{"id":23994,"date":"2013-07-10T00:15:24","date_gmt":"2013-07-10T05:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=23994"},"modified":"2013-07-10T21:01:41","modified_gmt":"2013-07-11T02:01:41","slug":"neca-predator-jungle-extraction-dutch-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=23994","title":{"rendered":"NECA Predator: Jungle
Extraction Dutch Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> While NECA has been doing amazing things with their Predator line I tried my best to not get dragged into it (Big Red was on my radar, but I never saw him in stores). I’m just buying too much lately. Mattel has their sizable monthly cut of my paycheck and I committed to that before I knew I’d been buying so many third party Transformers. And then there’s that whole Hot Toys addiction I haven’t mentioned… <\/p>\n

But NECA has more or less insisted that I pay attention to them. First, their Predator line has simply kept getting better and better. The figures from a few years ago are good, but the improved articulation and attention to detail on the more recent releases is enough to tempt any collector whether they like Predator<\/em> or not. And then they had to go and make a candidate for Figure of the Year. Thanks, NECA. <\/em><\/p>\n

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See, the funny thing is that while I consider myself a Predator fan and kept hearing the siren song of the Predator line, I never would have guessed that I\u2019d really want a Dutch figure. I’d accept it if someone told me that meant I just wasn’t that greata a Predator fan and simply don’t understand \u2013 hey, anyone out there clamoring for a Michael Harrigan figure? But Dutch took me by surprise. And not only that, I\u2019ve suddenly found that I might need multiple Dutch figures. <\/p>\n

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NECA has four available at the moment: Jungle Extraction (presented here), Jungle Patrol, Jungle Encounter, & Jungle Disguise (i.e. \u201cMuddy\u201d Dutch). Now, the first impressive thing is that NECA has somehow turned Dutch into Batman, but the real kicker is all the figures are well done, each calling out with some particular unique reason to buy that one. I ultimately chose Jungle Extraction over Patrol (the other two hadn\u2019t been released yet) because I liked the jacket look better, there was an extra accessory, and, yeah, the cigar. Any good Arnold figure ought to have a cigar. <\/p>\n

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Now, I don\u2019t want to oversell this figure. I typically buy comic or cartoon-based figures so I tend to lean towards toys that look like toys instead of little people. But Dutch doesn\u2019t really scream toy at all. The sculpt is top notch. The pants and jacket look fantastic with all the seams, pleats, and other little details you need. But I have had figures like that before. Stargate jumps to mind.<\/p>\n

What really sets Dutch apart is the head sculpt, which I’m going to describe as a \u201cHot Toys Level\u201d head sculpt on a seven-inch figure. The whole sculpt is pretty impressive, but the head is what really knocks the figure out of the park. Take a look at this comparison shot with a Terminator figure from just a few years ago. <\/p>\n

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You know what that picture says? That it\u2019s time for a new Terminator figure. In just about any other setting, I would call that Terminator head sculpt good. The likeness is there. It looks sharp. But next to Dutch, it just doesn’t hold up. <\/p>\n

While NECA has captured a well detailed, realistic likeness, the figure also has a great sculpted expression. Normally, I prefer my figures to be a little more neutral (I hate screaming heads with a passion) <\/em>and I definitely am not a fan when eyes are painted to not look forward, but this figure has made me rethink that. The sculpted expression is fantastic and captures that squinty-eye sideways glance that Arnold uses in just about every movie. The other great thing is that, with different poses and lighting, you can get a few different moods out of it. I haven\u2019t had that much fun posing a figure in pictures for a long while. <\/p>\n

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Now, we\u2019ve had great sculpted figures before and often enough they tend to lose some value when it comes to articulation. Even NECA\u2019s older Terminator figures can be maddening. The T-800 in the pics here has great articulation above the waist, but virtually nothing in that statuesque lower half. I\u2019m happy to report that isn\u2019t the case with Dutch. His articulation pretty much seals his contender status for \u201cFigure of the Year\u201d. Dutch features ball-joints at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles, a ball-jointed torso, and swivels at the waist and thighs. <\/p>\n

NECA has borrowed some of the more modern articulation we\u2019ve seen lately by using the ankles joints where the pegs go down into the foot to dramatically increase the range. They’ve also used MOTUC-style hips where the swivel thigh is inside the leg and a soft covering for the lower torso hides the interior ball-joint. All the joints have great range even with the sculpt doing its best job at hiding the articulation (the knees do so particularly well). I\u2019m still going to be greedy and wish there was a bicep swivel because ball-elbows just aren\u2019t the same, but it\u2019s a minor complaint. Dutch is capable of some fantastic poses and the sculpt makes sure he looks great in just about all of them. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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The paintwork was also well done throughout the figure, but I may be giving some sloppiness a pass based on the figure\u2019s design. The important lines (the fingers & gloves, the layers of clothing) are all pretty solid and well done. There is some general sloppiness on the buckles & buttons, but nothing that really stood out or bothered me. Other than some paint slop under his right collar, it’s remarkably clean for this level of detail. Again, the head sculpt is the highlight of the figure, but there does appear to be some random brown paint here and there, namely on his ear & nose. The upside here is that it just fits in with the dirty\/jungle\/facepaint theme and it really blends right out for me. Paint looks sharp. <\/p>\n

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Finally, Dutch includes four accessories: a rifle, a pistol, a knife, and a machete. The rifle has really been my go to accessory out of the group. He holds it great and can get into some good two-handed poses thanks to the great articulation. The rifle also features a removable strap to sling it around Dutch’s back. The pistol fits similarly well and looks great too. Meanwhile, the two blades are nice to have, but they tend to stay sheathed because the hands weren\u2019t really designed for them. Dutch is capable of holding them in various poses if you get them situated just right, but he really can’t hold them. It does appear some thought went into the hands being able to balance the knives without messing up the gun grips, but ultimately he just can\u2019t do both guns & knives without more articulation or alternate hands. <\/p>\n

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The thing is though \u2013 you don\u2019t play with this figure and think about what it should\u2019ve had instead. He doesn\u2019t need alternate hands or articulated fingers. I only point out bicep swivels because I personally favor those over ball-elbows. I\u2019m just not a fan, but even I can\u2019t deny that Dutch utilizes them well. And that really sums it up. For me, Dutch really wasn’t a nostalgia purchase. He is missing an articulation point that I normally consider crucial. <\/p>\n

But I don\u2019t have to make a single excuse for this toy.<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s a figure with a gorgeous sculpt, sharp paints, top-notch articulation, four accessories, and you can go pick him up right now for $18. I know that we’ve slowly become desensitized to how much items cost, but for this high quality of a figure, that price seems like a steal. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure if it\u2019s because I really do just have a soft spot for Dutch or that I secretly always wanted a super-articulated Arnold Schwarzenegger figure \u2013 and, hey, it may just be that I really love cool toys and this one pays out in spades, but in the end, Dutch has been one of my best toy purchases this year. I can’t give it better praise than that. <\/p>\n

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For all our Reviews, check out our
\n Review Index<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":24031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[1986,34,10],"tags":[1989,1988,128,1827],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/dutch01x.jpg?fit=480%2C195","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-6f0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26662,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=26662","url_meta":{"origin":23994,"position":0},"title":"NECA Predator: Wasp Predator Review","date":"January 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Film & TV"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29607,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=29607","url_meta":{"origin":23994,"position":1},"title":"Even More NECA in the News! Predator, Alien, GOTG, POTA!","date":"November 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26030,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=26030","url_meta":{"origin":23994,"position":2},"title":"NECA Predator: Hive Wars Predator Review","date":"December 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Film & TV"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22405,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=22405","url_meta":{"origin":23994,"position":3},"title":"Preternia.com Reviews: NECA Predator S7 Masked City Hunter","date":"January 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Two weeks in & I\u2019m still unpacking, installing fixtures, & assembling new furniture. I haven\u2019t had much \u201ctoy time\u201d, but luckily some of my fellow toy bloggers have graciously stepped in for Guest Review Week III! Today\u2019s post comes from a site that has fast become a favorite of mine,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26064,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=26064","url_meta":{"origin":23994,"position":4},"title":"Top Ten: Figures We Hope Are on NECA’s Radar","date":"December 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Top Ten"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24147,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24147","url_meta":{"origin":23994,"position":5},"title":"SDCC Armchair Coverage: NECA Preview Night","date":"July 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Event Coverage"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23994"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23994"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24032,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23994\/revisions\/24032"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}