Review – Battle Damaged Robocop
Yes, I definitely hate you all. Between the recent batch of Robocop action figure posts (mentioned here), and my current FlashCity Stories project, I’ve been a little into cyberpunk, and now the Battle Damaged Robocop* action figure has turned out to be so cool that I’m ready to grab some more NECA action figures. Hey, I’m supposed to be convincing you guys to buy toys; it’s not supposed to be the other way around.
Looks Fantastic
Standing 7-inches tall, the Battle Damaged Robocop* action figure has one hell of an awesome sculpt. There are little details all over the body, from writing on the helmet and leg to panels scattered about every bit of the figure’s armored torso. And even though the OAFE Battle Damaged Robocop review says that NECA couldn’t get the rights to use Peter Weller’s likeness I’m gonna say they came awfully damn close; the lower face of the action figure is closer to Weller’s face than we’ve seen some companies get to actor likenesses even when they had the necessary rights. The sculpt is truly fantastic.
Excellent Joint Work
The figure has limited articulation, but the articulation design is perfect to mimic Robocop’s stilted, robotic movement from the movies. Running through the articulation the Battle Damaged Robocop* action figure has got:
- Head – The neck feels like it’s ball-jointed, but the OAFE review says it’s a swivel-hinge joint. Either way, Robocop has a great range of movement with his head and can tilt, turn, look down, and basically stare at whatever you need him to.
- Torso – A swivel waist lets him twist left to right while a joint at the midsection — right where the upper armor meets the black body — gives him a slight bit of up and down movement; not quite an ab crunch, but it also looks a lot cleaner than the standard ab crunch hinge joint.
- Arms – Swivel-hinge shoulders — they kinda act like ball joints but they’re not — hinged elbows, and swivel forearms. Swivel biceps would have greatly increased the poseability of the toy, but I like what NECA did here since it keeps the toy in wooden poses along the lines of how Robocop moved in the movies.
- Legs – Hinged ankles and knees and ball-jointed hips. The working piston behind the ankles is a great touch.
That may not sound like a lot of articulation when compared to some other toys out there, but I feel it’s perfect for the character and makes the toy quite playable. Not a single joint is giving me problems and everything works perfectly. And that makes the Battle Damaged Robocop* action figure a lot of fun to play with.
Simple, but Effective, Accessories
When it comes to accessories the Battle Damaged Robocop* action figure isn’t equipped with a lot, but what he has is perfect. His gun was a must-have accessory, but NECA went one step further and made the right hand pop off so that you can snap on a hand with data spike extended. I’ll have the toy displayed in my collection holding his pistol, but I have to admit that the data spike hand is a cool touch.
Remarkable Paint Apps
Bringing out all of the sculpted damage, the figure’s paint apps are a smattering of oil-like smudges and wear where various bullets have gouged scratches in the body armor. There’s not really all that many different colors used, but the weathering and damage looks great and the edgework around the human face is neat and without any excessive messes. Very nice paint work; not as great as the sculpt, but the paint also doesn’t detract from the sculpt in any way.
Your Move, Creep
The Battle Damaged Robocop* action figure is so awesome that I now cannot wait to pop open the Glow-In-The-Dark Robocop* that arrived with this guy. And if that toy is as cool as this one then I’ll be trying some other NECA action figures; I’m thinking their Terminator series deserves a chance.
The Battle Damaged Robocop* action figure is everything I expect and hope for when I buy an “adult collectible” toy. Appropriate and functional articulation, nice paint, and a dead-on sculpt all work together perfectly and make this a great buy for anyone who wants a Robocop action figure. Definitely recommended!
Even though I still hate you all . . .
Well phil, stay away from the dutch figures from predator…because you WILL WANT MORE! Dutch is easily the best likeness neca has ever done! I had given up on them over the trophy wall/skull debacle but dutch and david 8 sucked me back in!
Seconded! I’ve purchased a few Gears of War figures from Neca over the last couple years, but the Jungle Patrol Dutch figure is really something else.
@Dave Juicebox – Man, you guys are really making me wish I’d had time to go out today and search for Dutch. Maybe tomorrow I can swing by TRU after work.
Well, if you don’t find him in-store, they’ve got both versions online:
http://www.toysrus.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=dutch&origkw=Dutch&f=Taxonomy/TRUS/2254197&sr=1
…and you can use the promo code SPRING15 to get 15% off.
Happy hunting!
@Dave Juicebox – You’re evil! But 15% off is always nice.
@Matthew M – I was thinking that Dutch figure looked pretty nice. Maybe I’ll swing by Hastings this afternoon and see what they’ve got out; the store always seems to have a pretty decent selection of action figures.
Great looking figure. I skipped it because I really wanted a BD Robo with his helmet off, but it doesn’t seem like NECA will be doing that anytime soon.
I’m so glad you’re finally having a good experience with NECA figures! They’ve turned into one of my favorite toy companies, and I can’t wait for their Kenner-Predators.
@Faugh – Well, their Iron Maiden figure I opened was also very cool — review here: https://www.battlegrip.com/?p=38738 — but I did run into a string of weak figures that had me questioning NECA’s work. The two Robocop figures I’ve opened make me interested in trying more.
Thanks for encouraging me to give them another shot!
@3B – A removable helmet seems way too easy for them to not do at some point. Maybe as a con exclusive since it would require very little tooling and they could create more Kenner-inspired packaging.
Or add removable head and chaingun and then use this mold to create a “Battle Damaged Night Fighter Robocop.”
If you guys are looking for this one Amazon has a vendor listing for $5.99 right now!! Just scooped him. Got a Balboa at the same price.
@Chandler – Thanks for the tip! That Rocky is pretty tempting at $6.
as i was recently contemplating buying this figure (last one left in comicstore) i beforehand watched me through 2 & 3 of the movies and i must admit that i kinda love the battle damage in last scene of RC 2 a bit better than this one http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100912031034/robocop/images/f/f2/Goodbye.jpg
(would be awesome if he would be released along the brain of Caine here – well, if) – but i could easily still be buying this one and just customize him like this.
In all Neca makes it really not easy not to get their stuff as it’s right now loads of nostalgia oozing up and all my childhood heroes being released – Arnold from Predator (though i wait on the mud version); Robocop (i opt for the springed holster) and his villain robot; Rambo; and most contemplating will be Adam West and Michael Keaton Batman – i might get rid of some MotuC first to make room for them – god, i hate Neca, haha!
Also their humble attitude and the sculpt quality along all the nice articulation make me really wanna open up a new collection while i’m more the vintage toy collector.