I enjoyed the brief time I've spent with Gears of War, but something about the design and flow of the game just pushed me away. As such, I wouldn't typically purchase a figure based on the license, especially since I'm leary of the artistic style, but I thought I'd put my biases aside this once and take a shot on a cool looking figure. He's evidently a Locust Grenadier Flame Thrower, one of the releases in Series 4 of the Gears of War 2 line from NECA, and he's about to get reviewed.
Name: Grenadier Flame Thrower
Line: Player Select, Gears of War 2, Series 4
Manufacturer: NECA
Released: Summer 2009
Price: Retail: $13.99-$17.99, Online: $14.99-$19.99
Scale: 7.00 in. (figure in 7.50 in. tall)
Accessories: Flamethrower
Sponsor Listings: Amazon-$15.89
Just look at the pictures, this thing is a work of beauty. I've sat and stared at this toy for lengthy periods of time, just awestruck over ever single little detail from the finest of textures to the sharp lines on his fuel tanks. There's so much here to discuss, because the sculptor put his soul into this figure, and I can't even begin to describe it all. I think the most amazing points are on his upper chest, where the skin starts to get sinewy and pulled tight, as if it's rotting away; it looks stunning. The proportions and costume elements seem to match the game designs well, offering that thick, almost messy look. Most of the armor on his upper body is actually made of softer plastic and attached separately, including the strap on his chest and the fuel tanks, which even have their own separate pieces attached. Seeing so much unique tooling in one figure really makes me wish Mattel would up their game, because this is top-notch sculpting you aren't going to find from many other companies. If I have one complaint, it's that he can often look severely bow-legged, but this is a product of the odd articulation and less an issue with sculpting. Otherwise, he's as close to perfect as we're going to get.
Sculpt Score: 10 / 10
Here is somewhere NECA benefits from the style of Gears of War, which has that busy/messy look, particularly in these alien bad guys. The paint is kind of haphazardly applied, yet it looks absolutely perfect when seeing the figure as a whole. The complexity is just astounding, with layer after layer, wash after wash, airbrushing all over, and it comes together so well. The colors retain that dark edge of the design and the detail work just highlights the wonderful sculpt even more. The shading techniques used on his chest are amazing, and even the spots that require a much tighter touch come off smoothly, straight, and clean. Some areas certainly look messy and clumpy, but it just leads to the distressed look of his armor and body, plus, this is the Flame Thrower, so you can only imagine the sooty gunk that's all over him from using that thing. I'm just in love with what NECA did with the aesthetics on this fellow.
Paint Score: 10 / 10
Here is where things start to go a little wrong. This is one odd articulation model, mainly because of the swivel V-hips, which make his legs do all kinds of funny things. They seemed to try to counter that by giving him ball knees, but thanks to the thickness of his legs, any other joints weren't feasible, and we're left with a bow-legged fellow who's basically stuck from the waist down. Despite that, his upper body articulation is actually pretty diverse, especially the ball waist joint that works surprisingly well in adding a small touch of life to any pose. The arms are easy enough to arrange menacingly, so displaying him won't be totally devoid of interaction; there's more to it than just plopping him on the shelf. He is rather difficult to play with, just because the articulation is a little stiff and "crunchy", so, as you can imagine by the way he looks, this is probably better reserved for adults. Nothing is broken and the joints are ridiculously well hidden, which is vital in a figure that looks this good, both bonuses that keep his score afloat.
Articulation Score: 6 / 10
It's fun to look at this toy. Playing with him and posing him aren't quite so enjoyable, but I've spent time just appreciating it, which isn't something I usually do in the hectic schedule of running a website. His flamethrower accessory adds a little excitement to the package, but it doesn't connect to the fuel tanks on his back, so that's kind of a disappointment, not to mention that he doesn't hold it all that well anyway. If you enjoyed the game, then you'll probably enjoy this figure quite a bit too, because I'm sure it's easy to set up mock scenes from the action on screen, but for the rest of us, he's just getting by on his looks.
Fun Score: 6 / 10
I paid $14 at retail for this guy, who is well over 7 inches tall, a thick chunk of plastic, and probably weighs close to a pound. Compared to other lines (like Masters of the Universe Classics), I start to see just how great a deal this is. He's full of unique tooling to add costs, he's from a popular licensed video game which costs NECA money, and he even includes an accessory too. That's not even mentioning all the time and energy going into his sculpt, along with the expenses related to painting him this well. There are no durability issues to hold him back, and if you're looking to lay down some money on a toy, I don't think you'll be disappointed with what you get for your cash here.
Value Score: 10 / 10
86 / 100 - This is a Great Toy
With just a little more articulation that could give Grenadier some moves on the dance floor, this would be on outstanding figure. Even with the limited articulation and modest potential for fun, he's still a beautiful action figure that caught my attention and appreciation, despite a lack of interest in the game from which he originates.
-The Articulated One
This could be the figure given away in this month's Review Commentator Contest. Join the discussion by leaving a comment for a chance to win!
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