Have I mentioned that NECA’s Gremlins figures are some of my favorite things? Well, I will remind you again — I absolutely LOVE these figures, and when they decided to bring the line back into production, I was over the moon. Series two of the Gremlins is getting ready to drop at any minute, and the second assortment of the Mogwai is due out by August, and I cannot stress enough that if you are a fan, or even think you *might* be a fan of these figures, you should pick them up. Actually, you NEED to pick them up. NECA is being a little bit coy about where the line will go after the next assortments, but I am really hoping we can get several more of the character Gremlins into the line. Well, it just so happens that while we wait for the next series to invade, Toys R Us is going to bring us an exclusive character Gremlin in the form of the Lightning Gremlin. Now, this guy has to be the most unique figure in a line amongst crazy freaks, so that is saying something. Come check out the pictures and a few quick thoughts.
If you don’t know the plot of Gremlins 2 (and I cannot imagine you don’t if you are reading this), then I will just say he is kind of the crux of the entire outcome and leave it at that. So, even though the thought of realizing him as a figure might be a little tricky, it is hard to image a Gremlins line without him. Well, in the realization department, the great designers at NECA came through and have given us a pretty great piece to accurately portray this one-of-a-kind character. I am not so sure I would call him a figure we are all accustomed to, but he will be able to stand with the rest of your rowdy crew and blend right in.
At the foundation, you are getting an unarticulated piece of thin, translucent plastic that is supported by a separate “lightning crash” base. It is cast in a light blue plastic that you often see in things like electricity, energy, or magic fire effect pieces that accompany many of today’s figures. He is very thin, since electricity itself doesn’t really have any physical dimension, but there are several layers to him in specific places, like his hands, that give more of a look and feel of depth. So he is not just a flat piece of plastic, but more like a relief sculpture to add body. I actually was not expecting this when I first saw picture of the figure, but it makes for a really neat feature because when you stack the levels of plastic like that, you not only get depth, but also tonal variance in the blue color. I realize that it is a little hard to see the subtleties in pictures, but it does come through on the actual figure.
Likeness is another thing that is kind of humorous to discuss when you are talking about a character that is always moving, pulsating, and changing some aspect of his form, but this figure looks just like the big screen counterpart. His mouth is sculpted wide, and the width of his head has been elongated on the left side to show variance of form. I think I found the frame of reference that NECA used for this figure, and, when he is removed from the base, he looks pretty well spot-on. I think this is probably the image that most of us think about when we picture the Lightning Gremlin in our mind’s eye, so I am always glad when the iconic image is captured. Although, it might have been funny to give him the trapped-on-hold-in-the-telephone-with-elevator-music-playing look too.
The base does a nice a job of supporting the figure itself. It has four very small feet that stick out from the form so they help to support the tall figure. I would not say that it is the most solid thing in terms of stability, but I don’t envision a lot of shelf dives either. I like the base quite a bit, but I might see if I can get out the thin fishing line to hang him on the shelf, kind of above the rest of the gang to add more shape to my overall Gremlins display. I know, first world problems of tying to display your Lighting Gremlin.
So yeah, more Gremlins, please! NECA, I am begging you because I love these guys so much. I realize that the Lightning Gremlin is so far beyond what I would ever expect out of line like this, but having him makes me want the Salad Bar, Bat, and tons of other characters from movies one and two, not to mention those that have already been shown in prototype form like Greta, Spider Mohawk, and the G1 Mogwai. Lightning Gremlin will add a lot of diversity to your already crazy Gremlins shelf and the effect he achieves is very convincing. Like I said, you will have to get to your local Toys R Us as he is their exclusive, but I bet he will show up on their website as well.
Additional Links
