Neca continues to pump out awesome product this summer as they expand their geek portfolio into some awesome uncharted territory. Prepare your shelf space, and free up room in your bank account because I promise you they are going to find a way once again to get your money.
Diablo III:
I will be honest with you, I have never played Diablo even once, having said that I know bad ass when I see it, and Diablo is bad ass. A cross between Satan, my wife in the morning, and the Queen Alien, Diablo looks as terrifying as she does awesome (I’m pretty sure Diablo is a she). Neca made this beast over 9 inches tall, a foot long and packed in as much detail as possible. Diablo is popping up in Toy R Us stores of all places so be on the lookout. Diablo comes in your atypical evil fire orange and black color scheme and well as a repaint later this August in shades of blue and black.
Bioshock Infinite:
Neca continues their slow release of Bioshock figures this summer with 2 new releases. The first is an add-on to their already released Heavy Hitter George Washington figure; yes it’s his evil robot buddy, Ben Franklin. The second figure is the much requested Booker Dewitt, a character that lacks the visual appeal of say a robo-president but if you’re a fan of the game he’s a must have.
Video Game repaints:
Continuing down the line of Neca’s strangely successful repaints of their properties in video game colors are 2 new figures this summer. The first is the Predator as he appeared in the NES home game. The figure is mostly shades of blue and purple and a must have if you’re a collector of the Predators thus far. The second is Rocky as he appeared in the Sega Master System Rocky game. The figure features an American flag accessory and a matte/pastel paint job with highlights on the muscle tone. Both figures are must haves for fans of either property.
Portal:
In my opinion the coolest video game related release from Neca this summer are their 2 portal figures in P-Body and Atlas. You don’t have to be a fan of the Portal franchise or video games in general to appreciate great robot design in these two. Not only do they feature tons of articulation they also have led lights! That coupled with the surprisingly cheap MSRP, I’d say your nuts for passing on these. Just like Diablo look for these 2 at a toys r us near you.
Godzilla:
Just like Godzilla, Neca is taking it’s time in the destruction of your wallet as it slowly releases some awesome merchandise to devour your bank account. Out now is the first in the new series of Godzilla figures with the 2014 American Godzilla. The figure is just under 7 inches tall and a whopping 12 inches long and he packs more articulation than you have seen in any American made Godzilla figure to date. Following the American Godzilla in July will bill Godzilla from 1994 as he appears in Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla, and an even larger 24 inch long 2014 Godzilla because why not right?
Not many people know this but Neca also owns Wiz-Kids, the guys who make hero-clix among other things, so if you’re not an action figure collector they still have a way to get you with their line of Godzilla miniatures. The notion of table top gaming with Godzilla isn’t new but it’s rare when a company plunks down the money on the property to get the ball rolling on your miniatures. These guys don’t feature the standard hero-clix dial, but what kind of self-respecting nerd can’t make up a game to play with these. Look for a full line from the 2014 movie and Godzilla as he appears in various movies throughout his career.
The Simpsons Greatest Guest-stars:
The Simpsons? Really? Didn’t Playmates beat that one to death? Actually there was some blood left in the Simpsons merchandising stone after all as Neca found an awesome way to bring you some Springfield goodness with figures based on famous guest stars. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong but I believe Neca doesn’t have to be bothered with the headaches associated with likeness rights when it comes to cartoons hence they can get away with almost anything fairly easy. Coming this summer is series 3 of a line that has turned out to be pretty popular for Neca, The Simpsons celebrity guest stars. Joining some already great figures will be the likes of Leonard Nemoy, R.E.M, Bret Hart, Penn and Teller, and holy smokes Stephen King! Give me one reason you don’t need a Stephen King on your shelf judging you with his cold dead plastic eyes?
Batman:
If you can afford it, Neca does 18’ like nobody else, and if you want no better example, look at their Batman offerings. Coming this summer are two jaw dropping figures in an Arkham city Batman and Health Ledger Joker. No amount of description or hyperbole on my end can do these guys justice just check out the pictures!
Scalers:
While not action figures per-say these guys are still really cool. These are simple 2 inch figures that clip on to any cord you may have hanging around your office, and pretty much just look cool. What’s even cooler is that Neca has packed every property imaginable into these assortments, from Freddy Kruger to Spiderman; if you can think of some sort of geek property you love chances are there’s a scaler for it.
Pacific Rim:
If you’re like me, you want as much Pacific Rim product as you can get as quickly as possible. But if you think about it, from a business standpoint, Neca really needs to drag this license out until Pacific Rim 2 comes out, which as of writing this article is still years away. So while you may want it all now, Neca is pumping the brakes and slowing the pace. The only new 7 inch scale figure coming this summer is Scunner, the final Kaiju to use the Knifehead, Axehead body. If you’re like me, while it may suck not having the rest of the Kaiju, it’s pretty awesome having the complete 3 stooges in monster form. Neca is also re-releasing the older harder to find Jaegers to retailers in case you missed them. Where the 7 inch stuff may have been lacking Neca is picking up the slack in the 18 inch department. Cherno Alpha, Gypsy Danger, and Knifehead will be stomping your way by summers end and they are as every bit as cool as you would expect them to be coming from the masters of 18 inch, Neca. I really don’t have to sell you guys on these, just trust me buy them.
Aliens:
In a surprise to some, Neca has expanded their Aliens offerings beyond the Xenomorphs to offer some new human characters in their next go round. The next assortment coming later this summer features Kane, the Dog Alien, and the highly requested Bishop. Bishop and Kane are must haves for any Alien(s) fan and the Dog Alien can finally replace the POS Mcfarlane version from years ago in your collections.
Predator:
If you thought the Predator train was stopping anytime soon, you were wrong- dead wrong (sorry couldn’t resist). Coming this summer is even more Predator merchandise as Neca explores the Predators that lurk within the expanded universe. Coming this summer expect to see an updated Elder Predator, The Enforcer Predator and The Snake Predator who happens to pilot the other Predator release this summer, the very first vehicle, the Blade Fighter! Also coming this summer is the very first deluxe release in the Bad Blood Predator.
8 inch clothed figures:
The bastard child of the failed Django Unchained “Mego-Style” figures this new venture from Neca is set to explode this summer. There are figures coming from every corner of Neca’s property vault from Iron Maiden to Jason to Rocky so if you’re a child of the 70’s the new retro 8” clothed figures are for you.
Planet of the Apes:
By now you’ve seen the Rise of the Planet of the Apes figures making their way into stores, and much like me you ended up buying them all despite the fact you were thinking about passing on them. Well even if you managed to escape the figures from the new movie there is no chance in hell you’re going to escape the classic figures. In the first wave of what is sure to be many Planet of the apes figures Neca brings you 3 different gorilla soldiers, Cornileus, and none other than Dr. Zaius. Go ahead ask me, why do I need to invest in collecting yet another toy line? It’s easy really, because having an army of apes to boss around the rest of the figures in your display is just perfect in some odd way.
This massive article is just a small taste of what Neca has in store for you this summer; I shudder to think what could be lurking in the future, especially with SDCC right around the corner. How about a few guesses and hints eh? I know that’s the real reason you read these articles anyways. If I were a betting man, I’d expect to see a few things from Neca in the next month or so. If I get a 10th Aliens: Long live the queen! Neca has just started to leak pics of this jaw dropping addition to the Aliens line. It would take an act of god at this point to stop this monster from coming out. And they have teased it for a year solid now, Ripley, many, many Ripleys are on their way starting with what I’m guessing is a Ripley that will fit into the power loader, and Ripley in a space suit from the first Alien. Also in conjunction with the Queen and Ripley(s) I’d almost promise you there will be 1 maybe even 2 variants of the Dog Alien, a ripped apart bishop, possible Kenner inspired Aliens, Konami repaint aliens, and god willing a few more marines.
Predator:
While I would love more of the commando’s from Predator in figure form, I think Neca may have blown their budget with Ripley, so I would expect more from the likes of Dark Horse comics, Kenner, and finally AVP.
Godzilla:
Mark my words, Godzilla in NES colors. It’s just too tempting for Neca not to do it. Along with that I’d bet you see burning Godzilla next and maybe one other separate Godzilla with the obligatory talk of “retailer interest” when it comes to any other characters outside of the big G.
Pacific Rim:
I would say an update to Gypsy is almost a given and I would bet they reveal 1 more Kaiju at sdcc for the winter, hopefully something big. The next big property? While it’s probably too early to tell, there is one movie on the horizon that I would bet Neca has sniffed around, perhaps had years now to sculpt figures for…
Mad Max: Fury Road
Tune into DFAT SDCC coverage to see how good my guesses are, and as always keep your eyes open for whenever I get around to writing my next plastic magnum opus!
-Mike
