NECA Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 Leatherface 8-Inch Scale Figure – Toyark Photo Shoot

Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, released in 1990 acts as both a sequel and a bit of a reboot for the franchise. After the darkly comedic second film, the third movie returns the franchise to a much grittier and violent horror film. At the time of its release, it didn’t find much of an audience as it was plagued by numerous cuts to appease the MPAA. Over the years, the film has picked up more of a following. As has been the case with nearly every film in the original, and even the reboot franchise, Leatherface gets a complete makeover here, with an all new chainsaw and mask, which you actually see the creation of at the beginning of the movie. The chainsaw itself has become a huge fan favorite over the years. Much larger than the previously used chainsaws, it’s perhaps most famous for the inscription on the blade that reads “The Saw is Family”.

NECA will be releasing a Leatherface 8″ Scale Mego Style Figure next month. They were kind enough to send over an early sample for us to check out. After the jump you can see my thoughts on the figure as well as a full gallery.

Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III – Leatherface 8″ Scale Mego Style Figure by NECA

Pros

• Head sculpt is much improved over prototype
• Best produced Chainsaw in this scale
• Solid articulation
• Cloth outfit doesn’t hinder range of motion
• Working leg brace
• Nice paint work throughout
• Lots of details on the head sculpt, but…

Cons

• …The head sculpt may be a bit too busy
• Standard Mego body seems too thin for this version of Leatherface

Overall
The figure is packaged on the resealable plastic clamshell packaging that the majority of NECA’s Mego style figures are packed it. The backer card has great new Leatherface artwork by Jason Edmiston. The back features a synopsis of the film and a photo of the figure. The figure includes the leg brace and the chainsaw. For those that want to preserve the packaging, slide a box cutter or very sharp blade between the plastic, slicing the small notches. This will cut those melted notches, preserving the resealable nature of the packaging.

I was pleasantly surprised by how well this figure turned out. The mask in the movie itself is a busy design, especially when you look at it up close. The earlier prototypes for the figure seemed to be less successful than previous Mego Leatherface figures. The final production version, I’m please to see, looks way more accurate. It’s a grisly looking, heavily detailed sculpt, that keeps bringing the word “gross” to mind. It has a very dark paint wash over it, which may be a little too dark and busy looking. But there’s no denying the portrait is full of cool details. While not my favorite of the assorted Mego Leatherface head sculpts (I really think the original one was hard to top), it’s probably the most successful in looking like someone wearing a bulking skin mask. The hanging pieces of flesh around the base of the neck sell the look so well. The body for the figure is the standard Mego body used by NECA. As alays, there’s very solid articulation on the body-type. The outfit, thankfully, doesn’t feel as thick or bulky as some of the older Mego figures. this allows for great range of motion in the joints without bunching up the outfit. I do wish the body itself were a bit bulkier though, as the TCM 3 Leatherface is a massive, hulking character.

The chainsaw from part 3 is probably my favorite one ever wielded by Leatherface. It had a large motor casing and a more extended blade. Early marketing, and even the way Leatherface uses the saw evokes a sword, and that comes through here. The engraving on the blade itself look great. NECA switched from using soft plastic to a much more sturdy plastic for the blade here. That prevents the warping issue seen on the TCM 1 and 2 figures. The hands for Leatherface are closed loops, so NECA included parts that come unhooked on the handles, so you can just slide the handles into the hand. The other nice addition is the leg brace. I wasn’t sure how well it would function, but it looks great and bends at the joints with no issue. It doesn’t limit any movement in the right leg either.

At this point, fans know what to expect from NECA’s Mego style figures. This won’t sway non-fans. But those who enjoy TCM 3 or NECA’s Mego horror figures in general should be pretty happy with this release. Check out some select photos below and the full gallery after that.

The backgrounds in some shots comes from Extreme Sets. Use code TOYARK at checkout for 15% off your order!