REVIEW: NECA Neomorph.

  • Manufacturer: NECA
  • Released: 2017

Clawing its way out of its victim’s back or crawling its way out of their throat – take your pick – the Neomorph’s introduction into the ALIEN Universe was at least as grisly and shocking as its predecessors.  There’s been quite a few instances during these movies where sticky things have emerged from human bodies.  Here, the film makers quite literally ‘bent over backwards’ to deliver a scene equally memorable as any other.

The shocking and pallid being known as the Neomorph is a worthy addition to the milleau and its representation as a highly detailed, reasonably priced articulated action figure by NECA is a deserving addition to anyone’s collection of ugly toys based on movies unsuitable for children.  Let’s take a look at this disgusting thing, shall we?

Firstly, the packaging is of worthy note.  For this iteration of figures based on the latest movie, ALIEN Covenant, NECA have once again eschewed the full clam shell arrangement and included the figure and its pair of cool accessories in a box.  The box has a window in the front so you can easily view the contents and the front is also adorned with a some great movie concept art by Dane Hallett.  Nice.

Of course, the beauty of a box package like this means you can always return the figure to it.  I wish all of NECA’s stuff was packaged this way.  The figure and its extra items are fixed onto a clear tray insert to keep them in place.  Standard method by NECA there.

The figure itself is a good 7 inches tall and it boasts great detail throughout.  The head is elongated and the blind beluga face with its tortured dentition has all the charm of a can opener with a bad attitude.  Multiple spines project from its back, it has a nice long wire core bendy tail and the limbs look fantastic.  6 fingers on each hand is another feature boasting echoes of Classic ALIEN morphology.

Curiously, this sample has 2 right feet.  This appears to be a production error. Where was quality control on this item?  No matter, I kind of like production error samples but certainly don’t encourage it as a practice.  Errors like this should not make it to the end of the production line.  2 right feet, huh.  At least it wasn’t 2 left feet.  If someone else had received this item, they would have every right to complain.  If you do receive a faulty item like this, remember, it may be store policy to not accept returns and exchanges on opened items, but legally they are obligated to comply.

The overall presentation of the figure is pale and sickly.  The finish has a semblance of chicken breast fillets, slightly underdone.  The largely white finish of the figure is punctuated in various locations with a pale pinkish hue.  Some detailing of the mouth and tongue complete the paintwork on the figure which really is subtle and minimalist as you can get. Other parts of the body such as finger and toe nails unexpectedly lack any highlights.

As a side effect of the figure being cast and finished in light materials, all the articulation joints are easily spotted.  Normally such joints on ALIEN figures are difficult to observe due to the shadows being cast against the dark material but with a figure that is off white from head to toe, such joints become noticeable.  It’s not a bad thing, but the various interruptions to the figure’s form are amplified in this way.  Mind you, NECA have made so many of these things now, their articulation is very optimised and this item is no exception.  Most parts of the body possess some form of movement and the only area I thought to be lacking in anyway was the absence of any movement on the jaw.  No matter.  You won’t miss it.

There’s no display stand present with this figure but one would have been welcome. Even if it was one of those crappy short stands that NECA includes with some of their other ALIEN figures.  It would have been nice but the Neomorph does stand confidently with three points of contact on the ground provided by both feet and the tail.

Mind you, the accessories that are included with it are great.  Even if there’s only 2 of them, it’s still more than what is commonly included with NECA’s ALIEN figures.   You’ll find an alternate head and little birthling ‘toddler’ Nemorph included in the package.  These are both fabulous accessories and worth looking at individually.

So let’s move on and do that, too.

The default head attached to the Neomorph is the goblin shark inspired variety and its replacement piece is the puckered butthole mouth version.  While neither of these are exactly screen accurate, they are both very nice pieces and I’m glad NECA are including such items with their monster figures as well accessories for their human items.

I just had one problem with the additional head.

I found the default head was connected very firmly to the figure – so firmly in fact I couldn’t remove it without feeling I was going to break something.  So I didn’t.  It meant I wasn’t prepared to remove it and mount the alternate head in place just in case some damage ensued.  Which is a pity, really.  I did want to take some shots of the figure demonstrating its grotesque salt sucking orifice Morlock face.

The other accessory included in this package is almost worth a review all of its own.  Included here is a newly emerged from its host version of the creature, the ‘Toddler’.  The Toddler is an action figure all in its own right and scaled to the same size as the Neomorph, so it’s small.  Nay, tiny.

This blood spattered homunculus is all of one and three quarter inches tall, has spindly long limbs each about a sixteenth of an inch in thickness.   It has an overall length, including its tail that accounts for half of it, of just 3 inches.  Despite its incredibly small dimensions, the Toddler possesses 3 points of articulation.  The tiny head can rotate upon its shoulders and both legs have movement at the hips.  It’s impressive for such a diminutive accessory to have such movement.  It’s almost unfortunate that the arms are permanently fixed in a ‘paws up’ orientation.  Movement at the shoulders would be completely amazing.

It’s a very delicate item and my sample suffered from a buckled leg preventing it from initially standing.  Dipping the bent limb into a cup of very hot water and straighten it was all that was needed to convince the figure to stand upright confidently.  I also found the tail was a little too straight and treating it in a likewise manner with hot water and bending it at about the halfway mark resulted in a much more natural and desirable look to it.

NECA have been knocking it out of the park with their figures and the Neomorph is a welcome addition to your collection.  It’s not lacking in a lot of areas and it’s more or less what you can expect in State of the Art Ugly.  The accessories are great and the Toddler especially is a treat.  I’d love to have one of these little guys cast in pewter.

SCORE: 8/10

Minor quality control issues aside, it’s a great item.  I wish the heads could be swapped over more easily.  The paint work is a little bland but that’s not really the fault of the manufacturer.  Oh, and yes.  It’s not exactly screen accurate mouth may be a problem for some people.  At least you can choose which non-screen accurate mouth you want to mount on it.  If you’re willing to apply some more than necessary force, that is.

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