Throughout the history of the franchise, the Halloween series has been retooled and rebooted a lot, with the Blumhouse trilogy notably ignoring everything after the first. One of the now-non-canonical timelines took place over three movies, with the last of them (and sixth overall), The Curse of Michael Myers, revealing that his bloodlust was the result of a cult. Not many fans liked that explanation, and it's commonly agreed Michael's just the walking embodiment of evil, but it hasn't made the film any less of a guilty pleasure. Now that NECA's done figures of all three modern Michaels, they're going back to 1995 and giving us his aforementioned Curse appearance.

After the first two and the fourth films used a modified Captain Kirk mask for Michael, the next two used all-new masks, with the Curse mask being a large improvement over what was used in Revenge. Trevor Grove sculpted the head/mask, and it's very accurate to the film. It has the same creepy, emotionless expression these masks usually have, with his eyes barely visible behind it, and the look and texture of the hair is good. The mask also has a grainy look for the paint, as if it was spray painted, while the hair uses different shades of brown for a realistic look. The alternate head is the same sculpt, but with green ooze pouring down on the mask. This comes from near the end when Paul Rudd beats the crap out of him, and I'm guessing this ooze is his evil-tainted blood, with a great look to it.

Standing tall at 7 1/2", Michael utilizes an all-new sculpt for the body, done by Kyle Windrix and Anthony Minichino (who also did the fabrication). The Thorn trilogy coveralls are a lighter, somewhat faded blue, and the color here is more accurate than the larger figure Trick or Treat Studios did (though those were fabric, whereas these are just sculpted). The details on the sculpt are great, and the paint on the outfit is more solid than washy, but it makes for a clean look that matches the film. Given that Michael was set ablaze at the end of Halloween II, his hands have a scarred look and bear a pinkish hue resembling burned flesh. The sculpt on the hands is fine, but there are some seam lines and small bits of excess plastic here and there.

Despite being a new sculpt, the Shape's articulation isn't too much different from previous Ultimates. He has a barbell head, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows (double-jointed), wrists, knees, and ankles, ball-jointed hips, swivel thighs and calves, and a ball-jointed/barbell chest hidden under the coveralls. The joints move very well, with enough range for various slashing poses, and the extra heads and hands swap easily. Since the chest is hidden under a thick rubber outfit, don't expect it to have much movement. The hips are pretty tight, making a creaking noise when posed, but still move fine enough that you won't have to worry about anything breaking.

This is one of the most "Ultimate" feeling Michaels NECA's done, as he's loaded with accessories. There are plenty of weapons for him to use, with two knives, an axe, a crowbar, a syringe bundle, and the surgical machete he uses on the Cult of Thorn at the end (serves them right). There are also various hands to go with them, as aside from a pair of relaxed hands, there are also two pairs of gripping hands - one vertically-hinged and one horizontally-hinged - and a wide right for the syringes. Doing hands with different types of joints is better than the semi-revolver joints previous Michaels had, as they allow for more range, and work with plenty of weapon poses. For non-killer accessories, Michael also comes with a trio of candles, a bag of runes designed to rest on the floor, the pumpkin and lone mask (also designed to lay on the floor) from the final shots of the film, and a Strode Realty sign with a Michael cutout that clips onto it. I wouldn't call the sign and cutout necessary, but they're a neat inclusion that makes for good displays.

Although Curse was one of the least-liked Halloween movies, I thought it was pretty good, and NECA put out a figure that's even better. Michael does well in every category, save for a few issues, and despite not being the most memorable appearance of the Shape, the number of accessories here combined with a great appearance and poseability makes him worth getting. Hope this means we're closer to NECA doing an Ultimate '78 Myers.

- 6/24/25...[See More]

Current Projects: SickHead from 31
Comments: Horror customs are my favorite right now. Any twisted and evil
Favorite Figure: It's a custom I made for myself
Favorite Series: Horror
First Figure: Can't say
Collection Size: Maybe 300 to 400 figures
Currently Collecting: Mostly I create my own but I do collect neca horror and Mezco
Want List: Parts pieces and accessories for fodder
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eBay User Name: Heinzaut
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eBay User Name: copperpotcustoms
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Am was a Force-sensitive human female clone who, like her twin brother Karre, was created through advanced cloning technology and the dark side of the Force. The two were raised from birth to become Dark Lords of a remnant of the Galactic Empire known as the T-Empire....[See More]

eBay User Name: makoto-raphael
Favorite Series: S.H. Figuarts
First Figure: Archer (Arrow-Strike Crossbow) & Chip Hazard (Platoon Leader)
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Karre was a Force-sensitive human male clone who, like his twin sister, Am, was secretly created through the dark side of the Force and raised to become a Dark Lord of a remnant of the Galactic Empire known as the T-Empire....[See More]

Kul Teska was a Skakoan male mercenary active during the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Before he took a criminal's path, Teska was a respected scientist in the Techno Union. However, an accident with his pressure suit left Teska disfigured and forced him to leave the Union. With the help of his knowledge in the field of cybernetics, Teska rebuilt his pressure suit, equipping it with a variety of weapons, and became a gun-for-hire. All the while, Teska continued his own experiments with gravity and began construction of the gravitic polarization beam, a superweapon with enough firepower to collapse a star. Teska's experiments soon attracted the attention of Count Dooku, the leader of the Confederacy. During the Clone Wars, Teska came into Dooku's service and was provided with a laboratory on the planet Behpour in the Naboo system, where the Skakoan continued the development of his weapon....[See More]

Jakks Pacific has shown a willingness to work with different scales for their licenses. With Mario and Sonic, they've done 2.5" figures and playsets, basic 4" figures, the occasional 5" subline, and even figures larger than that. So far, their Simpsons line is only in the 2.5" and 5" scales, but unlike their other major licenses, I've been willing to get both scales because of how much I love the series. That said, the latest 2.5" wave isn't easy to find at retail, though I managed to find Homer first, and then everyone else sometime later.

Unlike the past two waves, the Simpson variant here isn't Bart, but Homer, and in his "Dancin' Homer" outfit. At 3" tall, Homer stands out for not having a stiff pose or a blank stare like most of these figures do; the legs are spread, the left arm is bent at the elbow while the right arm isn't exactly straight down, and the face bears a more excited expression than just a smile. The portrait looks great, and although the cap isn't removable, it looks pretty nice on him. The outfit and colors are good as well, though they didn't bother painting the suspenders on the back due to his cape covering it. I get Jakks likes to use colored plastic to cut down on paint, but I expected a little better here. The usual joints are here with a swivel neck, swivel/hinge shoulders, and "sit-down" waist, and while the head and arm movement works great with the pose, it'd be nice if Jakks could make the waist turn as well, something that would work better with the sculpt.

Moving onto the other adults in the wave, next up is Principal Skinner, and considering all the kids we're getting in this scale, getting some school faculty makes a bit of sense. Skinner has a stone-faced expression befitting his personality, and yeah, it's a little odd to look at him dead-on, but the likeness is great. Standing a bit under 3", Skinner has the stiff pose we usually get with this scale of figures, but it actually kinda works for a (sometimes) no-nonsense authority figure. The colors match the show very well, and the paint on the shirt and tie are clean. The neck and shoulders work fine, though the lower body can't sit down all the way, a problem with everyone in this wave.

The last adult in the wave is Selma, and I'll admit it's a bit odd to get her alongside Skinner, since Patty was the one he was in a brief relationship with. Selma has the most characterization and focus of the two, so I suppose there's a reason she was made first. She has her usual unamused expression, and the hair is sculpted similarly to Marge, with a clumpy look that sorta reminds me of Floam. She's the tallest of the wave at around 3 1/8", and the work all around is pretty good, save for the feet. They have a somewhat bluish hue and I can't understand why. Aren't her shoes separate pieces glued onto them? She also has the least range in her waist due to her dress, and if I was in charge of sculpting here, I'd make the dress a rubber piece over the joint and sculpted legs underneath for better range. It's a shame the adults in this scale don't have accessories, because Selma would benefit from having Jub-Jub with her.

The remaining figures in the wave are both kids, one of whom is teacher's pet Martin Prince. Like Skinner, Martin is a little weird to look at face-to-face, but if you turn him to the side or 3/4 view, the accuracy to the show becomes more clear. He's also the only "happy" figure in the wave besides Homer, and the expression fits Martin well without looking too zombie-like. He stands about 2" tall and has decent paint, though he suffers more than the others when it comes to bleed and uneven edges (at least the pens have clean work). Martin comes with an algebra textbook, befitting his intellect, and while a simple piece, the work on it is good, and he can hold it in both hands.

Finishing off the wave is everyone's favorite bully with a heart of gold: Nelson Muntz. He's taller than Martin at 2.5", and while the scale with the other kids is good, the scale with adults is not. He should not come up to the adults' necks, and if these kids were like half an inch smaller, they'd scale much better. In spite of that, Nelson has a great sculpt, including his ugly mug, which is quite good given how difficult some of these designs can be to translate to three dimensions. The paint on the torso and shoes is good as well, and while there is some bleed, it's not as noticeable as Martin. His accessory is a rake with a wasp's nest on the end, something more unique than what Martin has, but it befits the type of mischief Nelson usually gets up to.

Although I prefer the 5" line, Jakks has done a great job building up a small-scale world of Springfield, with plenty of variety to the cast, and some great sculpts and accessories to boot. With this wave in particular, Dancin' Homer is a standout thanks to the more expressive sculpt, and while Selma is the weakest for a couple of reasons, it's nice to get the extended family. With the family sedan set now showing up in Australia, and a leaked wave five lineup along with it, I look forward to getting much more of these, though I still have to get Scratchy and that Walmart-exclusive Bartman.

- 6/18/25...[See More]

eBay User Name: at-atcollectibles
Currently Collecting: Star Wars Galactic Heroes
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eBay User Name: Randomness
Favorite Figure: Super Articulated Spiderman
Favorite Series: Elseworlds
First Figure: Generic Army man
Collection Size: Over 100
Currently Collecting: Zatanna
Want List: Rare or Customized Zatanna
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eBay User Name: allfather24
First Figure: Transformers (80's) , Thundercats (80's), or G.I. Joe (80's)
Currently Collecting: Marvel Legends, McFarland DC Multiverse,
Want List: WWF (LJN) (80's), WWF (Hasbro) (90's)
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Collection Size: To big to even guess.
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Mortal Kombat is a property that has opened itself up to many toy lines, thanks to the unique cast of characters and uber-goriness. Storm did a great but sadly ended line of (mostly) high-quality figures, and McFarlane is returning to it with a Klassic line, something I've been wanting for a while, and then there's Infinite Concepts. If you haven't heard of them, it's because they weren't around for long, with their only releases being a wave of MK figures in the start of the new millennium. They're not easy to find and even most costly to get, but I was lucky to find Sub-Zero for a decent price.

These figures come on huge cardbacks, and they just scream late-90s/early-2000s figure packaging design. From fire on the front to thunder on the back complementing a cross-sell and a description of IC's "Center of Gravity Joint Integrity Technology" (more on that later), the motif creates a look that both fits the license and looks quite appealing. Again, this is a cardback, done before clamshells and boxes became the norm for collector-focused toys, so it's easy to get open.

The card touts these as "hyper-realized" action figures, and I assume that meant IC was going for a realistic look, but with a bit of exaggeration. Sub-Zero in particular seems to have his design lifted from Mortal Kombat 4, save for the scar over his right eye, and the portrait is pretty good. It doesn't look perfect, as the shape is a bit odd, but it's from the company's first (and only) line of figures, and it was done in the late 90s, so I can cut them some slack. The paint is very solid and bold on this figure, which is surprising for something from this time frame, and while the shade of blue on the mask is darker than it should be to match the rest, the lines are clean, and the slight red on the eyelids gives him a bit more realism.

One thing to note about these figures is that they're massive, with Sub-Zero being just over 8" tall. He's sculpted in a semi-fighting pose, with legs spread, chest forward, shoulders towards the back, one hand closed, and the other hand in a grasping pose. While not quite realistic, the muscular body looks great even with the semi-exaggerated design and odd shoulder placement, and the articulation blends in very well whilst being more plentiful than most figures around the time. This is part of that aforementioned "Center of Gravity Joint Integrity Technology," as the sculptor(s) wanted a more aesthetically pleasing figure that can still manage good poses. The torso and part of the arms seem to be a generic mold for this line, judging by the similar build of the other male figures and the straps being a separate piece that pegs together at the belt/waist. Not too surprising given IC was likely a small company. The blue parts have plenty of wash to help make them pop, and there's some on the arms as well to make Sub-Zero look slightly more realistic.

As for articulation, it's nothing special nowadays, but it was still a lot for its time. The set-up here is a ball-jointed head, swivel/hinge shoulders, T-crotch hips, hinged elbows, knees, and ankles, semi-ball wrists designed to bend inwards, and a swivel waist. The head can be propped up a bit on the ball for a bit more tilt, and the waist's peg is also seemingly designed for a bit of rolling motion. The arm joints blend in great, especially the elbows and their deep bend, but the wrists could've been handled better, as you have to force the inward motion, which carries the risk of breaking the peg. The legs can manage a squat thanks to the knee and ankle joints, though they don't bend as deep as the elbows. Overall, the articulation works well enough for basic fighting poses, but nothing too extreme.

There's one other joint I forgot to mention, and it's in the foot. Namely, it's a hinge going halfway through the feet vertically. This unique bit of engineering is sort of like an early ankle rocket, being designed for both dynamic poses and balance. This is part of that C.O.G.J.I.T. thing Infinite was trying to push, as the joint is meant to help the figure shift its weight to balance itself when standing on one foot. I'm not sure if it's just me, but Sub-Zero hasn't been able to balance like that without something to support him, possibly because he's solid plastic and just so darn heavy. Still, it helps with deeper stances a lot. By the way, these figures have no accessories, save for Mileena who gets her sai, and I just wanted to point that out.

Despite having a very short lifespan, Infinite Concepts managed to make themselves known for a line of figures that tried to set a new standard, and they did a pretty decent job. Granted, we have a lot better figures when it comes to MK nowadays, but IC's ability to blend sculpt and articulation near-seamlessly combined with amazing paint work is something to appreciate. Now to decide whether or not I want to sell this thing off.

- 6/16/25...[See More]

I have a figure with really soft leg plastic, and really hard waist plastic that makes easy indentation with simple posing. Thinking about putting a clear coat on it to save it from getting destroyed, but not really sure the best way to go about this. Any help would be appreciated....[See More]