Review : Alien Covenant Neomorph (NECA)

Review : Neomorph NECA, Alien Covenant Wave/Series : Alien Covenant Released : July 2017

£25.99

Pros : the mouth on the open mouth head is brilliant

Cons : he closed mouth doesn't look as good, the baby Neomorph is a bit floppy and cheap

The extent of NECA's releases based on the 2017 Alien Covenant movie was two boxed figures and an accessory pack. The two figures were the key Xeno's for the movie - the Xenomorph and the Neomorph. In this review we take a look at the Neomorph.

Unlike their Alien cousins in the main range, the Covenant figures come boxed - and what a box. It is probably the nicest Action Figure box design I have seen in quite some time.

It is a basic black box with figure window that wraps over the top flap. The window is shaped with a shape of an Alien Neomorph head which is illustrated in a grey-scale artwork. To the bottom left is the Alien Covenant movie logo - with the "Covenant" text being the only colour on he box being printed with a green hue. The figure name, Neomorph, sits underneath.

The right hand spine see's the continuation of the Alien skull that starts on the front of the box next to the window. The other spine is a face on illustration of the Neomorph head, with the Alien Covenant logo above.

Round the back we get a simple "Neomorph" header and under this is a short paragraph that talks about Ridley Scott's return to the franchise rather than going into detail for the movie. Beneath this sits three images in distressed frames. They are also grey-scale, with the two to the right being repeats of the front and side artwork. The left hand image is a picture of the actual figure.

The figure slides out in its tray from either the top or bottom flap. Within the plastic blister you get the figure, in an odd stretched position, and alongside it an extra head and a smaller "baby" Neomorph.

The inner insert is not just a plain backing but carries a faded image of an Alien egg.

The figure is fitted with an open mouthed head as it comes out of the pack. The sculpt on the mouth is very well done with individual teeth and a sculpted tongue. The head is done very well and consistent with the movie with the eyeless skull and sweeping spine. The colouring is a pale white with pink accentuation down either side.

The body is skeletal and very thin and wiry. Like all Xeno's from NECA there are loads of grotesque details like the rib-cage. There are spikes down the back leading to the tail - which is also articulated like it's bigger relations. The tail uses the metal armature with rubber coating and can be posed in most positions.

The arms are thin with some muscular definition down to oversized clawed hands. The legs are similar and down to feet that are very similar to the ones on the Big Chap figure.

The colouring is essentially a white tone with pink highlights. Being so bright, there is nowhere to hide with this colouration and while the pink does bring out some details - it is not the same level as we get on the main Xeno's with their darker blue and brown shading and washes.

Thanks to the slim and spindly body, the articulation is pretty wide ranging. It starts with the head which not only rotates, but can slide backward or forward to either be looking down or facing to the front if you wanted to pose in a four legged crawling position.

The arms are ball jointed at the shoulder and then jointed at the elbow with a single rotating joint, these means the arms can bend to 90 degrees but no further. There is a similar joint at the wrist which means the hands can bend to 90 degrees also to the forearms, they also rotate.

The legs can get in a number of positions thanks to the hip joint which can bend into a sitting or crawling position. The knees are double jointed and can bend in on themselves. The ankle are a rocker and there is a final joint in the toe so they can be bent to a right angle to support the crawling position.

There is a second head packed in and this is a bit stiff to swap, so your figure might need to be heated first to ease the joint free. The second head is essentially the same as the first with the mouth now sculpted closed.

While this look may reflect the movie, the second head is a bit off for me and kind of loses the menace of the figure.

The pack also includes a baby Neomorph. This is cast in quite soft plastic, but does include some articulation at the hips. The sculpt is OK for something that only stands an inch or so tall. The paint is poorly applied - the blood is too red and not spread naturally - it looks all blotchy.

The figure is designed to stand using those jointed hips and long tail. Sadly the legs are too squashed together to give three points of stability and you will struggle to get this little guy to stand in any fashion.

Against the second release, the Xenomorph, the Neomorph is considerably smaller and is not quite as impressive. While NECA have tried to boost the figure with the pack in head and baby figure - the set still feels a bit "meh" overall.

I love the packaging, but the figure is a bit flat and while the second head is appreciated - it is not something I will use too much. The pack in baby is a great idea in principle, but is executed poorly and its inability to stand is frustrating. I score the Alien Covenant Neomorph a 3 out of 5.