We add another figure into our fledgling review catalogue with the second entry from Devon Green who this time turns his attention to the NECA Ultimate Jungle Hunter Predator alongside an exclusive image gallery of both studio and on location shots. An impressive figure on the surface but does it hold up?

NECA Predator

By Devon Green (@themightyempire)

I’ve always been a huge fan of the 1987 film, Predator. My parents somehow allowed me to watch this blood and gore-filled testosterone fest way before I should’ve been allowed to and I’m forever grateful for that. NECA’s Ultimate Jungle Hunter Predator is the perfect figure to help me recreate some of the best scenes in the movie. Unfortunately, NECA has yet to produce the Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers figures with hand gripping action and bulging biceps to create the actual best scene in the movie.

I’ve been collecting 3.75” scale figures for years and I seldom stray away, but this figure makes me very happy I did. This guy is just so damn cool.

Sculpt

This Predator stands at a nice 7 inches, which is tall enough to tower over my 6 inch black series figures and make them all feel self conscious. The figure itself is gorgeous. Wonderfully detailed with many different textures all over to really bring it to life. His dreads are all individual strands, his unmasked head is scary, his masked head is sleek and cool. He comes with a handful of accessories, that are all met with exquisite detail that makes you feel like this toy was well thought out and even better executed.

This figure does come with a few issues though. Some of the figure’s changeable body parts have a bit of issue popping in and out, like his extra hands and his unmasked head, it’s not awful, just a bit of a nuisance. His unmasked head doesn’t really stay on as well as it should. You pop it into the joint and soon after it pops off. You can’t really move the head without it falling off. The shoulder cannon it comes with is a bit tricky to put on. Like the second head, it usually loosens it’s way out. The plasma bolt that attaches to the cannon is sometimes touch to pose as the weight of the bolt can hold the cannon down. These are just a few gripes though, not really enough to ruin this beautiful, beautiful figure.

Score: 8.5/10

Paint Application

There isn’t much to say about the paint application on this figure. It’s great! All the colors are where they should be, the colors aren’t smudged anywhere and it looks screen accurate. They took the ugliest tones of green, black, yellow and silver and did a really good job on this figure. NECA did a great job using paint to really highlight the details and textures of this figure everything just works on this guy in terms of paint and color. Funny enough, the figure has a strong smell of paint and when you sniff it, it’ll make you say “They sure did paint this!”

Score 10/10

Price Point

This figure came to my attention as I was browsing online and on a whim, I hit purchase. With the figure and shipping, I paid about $30. For what you get, it’s a fair price. You get a beautiful figure that displays very well along with a handful of nice accessories that really gives the figure character. Does it need two sets of hands? Not necessarily. Does it need 2 skulls, and a plasma bolt to go with the shoulder cannon? Probably not, but they included all of that in there as well as a second head and a removed mask.

Between getting the figure and writing the review, I was planning on saying $30 is fair, but $20 would’ve been perfect. However, I happened to be at a Toys R Us, just browsing figures, when I saw this exact figure for $25, and for that I really can’t fault it. That is just a great value of a toy of this caliber, especially when people are spending $20 on Star Wars Black Series figures that don’t feature the level of detail or accessories, and the paint jobs on those figures can be hit or miss. To spend $5 extra on this Predator is no issue to me. Great bang for your buck.

Score: 9/10

Articulation

This is a figure that was made to move, made to be posed and it does a stellar job doing it. Maybe I’ve just been collecting 3.75” for too long, because I’m not used to a figure that can stand so easily without falling. I took the Predator out to the woods to snap pictures of it and was very impressed by how it was able to stand so nicely on different terrains. I had him up in a tree at one point and he stood on the branch without issue. I put him on the ground and he stood without falling.

It makes it great for toy photographers because you aren’t constantly having to repose your fallen figure. For articulation, this figure has ball jointed shoulders, swivel biceps, double jointed elbows, ball jointed wrists, ball jointed head, ball jointed hips, double jointed knees, ball jointed ankles, and double ball joints at both his upper and lower torso. His wrist gauntlet opens and his wrist blade moves in and out. The only real articulation issues are that some of his leg armor restricts his movement a bit, and the head doesn’t move quite as well as I wish it would. That aside, great articulation.

Score 9/10

Overall Design

When the package arrived with this figure inside, I was delighted to see he was being housed in such a great box. A standard Predator logo on the cover with a close up of the masked Predator’s face, but then it opens up like a book to show you the figure behind the plastic window with its accessories all thoughtfully laid around him as well as an action photo of the Predator in a pose. Honestly, I’ve never been the person to keep figures in the packaging, and I almost felt bad doing it with this figure, just based on how gorgeous it was and how it was all put together in the packaging. The feeling didn’t last too long as I was eager to get the figure out and see what it could do.

Predator comes with 2 heads, one masked, one unmasked, 4 hands, a shoulder cannon with an attachable plasma bolt, 2 skulls, one of which has the spine still attached, and the mask itself. This is just a solid figure all around, and one that would fantastic displayed on a toy shelf or in a case (I would love to find an Alien to display it with.) If you’re a lover of Sci-Fi, monsters, or are just looking to add a new figure to your collection, then you will be getting a beautifully executed figure for a fair price.

Score: 9.5/10

Total Score: 46/50

The NECA Predator excels in its fields as is a worthy addition to any toy collection thanks to its incredible paint application , articulation and overall feel. A huge thank you to Devon for taking the time to compile the review and the shoot so be sure to check out his previous work right here and leave a comment below to let us know your thoughts!

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Last modified: May 18, 2017