Ultimate Gamer Gremlin
Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE the Gremlins? I think I have. Maybe even a few times. Be that as it may, I am not planning to stop professing my love for these little green men, any time soon. So, it is easy to see that I am currently living in a golden age of Gremlins action figures, too, because NECA continues to absolutely kill it with this line. GameStop is getting in on the action too, and their new exclusive Ultimate Gamer Gremlin makes a wonderful addition to your already impressive shelf of mischief makers.
I have been basking in the glory of the Ultimate Stripe release for a bit now, and I am not ashamed to say that, as of this posting, I am up to 10 of the Ultimate Gremlin figures as well. NECA’s return to the first movie and G1 stylings for their recent figures has them batting 1.000, and I can tell you, this new Gamer Gremlin does not break the trend. In fact, this guy comes with a few much-demanded accessories and features swappable hands, a first for the gremlins in this line. If you have the Ultimate Gremlin, then you are in for most of this figure in terms of base parts, but, as you know, that works perfectly well due to their homogenous design. If you do not have a new G1 gremlin yet, first, what is wrong with you? Second, I find this base to be the best gremlin body NECA has done thus far, and that includes those from The New Batch.
Way back when I first started collecting this line, I never thought that they could improve so drastically from the original G1 base, at least in terms of sculpt. Sure, the articulation was pretty limited, and that has most certainly been mitigated here, but man, this new sculpt is so far beyond what we had before, I am still in awe of it, even after seeing it a few times at this point. It is scary accurate to the point that some pictures of these figures are hard to tell from actual movie screen grabs, and I think that is about as complementary as you can get. The paint really helps with this, too, and the production work they were able to get here is just as good as the sculpting, and the two work together in perfect rambunctious harmony.
I have been over the articulation scheme before, but for the uninitiated, these little dudes are packed with it. NECA has been making great strides over the past few years when it comes to greater articulation integration, and the Gremlins line is no exception. Marvel Legends notwithstanding, this guy has just as many points as most humanoid figures in my collection, and that can help get him into a myriad of poses to wreak havoc across Kingston Falls in style. I am especially appreciative of the jaw, ear, torso, and knee joints because these work well together to give a more organic quality to the sculpt, and when posing with candy, chainsaws, video games, or anything else, this guy looks wonderfully natural.
Speaking of accessories, like the other releases, this guy comes with a lot of them, and it is a good mix of stuff I have been waiting for, as well as stuff that is uniquely appropriate for a “Gamer” gremlin. As I mentioned before, he actually comes with swappable hands, and that is because his accessories run the gamut of sizes and shapes. With all of these different grips, this guy can use/break/weaponize all of his stuff, which includes something I have really been waiting for: the popcorn bucket. If you are familiar with the Gremlins movie in the slightest, you know that popcorn is a huge part of the movie theater scene, and the sight gags that come along with it are so much fun. Sure, the gremlins munch on popcorn, but even better, they wear the bags (we already got those) and the bucket, so I am much more interested in this as a fashion accessory, rather than food containment device. NECA has run the extra mile by giving this dual functionality, so it can hold the popcorn, or be worn as a hat. Win/win.
Also included are some very 80s sunglasses (to compliment the 3-D glasses), and a reissue of the soda cup. I rather like the glasses as they add some needed eyewear variety, and for the cup, you can never have enough of stuff like that in this scale, so I am good with it. The new propeller beanie hat is fantastic, though, and I am thinking that, while the popcorn bucket will find a home on the head of a generic gremlin, this Gamer version will be keeping this hat. It is colorful, the sculpt is great, and best of all, it is functional, as the propeller actually spins. I do wish this (and the bucket) could lock down a bit tighter on the head to stay more securely, but that is a minor nit, and I have no issues in getting them to balance to stay put.
Finally, the last three accessories are really why this guy is considered to be the “Gamer” gremlin (aside from being exclusive to GameStop and all), and are all exclusive to him. First is a replication of the little mini arcade that they five new mogwai play with in the movie. The screen version is obviously Donkey Kong, but since licensing is a thing in the real work, the game looks the same, but it has been rebranded as “Fail Guy.” I wonder if the fail guy in question is the same as Brad from the Brad Bites candy from previous releases, heh. Anyway, the graphics are funny and the joystick actually moves, so that is a nice touch, too. Also included is a retro game box (in the style of Atari packaging) for a Gremlins video game. This type of on-the-nose and self-aware joke runs rampant in the films, so it is funny to see a wink to that here, especially since, you know, there are actual Gremlins games. Finally, there is a 100% Atari joystick that is totally not called an Atari joystick. The design in unmistakable, but with his extra hands, this guy can hold it with no worries.
Man, I hope this NECA Gremlins train does not stop anytime soon. I know there are more releases planned and queued up for this year and beyond, so keep supporting these awesome new figures. With these three new G1 releases, you are able to piece together a ton of unique gremlins to terrorize your entire collection room, and they will look great doing it. This property and this line is a perfect marriage so I cannot wait to see what comes next. This guy will be hitting GameStop stores soon, but you can lock in your pre-order now so you won’t miss him.
*Thanks to Randy and Summer at NECA for making this preview possible!
