Wednesday, October 30, 2024

31 Days of Toy Terror Takes the Universe: Wolf Man from Universal Monsters by NECA

 


   It's Werewolf Wednesday once again at Action Figure Barbecue's 31 Days of Toy Terror Takes the Universe and today I'm checking out an incredible figure of Lon Chaney, Jr. as Larry Talbot, the all time greatest Wolf Man of them all! Lon Chaney Jr. was in well over a dozen Universal classic horror films and played some of the main Universal Monsters including Dracula (in Son of Dracula), Kharis the mummy (in three Mummy films), Frankenstein's Monster (in The Ghost of Frankenstein), and, of course, Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man. While Chaney played roles made famous by other actors, he was the only person to play the Wolf Man during Universal's classic horror era. NECA released this figure in black and white in 2022 with this full color version following in 2023. I'm not sure a better, more accurate figure of the Wolf Man has ever been released. Ready for a definitive figure of my favorite of the Universal Monsters? Then join me after the break...






The Facts:

Height: 7 3/8ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, calve swivels, swivel/hinge knees, swivel thighs, balljointed hips, balljointed waist, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/ hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, balljointed neck, and a barbell jointed head.

Accessories: 5 interchangeable hands, 3 portraits w/ necks, 4 interchangeable feet, cane, trap, and stand. 

Original Retail Price: $35 dollars

Year of Release: 2023




The Positives:

* This is such an excellent looking figure and it really captures the look of Chaney from The Wolf Man incredibly well. Chaney's transformation was more similar to Henry Hull's in Werewolf of London rather than later films that gave their werewolves more canine like bodies. Without looking at his furry paws and head, you'd not really realize there's anything too unusual. He's wearing a green button up shirt and brown pants rolled up a bit near his shins. They're fairly basic clothes but all the details you'd expect are present such as pockets, a belt and belt loops, buttons, etc. They've also all been given a nice dark wash to bring out the texture and make them look a bit more worn and lived in. 






* The set comes with three portraits, two of which show Larry Talbot transformed into a werewolf. They're both excellent and the sculpt is so good that you can see Chaney's likeness in the eyes. I love the work on the face and the fur here. This expression is a bit more neutral with his eyes looking like they're searching around for his next victim. He's really looking good, just like he stepped off the movie screen. And his hair? Well that was made from yak hair. And it's perfect. Awwhooo!!!






* The second portrait is my favorite of these two as the Wolf Man has an awesome snarl on his face. He's looking mighty fierce here, like he's just found his next victim. Or maybe he's getting ready to battle Frankenstein's Monster? The eyes and the teeth are just excellent with incredible paint applications. It's a great tribute to the work of makeup artist Jack Pierce.









* The Wolf Man's furry hands are pretty cool. Sharp nails, detailed fur, and some excellent paintwork on them. 












* The Wolf Man was a practical costume so the feet aren't as extreme and animal-like as many werewolves from later movies. They're something you could conceivably wear. NECA did an admirable job of making them look accurate to the film and not overly exaggerated or anything. 











* Here's a shot of the back of the Wolf Man so you can see the detailed paint wash all over the figure. It's excellent and really adds to the feel of the figure.















* One of the neatest things about this figure is that NECA included the part to transform the Wolf Man back into Larry Talbot. Or to transform Larry back into the Wolfman. There's a swappable Lon Chaney Jr. head and neck, swappable hands, and even feet and shins that swap out to show Larry after he's reverted back to his uniform. That's a might cool extra feature included with the figure.










* This Lon Chaney Jr. Portrait is one of the best actor likenesses I believe I've ever seen from NECA. They absolutely nailed it. While they didn't go with the most extremely anguished expression for Larry, you can still almost feel his pain through the sculpt. If you use this with a regular suited body from another figure you could make all kinds of characters from different Lon Chaney Jr. films. 





* If you own any other Universal Monsters figures from NECA, or any of their other figures from the last five years or so, you likely know what to expect. While NECA includes all of the joints you'd expect on a modern action figure they're still not what I'd call super-poseable. You're not going to have the Wolf Man crouching punching the ground when he lands like Black Widow or anything. Larry does look fantastic in very realistic poses, though. He seems incredibly sturdy (I haven't has a real NECA QC issue since the first series of the Aliens line back in 2013) and the joints have a great range of motion whether Larry is bemoaning his fate or the Wolf Man is stalking his prey in the moonlight.




* The figure comes with two regular, open palmed human hands (neither of which has a pentagram on it, which would have been a cool extra), two wolf claws, and a right handed tight grip for holding his cane. They swap pretty easily and give you a few options. You could mix the hands and have Larry Talbot in the middle of a transformation if you want to get creative in your display.






* Pretty much every figure of the Wolf Man comes with his unique wolf head cane. NECA's is incredibly nice with great detail and clean paint.





* Wolf Man figures also seem to usually come with a trap to catch him in. This one looks great. Look ate different shades of brown and silver used to give the trap and old appearance. It's quite a convincing miniature replica. 









* The trap has multiple moving parts including both jaws and the pressure plate. It's a pretty impressive setup. NECA's team does an excellent job on accessories like this, putting way more thought and attention to it than almost any other company.




* NECA doesn't usually include stands with their figures but the Wolf Man comes with one. He can be tough to stand on his paws since they are angled a bit, so it's a good inclusion.

The Negatives:

* Unfortunately, it's a bit small. Why they didn't include a regular disc stand like they sell by the pack I don't know. Fortunately I had some larger disc stands, so I'm using those. 





   The Wolf Man is my favorite of the Universal Monsters and this is probably my favorite of the Universal Monsters figures I've owned to date (I really like the Phantom of the Opera, too; it's close). Besides just being a really good figure of the Wolf Man, giving collectors the chance to display this as Larry Talbot is just a really nice touch. It's fantastic to have a Lon Chaney Jr. head for this role or for any customs you want to do. Everything is handled so well here that it feels like this would be a hard figure to improve on. He's an Epic figure that's howlingly good!




 For more of Lawrence/ Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man, I've also reviewed the Funko ReAction Wolf Man, Jada Toys' The Wolf Man, the Real Ghostbusters Wolfman Monster, NECA's Raphael as the Wolfman, the McFarlane's Monsters Werewolf Playset, the Imaginext Wolfman, the Werewolf from Mezco's Tower of Fear, Mezco's 2010 WolfmanLuke Talbot (the Wolfman) from Monster Force, and the Wolf Man dog toy from Fetch for Pets.

For more NECA Universal Monsters check out the following:
Dracula (Translyvania)
The Mummy (Black & White)





4 comments:

  1. That is cool! I always liked Larry Talbot and his Wolf Man persona, and this captures them both pretty nicely. And the cane in included!

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    1. I love Lon Chaney Jr. He's just so likeable in most of his roles and you really feel for him. I'm glad he had a solid character arc/ storyline throughout the Universal Classic Horror films. If you've never seen him in any of the Inner Sanctum Mysteries films (there are 6 of them) you should check them out. They're classic Universal Horror Films but are a loose, unconnected series of their own, based on a radio program and some old mystery novels.

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  2. This is a cool figure. I love NECA's horror figures.

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    Replies
    1. They've been knocking these out of the park. I'm anxiously awaiting Christopher Lee's Dracula and Vincent Price.

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