While the attempted relaunch of The Predator franchise didn’t quite resonate with fans or movie goers, the film did provide all new Predator designs for collectors and fans. The Fugitive Predator was the focus of the marketing, but the most dangerous creature in the film was the “Ultimate” Predator, who is also known as the Armored Assassin Predator. In the film, it’s concluded that the Yautja have been split into rival factions. The majority opting for genetic experimentation, taking on the strongest traits of the prey they hunt. While the others feel this is against their code. The Fugitive Predator heads to Earth, in the hopes of bringing a “gift” to mankind that will even the odds against the upgraded Predators looking to take the planet from humanity. The Assassin Predator is larger, stronger, faster and more resistant to attacks.
Our friends at NECA have sent over the Armored Assassin Predator figure for us to check out. The figure is set to hit stores within the next week or so (if it hasn’t shown up already). We have a full photo shoot and review. Check them out after the jump.
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The Predator – Armored Assassin Predator 7″ Scale Figure by NECA
Pros
- Massive figure
- Excellent sculpted details
- Great articulation
- Strong paint work
- Easy to swap out parts
Cons
- Can be tough to stand
Overall
The Armored Assassin Predator is packaged in a large flapped window box, with a similar design to the previous 2018 Predator figures. It features artwork of the Assassin fighting the Fugitive on the front (as opposed to a movie poster image). The back of the box showcases the figure and the included parts and accessories. The figure sits in a plastic tray, with a few ties holding it in place. Included are two sets of interchangeable hands, two interchangeable portraits, a removable gauntlet blade, a gauntlet cannon, and a small piece to cover the peg on the left hand gauntlet.
Before I opened the figure, it’s easy to tell how large this figure will be. The window box towers over most of the normal Ultimate figure boxes. The Assassin stands over 11″ tall when his legs are fully straitened. The Fugitive Predator doesn’t even come up to the chest of the Assassin. The figure essentially feels like a small 1/6 scale figure. The larger size was put to good use, as the sculpted detail is excellent here. The skin texture, the small spikes, and the gauntlets all look great. Figure joints are also handled nicely, as they blend well into the figures anatomy, for a mostly natural look while posing. There’s a good amount of articulation here, with well over 20 points of movement. Range of motion is strong, as there’s no armor to hinder joint movement here. I didn’t run into any overly tight joints, and there were no paint locking issues. Special attention was paid to the leg design, as the Assassin had legs similar to that of a bird. this causes the Assassin Predator to mainly stand on his toes. NECA gave the figure as much flat surface on the bottom of the feet to help with standing, but I’d recommend having a stand handy for displaying on the shelf. The figure is quite hefty, and this can cause the figure to topple over when in some more dynamic poses.
While the paint work is mostly a very dark gray-blue, there are some smaller details that stand out. The red stripes throughout were easy to miss in the movie, and the paint on the eyes and mandibles is handled well. If you looks closely, you can see some light washes of yellow and orange as well. Separation lines are clean, and the eyes are sharp. The figure includes a small assortment of swap out parts and accessories. The two heads are spot on. One includes a closed mouth, while the other has the mandibles fully opened, which makes for great battle poses. The two sets of hands included closed fists and open palm hands. Both the heads and hands swap out without any issues. The large wrist blade attaches without issue. The left wrist gauntlet is unique, in that the cannon (which usually resides on a Predator’s shoulder” is located there. The cannon features a few points of articulation. When not displaying the cannon, you can cover the hole with a small silver piece included with the figure.
As with many fans, I wasn’t a huge fan of the film, but I have definitely enjoyed the collectibles that have come from it. The Armored Assassin is a very unique release. It’s NECA’s largest 7″ scale Predator so far, has some great sculpting, plenty of articulation, and looks great with the Fugitive Predator. Check out a few select photos below, and the full gallery after that.
The Predator - Armored Assassin Predator by NECA - Toyark Photo Shoot
It's a great-looking figure from the worst Predator movie ever made, by far.
Nice photo shoot, Joe. I got a chuckle out of the shot with the decapitated Fugitive. What spine did you use for that? A Storm MK one?
It's a great shoot as always but I was actually on board with the movie until that dumbass thing showed up. Lost all interest after it killed off the Fugitive Predator.
Nice photo shoot, Joe. I got a chuckle out of the shot with the decapitated Fugitive. What spine did you use for that? A Storm MK one?
That thing is a beast, friggin Play Arts Kai sizing there almost. Great shots.
Anyway, the toys still look good. Considering how badly the movie bombed, I wonder how well they've been selling, though.
awesome photo shots
this is going to be a must get, also loving the box art.
Anyway, the toys still look good. Considering how badly the movie bombed, I wonder how well they've been selling, though.
Anyway, the toys still look good. Considering how badly the movie bombed, I wonder how well they've been selling, though.
BTW, since we have some new viewers of this film here, I thought I'd keep the discussion going by re-posting a little "mini-review" I wrote on a different forum that points out all the stuff that's horrible about this movie. Anyone else, please feel free to chime in.
Here it is:
The Predator is just a whole new level of bad...it made the shitty AVP movies look like amazingly well-done and thoughtful films in comparison.
The plot was terrible, the script made almost no sense in parts, bad dialogue was in abundance, almost all of the characters were completely unlikable and annoying, and even the editing of the film was confusing and poorly done. It wasn't a bad Predator movie...it was a bad movie, period. Even the ending, which was completely reshot after test audiences shit all over it, was absolutely terrible.
I have some time to kill this morning, and its been a while since I've done a "random movie thoughts" post, so here's some examples:
Random stuff:
That's just a small sampling of the dumb shit in this movie. I could go on all day with this, I won't. It sucks, I hope they don't make another one.
I think what pissed me off most was how they were trying to retcon everything from the previous movies. The Predators don't take spines to harvest DNA or some stupid BS it was about honoring worthy prey.
@ Dolemite: Your write-up is bang on, especially re: the strange fascination with and misunderstanding of autism.
Everything is derivative, uninspired, debased. I was gobsmacked to read that Black considers this movie a "love letter" to the original, because it seems fundamentally disrespectful, even satirical. I honestly thought it was a parody. The deep questions and existential themes and inner drama that made the original great are glaringly absent. The most important subplot for Dutch didn't involve the Predator at all: I would describe it as his wrestling with self-doubt and ability to rise to a challenge and find his place in a universe beyond his control. You don't pay tribute to 'hard' science fiction by smacking it down and turning it into a sitcom.
There's a scene where I stopped listening to the dialogue and started simply counting the number of times somebody said 'fuck.' What was the point? How did that add value?
Rock bottom for me was the final "predator killer" scene in the epilogue. The design was comedic. The main character's last comment was the cinematic equivalent of spitting on you after you're knocked down. Ugh.
IMO, the most important element that makes the original superior is the enemy as Unknown and Unknowable. Dutch has no idea what he's up against. The movie progresses through stages of discovery, small victories, like a detective story. In that sense, it can be likened to Alien or Silence of the Lambs. Black's movie seems intended to do the opposite, throwing anything and everything about these new retconned predators in your face, taking away all the fun. Yuck.
And the hero wasn't a punk.
Gripe, grouse.
Full Thread: NECA Assassin Predator - Photo Gallery
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