Monthly Archives: November 2024

Nov 4 2024

Universal Monsters: Frankenstein Accessory Set by NECA

It may be November but here at FFZ, the Halloween spookiness is just getting started! I’ve covered all of the NECA Ultimate Universal Monsters figures in my collection so far, but NECA also pumped out a few Accessory Sets and we can’t leave those out! Today’s set is meant to compliment their Ultimate Frankenstein Monster release, and I have to say this one straddles that line where it almost feels like a playset, but not quite. I’ll have some more thoughts at the end about what NECA could have done to nudge it more in the right direction, but that’s me getting way ahead of myself!

The set comes in a fully enclosed box with some nice artwork and shots of what you get inside. Of course, I can’t stress enough that, unlike The Bride of Frankenstein Chair, there ain’t no figure in this box, so you’ll definitely want to pick up The Monster to go with this set. Inside the box you get the operating table with restraints, a bandaged head for The Monster, a torch, a sculpted towel to hang on the table, a tri-fold cardboard backdrop, and a cloth blanket to partially cover The Monster. I also need to emphasize that the table requires quite a bit of assembly and let me tell you that I can’t imagine it could be any tougher to actually build a living creature from corpses than it was to put this thing together. What the hell, NECA? It was a confusing endeavor and there were a lot of fragile pieces. Add that up and you’ve got a pretty stressful situation on your hands. But, eventually I was able to get it together so let’s see what we’ve got.

Here’s the assembled table with The Monster figure secured to it. The table is finished to look like bare steel, it’s big, and it looks great! I especially love all the slides and wheels and mechanisms under it, which are designed to allow it to be adjusted. Alas, none of these things actually do anything, other than gave me anxiety when putting it all together, but the detail adds a lot to the table and it is appreciated. Other details include the brackets and sculpted bolts that secure the table to the base frame and there are some holes in the corners of the frame, maybe in case someone wants to actually secure it to a diorama base.

The restraints include steel bands for the ankles, biceps, and three for the torso. These simply slot into the table and are pushed down to keep your Monster secured and they fit really well. There’s even a cradle to rest The Monster’s head on, although it doesn’t look like it would be very comfortable.

The white cloth sheet simply drapes over The Monster. It is not long enough to cover all of him, so his head and feet stick out the ends. I’m assuming it was like this in the film, but off-hand I just can’t remember.

The bandaged head is a nice bonus, especially when displaying The Monster on the table. The khaki bandages feature a very detailed sculpt and some painted clips to hold it in place. It definitely makes for a creepy vibe.

The backdrop is printed on heavy cardboard stock and folds at the ends to help it stand up. It’s got a dank castle wall pattern with an open doorway to the left and a bank of instruments to the right. The center has some more instruments and the device Frankenstein used for channeling electricity into The Monster. There’s no floor, so I had to use my own.

Finally, you get a torch, which feels like it’s tossed in there to beef up the contents. There’s nowhere to hang it and who’s going to hold it? The Monster? Even the picture on the box just shows an anonymous hand coming into the frame to scare The monster with it. I’m sure I can put it to good use somewhere in my collection, but it doesn’t do much to enhance this set.

Despite a lot of initial frustration, I really am quite happy with this set. It even brought me back to the days of trying my best to build those wonderful Aurora model kits as a kid. The table makes for a very cool display option for your Monster and the extra head has made me strongly consider picking up a second figure just to go with this set. But, at $35 I think the price is pretty borderline. The table is big and impressive, but some of it is pretty fragile. It’s also something that I would not dare take apart and return to the box for storage. So, considering the price point, I really wish NECA had just sold it as pre-built. I also wish NECA had gone just a little bit further to make it an actual playset. The backdrop helps, but a base would have been nice too. Throw in a smaller table with some lab equipment and I would have happily paid $50. Still, if you’re in the market for it and finding it sold out at most retailers, it can be had pretty easily on Ebay for right around the original MSRP.

Nov 1 2024

Sariah (Goddess of War) Sixth-Scale Figure by Phicen/TBLeague

Halloween may be behind us, but since October was a dicey month, I plan on peppering November with more spooky stuff. I’m not sure if today’s review totally fits that category, but we will be plunging into the Depths of Hell, and that’s pretty scary! It’s crazy to think that I only reviewed one TBLeague figure so far this year, and only one the previous year. I have a bunch of these waiting their turn in the spotlight and some have been waiting for a long while. Currently, I’m starting to pack some things up in anticipation of moving to another State early next year and that means I’d like to give more of these ladies some love before they get sealed away in boxes for three or four months. And today is Sariah’s turn! A lot of TBLeague’s recent figures have been original designs, but Sariah hails from ARH Comics, Undying Queen series. This is not my first figure from this comic, as Arkhalla, Queen of the Vampires was an early Phicen purchase for me back in the day. Cruel and merciless, Sariah is not only The Goddess of War, but also the commander of Hell’s armies in The Lands Below. Let’s check her out!

TBLeague hasn’t changed their packaging much over the years, and that’s a good thing because they do a nice job with it. The heavy-duty box has a tri-fold cover that secures to the sides with magnets and has some gorgeous shots of the figure on the front and side panels. Inside, the figure is nestled in a foam tray with the head detached and the accessories spread out around her. These figures also give off a strong fragrance of tea when you first open them, which I always thought was pretty cool. Like many TBLeague figures, Sariah does require some of her armor to be attached, which can sometimes be a chore, but in this case it wasn’t too bad.

Here she is all set up, and I have to say this is the type of outfit design that really compliments the Phicen seamless body the best, as it shows a fair bit of skin. Her skimpy armor consists of a plastic breast plate, painted red with a gold border, upswept breast cups and a rather jagged cut window to show off her belly button. Below that is a red furry diaper-thong and a black belt with bronze ornamental medallions. She has tall, high-heeled boots, again red with gold accents, which end in skulls for knee guards. Her arms are adorned with red and gold bracers on her forearms, bronze bicep bands, and skulls for shoulder armor. The ensemble is finished off with a red and gold gorget to protect her throat, and a red and gold cape. The cape is crafted from some pretty nice material and has an elaborate decorative pattern. It’s narrow and not at all cumbersome, but I do wish they had given the edges some wires to allow it to be posed. Wired capes are fairly common in more recent TBLeague releases, but it’s not really something they were doing back in the day.

Both the design and execution of the armor is fantastic. The crimson and gold deco pops nicely and while it is mostly plastic, the use of fur and cloth adds that bit of needed variety. The boots are split with the usual ball joints in the ankles to help with those action stances, and the bracers help conceal the wrist joints, so other than the seam around the neck, all the rest of the steel skeleton’s articulation points are locked inside that silicone body. I know some people remain skeptical about the durability of these bodies, but I’ve had Sariah here on display for years. There haven’t been any problems, and she’s one that I love to take off the shelf and play around with now and then. I will, however, point out that this costume is prone to a wardrobe malfunction in the form of frequent nip slips, but since they aren’t painted, it’s not always obvious when it happens!

The portrait includes a really cool headpiece, which is not so much a helmet as it is a sort of a tiara with horns and cheek guards. This piece is made of a slightly flexible plastic, which simply fits onto the head and hugs the sides to remain in place. The red and gold deco matches the rest of the armor and the giant demonic horns make quite an intimidating statement.

Of course, the headpiece is removable, but I’m likely to always display it on the figure, as I’m not a big fan of the way they handled her hairline, with part of it painted onto the head and leading into the rooted hair. It’s not a great look and also not a technique that they’ve used for a while. Otherwise, the portrait is beautiful with very pretty features and a rosy complexion in the cheeks. There’s a spark of life in those eyes and the lips are perfectly painted with a red glossy finish. The hair is swept back where it cascades down her back and includes a partial ponytail as well and the style compliments the headpiece very well.

In terms of accessories, Sariah isn’t over burdened with extras, but she does have the essentials: Mainly her sword and shield and a couple of pairs of hands. The sword is a rather unique design with the hilt keeping the red and gold deco going and featuring a demon skull in the center of the short down-turned crossguard. The blade is painted bright silver and has a double edged and has a cut-out channel in the middle. Sometimes you get diecast blades with these figures, but in this case it’s plastic. The shield is circular with a larger version of the demon skull from the sword as its central boss. There’s a segmented almost spiral pattern with two circlets of studs. I love this design and the super sharp sculpt. The reverse side has a grab bar and an elastic strap for her arm, which is super easy to work with.

While accessories may be light, Sariah makes up for it with her throne and base. Sometimes, TBLeague likes to get freaky by bundling in these big diorama style display bases, and I sure do love it when they do! As is often the case, it’s packaged in a styrofoam brick in the shipping box, rather than in the actual figure box itself. The vaguely throne-shaped pile of skulls is absolutely gorgeous in a grizzly sort of way with a thin sculpted cushion for Sariah’s shapely, rotund caboose to sit on. I really dig the back of the throne, which has three skulls still wearing some rather unusual helmets. Very cool!

The throne is also removable from the base and you can use it as a dais to display the figure standing, but there is no support rod to keep her upright. Still, she can stand really well and I have had her displayed on it for long stretches without her toppling.

Even if you aren’t a fan or familiar with the comic, Sariah fits in perfectly with TBLeague’s original design releases as just a beautiful fantasy warrior woman in a set of bitchin demon armor. The seamless body is as impressive as ever and the sculpt and paint on her costume seals the deal perfectly. The only nitpick I have is that I wish she came with a scabbard so she could wear her sword on her belt. But even if the accessory assortment seems light, the elaborate base and throne more than make up for it by adding a ton of value to the package. Indeed, at $169 when I bought her, this still seems like an amazing deal when a lot of bare bones Sixth-Scale figures were selling for more.