The Good: Great sculpt, Exceptional poseability, Decent balance, Trilobite is awesome, Coloring
The Bad: Overproduced for a collectible.
The Basics: The Trilobite Vs. Engineer (Battle Damaged) two-pack from NECA’s Prometheus toy line is incredible, if gruesome!
Every now and then, there is an action figure where the consumer is truly buying the accessory as opposed to the primary action figure. After a ton of Luke Skywalker action figures, the Original Trilogy Collection Bespin Luke Skywalker (reviewed here!) was more remarkable for the accessories it came with than the figure itself. While NECA’s Prometheus toy line is nowhere as near overproduced, the limited edition Trilobite Vs. Engineer (Battle Damaged) action figure two-pack that was a Toys R Us exclusive was definitely sold on the accessory – the Trilobite figure. The Engineer (Battle Damaged) was a slight rework of the first Prometheus figure, the Engineer (Pressure Suit) figure (reviewed here!) released with a unique bonus figure/accessory.
The Prometheus Engineer (Battle Damaged) action figure is available exclusively from the NECA line and was the third figure released as this was an exclusive from Toys R Us released before the Second Series was released.
Basics
Based on the character that appeared at the very end of Prometheus, the Engineer (Battle Damaged) is the lightly armored alien Engineer who was attacked by the Trilobite after chasing down Shaw! Standing eight and one-quarter inches tall, the Engineer (Battle Damaged) is a broad-chested, bald-headed alien Engineer in his flight suit, without the helmet. The color scheme for the figure is ridiculously simple. Most of the figure an aged bone color with black and gray highlights. The monolithic pale gray of the skin for the head and hands actually fits the character quite well. The eyes of the Engineer in the film had solidly black eyes, though this figure has clearly defined pupils and irises. The sculpt is great for the costume. NECA made the toy with pretty extraordinary detailing for the sculpt and head. In fact, one of the neat aspects of the figure is that while it is mostly made of hard plastic, the lower half of the back side of the figure is made of a soft, rubbery plastic that allows the figure to have greater flexibility without sacrificing any of the surface details! The NECA Engineer (Battle Damaged) features cool details, like the holes where the suspended animation tubes went in. The sculpt is actually incredible and the Battle Damaged version has a new head, breastplate and detailing on the neck. The character’s left side is textured and colored black to look like the character has been acid-burned. The mouth is sculpted open as if the Engineer is screaming. The open mouth is necessary for the use of the figure’s lone accessory.
The Trilobite is unique to the two-pack and it is incredible. The Trilobite is the proto-facehugger that was huge and attacked Shaw and the Engineer at the climax of Prometheus. The figure is essentially a giant octopus (it actually has only six tentacles and a tail) that is light brown. The sculpting detail is immaculate. Each of the tentacles ends in a claw and has the side fins and the exposed muscles at the base of each tentacle (and the tail). The underside of the Trilobite features the open petal-like appendages near the mouth. The figure features soft tubes that are colored with realistic depth and shading. This is an entirely gross-looking figure that is accurate for the briefly-seen Trilobite and the whole underside looks like it is pulsating and pushing out to impregnate the Engineer. The coloring is incredible with light brown and dark purples with a great deal of depth and shading all over. The Trilobite looks absolutely amazing and justifies re-buying the Engineer figure.
Accessories
The Trilobite Vs. Engineer (Battle Damaged) comes with a single accessory; the intubation tube. The intubation tube is a dark purple, 2 5/8” tentacle that plugs into the Trilobite’s mouth. The other end then fits into the screaming mouth of the Engineer. While this is an incredible detail and cool accessory because it is as flexible as the tentacles. Unfortunately, the business end of the intubation tube is ribbed, so this looks like a big purple penis that gets forced into the Engineer’s mouth! It’s a wonderful and horrible accessory for the figure.
Poseability
Despite the Engineer (Battle Damaged) having foot holes, the fact that there are no corresponding pegs from a playset or stand for the figure. That means posing the Engineer (Battle Damaged) is based entirely on balance. This figure has wonderful balance, though the figure only remains balanced when the figure is flatfooted. With fourteen points of articulation, Engineer (Battle Damaged) has good poseability, the sculpt does not allow the figure to actual make use of all of the joints. The Engineer (Battle Damaged) has ball and socket joints at the ankles, knees, groin socket, shoulders, wrists and elbows. The bust and head are on ball joints, with limited range of motion there.
The Trilobite has ball and socket joints for each of the tentacles and the tail. Each of the tentacles and the tail is flexible with a joint at the base of the tentacle and soft, rubbery plastic that has a wire inside so it may be posed in incredible poses! The tentacles hold whatever pose one places them in because of the wire.
Playability
All of the articulation makes Trilobite Vs. Engineer (Battle Damaged) a decent toy for play, but one suspects those who would recognize Trilobite or the Engineer (Battle Damaged) enough to enjoy the figure would not be the type to actually play with it and the Prometheus toy line is intended for the adult collector, especially with the intent that the Trilobite might be posed in the act of violently impregnating the Engineer. The figures look incredible when posed in the impregnating form!
Collectibility
NECA Toys made a good pair of figures with the Trilobite Vs. Engineer (Battle Damaged) two-pack, but given how NECA has a tendency to pick the losers (past history has shown that NECA’s figures quickly sell to the fanbase, then end up severely discounted at the few retailers that carry them) and there is no reason to believe that the Prometheus figures will be any exception. In fact, the Prometheus Trilobite Vs. Engineer (Battle Damaged) two-pack was sold exclusively through Toys R Us. Originally, it sold for $40, but now the two-packs are on clearance (at least locally) for half price. So, while this was a great concept for a limited edition Prometheus figure, it was overproduced for the fan base.
Overview
Fans of the Alien franchise, the Engineers, and Prometheus are likely to buy this figure and enjoy it for their collections, but it the Trilobite Vs Engineer (Battle Damaged) two-pack is definitely for the adult collector and is a far better deal on clearance than at full price!
These characters appeared solely in Prometheus, reviewed here!
For other Prometheus toy reviews, please visit my reviews of:
Series 1 Engineer (Chair Suit) figure
Series 2 Deacon figure
Series 2 David 8 figure
9/10
For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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