Neca Ultimate Gamer Gremlin review

You gotta hand it to Neca, they know how to get the most from the Gremlins line. OK, they've not made every Gremlin from the two movies (hello, Greta or the veggie gremlin) but who else would of made the electricity or the spider gremlin?And, as of late,  they've really tried to get the most into the scant releases there's been. This isn't a  re-release to squeeze more juice (or whatever that yellow stuff is that comes out of a gremlin) out of a previously made figure. As part of its "ultimate" line, Neca has updated the base gremlin with a bunch of accessories to kit out your army builders.  so turn on all the lights, check all the closets and cupboards, look under all the beds, 'cause you can never tell. There just might a gamer gremlin in your house.

A regular base stand isn't big enough

As said above, this isn't a straight re-release of any previous gremlin. This is an updated figure with newly sculpted parts and articulation. So you're getting  more than a slightly different paint deco- which he also is to be fair. Personally, I prefer the green gremlin, so the paint job has me won  over. But it's when you compare him to a older Gremlin you realise how much work Neca has put into the sculpt. Standing side by side with the stand alone Gremlin (which is the flasher but without the trench coat) from several years ago, you see the proportions are closer to the actual puppets used in the movie.  The arms are much slimmer.  the feet are much smaller and less duck-like, but it does make the figure more awkward to stand than older ones. Thankfully, booth feet have peg holes to plug into a stand. But not a regular circle one. I found a larger oval base from Neca's King Leonidas, which does the trick. Also, be aware of the claws. They're pretty sharp, so ready yourself for actual, physical pain when fiddling with the feet and hands. As always with Neca figures, the paint job is above average: Light cream and khaki markings give definition to the dark green body, with some subtle dry brushing and intricate detail brought out, such as the teeth and the tiny nodules on the head. I always have full confidence in Neca's sculptors to make the some of most detailed figures you can get at the shops and gamer gremlin keeps to that standard.

"WASSSSUUUU- oh, we don't do that any more/ ok"

Being an "ultimate" figure, the articulation has been increased up from previous figures. First of all,  the ears can rotate slightly, turn and down, and fold right against the head. I assume this is to accommodate the popcorn box, but you can make so many little adjustments to add extra personality to the figure. The head rotates and pivots up and down at the top of the neck, and also rotates where it's inserted into the body. These added bits of articulation really help add character to the figure. When I got it out of the box, I spent most of the time messing around with the head and ear positioning, making it look confused, inquisitive, or sinister. And the cherry on top is the mouth pivots open as well. Which is something I didn't think I needed in a gremlin figure, but am so glad Neca added it.

with the ears right back

"We forgot Kevin!"

"TAXI!"

 The arms rotate and pivot at the shoulder, although the right arm doesn't rise up as much as the left. Maybe it's a quirk of the sculpt but the scales on the shoulder hinders sideways movement on the right arm, so don't force it if yours has the same problem. Both elbows bend 90 degrees and can rotate at the joint. Both hands fully rotate at the wrist and pivot inwards. There's a ball joint at the mid-torso which allows for an excellent range of motion. Almost a proper ab crunch.  The legs revolve 360 degrees at the hip, with not much bend at the two-jointed knees (like bird) and the feet are on a ball and socket joint, which don't allow for much back and forth movement but are quite solid, which will help (somewhat) with standing. Like the hands, the feet have sharp claws, so expect your hands to take some damage when posing the legs. I'm not wild about figures with bird legs. Sooner or later, the joints wear down- if they haven't from the get go- and settle into a permanent crouch. So far this figure hasn't done that, and. unlike other figures with bird legs, the knee joints are stiff so it should hold up for a good while yet.

Side by side with the stand alone gremlin

Side by side with the Gremlins 2 Mohawk

High-hoooooo!

This accessories, partly, keep with the theme of gamer gremlin. But really, this is a gift to long time collectors and army builders. If you're a fan of the film, you'll instantly recognise the propeller cap (which does spin)  from the cinema scene. It doesn't really fit on the figure's head, rather it sits there by pure luck. It can fit on some on some of the other Gremlins figures, but only just- due to the larger proportions. So if you have your heart set on that look then stick a bit of blu tack underneath to hold it in place.

Yeah booooi!

Just about stays on the head of a older gremlin

"Good day to you, sir"

There's a tub of popcorn that has a false filling- which flops out with zero friction to allow the gremlin to wear it like a helmet. This is, personally, my favourite look and how I will be displaying the figure, but I can see a lot of people losing the filling part. Also, it won't fit on older gremlins as the helmet option relies on the ears moving down. Also from the cinema scene you also get a cup of "cola"  in in an obvious coca-cola font. There's clear brown plastic and a couple of ice cubes sculpted inside to complete the effect, and a protruding straw. The only issue I can see is the paper stick that surrounds the cup is in danger of getting  torn by the sharp claws. If they can dig into human skin, they'll certainly rip into that sticker, so use caution when inserting it into a hand. Also included are a pair of sunglasses- like the ones that came with with the flasher gremlin, they slip around the face and hold on very tightly, perhaps too tightly. So maybe don't take them on and off too much. What's great about these accessories is not only do you have  a choice of dress up options, to recreate one of the most famous scenes in the movie, but if you get more accessories on top of that. Because why is it called the gamer gremlin?

"My Ned Kelly costume is gonna rule at halloween!" 

"I dunno, all the movies look so good"

He's a baaaaaad boy!

The icing on the cake are the three further accessories you get: A mini electronic video game, based on the Coleco Donkey Kong mini arcade (that mogwai Stripe is playing in one scene) but- one assumes- due to copyright issues, the the game is branded "Fail Guy"- a fictional game to stand in. This is probably the best accessory, with excellent detail, even down to a mock screen which (as well as the side art) is replicated by great quality stickers, a sculpted in battery hatch, and  even the stick is articulated! A great extra on an already good figure, but if you got the mogwai Stripe, you now have the ultimate accessory for it. On top of that, you also get a tiny reproduction of the box for the official tie-in game for the Atari 2600. I think it's not really to scale, but the attention to detail is excellent, even the blurb on the back of the box is accurate, sans Atari branding. But the Atari homage doesn't end there, as there's also a 2600 joystick like the Gremlins game, it's more to scale with the figure and has a little notch where the cable should be. Maybe a future release will include a console to plug it in to? Wild speculation aside, this is really well detailed but sadly, unlike the fail guy arcade, the stick doesn't move, which is the only  let down on an otherwise exceptional set of accessories.

"STUPID GHOSTS. GET AWAY FROM ME!"

See, Billy? My high scores are on legit hardware"

"So I put in up, up, down, down..."

"Completely mint in the box, smoke free house: $2000"

"Aww, Stripe beat my high score"

*waits for people to complain about the lighting*

Despite the higher price of the ultimates, you get an all new gremlin and plenty of stuff to display it with- dare I say it, the accessories might be worth the price of admission alone for some. That "some" being hard core Gremlins fans- which is exactly the kind of person this figure is aimed at. Neca didn't need to include the mini arcade, but know there's collectors who have everything in the line and have been asking for one (poor Randy) and this is a great way to include it plus more. The only real issue I see is the further cost of getting a figure stand- which I wholly recommend- and the chance you fall down the Neca Gremlins rabbit hole and seek more figures to put all the accessories on. Because they do multiply very easily.

Company: Neca

Price paid: £28.97

Bought from: Kapow toys

Age: 3+