Saturday, May 10, 2014

Another Recycled Figure, NECA Overestimates The Appeal Of The Prometheus Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit) Figure!


The Good: Incredible sculpt, Exceptional poseability, Good balance, Accessory
The Bad: Joints are more evident in this form, Recycled, Lack of collectible value, Coloring issues
The Basics: NECA’s Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit) from the Prometheus toy line has very limited appeal, even to fans of the film who collect the merchandise.


As much as I love the toys produced by NECA and as much of a fan as I am of the film Prometheus, it’s a sad truth that NECA has gotten lazy with their Prometheus toy line. Finishing off the NECA Series 3 Prometheus figure line is the Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit) action figure. Given that it looks like NECA is not going to pursue the production of the other, previously-leaked figures, this is a low point upon which for NECA to end the line.

The Prometheus Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit) action figure is identical to the Engineer (Pressure Suit) figure (reviewed here!) released in the first series of Prometheus figures, save that it has been entirely recolored and painted to look like the holograms that were seen operating controls on the bridge on the ship’s holographic records in Prometheus. This figure is a niche figure that was exceptionally inexpensive to produce for NECA (they had the molds for the figure itself all done and not having to make a complicated paint process made finishing it less problematic on the manufacturing end) and only the die-hard Prometheus fans are likely to be at all impressed or care for the figure.

Basics

Based on the entity that was developed for the film, the Prometheus, Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit) is the armored alien Engineer without its helmet or gloves. This version is blue with brighter blue dots all over (in the film, the holograms were greener) and semi-translucent.

Standing eight inches tall, the Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit) is a broad-chested, bald-headed alien Engineer in his flight suit. The color scheme for the figure is light with no real detailing. Most of the figure is translucent blue with bright specks all over it. Unfortunately, the paint job is based on the neutral pose the figure comes packaged in. The moment one starts moving the figure into an action pose, the joints become more obvious as the sparkled portions are pushed away to expose the smooth, monotonal plastics beneath.

The sculpt is completely accurate for the character as it appeared in the movie.

Accessories

Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit) comes with one of the vials seen in the storage hold of the ship near the bridge where the Holographic Engineers were seen. The accessory makes what is otherwise a throwaway figure worth picking up (unless Shaw and Fifield are eventually released with similar accessories!). The storage container is 1 7/8” tall and ¾” in diameter at its widest. It is colored an appropriate rusty gunmetal and features the tiny inscriptions on the outside to look exactly like the one in the film! The neat thing about the accessory is that the container may be opened! Remove the top and it exposes the capsules inside and the four replicas of the vials may be lifted out (as one)! The capsules inside are a less-realistic green color (they were black in the film), but the accessory still looks pretty cool with this or other Prometheus figures!

Poseability

Despite the Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit) having foot holes, the fact that there are no corresponding pegs from a playset or stand for the figure. That means posing the Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit) is based entirely on balance. This figure has good balance, though figure only remains balanced when the figure is flatfooted. With fourteen points of articulation, Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit) has incredible poseability. The Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit) has hinged ball and socket joints at the ankles, knees, groin socket (which were initially ridiculously stiff, but once I cracked it correctly, allowed the figure to take a true seated position!), shoulders, wrists and elbows. The bust and head are on ball joints, with limited range of motion there.

Playability

All of the articulation makes Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit) a decent toy for play, but one suspects those who would recognize Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit) 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. There is no superlative play function for this figure; it is very much intended for display, as opposed to play. It cannot, for example, hold the accessory it comes with in its hand.

Collectibility

NECA Toys made a pretty basic figure with the Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit), but given how it is a recycled figure, it is hard to bet on this ending up as a good investment. Hype surrounding Prometheus has faded and merchandising for the movie has not exactly been a huge hit with its fan base. Most fans will want to wait until the Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit) ends up on the clearance racks (because it undoubtedly will!).

Overview

NECA has a solid flop with the Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit) action figure, but it’s hard to put it down too much given how good the sculpt is and how the articulation is wonderful! Still, it’s not quite enough to make one want to invest in it.

This version of the Holographic Engineer appears in Prometheus, reviewed here!

For other Prometheus toy reviews, please visit my reviews of:
Series 1 Engineer (Chair Suit) figure
Toys ‘R Us Exclusive Trilobite Vs. Engineer (Battle Damaged) two-pack
Series 2 Deacon figure
Series 2 David 8 figure
Series 3 Holographic Engineer (Chair Suit)

5/10

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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