Even as I finished the feature for the last Ultimate T-800 figure, I knew he’d be back. And sure enough, here I am ready to open up a another Ultimate T-800 from NECA. Today’s release is the third T-800 in this series and the second from the original movie. I already looked at the version from the “Tech Noir” Nightclub and today I’m checking out what in my mind is the most iconic version of this time-travelling killer cyborg… The “Police Station Assault” T-800!

I think “Police Station Assault” is the official name for this figure, but it doesn’t appear anywhere on the box. As always, the Ultimate figures come in window boxes with a front flap secured by velcro. These look like over-sized VHS tape sleeves and this one features some artwork on the front that I don’t recall ever seeing before. It looks like lesser seen promotional artwork for the film. The last release snagged the art from the poster I know best, so it’s nice that they tried to mix things up a bit with this package art. The side panels feature the title of the film along with a very 80’s style grid pattern, this time in blue. Obviously, everything is collector friendly and there’s even a J-hook on top if you want to hang it on the wall or a peg.

Like I said earlier, this is the iconic version of the T-800 to me. Leather jacket, sunglasses, a cold and calculating killing machine wrapped up in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s body. If you own the “Tech Noir” version, you’ll surely recognize some of the parts here. From the waist down this version is lifted directly from the previous release with just some natural paint variation to mark any differences. The leather jacket is new and packs some crazy detail. The collar and lapels are popped a bit to give the figure some lovely depth and it features the usual action figure jacket trickery where the jacket is sculpted as a vest and the sleeves are sculpted as the arms. Besides the detailed stitching and realistic texture of worn leather, you get some sharp silver paint apps on the zippers and buckles of the jacket and the same on the biker boots. The sculptors at NECA have become wizards at rendering clothing in plastic, and nowhere is that more evident than here.

The front and back of the jacket feature bullet holes too, with some bloody paint apps around the holes.

The previous two Ultimate T-800’s each came with three separate head sculpts, and NECA isn’t breaking with tradition here. This release comes out of the box with the classic head with shades. It’s another great likeness and the big glasses hide the fact that by this point in the movie, he’s had his eyebrows singed off.

The second head is sans glasses and eyebrows, and features the damage to his left eye. The organic part of the eye and and surrounding tissue has been blown away and you can see his mechanical eye showing through. This effect is so beautifully done, thanks to a solid sculpt and some great paintwork.

Last up, we have the severely damaged head. In addition to the exposed left eye, you can now see the inner workings of the skull where his left cheek has been blown off. Part of the skull plate is showing and there are abrasions on the right side of the face. Again, this is fantastic sculpting and paintwork on display here. I will note this third head was a bitch to get on. I had to go in with a razor and clean away some of the plastic before getting it to fit right. In addition to the three heads, the T-800 comes with an extra set of battle damaged hands. All four hands are designed to work with the guns.

If you’re keeping score at home, we now have six portraits of the T-800 from the first film!

The articulation here is identical to the “Tech Noir” T-800. The points are all there and it looks fine on paper, but there are a few instances where I wish there was a better range of motion. Here’s what you get: Rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and ankles. The wrists are ball jointed, as is the neck. The legs swivel at the hips and have swivel cuts at the tops of the boots. Finally, you get a ball joint just above the waist. Once again, the elbows barely give 90-degrees, so getting him to hold a weapon raised and close to his shoulder isn’t going to happen. I have been able to get him to hold the shotgun in both hands, but it involves exploiting the fact that his right elbow is pegged in and has a little play.

Of course, we can’t do a T-800 figure review without talking about guns. This fella comes with three of them. First you get the dinky little Smith & Wesson Model 15. It has a chromed finish and painted natural wood grips. It also looks comically small in the T-800’s hands. That’s not a criticism of the accessory, it’s a nice piece and it appears to be scaled correctly. It’s just a little understated for what I want in my T-800 figure displays.

OK, now we’re talking. Next up is the SPAS-12 shotgun. Another fine sculpt cast in the sexy tactical matte black finish and with some lovely details.

Lastly, we get the AR-18 with folded stock and magazines taped together. This is another excellent sculpt also cast all in black matte plastic, but it is also a little bendy, particularly at the end of the muzzle.

As mentioned earlier, both his hands can hold the weapons, so you can have him dual wielding for maximum effect as he cuts his way through the police station in what was one of the more intense scenes from the film.

Now here’s the tough question. You’re in the market for a T-800 figure from the first film. Which one do you get? Well, this is certainly the definitive look for him as far as I’m concerned. And I’ll go ahead and say the two damaged heads in this box work very strongly in its favor. On the other hand, the “Tech Noir” figure includes the clean portrait from the beginning of the movie, as well as the swap-out damaged arm and three unique weapons. There’s no way I could choose, but my guess is that this one is going to be the one that appeals to most casual collectors. The Ultimate figures have been creeping up a bit in price by a few dollars, but this one still retails for under $25 and that’s a damn fine bargain for the craftsmanship and extras that went into this figure. Keep the Terminator figures coming, NECA, and I’ll keep buying them!