There are only a few action figure lines that have been produced in the last decade that will stand the test of true time. Twenty years from now, The Muppets line from Palisades will be one of those, as is the World of Springfield line from Playmates. And joining them will be the Nightmare Before Christmas line from NECA.
At this point we can say that, because at this point the line is (in all likelihood) done. Series 6 marks the end of the line, which is a disappointment to many of us. But that’s no reason to ignore the excellent figures we’ve been fortunate enough to get to this point.
Series 6 includes four figures – ‘Experiment’ Jack Skellington, Mr. Hyde, Corpse Mom and Son, and Melting Guy with the Spider Hair Monster. I’ll be reviewing the last three tonight, skipping the Jack. He’s the same Jack we’ve gotten before, with some new (and nifty) accessories. If you’re a completist, or you missed Jack earlier, you should check him out. Otherwise, it’s the other three that will peak your interest.
These are hitting stores like Hot Topic right now, and are available online as well. There’s plenty of suggestions of where to pick them up at the end of the review. Any questions, drop me an email!
You’ll have noticed in an earlier photo that Mr. Hyde has an extra ‘hat’, which is actually made up of a couple different mini-hydes holding a hat up in the air. The normal hat pops off his head, and a peg on the base of this extended hat can then be fitted into the top of his head. It works well, and looks terrific.
Packaging – ***
The packages have remained relatively consistent through out the series. The clamshells will require a knife to get them free, but they keep the figures quite safe, and show them off pretty well on the peg.
Sculpting – Mr Hyde, Melting Guy, Corpse Mom/Son ****; Spider-Hair Monster ***1/2
The sculpting has been outstanding throughout the entire run. This is often due to the exceptional work of The Four Horsemen, the sculptors and fabricators who did most of the design work on this series. If a line has to end, it’s always good to end on a high note, and this set of figures is definitely that high note.
Everyone has a solid sculpt, although the Melting Guy and Mr. Hyde are my favorites. There’s some wonderful use of textures and small detail work here to give them real personality and pop. The Corpse Family look terrific as well, and make a terrific pair, while Spider-Hair Monster is solid work if not quite as interesting for me.
The scale is quite good across the line, although the Spider-Hair Monster seems a smidge small. But it’s a minor variation, and the figures look excellent together, and with other figures from the overall line.
Paint – ***1/2
NECA has had their well known issues with paint ops in recent times. They seem to have gotten it under control in some of the other lines, but the NMBC line has never shown the same problems. Once again, all of these figures sport high quality paint jobs, with almost no slop or poor quality work.
That’s not to say there’s absolutely no problems. The lips on Corpse Mom are a bit more sloppy than even she paints them herself, and there’s a few slop spots here and there on the clothes of several of the figures. But in general, there’s very few issues, and most folks will be quite happy with the work.
Articulation – ***
The designs on these figures don’t allow for a lot of articulation, but NECA has found a way to get in as much as they could and still keep them looking as good as possible.
Mr. Hyde has a ball jointed neck which works pretty well, along with pin elbows and ball jointed shoulders (jointed only at the torso). There’s also cut wrists and a cut waist. The arm articulation works pretty well with the neck articulation to get some interesting poses, and you can turn the hat as well since it’s held to the top of the head on a post.
Corpse Mom and Son both have ball jointed necks too, and again, they work as well as they can with the restriction of the clothing. Actually, almost nothing is restricting Mom’s neck, and she can look up, tilt to either side, and take on some very interesting poses. She and her son have the same NECA shoulders, and cut joints at the sleeves. That’s it for the Son, but Mom also has cut joints at the top of her fat stubby legs.
The Melting Guy has the best neck joint of the bunch, with a great range of movement. You’ll be able to add a ton of personality to this guy’s appearance with this joint, along with the shoulders, pin elbows, and cut joints at the top of the legs. The shoulders are more restricted than the other figures due to the style of the suit, and he lacks cut wrists (which surprised me), but the articulation does what it can considering the design.
Interestingly enough, Spider-Hair Monster is the most articulated of the bunch. He has a ball jointed neck, ball jointed shoulders, ball jointed elbows, ball jointed wrists, and a ball jointed waist. That’s a lot more ball joints than we usually see!
Accessories – Mr. Hyde ****; Melting Guy/Spider-Hair Monster **1/2; Corpse Mom/Son **
Mr. Hyde gets the best score here, but he should have the most accessories – the other sets are actually two packs of figures.
The Melting Guy and Spider-Hair Monster, who are both fairly large and well articulated figures, come with one accessory – the road kill turtle. He’s not articulated, but he’s a good size, and a great sculpt. He’s also a unique accessory, not re-used from any previous release.
The Corpse Mom and her Son, who are attached to each other with the leash, come with the large package, which we’ve seen before. They also both have small display bases so they can stand. While that’s not a ton of stuff, it won’t hurt their overall too much since you’re actually getting two well done figures for the price of one.
Mr Hyde comes with several extra goodies. First, there’s his small display base, necessary for him to stand. Then he has a medium sized pumpkin, with a hole drilled through the center. I’m not quite sure what I should do with this pumpkin, but it works great as a stand for the larger miniature Hyde that comes with him. That Hyde stands about 2″ tall, and is holding one of those Russian stacker things. EDIT: Thanks to reader Dan, there’s another good use for the pumpkin. You can place it over one of Hyde’s legs, so he looks like he’s stepped on it like in the “We’ve got to find Jack” scene. There’s a second, smaller Hyde that is holding a mallet, and actually stands fine on his own even with the itty bitty feet because of said mallet.
Fun Factor – ***1/2
All of these figures are a lot of fun, although some of the joints are a little too weak for extreme play. Still, these are just as much toys as they are ‘collectibles’, the mark of any great action figure.
Value – **1/2
At most online stores, you’ll pay around $12 – $13 each, which is pretty normal on the current market. Hot Topic will rip you for quite a bit more, so I’d suggest avoiding that option if possible.
Things to Watch Out For –
Not much. Remember that the Mom and Son are attached with the leash, and try to work with them together carefully to avoid pulling one loose. Some of the small joints can be broken if you’re too rough, but that’s common with figures like this.
Overall – Mr Hyde ****; Corpse Mom/Son, Melting Guy/Spider-Hair Monster ***1/2
Mr Hyde is my easy favorite of the bunch, although the entire wave is extremely nice. I love how they engineered both looks for Hyde, and the swappable hats feature works great. He also works pretty well with the arm articulation, giving you more posing possibilities than I expected.
The Corpse Mom and her Son are my next favorites, with terrific sculpts and paint work. They make a great looking pair on the shelf, and really fill out the B characters in the line nicely.
Finally, there’s the Spider-Hair Monster and Melting Guy. Of the two, I really like Melting Guy, but Spider-Hair Monster doesn’t do quite as much for me. It’s a bit more of an aesthetic thing though, and fans of the character will probably be quite happy with him.
It’s a shame the line is ending, but what we’ve gotten has been a definitive line for the film. Hopefully you’ve picked up the entire series, because you’ll never see another one quite this good for this license.
Where to Buy –
Hot Topic has been getting these in, but charging quite a bit more. Online options include:
– Amazing Toyz has them in at $12 – $13 each depending on the character, or the set for $47. They also have quite a few of the earlier series still available, some at sale prices.
– CornerStoreComics has them in for around $13 each or the set of four for $47.
Related Links –
I’ve reviewed much of the previous releases:
– that includes series 5, series 4,
– and there’s a guest review of the Lock, Shock and Barrel set, and a Quick Stop review of the Jack/Snowmobile deluxe set
– also check out series 3, Jack/Oogie Boogie boxed set, and the 14″
Jack with multiple heads.
– the second series of figures, with Santa Jack, the Witches, Harlequinn Demon and Dr. Finklestein was one of my favorites.
– I also reviewed the first series of figures, with Jack, Sally, the Mayor and the Vampire.
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