In the 1920’s through the 1950’s, Universal Studios dominated the horror genre with the launch of the Universal Monsters films. The era unofficially kicks off with The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1923. In the 1930’s, Universal Studios would hit their stride, release a series of films that would still resonate with audiences nearly 100 years later. One of those films was an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus“. The film was directed by James Whale, who would also go on to direct The Invisible Man, and The Bride of Frankenstein for Universal.
Frankenstein follows brilliant scientist Dr. Henry Frankenstein, who believes that death can be revered. He sets out to create new life from the cobbled together parts of the recently deceased. When his creation does comes to life, Frankenstein is horrified at the monstrosity, while the creature tries to come to terms with his new existence. Unknown British actor Boris Karloff was tasked with playing the Monster, and his portrayal is still held in high regard to this day. The makeup used Karloff’s striking features to great effect, and featured prominent scars, a squared off skull, extremely pale skin, and added bolts to his neck. His costume consisted of a simple black suit, and boots with lifts in them to give the actor a larger screen presence. This look of Frankenstein’s Monster has acted as the definitive template for nearly all future representations of the creature.
When NECA revealed plans to create figures from the classic catalog of Universal Monsters, they turned to Frankenstein for their first release. The Frankenstein’s Monster Ultimate Figure was solicited for a monochrome (black and white) figure release, and pre-orders are available at many retailers for that version. Joining the monochrome version is a Ultimate 7″ Scale Frankenstein’s Monster “Color Version”. The color version will be available first at Walmart for 30 days starting Father’s Day Weekend, and then will see a standard release at other retailers starting in July. Our friends at NECA have sent over the figure, and today we have an advanced review and photo gallery. Read on to see over 60 photos, and to read my impressions.
Frankenstein (1931) – Ultimate Frankenstein’s Monster “Color Version” 7″ Scale Figure
Pros
- Great figure sculpt
- Three very different, and very well done portraits
- Nice selection of swap out hands
- Excellent paint work
- Decent articulation
Cons
- None
Overall
The Ultimate Frankenstein’s Monster is packed in a collector friendly flapped window box. The front of the box features one of the iconic classic posters for the film. The figure sits on a plastic tray, and can be easily placed back in for storage. The figure include three interchangeable portraits, three pairs of swap out hands, flowers, and shackles. NECA’s Frankenstein figure stands at 8″ tall, and has roughly 25 points of articulation.
It’s hard to talk about a new line of Universal Monsters without recognizing the long history of toys for the brand. Universal Monsters have had many homes over the years, including Mego, Remco, Sideshow, Toy Island, Mezco, Hasbro, JAKKS Pacific, and others. Most recently, Diamond Select Toys (DST) was home to a long running Universal Monsters license. They released a number of product types includes 7″ scale figures, 8″ scale Mego inspired figures, Minimates, and vinyl busts. Their early 7″ scale releases consisted of mostly static figures, focusing on sculpt rather than articulation. However, as their line developed, they moved to fully articulated action figures. I was a fan of how their later waves turned out, especially figures like The Mummy, The Wolfman, and their Creature From The Black Lagoon. If you’re looking to expand on your existing DST collection, it does look like the NECA figures will blend in well (check out photos with the DST Wolfman and Frankenstein figures in the full gallery). While the DST releases tended to be closer to vintage horror model kits in look, the NECA figures are looking to go specifically for film-like realism in 7″ scale.
Frankenstein’s Monster features an absolutely stellar figure sculpt. The head sculpts are done by sculptor Trevor Grove, and the final retail head sculpts are terrific. There are three portraits here, including a standard portrait, an angry portrait, and a grunting portrait from when he kidnaps Elizabeth. I appreciate that all three head sculpts are completely different expressions, and the likeness is spot on across the trio. Every wrinkle, gash, and stitch is present, and looks great even on close inspection. The suit is fully sculpted, with a softer vinyl overlay covering the torso, hiding the chest and waist articulation for a more seamless look. Clothing is sculpted very realistically, with natural looking folds, detailed seam lines, and varying texture based on the materials. Articulation is pretty good here, and is handled in a way that favors aesthetic, while having a decent range of motion. The knees and elbows are single jointed, which I was fine with as Frankenstein doesn’t really require a lot of dynamic posing. The neck is ball jointed at the connection to the shoulders, and at where it connects to the portraits. The jacket hides a ball jointed chest and waist, and the ankles appear to be full ankle rockers. All of the joints functioned perfectly, with nothing requiring any heat to move, and nothing that became loose while handling it for the photo shoot.
Outside of the portraits, Frankenstein’s Monster includes three sets of interchangeable hands. There are relaxed hands, hands for gripping the flowers, and a pair that can be used for more action related poses. The hands, and portraits, swap out with no trouble. I did not have to resort to heat to remove or attach any of the swap out parts. There is an included pair of shackles that can be attached while swapping hands, and a set of flowers from the scene where he accidentally kills the young child Maria.
Paint work is excellent throughout. The portraits use digital printing tech to great effect. The printed details add to the realism of the head sculpts, and blend in well with more traditionally painted areas like the hair and teeth. The clothing has a few layers of paint to add some extra depth, and to highlight the texture work. Exposed skin on the arms and hands are traditionally painted, and match up well to the look of the face printing. cuts and scars are touched up with deep reds to add to the gruesome look, with additional touches like painted fingernails. The paint deco overall is crisp, detailed, and has no noticeable issues while handling the figure. As this is the color version, the paint looks to be inspired by artwork for the film, and descriptions of the makeups color. The colors are more muted, as opposed to the brighter green seen on other takes on Frankenstein’s Monster.
As you can tell, I’m quite pleased with how this figure turned out. Sculpt, paint work, and the included accessories are all great, and the figure is a blast to pose. It’s a fantastic kick off to NECA’s Universal Monsters line, and looks like a nice compliment to the upcoming black and white version. Check out a selection of images below, and the full gallery after that.
CompaniesNECA
CharactersFrankenstein
Scale7 Inch