I don't know anything about this character (because I haven't played the game she comes from), but I do know a cool toy when I see one, and the Big Sister from NECA's Player Select BioShock 2 line is exactly that: a cool toy. 

Name: Big Sister
Line: Player Select, BioShock 2
Manufacturer: NECA
Released: First Quarter 2010
Price: $13.99-$19.99
Scale: Figure is 7.00 in. tall to top of head
Accessories: Detachable cage structure

Sponsor Listings: Amazon-$14.94

This figure is the perfect marriage of a great design and a well executed sculpt. The game designers made Big Sisters look terrifying, awesomely steampunk, and extremely visually engaging with lots of different clothing layers, miniscule details, and varied textures. Those things are hard to translate into physical plastic without the mood and atmosphere of a video game helping them out, but NECA really did a wonderful job doing so. You can see every single intricacy worked into her frame, including 100s of belt buckles, loads of realistic wrinkles and so much texture! She looks and feels like she just stepped out of my TV and onto my desk.

One of the reasons she looks so good is that NECA isn't afraid to use a lot of different pieces to make an attractive figure. For instance, if you look at her legs, you'll notice metal braces running down the sides. It would have been easy to just sculpt these into her legs and saved the manufacturer some money, but instead we get totally unique pieces that are attached to the outside of her legs and allow the braces to really separate and pop visually. When you factor that in with the extra engineering to make these work with her joints, it must have taken a lot of extra cash to make this happen, but it pays off because it looks so fantastic. The braces are crisp and separated, with sharp details and edges, whereas if they had been sculpted out of the base leg, they would have looked soft and dull. And that's just one example, because you can see the same practice on her shoulder pads and arm attachments, each of which look perfect.

Her spindly proportions are right on model to match the video game character, and give her a lithe and horrifying appearance no matter what pose she's in. Thankfully those thin limbs don't mean weak limbs, because everything's sturdy and her mass is balanced enough to even hold up her giant backpack cage and canister. Oddly enough the bottom of her feet are hollowed out, as if the bottom plate wasn't glued on. I don't know if this is intentional or some aspect of the character design, but it doesn't look great on the off chance you've got her in a high kick pose with soles visible. I also wish her hands were a little more dynamically posed, as they're both in a very neutral open position. I would think a fist or some sort of grasping motion would have made them a lot more useful for most people. That's another relatively small nitpick on otherwise really well designed figure.

Her "head", if that's what you want to call it, is one of the better aspect of the figure's sculpt. There are a lot of subtle touches, including a wonderful metal texture that brings it to life. For just a lifeless ball of metal, it sure seems to carry a lot of personality and terror, which is an accomplishment in both design and technical implementation. Her back attachment, which includes a cage and a canister of some sorts, is also well done. The branches of the cage are consistent and thin, while the bows attached to the back are all individual and unique, and according to my girlfriend, "look like they're actually tied on there". I'm not quite so convinced (they look a little too fat and soft to me), though they're certainly not bad by any stretch. The cranks on the canister are separate pieces too, so they are tightly sculpted.

As a whole, this is a top-notch sculpt. The design was just asking for someone to show off their talents, and NECA has done so, making an amazing looking character look amazing in plastic, which is sometimes no small feat. It's hard not to see how beautiful this figure is, even with the few small imperfections. 

Sculpt Score: 10 / 10

I hope you weren't expecting a lot of bright and beautiful colors, because the Big Sister is covered in drab shades of brown and gray. These dark color tones match the context of her video game world perfectly, where she blends into her gloomy surroundings, and this toy captures that feel pretty well. The only big splash of color on the entire figure is with her bright red "eye", which is exactly how it should be. Much the way the red eye signifies her aggression in the game, and stands out amongst the dreary world around her, the color seems to do much the same here, so you may be able to take some interesting photographs highlighting her "glowing" red eye. On that note, seeing an actual light-up eye could have been a neat trick, but wasn't necessary either. 

This figure's paint doesn't seem quite as muddled as other NECA releases which have been criticized for such, and in fact, some of her details are very well executed. There are lots of tiny metal colored spots like belt buckles that are really crisp and have a metallic glean, and even the spots that don't look perfect are stylishly appropriate because the washed out look is reminiscent of BioShock anyway. I love that not all the colors are clean, with specks of other shades worked in, making her look almost dirty or used. This character comes from a crumbling world at the bottom of the ocean, and imperfections are natural and add to her authenticity.

She also features a lot of effective washes and airbrushing effects to bring out the textures and sculpt details. For instance, on her helmet, the mix between light gray and dark gray really makes it look like worn metal. The same effect is achieved on her leather belts, on her shoulderpads, and even on her bows. There is just a lot of paint on display here, much more than your average figure anyway, and it really shows in the multitude of shades we get. Instead of just brown, there's light brown, red brown, dark brown, pale brown, bouncer brown, buster brown, and ...you get the idea. And my favorite thing on the entire figure are the small drawings added to the canister on her back (see the image later in the review). You see, the cage is intended to hold Little Sisters (I guess, anyway), and evidently they draw on the tank while trapped on her back. The drawings include little fish, and even a rudimentary image of a Big Sister next to Little Sisters. It's a cute touch that really shows to attention to detail. It all adds up to a fascinating total package that takes a lot longer to absorb visually than a basic superhero character with two total colors. 

Paint Score: 9 / 10

This doesn't look like a well articulated figure, but there are still quite a few points of which to take note. Her neck swivels, which seems like the most appropriate movement option, and is a welcome addition. The arms are moveable thanks to a pair of swivel/hinges, but I would have liked one small addition, which is a biceps swivel. It's a very small oversight though, because her entire upper body is pretty easy to pose in exciting ways, including convincing manipulations of the weapons attached to her forearms.

Her legs aren't quite so free, despite having a respectable number of joints. The hips aren't as bad as you might think, because the swivel and ball combination allows for a good range of movement. She won't be doing the splits in either direction, but you can almost get her into a natural sitting position. They could have been better, but this isn't terrible either. The knees are just fine, and the ankles worry me. You see, the plastic running down her calves is connected at the calf and ankle, so when you move the ankle up and down (hinge) or side to side (swivel), then you're putting stress on that thin plastic piece. So far it doesn't seem to be a problem when using the hinge, but I wouldn't risk turning her feet side to side more than 10 or 15 degrees for fear that the piece would tear.

Another big upside for this articulation model is how tight it is. Despite having a huge heavy back attachment, her joints are still sturdy enough to hold her up in even the most stretched poses. She also looks great with all the articulation well hidden in the folds and details of the sculpt. It would be awfully difficult to identify the joints on this figure by image alone, and the fact that's she's poseable without compromising the visuals is something I love.

Articulation Score: 8 / 10

This is definitely a nifty looking character, and I'm no doubt sure that she plays a vital role in the game she's from, but I still have my doubts about how much fun she is. There aren't really any accessories included with her (the cage is pretty much a part of the figure once it's attached), and because of that, posing her only goes so far. There just isn't a lot to do, and I get bored sorta quickly when fiddling around with her. You'll need other figures or displays to bring out the excitement in her, such as a Little Sister or Subject Delta. There is a two pack that includes both a Big and Little Sister which is probably more fun, yet this particular figure is packaged alone and suffers because of it. That said, she's not boring, she just could have been better.

The articulation is ample enough to provide for some enjoyment in posing, and the big needles and weapons attached to her wrists make her look pretty deadly for fighting. I'd be careful with them though, because they do seem brittle and quite thin. Little touches like the drawings on the tank do go a long way to increase her charm and squeeze every ounce of fun out of this otherwise moderately entertaining figure, plus, if nothing else, it's awfully nice to just enjoy all the small sculpted details and paint applications. 

Fun Score: 7 / 10

For about $15 here, you're getting a nice 7 inch figure with some of the best sculpting and paint you can find in toys today. She's not huge from a width standpoint, but she feels good in the hand and has some noticeable weight, which is always a good feeling when you pull a toy out of the package. Not only that, but it's also a unique looking figure that could easily be the focal point of a collection, unlike so many other competing lines, which feature the same basic body being used over and over again.

Although the Big Sister doesn't include any real accessories to add to the value here (I think the inclusion of a Little Sister, even at this price point would have been reasonable and helped a lot), she's still a better deal than most toys these days. There's nothing problematic about the figure that lowers the value perception, and she seems like she'll stand up to the test of time and multiple bouts of posing. There may be some issues with her ankles and thin hand attachments, but if you're careful, they should be fine too. If you're a fan of the games or just like the look of this figure, then you're not going to feel ripped off at the $15 price point, though you won't feel like it's a steal either. 

Value Score: 8 / 10

 

10 / 10 - A beautiful sculpt that captures the character splendidly. 

9 / 10 - Good applications and liberal use of colors makes this an attractive and sculpt-highlighting paint job. 

8 / 10 - A few small limitations hamper an otherwise attractive and functional articulation model. 

7 / 10 - More accessories or a more stand out character could have helped here. 

8 / 10 - A nicely sized, well made, and fairly priced figure. 

 85 / 100 - This is a Great Toy

This is another strong figure from the BioShock 2 line, and though she could be a little more fun, she's still a great action figure that most collectors will adore. if you've got a thing for good sculpt and pretty paint, you won't want to miss this one, while fans of the game may want to pick up three or four she's so good! 

-The Articulated One 

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