“You are my lucky star.”
With NECA’s fantastic showing at this year’s Comic Con (check it out here), it’s certainly a great time to be a fan of the Alien franchise. But let’s not allow the excitement over Aliens Ripley or that amazing quarter-scale Big Chap to take away the awesomeness that is Wave 4 — currently available in stores.
Yes, it is essentially a wave of two (mostly) repaints and one new figure. And yes, two of three figures are of the same character. But that character just happens to be one of the greatest sci-fi heroes ever to appear on the big screen: Ellen motherflippin’ Ripley. Finally!
Sculpt
The figure most everyone is excited for is, of course, Ripley in her jumpsuit. Sculpting is always one of the biggest draws for NECA products and, while not perfect, Ripley definitely doesn’t disappoint. Jumpsuits aren’t the most complicated designs ever, but we get our fair share of detailed sculpts — such as the numerous zippers and ties, as well as the layered shirt and undershirt underneath. As this is our first Ripley of modern toy collecting, the head sculpt is what’s going to be scrutinized. This is Sigourney Weaver through and through and it’s instantly recognizable. I just wish they would have gone for a different expression. Ripley has her fair share of emotions in Alien, but sad and mopey isn’t one of them. And that’s what this portrait reminds of me of. She looks like she just watched a screening of Alien: Resurrection. Heartbreaking. I’m still very happy with this sculpt overall, but I definitely would have preferred a little more determination in her expression.
Compression Suit Ripley and Dallas are nothing new. Aside from the head sculpt and a few minor differences, you’re pretty much getting the same space-suit Kane as previously reviewed.
It’s another good head sculpt of Ripley, albeit also a bit flat. This is a very scene specific look, and, in the scene, she’s absolutely terrified, but you wouldn’t know it from this figure. With the helmet on, you’ll barely even notice. The hair has a strange sculpt going on in the back in order to allow for the helmet, but that’s a small price to pay for having it be removable. Other minor differences in this suit is that it lacks the helmet light, gun holster, nameplate, and weird codpiece that Kane and Dallas have. I’m guessing due to the fact this suit is located in the escape ship and not used for explorations.
Dallas’s head sculpt is a lot of fun and certainly makes for a playable toy, but I’m not totally sold on its Tom Skerritt likeness. It’s close enough for me, but it doesn’t have that “wow” factor like some of their other sculpts do. I do love the sculpted under-helmet this figure has.
Paint
Another fantastic job all around by NECA. There is a little slop on the eyes of Compression Suit Ripley, but other than that, I have no complaints at all. Ripley’s jumpsuit has a nice muted tone — which is perfect for the feel of that film, and I really love the colors on Dallas. He was only on screen for few minutes in his suit (which was very dark), so a figure like this always breathes new life into that particular moment.
Articulation
The articulation on all three figures is ample, and I had no issues of stuck or floppy joints. The compression suit, just like the previously released Kane, gives us ball-jointed heads, pin-and-disc shoulders, bicep cuts, single-jointed elbows and knees, ball wrists in ankles, ab and waist articulation, and what looks to be a combo of pin-and-disc and ball joints for the hips. The articulation is plentiful and you actually get a lot more poseability than I imagine would be possible for the actors in those bulky suits.
Jumpsuit Ripley is much the same, only that she is lacking any bicep cuts or waist articulation. She still has the ab joint, and the elbows do the trick if you need to rotate the arm outward. My one big complaint is that you don’t get much wrist action with the pegs they’ve used, so getting her to hold her flamethrower properly can be a challenge. So challenging, in fact, that I couldn’t do it.
Accessories
Accessories are never a huge selling point when I buy toys, but I always look forward to seeing what NECA has in store, and we get some pretty great things here. Dallas (if you own Kane already) is the least impressive. He comes with his removable helmet, gun, and flashlight. The helmet comes in two parts, which allows you to easily adjust the head by removing just the visor. It’s best to remove the head first should you want to take the base of the helmet off.
Compression Suit Ripley comes equipped with her spear gun (and two spear heads) and the Nostromo’s cat Jones — in a hissing stance. Jumpsuit Ripley comes with her flamethrower and a much calmer version of Jones. In typical fashion, the sculpt and paint are all fantastic on the accessories. And I’m pretty well psyched that we actually get Jones.
Overall, this is another great set of figures by NECA for Alien fans. Two cool-looking spacesuits and one of the most fan-demanded characters in all of nerddom. And with NECA holding strong at less than $20 per figure? You can’t beat that!
Thanks for reading!
