NECA’s line of 80’s inspired Universal Famous Mini Monsters should be appealing to most of you that either had that line by in the back, and like variants of impressive sculpts that are being offered. These figures share the same sculpts with the new Universal Monsters line based on the classic black and white films, and also a glow-in-the-dark feature that offers something different for these sculpts. These bring back that nostalgic vibe for fans of 1980’s lines, and is something that long-time fans will want.
Thank you to NECA Toys for sending along their Universal Monsters Retro Glow-In-The-Dark Figures for review.
Availability: July/August 2022
Each figure is packaged on a retro-inspired blister card, with images of the actors from their classics films in black and white, and the back includes images of all three figures.
Frankenstein’s Monster, Wolfman and The Mummy reuses their Ultimate figure sculpt and is a repaint with some glow-in-the-dark deco, which pays tribute to the Universal Famous Mini Monsters line of the 80’s. Most of the paint washes have been removed and you have some reduced deco figures, while keeping the likenesses more towards the vintage line and not the films as that’s the point to these figures.
Frankenstein’s Monster keeps his the textured jacket and pants, which is in black and the jacket is made of a soft plastic. The pants are given the same shade as the jacket, as are the boots. The undershirt is given some new green deco, compared to the black or grey deco that the first releases had. For this release, the skin is given new green deco, which glows, and he has a red bloody scar on his forehead, black hair, and nicely done facial details.
Frankenstein’s articulation includes a ball jointed head, ball hinged shoulders, swivel-hinged elbows, swivel-hinged wrists, waist rotation, ball joined hips, swivel-hinged knees, hinged and rocker ankles.
The Wolfman is is repainted in a dark green shirt and pants, with details such as the belt buckle not being painted on this release and it’s all one color. The fur is also repainted in a light brown, and his face is repainted with the glow-in-the-dark deco, with some blood dripping down his mouth.
Included with the Wolfman is his black base, which is the only accessory offered between all three figures.
His articulation includes a ball jointed head, ball jointed neck, ball hinged shoulders, swivel-hinged elbows, swivel-hinged wrists, waist rotation, ball joined hips, swivel-hinged knees, swivel calves, hinged and rocker ankles.
The Mummy is repainted in a light grey, and looses all of his paint washes that the movie inspired figure had. The figure comes mummified and wrapped in bandages with phenomenal sculpted details and textures. Each bandage is individually sculpted throughout the figure with all that great sculpting that is consistently given to him. The head and hands are not bandaged, but has the decaying detail on these parts along with capturing the likeness perfectly. The facial details also have a black wash around it, which is a nice touch.
His articulation includes a ball jointed head, ball hinged shoulders, swivel-hinged elbows, swivel-hinged wrists, ball jointed torso, waist rotation, ball joined hips, swivel-hinged knees, hinged and rocker ankles.
The removable of the accessories and interchangeable parts is noticeable on these releases, but at the same time you don’t need them as they’re based on the 80’s toy line, and not the movies like the first releases were. With the removable of accessories, NECA has also reduced the price point of these to around $22 each, which is a nice price break compared to around $38 for the movie-based figures.
Overall, these are nice looking repaints with a great modern update to the vintage line. The glow-in-the-dark feature is a great offering to use on these sculpts and something that all fans will enjoy. With the reduced price point, it should be a no-brainer to pick these up, especially if you’ve been buying the Universal Monsters line.
Purchase:
Entertainment Earth, BigBadToyStore, Things From Another World, Zavvi – U.S./Canada and Zavvi – U.K.
