Mafex Robo has arrived!!
I'll give my thoughts and provide some pics, but my phone is an ancient Android that I actually dropped in the bath the other day, so don't get your hopes up.
First of all, I personally feel the finish is wonderful and the best aspect of the figure. I really feel it captures the sheen from the first film quite well, maybe even better than the Hot Toys. In my opinion, a beautiful paint job.
The other point of contention we were concerned about was likeness. I think this is also fantastic. It's hard to see in pics (of course) but the lips are not too pink, they resemble Weller, and the sculpt of the helmet and visor seems really dead on.
The overall sculpt looks a LOT like the Figma, with some tweaks. His legs look a little stubby, but other than that, everything seems to be in place. The chest armor swaps well (except mine had a loose magnet, but no big deal.) The mouthplates are so similar they're almost the same, like MAFEX's Alex DeLarge. The close-mouthed one is neutral, then a slightly parted lips, and one with slightly parted lips and barely visible teeth. All three are really nicely done, just so damn similar. I went with the slightly parted lips number 2, for variety. After all, my NECA has a close mouth, and my Figma had a poorly doodled line for a mouth.
The swappable holster leg parts are fine, but i do think Figma implemented it better. Of course NECA's is best cause it's actually functional, but it loses movie accuracy. The MAFEX version does the best attempt to show the inner mechanisms of the holster leg, but I feel the back part of the thigh lays too flat on his leg/butt....like I said, Figma pulled it off better. But honestly, it's such a pain to swap parts, I doubt I'll display it that way often.
Auto 9 looks nice and accurate. Very similar muzzle flash piece to Figma, but more translucent in the plastic that was used.
The instruction sheet included English translations, and they were VERY helpful! And one caption read "Voila! Muzzle flash of a firing gun is reproduced." I don't know why but I found the fact that they used the word "Voila" on their instructions was funny and charming.
Articulation is great, probably better than Weller had in the suit. And unlike the Figma, has no weird birthing hips that got all out of place. Has joints in the chet but can't get that deep mid torso bend NECA can....I loved that about NECA.
Battle damaged chest and helmet are nice, but again, I'll probably only use them sparingly. Seems incomplete without all the bullet holes in his arms and legs and his one eye peeking through the helmet. I'm sure not trying to paint one in there!
And now the elephant in the room: scale. This guy is awesome;, he's just simply too small. Just a bit undersized. Better than that dwarf Figma, but he's just gonna look too small next to NECA's ED. And man, I don't wanna buy another ED downscaled about 5% that's probably gonna cost 3 times as much. (But I would....we're sick bastards. You know you would too, all for the almighty "scale.")
Him being smaller than ED is pretty much my only complaint. I think this feels like a solid, premium figure. Love the finish, and even though you can't tell in the pics, the face sculpt and paint is spot on. REALLY looks like Weller in the movie. As soon as I saw it, I knew this is my favorite Robo in this scale. I'm feeling giddy like I did back in 2004 when I finally got the McF Robo...and yes, this one is much better.
Is it truly a mini-Hot Toys? I don't think it's quite there, but it's close. Let's call it the equivalent of the Mezco One:12 compared to Marvel Legends. You can definitely see the difference.
All right, time for photos shot on a potato....hope at least some of the details come through:
Here you see Spring Loaded NECA Robocop, MAFEX, and Figma. Size discrepancies are obvious, but look at the paint. NECA now looks like an unfinished prototype. Figma had nice paint but weird skinny proportions. Am I biased cause MAFEX is just brand new? I don't know but it looks like the clear winner to me. (Sorry Neca...we had a hell of a run, buddy.)
Here I tried to show the difference in faces. Is Figma's face blurry cause of my camera, or cause he has no effing face?? Seriously, what a crushing let down that was when that toy arrived with a goddamn thin line for a face sculpt. (Coincidentally, that was also released around the 1st of November, 2011....I'll never forget cause it was my birthday and my gf dumped me that same day. Sigh.) NECA's helmet looks bad now. Thick uneven paint lines from the factory. Very bland. Very generic and lacking any subtlety of shading. I used to think he could pass for Weller, but MAFEX just schooled his ass.
Side by side of Figma and MAFEX. Figma has always been a skinny runt, but this just drives the message home. Bad hip articulation and that godawful mouth "sculpt" mar this figure, but like I said, his holster optional parts are still the best, and he has the most number of alternate hands, (which I never really use many of.)
Side by side with Neca, to really drive home the improvement in face sculpt and paint. Yes, NECA was a fraction of the cost so I shouldn't be so harsh. I loved the thing. But I'm just really jazzed to have a 1/12 Robo that really really looks like he just walked off the screen. I think Mafex nails the shape of the helmet and especially the eye visor so well.
And now the one that makes me sad. ED 209 by NECA...a dream toy I was always adore and cherish....is just too big. I want them facing off but it's just not gonna look right. I'll still do it, cause they're both awesome toys, but it will drive the scale freak in me nuts seeing that slight discrepancy.
And finally, a side by side with the "other" Mafex Alex from this year, just cause I love them both. Again, you can see with the bowler Alex DeLarge is slightly taller than Alex Murphy! That's just not right!! MAFEX Robo is gonna get a complex like Tom Cruise.
So yeah....I'm pretty excited. Really like this thing. Feels like a premium figure at half the size and half the cost. Or less than half the cost.
Number one with an Auto 9 bullet on my wish list? This same figure, in FULL battle damage, with the exposed Murphy face, just like Hot Toys did. Yes, we've heard the excuses for years...Weller is too expensive/won't play ball. I for one would pay DOUBLE the regular price just for that figure in this scale. But I'm a nut, so maybe not enough people could convince Medicom to do it.
Do we NEED a new ED 209 slightly resized? No....but being the sucker I am, I'd get it. But are Medicom/MAFEX known for such large intricate characters in this scale? I don't know of any.
What we really need is ROBOCOP2 KAIN!! Now I'd buy THAT for a dollar....and I'd even buy the Robo2 version of Robocop to go with it. Cause right now, I'm not buying Robo 2 or 3.
But if you're listening MAFEX?? Make Robo Kain and I'll buy it AND Robo2. Make Otomo and I'll buy it AND Robo3. I'm bribing you.
OK...that's all for now...any specific questions, I'll try to answer, and I'll try to take more pics from my waterlogged phone if you have any requests!!
