We're all familiar with haunted and killer dolls in horror films, such as Chucky, Annabelle, and if you're more into cult classics, the living dolls of Puppet Master. Akela Cooper and James Wan's film M3GAN is a more modern take on such, with the doll being more of an android than anything, but the basic elements are still there. A snagged a Blu-Ray of it last month (with one of those glow-in-the-dark sleeves Walmart puts on their horror DVDs for Halloween) and loved it, and I'll have to check out the sequel some time. I also managed to get NECA's Ultimate figure for a low price earlier this month, and is it as good as the film? Spoiler alert: yes.

The packaging isn't much different from most NECA Ultimates, with the movie's poster on the front, which is just a picture of M3GAN herself, and plenty of photos of the figure on the back, showing off almost everything she comes with. The graphics and general motif fits the film well, and there's only a single tie for the figure inside.

The Model 3 Generative Android was played by child actress Amie Donald, with Jenna Davis providing the voice, and she wore a silicone mask later enhanced with CGI to make the character look more artificial. Marty Henley did all the sculpting here, and M3GAN looks just like how she did in the film. The default head has a slight smile, and her hair is a softer plastic to keep it from interfering with movement too much. The second head is a more somber expression, not quite murderous yet, but still a little concerned. Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo, NECA's usual paint guys, did a great job with the faces, especially the eyes.

M3GAN's other two portraits make her robotic nature more evident. One of them bears a large scratch across her head, with her hair being reduced a bit and more disheveled, and bleeding mascara (who gives an android makeup?). The expression is much more displeased here, coming from the climax where she turns against her creator after she gets too violent. The fourth portrait shows what's under all that fake skin and hair, with an ocean blue and bronze "skull" bearing tons of mechanics behind the face. There's two swappable face/eye pieces for it, one normal and one scuffed up, and they attach and detach with ease. The portraits swap at the neck, and some heat is recommended the first time, but having all these options are nice.

At about 5 1/2" tall, M3GAN's clothes remind me a bit of an American Girl doll. She wears a long dress with striped sleeves, white tights with strap shoes, and a multi-color ribbon bow tie. The colors and line work are very clean, with nothing in the way of bleed or slop. I wish NECA would figure out a solution to the paint chipping off joints, as it leaves some blank areas in the elbows. The dress looks great, with slits in the sides to help with leg movement, and it's overall a soft material over an articulated torso with plenty of range. As long as I'm talking articulation, M3GAN has all the usual joints, with a barbell head, neck, and chest, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles, ball-jointed waist and hips, and swivel thighs. The joints move well, and while the head and neck are limited by the hair and collar, everything else has plenty of range for a variety of poses, including her iconic dance.

Like Chucky before her, M3GAN relies on whatever tools she can find to do her killing, and her weapons from the film are recreated here. The paper cutter blade is the most notable one, being her weapon against the Funki Toys CEO, and it comes in both clean and bloody variants. She also has a nail gun and hammer, and I don't really recall when she used them, but I know they weren't for carpentry. The screwdriver I don't think was used by her, but it was used to shut her down in the end, and like in the film, it can be stuck in the hole in the bare head. She has a variety of extra hands as well, with four right grips for each of the tools, alongside a left grip and another relaxed right with the fingers slightly less curled. The gripping hands all have vertical hinges, which is important for good weapon poses, and they hold the items with ease.

Whilst not James Wan's first work featuring a killer doll, M3GAN is a lot more fun to watch than Annabelle, and NECA certainly did her justice. With plenty of different parts and ways to display her, she's a lot of fun, and I'm glad I waited to get her since I was able to nab her for just $20, which is a great price for NECA. It's a matter of time if they'll make figures from the sequel, and I hope they do so, because M3GAN is a great example of a slasher doll, even if she's not actually a doll.

- 11/23/25...[See More]

I am looking for the following custom figures:

Super Powers -
-Reaper (Batman: Year Two)

Secret Wars -
-Captain Mar-vell (Kree/Skrull War)
-Phoenix (Jean Grey)

Even if not Super Powers or Secret Wars molds, but same approximate height (4.5 to 5 inches), that would still be great.

If you can make any of these or know of any that exist already and where to purchase them, please contact me at markbrizzolara @ juno . com...[See More]

Want List: I am looking for the following custom figures: Super Powers - -Reaper (Batman: Year Two) Secret Wars - - Captain Mar-Vell (Kree/Skrull War) - Phoenix (Jean Grey) Even if not Super Powers or Secret Wars molds, but same approximate height (4.5 to 5 inches), that would still be great. If you can make any of these or know of any that exist already and where to purchase them, please contact me at markbrizzolara @ juno . com
...[See More]

My latest custom figure uses magneto's cape which has made him a bit back end heavy and now he will not stay in his foot pegged base for longer than a day without falling backwards, is there a way to keep him upright i am not thinking of?...[See More]

Favorite Figure: Dracula
...[See More]

A few years back, both NECA and Playmates announced on the same day that they were making figures of The Last Ronin, coming from the TMNT mini-series of the same name, and it was clear NECA did better (not that it's hard to outdo Playmates). Since then, they've done plenty of other characters from it, but I'll admit I haven't been focusing too much on it, mainly because of NECA's other TMNT lines. That said, their work on it has been great, and I figured it's high time I go over some more figures from the line, including the memorable matchup between Raphael and Karai.

Ben Bishop has been handling all the box illustrations for this line, and the work is great. Both Raph and Karai are posed leaping in the air, ready to attack, with Raph having some blood on him and even an arrow sticking out of his leg. Aside from the spines of the boxes making up a larger mural (Raph is 3 while Karai is 7), the fronts go side-to-side with one another; you can tell by the post halves on the edges lining up with one another, and it creates a cool display. I don't like NECA's insistence on using the same generic text with Turtle sub-lines, but it's at least good they have shots of the figures.

As the first Turtle in the line aside from Michelangelo, the Last Ronin himself, Raphael is sculpted by Gurjeet Singh rather than Paul Harding, so he looks a little different stylistically. Still, he matches the comic very well, and the expression is fitting. Raph is the most hot-headed of the bros, so it looks as if he's barely holding back his anger. As with most figures in this line, he has an alternate head, which is full-on yelling. Both heads have a fraying mask, with thicker outlines to replicate the wear on them. The lines are a little inconsistent in thickness, but the paint is still pretty clean.

Standing about 6" tall, Raphael is more outfitted than usual for a Ninja Turtle, bearing torso armor, wraps over the forearms and legs, and a lot of pouches. Like the head, the sculpt matches the comic's style very well, and the wraps on him look much more like wraps than in the source material. Jay Kushwara designed the articulation (which I'll cover in a bit) pretty well, and it blends in near seamlessly with the sculpt. The colors are also accurate, and there's plenty of wash on the clothes and shell, being more subtle in some areas than others. The work isn't entirely clean, with some areas of bleed, uneven lines, and small marks (like a brown streak on the right shoulder), but for the most part it's acceptable.

Raphael has pretty good articulation, though it's not without its limitations. He has a barbell head and chest, swivel/hinge shoulders, wrists, and ankles, ball-jointed hips, double-hinged elbows and knees, and swivel biceps, thighs, upper knees, and mask knot. The joints move well, and as I mentioned, fit in great with the sculpt. The arms and legs have plenty of motion, though the arms can't fully rest at the sides due to the design restricting them slightly. He can't do much with the chest due to the shell and armor keeping it in place, and more range in the torso is what I would've liked to see. As for accessories, he has four pairs of hands (closed, gripping, grasping, and flat), his sai (be careful with them, as the prongs are thin, and the tip of one's already broke off on mine), a triangular throwing knife, and an arrow. The arrow can fit in a notch in his carapace, replicating poor Raph's fate.

The plot of The Last Ronin was kicked off by Karai, for whatever reason, breaking a truce between the Foot and the Hamato clan, and attacking his father/sensei prompted Raph to go after her. This is an older Karai, as the story presumably began a few years after the Mirage "City as War" arc in this universe, with longer hair and a more angular chin. May Thamtarana did a great job with the portraits, and while she doesn't look all that feminine, it's how she looked in the comics. Like Raph, she has both gritted teeth and shouting heads, and both options are great for combat scenes. The hair sculpt is different on both heads, but the differences are very subtle.

Standing slightly taller at 6 1/4", Karai's body was sculpted by Tim Miller, and she's dressed in red and chamois tan all over. She has wraps on her forearms and legs similar to Raph, a headwrap with long (and articulated) ties, and a neckerchief that's done as a separate piece from the body. The paint is a little nicer than Raph, mainly because there aren’t as many colors, and while she doesn't have any wash, there's some highlighting to the hair to make it look more realistic. Her articulation is similar to Raph, but she lacks the swivels above the kneecaps, though she adds a waist swivel. The arms and legs are just as good, if not better, but that chest is bad. Despite the barbell peg, it has almost no tilt whatsoever, feeling more like something you'd see with Super7. NECA usually does great with their joints, so how did they let this slide? Anyways, Karai's accessories include relaxed, closed, and gripping pairs of hands, a sword with a sheath, and the same throwing knife as Raph, alongside an extra right hand for holding it. The hands swap easily, but you'll need some heat for the heads.

Raphael's aggression proved his downfall, as trying to face Karai and the rest of the Foot Clan left him riddled with arrows and dying from his wounds in a fight to the death with their leader. To recreate that tragic moment, NECA did a "First to Fall" version of Raph that has various splotches of blood all over his body, but the sculpt remained mostly the same. He has all of the accessories as the basic version, but this version adds seven more arrows, with his back being given slots for them all to stick into, alongside a blood-covered one that goes into his left shin. This version is a NECA Store exclusive, and he's still available as of this writing, so if you want him, get him. Karai wasn't a winner in the fight either, being placed in a coma and ultimately killed by her own son (tragic, but she admittedly had it coming); I highly doubt NECA will do that version of her, though.

While not without their flaws, specifically the minor paint issues and poor chest range, Raphael and Karai are a great pair of figures, especially when you have them together. The various parts and weapons offer some nice display options, and you can make Raphael the winner instead if you want to, though if that was the case, The Last Ronin probably wouldn't have happened. Despite one already being dead by the time of the main story and the other being in a coma, it's great NECA did more characters from the story than just the Ronin.

- 11/20/25...[See More]

Current Projects: WWE, AEW, TNA, NJPW Action Figure Collection
...[See More]

Anyone else having problems uploading JPEGs
I uploaded Count Nefaria with about 15 tries and finally only got two pics on....[See More]

eBay User Name: davidjmoon
...[See More]

Anyone any idea to what Action Man Set from the early 2000 's belong these items
https://www.marktplaats.nl/seller/view/m2335223606...[See More]

I have DOOARE hands and feet. I have ordered a 1/6 an Open Mouth Girl Brown Hair Head Sculpt Fit 12'' PH TBL Female Phicen Figure Body. It has not arrived. I want to get a SUPER DUCK 1:6 SDH023B Girl Head Sculpt for 12” Female TBL Phicen Figure Body. Will everything fit together? Not sure how to download/upload photo. Thanks for helping....[See More]

Favorite Figure: Marvel Legends X-Men '97 Cable
Collection Size: 380 releases...709...834...887...900...987....1006...1015...1182... 1234
Want List: Shard, Frenzy, Cypher, Magma, Synch, Vibe, Naomi, Vixen, Katana, Jolee Bindo, Jocasta Nu, Bail Organa, and Depa Billaba
...[See More]

The 2000s saw many a toy company come and go, and one of the most recognizable was SOTA Toys. While best known for their Street Fighter line, they've had plenty of other lines as well. Years after its shutdown, SOTA frontman Jerry Macaluso teamed up with retailer Toynk to form Syndicate Collectibles, who's put out a variety of products so far, but not much when it comes to action figures. One of the few action figures they've done so far is Stan Winston's Pumpkinhead, who, coincidentally enough, was made by SOTA years ago. With the standards for horror figures having changed since SOTA's days, it's time to see how their successor handled this creature.

Pumpkinhead comes packaged in a large, blue box with its visage on it. It's pretty simple in appearance, aside from the darkened woods background, but I feel it fits the license well, though it wouldn't have hurt to actually credit the people involved with creating the figure like SOTA did. This is a fifth-panel box, similar to NECA, and the reverse side of the front flap has a shot of the film, tinted blue, and accompanied by a quote. There are a few ties to remove for the figure, but it's nevertheless easy to get everything out.

Jerry was able to work with Tom Woodruff Jr., who played Pumpkinhead in the film, to scan a casting of the original suit to ensure accuracy, and you can see it paid off. Despite its name, Pumpkinhead doesn't look very pumpkin-like, but is still monstrous. It has a bulbous head, blank white eyes, and sharp fangs and tusks. There are three heads to work with: one roaring, one snarling, and one with a closed mouth. I would've liked a smirking head, but the options here fit the character well. All three heads suffer from the same issue, that being the softness and lack of detail. Don't get me wrong, it's accurate to the film, but the detail is lackluster for the price and character. The paint is pretty good, with clean work and plenty of wash, but more detail to the eyes would've been good, alongside yellower teeth.

Pumpkinhead is a 1:12 scale figure, and it stands around 9 1/2" tall. It was an imposing creature in the film, so the tall height works great for it. The design reminds me a lot of an Xenomorph, what with its long arms and tail, sharp claws, and animal-like legs. Syndicate's crew did a great job with the sculpt, even if, again, the overall product is very soft-looking. The nails are still plenty pointy, but the fingers are a softer plastic to prevent them from being too painful to handle. The character is primarily tan, with wash all around to bring out the details, and the lines for the nails are very clean. It’s also covered in veins, which are both sculpted and painted blue to help make them more visible. There are some small black marks on the tail, but aside from that, the paint is very well done.

The articulation reminds me a lot of something you'd get from NECA, with plenty of joints (though I'm sure NECA would've given it more than Syndicate did). Pumpkinhead has a barbell neck, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, tail, knees, hocks, and ankles, ball-jointed chest, waist, and hips, swivel thighs, and a bendy wire in the tail. The joints move smoothly whilst still being able to hold their position, though the single ball-joints are a little loose. I would've loved more bend out of the leg joints, to allow for deeper stances and more dynamic poses, but you can still achieve quite a bit with what they can do. The neck and waist both work better than the chest, and the heads swap easily. Aside from the extra heads, there isn't much for accessories here, as Pumpkinhead's only other extras are a wooden cross and an extra right hand for holding it. The hands are tough to swap at first, but after that first time it gets easier. I would've liked a base to help it stand, as well as a rifle to recreate my favorite kill from the movie.

For Syndicate's first figure, Pumpkinhead turned out very well. Sure, it's quite lacking in detail, and articulation could've been better, but I love the end result nonetheless. There's also a 1:6 scale version that's really just this one but larger, but for $300, I'll pass on it. Given that NECA did their own, better version of the other horror monster Syndicate did (the werewolf from The Howling), I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they do Pumpkinhead as well, but until then, I'm happy with this one.

- 11/12/25...[See More]

...[See More]

Comments: Just a teen who likes collecting Misfits figures and other figures that I like
...[See More]