NECA has just released its latest deluxe figure in the Bioshock line with the Motorized Patriot. Retailing at around $35 and standing over 9 inches tall, this animatronic founding father cannot tell a lie, and I wouldn’t be the one to question him on it either.
Is he as impressive as he looks? Let’s find out!
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m completely ignorant when it comes to video games. I have no idea what a Bioshock even is. According to the character bio for the Motorized Patriot , these clockwork robots were originally built to be tour guides. As war broke out, different factions reprogrammed and weaponized the Patriots to become unwavering killing machines. That sounds pretty cool to me, but instead of all that, he’s now just become a villain for Captain America to fight. Seriously, the Ameridroid has nothing on this guy.
The package is your standard clamshell. It’s large and holds an immense amount of paint fumes—a toy huffer’s paradise. The figure is locked in with just a couple of twist ties and everything arrived safe and sound.
The sculpting on this figure is hands-down incredible. From the steampunk robot legs to the cracked porcelain presidential mask, NECA has done an incredible job. The historical military uniform is balanced perfectly with the clockwork mechanical pieces, and no attention to detail has been spared. This is now one of the creepiest toys that I own, and that’s saying something.
The paintwork is also top-notch. I’m particularly impressed by the subtlety on both the battle damage and on the rouge applied to the porcelain mask. These could have easily have been overdone if handled by another company.
Size-wise, the Motorized Patriot comes in at roughly 9 inches—closer to 12 when the flags are attached. As I know nothing of the character as he was written, this villain will fit perfectly with my Captain America figures of all scales. In fact, he looks so cool with the 4, 6, and 7 inch scale that I’m having a hard time deciding where to display him. Not a bad problem to have.
Also included with the figure are two flags of Columbia, an alternate robot head, and his Peppermill Gatling gun. The flags are large and well made with a faux stitching that looks pretty spot-on. They connect to the Patriot’s back via two small plugs and are easily removable. The alternate robot head can connect to the figure at the base of the neck and has the same amazing sculpt and paint quality as the rest of the figure. The sculpting work is as intricate on the back of the head as it is on the face, and it looks to represent a combination of both wooden and metal pieces. The Gatling gun is probably the most impressive of the three, as it actually works! Rotate the handle and you can see the barrels move. It was definitely an unexpected surprise.
The trouble in paradise began with the accessories. While first attempting to affix the gun to the figure, the right handle immediately snapped off. Straight out of the package. Super glue wouldn’t work, so I had to drill a hole and use a nail as an anchor. The hands of the figure have no give at all and the handles of the gun are simply too big. If you do choose to purchase this figure, do yourself a favor and heat up the hands with a hairdryer for a few seconds before attempting to insert the gun handles. The softened plastic will help minimize any breakage.
Articulation is another downside to this figure. The solicit claims that there are twenty points, but I can only get about 14 to work—and only half of that to work well. The head has tremendous range of motion and is the one thing I absolutely had to have. In my mind, this robot will only shuffle around and shoot things. I don’t need him to do cart wheels. He has the typical NECA shoulders, single pin left elbow, cut right elbow, ball wrists, ball waist, decent swivel hip movement, pinned knees, and rocker ankles. I’m not a huge articulation nut to begin with, but this portion of the review is even more meager than usual as I’m scared to death to move anything. The joints are insanely tight. The knees make awful snapping sounds every time they’re moved, and with the sculpted coat, I can’t really tell what should move and what shouldn’t. Again, I’m not terribly upset as I didn’t need much to start with, but I also shouldn’t have to worry about a toy breaking as much as I did when first playing with him. This is also the reason why I haven’t included any shots with the alternate robot head. No way was I risking it as I’m only interested in the Washington mask.
When first opening this figure, I thought I had already crowned my 2014 figure of the year. That’s how good it looks. But figures of the year don’t require me to break out power tools and hairdryers just to get them to work. At roughly $40, I still feel like this is a good value. The sculpt, paint, and overall impressiveness will be hard to match. Added to that are the amazingly high quality accessories and NECA’s attention to detail. It’s a beautiful piece of plastic art. Unfortunately, it’s just not that great of a toy. I still whole-heartedly recommend the Motorized Patriot as it will out-cool just about anything in your action figure display or photos. Just don’t expect a whole lot of dynamic posing and you shouldn’t be disappointed.
Thanks for reading!