This was one of the most eagerly anticipated action figures of all time, it stands nearly 10″ tall and is in scale with the 7″ NECA Robocop figure.
Produced by NECA, the iconic menacing law enforcement ED-209 droid from the 1987 cult following ultra violent sci-fi/action movie, Robocop, is surprisingly a very finely crafted and fun to play with action figure that is full of intricate details.
Brief Introcution to ED-209
The Robocop movie and its robot characters have become a pop culture classic. In the movie,ED-209 is a bipedal robot developed by the OCP company in the future. Early in the story, during a high level company meeting, OCP senior president, Dick Jones demonstrated the ED-209 law enforcement robot. ED-209 was to replace polic officers in Detroit. However, the demonstration suddenly ended in tragedy as ED-209 proceeded to use lethal force through high powered machine guns on its mechanical arms and brutally gunned down a board member who volunteered for the demonstration. Frantic attempts were made by the engineers and technicians to shut down ED-209 and prevent the accident, but it could not be shut down. Regarded as an awful accident and ED-209 was deemed as a faulty product, the CEO of OCP opted for the company to develop cyborgs instead, and initiated the Robocop project.
When I watched the movie as a kid back in 1987, although the stop motion special effects seen today look very outdated, but it was very convincing back then. Furthermore, I could never forget ED-209's distinctive robotic growl, loud electronic and hydraulic whirls, mechanized parts movement noises and its deep robot voice. It was a fearsome behemoth machine on screen. I always wanted a toy of this robot,but there was never a highly detailed replica of it. In 1988, I saw the Kenner made Robocop toys at the toy aisles at the shopping mall. But the Kenner ED-209 did not have all the details as seen in the movie. It was a simplified version with simplified designs. Even the the gun barrels were just simple black tubes on its arms. Understandable, it was meant for kids.
But today, in 2014, we have a highly detailed toy from NECA. Compared to Hot Toys's version, of course the Hot Toys one has even more details. But the NECA one does not dissappoint.
Sculpt: 8/10
The sculpt is pretty top notch. All the mechanical grooves, screws, screw holes, wires, tubes, mechanical parts, including the texture and patterns on ED-209's dome/head are finely detailed. I should point out that even its mouth is more accurate than Hot Toys version because the cavity of the mouth is deeper, whereas if you pay attention, you'd see that Hot Toys's(HT) version has a more shallow cavity. I speculate this is because HT housed the voice box in there.
Paint & Mixed Media: 7/10
At first look, it is very standard fair. Just metallic blueish silver paint on the chasis, black for the weapons, red and yellow decals on some parts such as “warning” labels to indicate the danger of some of its weapons. Some reds for some wires. But if you'd step back a bit, overall, this is an impressive toy. There is enough blackwash on its mouth cavity to give that realistic look to the wirings and metal grilles seen there. And under fluorescent room light, it doesn't look like a plastic toy, it looks believable as mini metal robot.
Design : 7/10
ED-209 as an action figure comes with the customary articulation points so that you could pose and play with it. The articulation features include the following:
-swivel torso (to move upper body only)
-swivel shoulders
-hinged shoulder pad flaps
-hinged elbows
-rotating forearm-guns
-swivel hips (swing legs forward/backwards, when both legs planted on surface, this articulation lowers and lifts ED209's upper body & head)
-extendable & retractable legs
Unfortunately, there is no articulation for the foot at the ankle, and no articulation for the 3 robot toes on each foot. They are fixed as one piece with the foot.
ED-209 has a button on the right side of its head. Press it and it will play & rotate the catchphrases from the movie and sound effects .
These include:
-Distinctive Mechanized hydraulic walking sounds
-Machine gun barrage (it's recorded from the movie, so you can even hear the sound of one of the office ladies in the scene screaming)
-The iconic spoken words: “Halt. You are trespassing on private property. You have 20 seconds to comply.”
“Throw down your weapon. You have 15 seconds to comply.”
The quality isn't that good. Some phrases you might have to strain your ear to hear. But it's still a lot of fun to press the button and listen to the voice recordings. Brings back a lot of nostalgia for Robocop fans too.
So, this is probably one of the negative points of this figure that pulls down the score a little.The Fun Factor is still guaranteed despite that flaw.
Production Build and Quality: 8/10
Well casted quality smooth plastic parts. You can see some seams on the parts, but that's okay because it's a robot and doesn't take away the overall look of it. Good joints for many poses and movements. Pleasant surprise by the legs extension feature. Has a good weight to it, not flimsy and light, plus electronic voice box, this is by far one of the better mid range ED-209s you can get. If NECA would make a 1/6 version of this, I'm sure it will sell very well. Another advantage NECA's ED has over Hot Toys is that it doesn't have rubber parts. So, you need not worry about the rubber cracking or flaking, and the black dome on NECA's ED-209 will always stay in one piece & not break down. Definitely worth getting for your collection or to play.
Overall Score: 7.5
