Vault Review: NECA’s Pacific
Rim Cherno Alpha

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All this action figure goodness is topped off by an amazing amount of articulation.  Cherno’s shoulders, waist and ankles are all double ball joints.  His hips are swivel hinges, while his elbows, knees, and fingers are hinged.  What’s really interesting is that the reactor tower seems to be connected to the torso with a ball joint too.  It barely moves, and it was probably done for sculpting reasons, but I find it really odd that this bit of his body is articulated.

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All those joints to take on a ton of great poses and help him move like an actual street brawler, but NECA took it a step further and added a sort of “action feature”.  His forearms can slide forward, allowing him to pull off his hydraulic enforced punches.

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Even though Cherno is pretty amazing, there are still some quality control issues that seem to be popping up.  There’s some talk online that some people are missing the back of the heel on their figures.  My particular figure doesn’t have that problem, but it does have two right shins.  It’s not a huge issue, but he does stand a bit crooked.  The figure seems to sell out quick, so replacing him will highly depend on finding a non-defective one.

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Aside from a couple of quality control issues, this figure is pretty amazing.  The articulation alone puts him leagues above the previous Jaeger figures.  But beyond that he also has a larger size and more complex engineering that’s set a new standard for these figures.  We’re already getting an updated Gipsy Danger, so I can only assume we’ll be seeing 2.0 versions of all the Jaegers as long as they keep selling well.

-Vault

21 thoughts on “Vault Review: NECA’s Pacific
Rim Cherno Alpha

  1. Yeah, this figure is the tits. I have Crimson Typhoon, Knifehead (v1), Striker Eureka, Leatherback, and now Cherno Alpha. Cherno Alpha is the clear star out of all of them. Now to track down Axehead/Trespasser. And maybe Coyote Tango, a shame the elbow articulation is kind of meh on Tango, though.

    Killer review, as always. Glad the Pacific Rim love hasn’t died yet.

    1. Thanks, Josh.

      After how good Cherno turned out, I’m definitely looking forward to the new Gipsy.

      While I wouldn’t mind some better articulation on Coyote, I think his limits may be based on how the character was designed. He’s literally a giant tank with two barrels strapped to his back. I don’t think the robot itself was meant to be a brawler. He’s more walk-up-to-enemy-and-blast-its-face-off.

  2. Thanks for the review, I can’t wait to see your thoughts on the other figures.
    I’m pretty excited for this wave. Despite loving the movie I have skipped all the figures so far. This wave changed that, and tomorrow my Cherno and Trespasser should arrive. I can’t wait to see how these things feel and move in-hand.

      1. I have to say, I really love these figures. I sort of regret not getting Knifehead now, but Trespasser is fantastic. I do with the kaiju had more range in the elbow bend, but that’s nothing that a razor blade can’t fix. I thought I would want a bicep swivel for Cherno, but his shoulder has such a great range I don’t think it would add much. I do wish Cherno had a thigh swivel, but that doesn’t retract from how great he is.

        Ultimately both figure seem great, I can’t find any paint issues and all the joints are tight but moved freely right out of the package.

  3. When I look at this figure all I want to do is remove the head and mount it on a MOTUC buck. So much custom potential.

  4. I got Cherno Alpha and Coyote tango last week, and I’m so happy. I didn’t notice any QC issues with mine, but I will take a closer look tonight when I get home. Great review and great pics! I love all of the “added” things over the previous waves or jaegers.

    I have never been able to track down a Crimson Typhoon or a Striker Eureka (at a decent price, anyway). I REALLY hope that they’ll get updates like you said, though to be honest, even if they didn’t, I’d just be happy if the older versions got rereleased.

    1. Thanks, Paul.

      I have a feeling we’ll see Crimson and Striker again, at the very least remodeled slightly for their attack modes. I’d really love to see new versions though. Ones that are more in scale and have more features.

  5. Anyone planning to snag the big ones? I had no temptation until strolling into the local comic shop week before last and spotting the 18 inch gipsy danger and it was freaking awesome. He is incredibly tempting and so knifehead had joined him as a temptation after seeing how cool danger came out.

    1. He’s not too bad. Definitely better than the S1 7″ version but he’s still kind of limited. $100 for a 18″ robot isn’t too bad though!

      1. Hey Jon, did you review the big Gipsy?

        If you did, post a link. I think we’d all be interested to see how it turned out.

    2. I was originally tempted to get the big ones, but these new versions satisfy that need for me, I think. The light-up features are still really tempting though, especially on Knifehead.

      1. How do you feel after the showing of the 18″ Cherno? Was kind of thinking of dropping the 18″ line, but damn if I love that Soviet robot.

        I haven’t done a review of Gipsy. I should though. I feel like once we get the 7″ updated Gipsy it will make me think less of the 18″ version, because for the most part it still shares the same articulation scheme as the original 7″ one.

  6. The pictures made me want Knifehead more than Cherno Alpha…
    Mostly because I’ve been sitting on the fence about him for a while (Like the size and sculpt, not a fan of the battle damage).
    Cherno Alpha is tempting, though.

    1. He’s a great figure. I wasn’t a big fan of the battle damage either, but I changed my mind once I had him in hand. It’s got two shades of vibrant blue with a wet look to it. Pictures don’t do it justice (at least mine don’t). Definitely check him out if you can find a physical copy. You may like it.

  7. this figure is a masterpiece for its scale. my favorite in the movie and finally in hand. the best place I found Cherno Alpha is at FYE. I got three in one shot.

    1. Yeah, I’m definitely glad we got all the main Jaegers. If the line does end, I at least feel complete on that end.

      I’d really like to see them all get the same love Cherno did though. He’s fantastic.

  8. i have crimson typhoon,striker eureka and yesterday i got cherno alpha and i must say cherno is best of these 3 figures so far.its fantastic figure from fantastic movie

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