - 06-26-2010

Thanks for taking the time to write an awesome review! I am having a hard time finding the Galleria version since NECA decided to pack the T-1000 2 of each version per case!

btw Ryan check out what Hot Toys is doing with the T-1000

http://www.hottoys.com.hk/index.php?target=products&product_id=526

A Review Of 2 Amazing New Toys: - brettyboy - 06-26-2010

I'd love to get my hands on those!

A Review Of 2 Amazing New Toys: - JigSaw - 06-26-2010

Those look absolutely awesome man! Congrats.

A Review Of 2 Amazing New Toys: - The Death Curse - 06-26-2010

(06-26-2010, 12:07 PM)Hellbilly1965 date Wrote: Nice quote Mr Bean..." A fool and his money will soon part" that holds true about FRIENDS as well.

:tongue:

Actually, David...The sentence is definitely meant to describe how I feel about myself after going through with the Brian Wade bust purchase, along with certain people who are willing to spend vast amounts on very cheap, publicly available items lately. However, I won't get into that here...

(06-26-2010, 03:20 PM)dougie date Wrote: Thanks for taking the time to write an awesome review! I am having a hard time finding the Galleria version since NECA decided to pack the T-1000 2 of each version per case!

btw Ryan check out what Hot Toys is doing with the T-1000

http://www.hottoys.com.hk/index.php?target=products&product_id=526

Dougie, apparently LOTS of people are having trouble finding these figures. The FYE shipment I encountered contained only two T-1000 figs and at least SIX different T-800s, and had I not shown up when I did, they'd probably be gone already. However, I would thoroughly suggest finding a few of these in person to compare before you make your purchase...Sometimes the paint apps are just awful on NECA stuff!

I've seen that Hot Toys figure. Unfortunately, it really doesn't interest me because somehow, they completely missed the likeness of Robert Patrick...The plentiful and accurate clothing and accessories are incredibly cool, but the heads just ruin it for me. Sad

Thanks again and cheers,

Ryan

A Review Of 2 Amazing New Toys: - DrenTheLiar - 06-27-2010

They did an amazing job on Patrick's face.

A Review Of 2 Amazing New Toys: - monteburns - 06-28-2010

Great likeness & too nice to leave in the package.