Toyark 1st Look – Ash vs Evil Dead Series 1 by NECA

Thirty years after he took down the Deadites, Ash Williams is back in the Ash vs Evil Dead TV Series. After accidentally unleashing Deadites, our square jawed hero must once again face the evil that took his friends and his love so long ago. With new recruits Kelly and Pablo, “El Jefe” and the Ghostbeaters team sets out on a road trip to end all road trips, all while being pursued by the mysterious Ruby and police officer Amanda Fisher. They look to put the Evil Dead back in hell for good.

Just ahead of the Season 2 premier, NECA will be releasing their first series of 7″ scale figures based on Ash vs Evil Dead. The introductory wave includes Value Stop Ash, Hero Ash and the demon Eligos. They will also have a box set featuring a bloody Hero Ash and two Demon Spawn from the season 1 finale, which is due out later. NECA sent along the Ash vs Evil Dead Series 1 figures, and we have the first look at the final production version. Read on to check out over 135 photos and a full review!

Ash vs Evil Dead Series 1 by NECA

Pros

• Some of NECA’s best head sculpts
• Both Ash figures features great articulation
• Eligos sculpt is excellent and creepy
• Articulated jaw on Eligos
• Paint apps are spot on
• Hero Ash’s modular arm attachment
• All four Ash heads can be swapped across the 2 figures
• Chainsaw hand can be used on either Ash

Cons

• Hips on Eligos are a bit hard to position

Overall
The first assortment of Ash vs Evil Dead figures come packaged is great window boxes. These collector friendly packages feature character specific portraits and a very blood red color scheme using key art from the TV show. Each of the figures comes on a plastic tray, held in by a twist tie. Also includes is a blood red forest dio backdrop with each figure.

Value Stop Ash
In the series, Ash has ditched S-Mart for the easy life as a stock boy at Value Stop. This figure comes with Ash in his work uniform, complete with name tag. In the show, he’s attacked by a Deadite possessed Lil-Lori Ballerina Doll, and one of this little murder dolls is included here. Value Stop Ash also includes a wooden hand and an extra interchangeable head. The two portraits here are “Shocked” and “Screaming” head sculpts. The head sculpts are very easy to swap out, as is the wooden hand if you want to attach the chainsaw or modular attachment from Hero Ash.

This version of Ash looks good and has some excellent sculpting. Double jointed elbows are most welcome and are hidden well within the arms sculpts. This was the first of the figures I opened and I was immediately  impressed by the head sculpts here. The fine details and the subtle skin paint work are outstanding. Across all four heads, these may be some of the best final production heads I’ve seen from them. They eye painting is equally noteworthy here. No cross-eyed or misaligned paints here. The likeness to the current age of Bruce Campbell is spot on.

Eligos
The Demon of the Mind; Eligos had a multi-episode story arc in the show. Ash, along with occult fanatic Lionel Hawkins, summons Eligos to get answers on how to end the Deadite plague. Eligos gets loose and torments the team in numerous ways over the next few episodes. The character design for Eligos is far different than anything we’ve seen from the Evil Dead series. Visually, the character looks like something designed by Guillermo Del Toro. The figure here includes no accessories, but does have an articulated lower jaw. Eligos has a great overall sculpt. In the show, you never get a look at the lower leg design, so it’s odd to see such a unique design. It adds to the overall creepy look Eligos has.

For this figure, since it’s essentially a naked demon, NECA went for a more streamlined sculpt, forgoing any waist articulation. I was fine with it, though it may bother some fans. The elbows here are also double jointed, giving Eligos a great range of arm motion. The mid-section is a very hard plastic, which actually hinders the hip movement a bit. I used a hair dryer to loosen that area up, allowing for much more dynamic leg poses. The lower legs, being essentially long arms and hands, help to keep the figure sturdy while posing. the paint work here is again outstanding. the running blood matches up perfectly as it runs over limbs. I have to wonder if there was some digital paint work in play here, as the lines across all the figures are extremely clean. Nothing feels “brushed” on and it has a very naturalistic look to the paint. The delicate handling of the sculpt, the well hidden jaw articulation and fantastic sculpt and design make me hope we get more demons and Deadites in this line.

Hero Ash
Faced with the demons from his past, Ash is once again forced to don his iconic outfit (with a little help from his trusty girdle). This Ash figure includes two head sculpts, a chainsaw hand, a modular arm attachment, a new power glove hand, a shotgun and a shotgun holster. The head sculpts included here are the standard, I’ll call it “Stoic” head sculpts, as well as an “Angry” head sculpt. Everything here is very easy to swap out.

Hero Ash is the unquestionable best figure of a very good series 1. With the number of accessories and the ability to use both heads from Value Stop Ash, this may well be an Ultimate figure. Another terrific sculpt capped off by two more stellar head sculpts. The body sculpt has some nice touches, such as it clearly looking like Ash is either wearing that girdle, or sucking in his gut. Hero Ash also has great double jointed elbows, again hidden will within the folds of his sleeves. The best part of this figure, though, is the new modular right hand pieces. In the later episodes, Pablo and Kelly create a new power glove hand for Ash. This comes with the added ability to swap his hand out with the chainsaw. So, not only does Ash include the direct connect forearm for the early episodes with the chainsaw, but also another forearm piece for the gloved hand, and the modular arm attachment, than the chainsaw can also connect to.

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Bottom line is that this is a stellar introduction to Ash vs Evil Dead figures from NECA. The figures have the look and quality sculpting of their hand painted prototypes we always see at cons. The Ash head sculpts are pretty much perfect and having them be swappable between both figures is an added bonus. If you’re a fan of the show, or of the Evil Dead franchise at all, then you’re going to enjoy these figures. Check out some highlight photos below and over 135 photos in the full gallery after that.