Dead by dawn! Dead by dawn!
Man, I have recently been on a real NECA kick, and it is not hard to understand why — they have been CRUSHING it as of late. I mean, it is not like they don’t always turn out great product, but between all of the TMNT, scary clowns, and ultimate horror figures, my collection has certainly grown for the better. Now, while the 1990 movie Turtles and old and new Pennywise figures were firsts for my collection, I have had a figure of Ash for a very long time. Army of Darkness is one of my old favorites, so that old McFarlane figure has been haunting my shelves for a long time now. However, I have been looking for a good reason to replace it for years, and with their new “Ultimate” execution, NECA brings me a much needed improvement.
Yes, I know, this younger and leaner version of Ash is from Evil Dead 2, and while AoD is my favorite, I still have a great love for both parts of the Evil Dead. I mean, that is where it all got started for Ash (and Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi, really), so getting a figure of this quality is great for me, and I am more than satiated as I await the Ultimate version of AoD Ash as well. The cool part is that, as a two pack, Ash doesn’t have to travel alone and his old pal Evil Ed has come with him, and that really puts this set over the top. NECA has always been on point with their sculpting work, but their move towards enhanced articulation has put them in a different league now, and if you are going to have a good figure of Ash, he needs to be able to kick plastic damned/deadite ass.
I am no stranger to the Ultimate NECA figures, and having just acquired the 1990 Pennywise and Chucky from Child’s Play, I am not at all surprised with the amount of parts and accessories included in this set, but that doesn’t make me any less thrilled to have them. Ash and Evil Ed both come with multiple heads, but you also get Ash’s precursor to his “boomstick,” dagger, possessed deer head (such a great inclusion), and, most importantly, the Necromonicon. That last one is such an iconic prop, and this one is plussed up with being able to open, and has actual printing on the inside. I am going to have to find a creative way to display the possessed deer head on my shelf because it is pretty much like getting a third character in the set, and the sculpt and overall execution of the piece is pretty flawless.
Now, of course, Ash is the highlight of this set, and for several reasons, but iconography might just be the biggest reason, and the three included heads really bring that all together. Bruce Campbell has dominant jaw and a rubber face, so his expressive range is on par with anything Kevin Maguire has ever dreamed of drawing up, and the three different heads are almost enough to make me want to buy three sets to display them all at once. Short of that, I will be rotating these in and out because the “regular” head, shocked, and angry expressions are so wonderfully, well, Bruce Campbell, that I love them all. Since this is Evil Dead, the pissed off face is probably my favorite, so that will likely be my default, but you really cannot lose with any of them.
Ash also has his requisite (non-removable, I think) chainsaw on his right hand, as well as shot gun. These are, of course, just as essential to the character as Campbell’s chin, so there was no way they would not be included, but man, with saw up and gun out, this Ash figure is so bad ass. It’s important to note that the left hand is sculpted so he can hold the shot gun in a natural (and, again, bad ass) way. That is a small detail, but it makes all the difference in the world because if it would have botched, the entire shotgun would have been rendered pretty useless. I do wish the range of movement on the right elbow was just a bit better, though, because the posing for the chainsaw is a bit limited, but it is not egregious.
Seriously, putting that all together is pretty much all I needed in this release, but damn if NECA didn’t just go and toss in Evil Ed to go with him. I mean, Ash needs some undead bastards to fight, right? However, being as Ed is feature “Damned” from the movie, NECA didn’t short change him in the slightest, and he is almost as articulated as Ash, but in a subtle twist of irony, both of his heads get jaw articulation while Bruce Campbell does not. This is good though, because you get the full view of all of the grossness that comes with Ed’s gaping maw, and it is no wonder Ash wanted to chop his head off as soon as possible. So, of course NECA included two heads, and one is split wide open with a removable top half. Inside you can see the tiny green brain, and well, it is just perfect. I know a lot of collectors have a lot of zombie figures sitting around, but I don’t so I am glad they went in this direction, even though I didn’t think it was needed at first.
To close, I want to say that, the overall quality of this set is really quite good. The sculpted details are sharp and the paint work is great, and the best part it, none of it sticks up any of the joints. I know that can be an issue with some past NECA figures, but I did not experience any of it here, so kudos to them for getting it done right. If you are an Evil Dead/Ash/Bruce Campbell/horror fan, you don’t wanna miss this, so pick it up HERE. Now, NECA, let’s see that Army of Darkness Ash and Deadite two pack next, please!
