Review : Lt. Ellen Ripley (Bomber Jacket) NECA, Aliens Wave/Series : Series 12 Released : December 2017
£24.99
Pros : It is Ripley!
Cons : The head paint job is not as good as the 2015 release
The 12th Series of NECA's Alien series was originally planned to be figures from the 4th film in the franchise, Resurrection. Plans changed part way through the year to allow NECA to push out more figures from the 1986 Aliens movie under the 30th Anniversary banner. That reshuffle gave us a wave which contained 4 figures, but none of which were brand new to the wave. The two battle damaged Xeno's were recycled from the original Hicks & Hudson 2-pack - albeit with updated articulation. Vasquez and Ripley were both existing figures with tweaked parts to give the character a new look.
The Aliens series, and the wider NECA ranges, use these tweaked and repainted figures regularly to support new releases - but it is unusual to see four tweaks in one wave and that made Series 12 feel a little flat.
Ripley arrives in a standard clamshell, perhaps the last wave to do so as NECA have indicated a potential move to their more recent, and now preferred, boxed packaging in 2018. The overall theme of the packaging is dark blue, reminiscent of the movie. The card header is made up of the full Aliens electric blue logo.
Down at the front of the blister the insert carries the Aliens 30th Anniversary circular logo. We then get the specific character name as Lt. Ellen Ripley (Bomber Jacket)..
Being a movie release NECA have given us the two side inserts which contain atmospheric shots of the figure itself in one of NECA's awesome dioramas.
The card back carries a further image of Ripley and over this is laid some background text that explains Ripley as the "survivor of the Nostromo" and her cryogenic sleep and eventual discovery and how she will be returning to LV426 to "confront the Alien menace head on". This is the same text from the 2015 Series 5 figure. The bottom of the card shows the "Also Available" figures with head shots of the two Battle Damaged Xeno's and with Vasquez in the centre.
The design of the NECA blister does lend itself to the inner paper inserts becoming warped and creased, Ripley doesn't seem to suffer as bad as some of the earlier 2017 figures in wave 11.
Once the pack has been cut open, Ripley slides out in her inner tray. NECA are still heavily using twisty ties which have to be untwisted careful so not to damage any paint.
Initial thoughts of the figure is that the head is very non descript and is quite glossy. This is down to what appears to be the use of the "sweaty" flesh plastic that NECA have employed on other figures such as the Rocky releases and with the Ultimate Commando. The eyes and lips are painted on top of the flesh tone, but there is no other shading or blusing to help bring out the sculpt.
The hair piece is a good attempt at capturing Weaver's 1986 Aliens style, but it is very dark and one tone in colour.
The costume is very well done and is made up of a blue jumpsuit over which we have the brown leather bomber jacket. The cloth and material is well sculpted and we can see defined creases and folds where you would expect to see them. Zips and buttons are detailed and painted in silver and the cuffs and trim of the jacket are ribbed to look elasticated and painted a lighter brown.
The Reebok trainers are pretty detailed too with the white broken up with red trims and the grey ankle pieces and straps.
Bomber Jacket Ripley uses the same head sculpt as the 2015 Series 5 Ripley and when you compare the two side by side you can see the same head sculpt but the difference a painted head makes vs the glossy skin. Both have strengths and weaknesses, and I can appreciate the plan to make Ripley look sweaty under the pressure of the situation - the technique was used on the Rescuing Newt version of Ripley earlier this year.
The lower parts of Ripley are a re-use too, although this time round there is more blue in the suit. The torso is new with the top part of the jumpsuit and the bomber jacket on top. The arms too are new, but the hands are the same.
NECA quote this figure with 25 points of articulation and this is on the basis of each point of movement on the figure - so a head that rotates and looks up and down gives 3 points. I prefer a more simplistic view of POA and will refer to the points on the body where we have a joint - regardless of the movement that joint gives. For me that means Ripley has 14 points of articulation.
We start with a ball jointed head and being a true ball joint and not a pivot on a ball - the head will rotate and look up and down at any orientation. Further down the trunk we have ball joint in the torso , hidden behind the jacket and disguised by a sculpted belt. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulder and can move out to about 45 degrees, and also rotate above the head. The elbows bend to a full 90 degrees, and these also rotate. The final arm joint is a wrist joint that rotates.
The legs are also a little restricted. NECA use a ball joint in the hips and then disguise this with a rubbery crotch section that flexes with the joint. This looks much nicer than say a Diamond Select T-Joint hip, but does mean the joint can only move as far as the crotch section can stretch. For Ripley that is a wide stance only. The knees are well disguised too, and these are a single joint but they do rotate. We finish with ankle rockers.
Ripley comes with a Pulse Rifle. This is the same sculpt and design used in a number of Aliens releases. This one comes with a rubber flexible strap attached. The gun looks great with the green and black paint job with silver accents. The strap, while flexible, doesn't hang particularly well and will need some training to hang how you want it.
The Pulse Rifle also comes with an FX part, a new theme in the Aliens and Predator lines from NECA. These pieces are designed to clip onto weapons to show a firing effect. This is designed to retrospectively fit on the Pulse Rifle sculpt by means of a socket and an inner peg that goes in the barrel. It is not a tight fit, but will hold itself as long as it's not disturbed.
Ripley holds the Rifle in her right hand with a flexible trigger finger that can be coaxed into the trigger. Articulation on the arms allows for a two handled cradling pose as well with the left hand shaped to cup the barrel under the grenade launcher.
While the strap is a bit unnatural when the gun is being held, it comes into its own when you want to sling the weapon on Ripley's shoulder - working perfectly.
Previous pieces like the Smart Gun FX piece were really well done - but this one looks a bit off. If you look at screen grabs of the Pulse Rifle firing you can see why the piece is designed this way. It is however a bit fat and fluffy as though its the trailing part of a rocket and not the bullets the rifle shoots. It is also not as bright as perhaps it could be, and perhaps not as translucent as it could be.
While I have employed the Smart Gun FC piece on display, this one will probably be discarded to the accessory box.
Any figure of Ripley is always welcomed in the Alien series, and as a look this gives collectors a Ripley to display with your Marines as they explore the LV426 base, she also works really well with Newt (pre-rescue). The issue of packing her with a load of other re-worked figures and so soon after the Rescuing Newt pack means there is some collectors fatigue and this is one that may have been better being held back and slotting in as a filler to a wave with some newer figures.
The issues are around the choice of skin tone which doesn't look as good as the 2015 release. Articulation is enough, but feels a bit dated when you compare this body to the more recent Vasquez figure in the same wave. The FX piece is a nice thought, but I personally don't think it works.
I scored the original Series 5 Ripley a 5 out of 5. This version is not as good looking as that figure, and the benchmarks on articulatio and paint have moved on quite some way in the past couple of years. I am therefore going to score Bomber Jacket Ripley a 3 out of 5.
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