The original Robocop film was one
of the landmark films that had graciously defined my childhood in the 80s. Paul
Verhoeven’s classic has even received the ‘reboot’ treatment but it came
nowhere near the original film’s pulling power. When you talk about movies
where good guys get annihilated by them villains, it’s sometime understood that
sometimes the villains too get immortalised in our memory banks at par with
that of the good guys. Well, ED-209 or ‘Ed’ here does just that.
Hot Toys have also released two
versions of Ed thus far, with the latest one released not too long ago (I think
it was somewhere in April ’14). But unless you have a bottomless wallet, then the
NECA 6”scale version would probably be your next best choice. I got mine at
about USD60 (or RM200 at that point of time) which was what NECA’s recommended
retail price was, so I guess I got a decent deal. By the way, when you talk
about these items being made available at ‘retail’, then I guess the Malaysian
market does not qualify at all to be called just that. You see, we collectors
over here in Malaysia only get to buy these excellent NECA toys at specialty
toy stores since none is available through TRU and other major retailers.
Quantities are limited and one must be quick to spot any new NECA stock and
usually split-second decisions are a norm when you hold these items in hand
(“To buy or not to buy?”. Luckily there is this other thing called ‘pre-ordering’
beforehand, which is the wiser choice than stalking your local specialty toy
stores every single day.
Right, let us start with the
packaging. I find myself liking the packaging a lot. It has some interesting
graphics and even shots of the toy itself together with Robocop in one of the
panels (at the back to be exact). The box is the hard and sturdy kind, perfect
for you to store Ed in case you decide not to display him out in the open.
There is always fear of breakage and parts falling off the toy as it felt
somewhat flimsy (more on that later) so you’d appreciate NECA’s effort to
protect the toy as they made their way from NECA’s production plant and right
into your arms.
Once you take Ed out of his
packaging (and cut those blasted twisties off), you can always store him back
into the box with great ease. But you’re not gonna do that now would you? This
thing of beauty deserves to breathe and displayed out in the open!
Ed has some fair amount of
articulations. I like it that he has waist swivel but it looks fragile and
feels kinda flimsy. I have poignant memory of the machine trying to follow
Robocop down the flight of stairs to no avail. Those who remember this scene
well must know what I’m talking about. It’s the ‘toes’! Sadly, NECA probably
skimped and omitted this feature out of their toy. So, no moving toes...bummer.
It would have greatly helped us to better pose Ed in many different ways
imaginable to the creative mind. But it wasn’t to be so let’s just get over
that....*sigh*.
I love the way NECA sculpted his
‘arms’. You can clearly make out the various arsenal that his maker had given
him. My only wish is for NECA to make his arm inter-changeable like the Hot
Toys version aka the ‘battle-damaged’ ver. Staying true to the film, NECA had
graciously given us a battle-damaged Robocop so why can’t they also give us a
battle-damaged arm for Ed?
Of course, the most exciting
feature of this toy is its ability to utter official quotes from the movie. My
favourite is his ‘5-second’ countdown followed by the awfully long machine gun
sound. I seriously do not know how long his batteries are gonna last but rest
assured I am planning to take the batteries out if I decide to store this sucka
back into its box....just in case of any leak.
Ed stands at just about the right
height when compared to Robocop. He looks stunning and all of the details have
been beautifully crafted by NECA giving you your money’s worth. He’s well worth
the USD60 or whatever amount you’re paying/paid for it. NECA has been on a run
with their movie-related characters as of late and Ed here is a testament to
that!
THE REBEL’S VERDICT: I don’t know, I’m gonna go out on a limb here
and say that this ED-209 figure here is probably gonna be one of the strong
contender for The Rebel Page’s Toy of the Year accolade come year end! I’m
super ecstatic to have ED-209 in my collection and so looking forward to the
next ‘deluxe’ machine/beast from NECA. The Queen Alien from ‘Aliens’ is up next
and you can be sure it’s gonna join the rest of my NECA crew on my display
shelf. If the ED-209 is any indication of all the goodness coming our way from
NECA, then we’re in for a real treat!
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