Kick-Ass was a fairly decent comic by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. that didn't quite deliver on what it promised. The premise of the comic was meant to be about people in the real world that decide to become superheroes. These are just everyday average people that put on a costume and fight crime. The ramification of doing so are meant to be realistic. If someone thinks there is anything even remotely realistic about anything Hit Girl does, they are out of their mind. Kick-Ass himself would have been killed pretty early on in his story. The whole idea that he suffered nerve damage and now barely feels pain thus making him better in a fight is not quite how reality works.
NECA Story Summary:
KA inspires a new wave of masked crusaders who band together as Justice Forever. Just as they start to make a difference on the streets. the villain, the MF'er, assembles his own evil league and puts a plan in motion to take his revenge on KA and Hit-Girl.
Yeah, they had to go with KA on the package instead of Kick-Ass so they could get away with selling this in Toys R Us. I can accept that a little better than the time that Hellboy had to be labeled as HB and the title character himself had to be called Red. As for MF'er, that one I don't even question. I'm not going to bother spelling it out here, but I'm sure you can figure it out.
This line of movie figures from NECA can be found at highly markdown prices right now. I assume it isn't doing so well because the sequel wasn't quite the hit that the first one was. Good movie or not, this is a really well done line of action figures. Let's get right to the review of Standard Kick-Ass and Armored Kick-Ass.
Sculpt: This is NECA, so at this point you know the sculpt is going to be excellent. They come close to making some of their 7 inch figures on par with Hot Toys' 12 inch figures. That's about the highest compliment you can get. The Armored KA comes with an alternate unmasked head that is really close to nailing Aaron Taylor-Johnson's likeness. Heck, even on the masked head, you can see the likeness at the eyes. (Yeah, masks don't really hide a person's identity that well.)
I should point out that for the most part both figures share the same body. The only differences are hands and the additional armor parts for Armored KA. The body sculpt used for both figures is perfect. The body proportions are appropriate for the character, the details of the folds and piping on the costume look accurate, and the boots are very well detailed. The armor is wonderfully sculpted and fits nicely on the figure
Verdict: 9.5/10 - Superbly done sculpt. It would need to be photorealistic to score any higher.
Scale: The scale on these figures is pretty accurate across this line and even with all other NECA 7 inch (1/10) action figures. It don't have any issues with the proportions of the figures or the accessories.
Verdict: 9/10 - The score is 10 if 7 inch is you preferred action figure scale.
Paint: This is were the figure loses just a few points. With the two figures, most of the paint looks excellent. The color choices are spot on, the dirtiness of the boots look realistic, and the eyes and lips are nicely done. There are just a few things that are not up to standards. Some of the paint on the costume piping is a little light or has some bleed, making them look inconsistent. The yellow paint in general is flaking a bit on both figures especially on the gloves. On the unmasked head, the paint and the sculpt of the eyebrows do not match up. Nothing too bad at all, just enough to take a little away from the figure.
Verdict: 8/10 - Far from terrible, but paint flaking is a pet peeve of mine.
Articulation: Another area where these figures shine. The KA's are great to pose. All the articulation works well and has all the range you would hope for. Here's a list of the different points:
Ball-jointed neck
Ball-jointed shoulders
Ball-jointed elbows
Hinge and swivel wrists
Ball-Jointed torso
Double hinged hips
Double-jointed knees
Ball-Jointed ankles
Verdict: 9/10 - Some more side to side motion on the ankles and the ability to look straight up would make it a 10.
Accessories: There aren't a ton of accessories with the two KA's but you do get some nice items. Both figures get a set of batons that come with wrist straps. I suggest just popping the hands off to get the straps on the figures. They also each have two sets of hands. Standard KA has a set of gripping hands and a set of fists. Armored KA has black heavy duty gripping hands and a set of yellow gloved gripping hands.
The Armored KA has a bit of an advantage. He also comes with an unmasked head where as the standard does not. I also want to say that the armor is removable, but I'm not willing to try. Why would I? The armor looks badass and I already have an unarmored figure. If you only get an armored figure, you can take the risk.
I do need to point out that the neck hole on the unmasked head is a bit smaller than the masked version so I was unable to get it to fit on the ball-joint. I didn't want to force it and risk breaking it, so the head is just rested on top in the pictures. (The spare Terminator Arnold head I had fit just fine though.)
Verdict: Armored 9.5/10, Standard 8/10 - Advantage goes to the armor.
Overall: I'm really glad I have both figures to display because I like both looks quite a bit. If I was to only pick one, I would go with the armor version. Considering I've seen both go for around $10 or less, I have no problem recommending these figures. Heck, I'd recommend them at twice the price. They're just that good.
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| Mezco version in the center. |
Verdict: Armored 9/10, Standard 8.8/10 - Excellent examples of well executed action figures and a solid upgrade from the old Mezco figure.
The Wolfenstein series holds a very special place in my heart as it was the very first 3D shooter that I played on an old crappy PC possibly in MS-DOS. While I haven't played them all, this next version looks really great.
Europe, 1946. World War II rages across Europe. Where once the Allies pressed advantage, the Nazi forces have turned the tide in dramatic fashion behind the technologically advanced war machine of General Wilhelm Strasse -- Deathshead. When a final Allied assault on Deathshead's compound fails, the Allies’ greatest hope falls with it.
