I'm A Grown Man And I Bought This: Predator 2 Stalker Predator

Direct from NECA's new line of Predator 2 action figures, it's the Stalker Predator.

Say, now that I think about it, isn't "Stalker Predator" redundant? If you're stalking something, doesn't that automatically make you a predator?

Anyhow, this is a nice figure from an excellent line. The sculpting is awesome and the texturing is nothing short of amazing. His shin guards look like real pitted metal, while his forearms are wrapped in what appear to be leather bands. And his body is covered in a perfectly sculpted fishnet body suit. They even added detail to his "dreadlocks."

The paint job is even more astounding, especially at this scale. He's got his species' characteristic mottled skin, and somehow they managed to perfectly paint ever strand of his mesh outfit with no slopping or overspill. How they accomplished that feat, I have no idea. Very tiny painters, perhaps?

As the package proudly proclaims, he sports 25 points of articulation, so you shouldn't have any problems wrangling him into any position you can imagine.

He's a fairly large figure too, clocking in at just under 9" tall.

As for accessories, he comes with his telescoping staff (which sadly does not telescope) and his smart disc weapon. It looks like the smart disc is supposed to snap into the holder on his right thigh, but for the life of me I could not get it to stay in place. It kept plopping to the ground the minute I'd take my hand away, so expect to keep it stored on his hand.

He also has an adorable little handbag slung over his shoulder. He may be a relentless alien killer, but that man purse is going to elicit nothing but chuckles from his prey. Right before he rips their spines from their bodies.

Despite this mostly glowing praise, I doubt I will be buying any more figures from this line. The reason? You guessed it, the price. I know I've beaten this poor dead horse to atoms, but the fact remains that toys in general and NECA's in particular are just too damned high.

The Stalker Predator goes for a whopping $20. That's just preposterous, even with all the amazing detail and paint work. I would gladly buy every figure in the line if they were a more reasonable price, but I can't (and won't) spend the equivalent of a house payment on freakin' Predator toys.

Dial down the detail, simplify the paint job, make the figures smaller or heck, make them hollow. Do something, NECA, to lower the price.

Now we get to the really infuriating part of the review. Despite the excellent articulation and the amazing sculpting, I have to give this figure a huge thumbs down. The reason? His helmet is NOT removable.

It looks for all the world like it should pop right off his head, but it's all a filthy lie. The helmet is glued to his head, and a bit of probing on my part revealed that there's nothing underneath it but smooth, blank plastic.

This is extremely disappointing to me. In the package, the figure appears to have a removable helmet. That's why I bought it; if I'd known it wasn't removable I never would have purchased it. There's absolutely no reason they couldn't have sculpted a removable helmet onto his face, or better yet included a second, unhelmeted interchangeable head that could be easily snapped on. Especially at this ridiculous price point.