Pacific Rim is one of those movies that you see the trailer and you just can’t get enough of it. That’s at least how it was for me. It is set in the near future where giant monsters (aka Kaiju) rise out of the Pacific Ocean and reign terror on humanity. In order to combat this new threat, humans had to create a weapon of their own: Giant Robots known as Jaegers. The Jaeger Program was born. Today we are going to be taking a look at the first action figures created after the film, NECA Pacific Rim Series 1 7 inch Figures in a full-blown review.
NECA has some big plans for the Pacific Rim license, as they have launched a countless number of novelty items and apparel through their newly opened Mock.com store. They also have plans for 1/4 scale Jaeger (Gipsy Danger) and Pacific Rim Series 2 action figures.
Packaging
Pacific Rim Series 1 contains the Gipsy Danger (USA Jaeger), Crimson Typhoon (Chinese Jaeger), and Knifehead (Kaiju). They all have similar packaging so I am going to cover them all at once and then go over each of the figures separately.
They each come in the standard NECA clamshell packaging with some nice bright colors on the paper inside. The front simply shows the movie logo and the figure’s name, while the back gives you a nice image of the figure and shows the other 3 figures in Pacific Rim Series 1.
The packaging for these figures is very basic, as I would have loved to see some text about each of the figures or even the movie for that matter. The bottom of the packaging doesn’t even mention the artists that worked on the figures.
Gipsy Danger
Out of the 3 figures from Pacific Rim Series 1, this figure has articulation that is most like a standard human-like action figure. He has ball joint shoulders, hinged elbows, ball wrists, a ball torso, swivel/hinged hips, hinged knees, and really nice ball joint ankles. His head also has a ball joint but because of the way it is placed in his armor it is very hard to turn it at all. The Gipsy Danger’s feet are large, giving it a nice, solid base for standing in any pose.
Like I said above, the Gipsy Danger is my favorite figure from Series 1. It has great articulation, great paint, and a fantastic design, making this one awesome figure.
Crimson Typhoon
The Chinese Jaeger, Crimson Typhoon is the other Jaeger in NECA Pacific Rim Series 1. Sporting the communist red, this figure really looks like an enemy than an alley. It’s not a straight red though, it’s more of a dirty red (crimson?), giving the figure a really nice look. There are various logos and designs all over the figure’s body, all painted very nicely. The mechanical areas of the figure are all colored black and then brushed with silver for a very realistic metal look.
The Crimson Typhoon’s design is very different from the Gipsy Danger’s design. It has 3 arms, 2 articulated with ball joints and the other one with just a simple swivel joint. The Crimson Typhoon also has a ball jointed head with a ton of movement, hinged elbows, hinged wrists, a ball joint on the big claw on his left hand, ball joints at the waist and hips, double hinged knees, and hinged ankles. The legs are a pretty cool design because you can either have the figure in a crouched pose or extend his legs fully and pose him like that.
The Crimson Typhoon’s design is very cool, but I was really hoping for a little bit more. Some of the joints only had hinges when it would have been way better if they also had a swivel joint as well. I would have also loved to have all 3 arms with ball joints.
Knifehead
We have looked at the good guys, but what about the bad guys? The only “bad guy” in Series 1 is the Kaiju, Knifehead. He has a very unique design for a monster action figure, with his extremely sharp head. He is grey in color, with yellow tribal designs painted on his body.
Knifehead only features 9 POA if you are counting the articulated jaw. The jaw joint is cleverly hidden from sight, but allows for you to open and close his mouth for various poses. His other joints feature swivel shoulders and hips, and hinged knees and elbows. That’s it. The arm articulation only applies to the larger arms, as the smaller arms aren’t articulated at all.
Knifehead’s tail is also bendable, and I assume there is a wire inside to assist in posing.
Knifehead’s design is very unique for a monster, but as an action figure I just wasn’t feeling it. His poseability is very limited due to the way he is designed, making him more of a statue than an action figure. A+ Sculpting and Paint though.
There you have it, all of NECA Pacific Rim Series 1 in review. As I said above MY favorite figure from the series was the Gipsy Danger, but the Crimson Typhoon was also very great. Both of the Jaegers have fantastic paint, sculpts, and articulation, making them great overall action figures.
Knifehead on the other hand is kind of essential if you want to collect the whole line, but he was my least favorite figure in the series because of the lack of play-ability.
Ordering
If you are interested in buying NECA Pacific Rim Series 1 then you can try your luck at Big Bad Toy Store
or you can click here to search eBay for these figures
I’m not sure what it is but i’m not feeling these figures.
I’m really a fan of articulation and these figures have some really awkward articulation. The Gipsy Danger has some pretty good articulation, but the other ones have next to none, or it’s very awkward (Crimson Typhoon).