Movies | Vintage Action Figures

Happy Halloween! NECA Cult Classics Eric Draven from The Crow

With Halloween very nearly upon us I thought this would be an excellent moment to showcase this recent flea market find. Admittedly it will be quite a few years before this 2005 NECA figure celebrating The Crow movie character Eric Draven can properly be described as “vintage”, but he is such a stunning figure I couldn’t resist adding him to my collection.

The tragic and untimely death of Brandon Lee in an on-set firearms accident during filming of the final scenes of the 1994-released movie has undoubtedly added to the “cult” status of The Crow, but watched with a purely objective eye twenty years on, the film really has stood the test of time and Lee’s central performance is particularly deserving of critical praise. This 7 inch action figure beautifully captures Lee’s likeness and mesmerising expression and is a wonderful piece of memorabilia.

Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus in The Matrix Reloaded by McFarlane

Nobody could argue that Sideshow Collectibles haven’t raised the bar in recent years as far as action figures created exclusively for the adult collectors’ market goes, with their staggeringly good movie likenesses and attention to detail.

In today’s economic climate, however, there’s still plenty of room for companies such as McFarlane, who also manage to render celebrity sports stars’ or actors’ likenesses brilliantly, but at a more affordable price for the average collector. In creating action figures that often have limited articulation, their “action” figures sometimes border on the edge of being considered display figurines, but there’s no arguing with the beauty of a figure such as this version of Laurence Fishburne as he appeared as Morpheus in the The Wachowski Brothers’ 2003 sequel to the hugely influential The Matrix – The Matrix Reloaded.

Terminator 2 - Hidden Power Terminator by Kenner

Hasta la vista, baby! Hidden Power Terminator

Way before he became the 38th Governor of California and acquired the scary power to actually terminate people in real life, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a humble body-builder turned Hollywood actor, who made some great action movies like Terminator and had the kind of jaw-line, body sculpt and dramatic delivery that made him already seem like a 1:1 scale talking action figure!

In recent years, NECA has issued some awesome T2 action figures for the adult collectibles market, but the 5½-inch vintage line produced by Kenner in 1992 to tie in with the original release of James Cameron’s sequel to the Terminator – Terminator 2: Judgment Day – were also extremely good.

It’s Showtime with Kenner and Beetlejuice!

There are some action figures that seem to divide collectors straight down the middle – you either love them or hate them – and the 5 inch Kenner Beetlejuice action figures from 1989 seem to fall into that group. I personally adore these figures and have no idea why some collectors gripe about them, as they look good, feel good and have some fun interactive extras. The most eagle-eyed readers have probably already spotted the most obvious interactive element with these figures – the heads on the four different figures in this line were actually interchangeable, which means that whilst you might pick up a figure for a few dollars he might not be wearing the “correct” head with which he was originally issued!

Beetlejuice - Snakehead — Shish Kebab head

1998 Universal Studios Monsters Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man

Lon Chaney Jr. – The original Wolf Man!

With Benicio del Toro currently starring in The Wolfman movie as the latest in a long line of cinematographic lycanthropes, I thought this would be a an excellent excuse to take a look back at the greatest Wolf Man of them all – Lon Chaney Jr.

I saw this Universal Studios Monsters action figure in the window of a second-hand store recently and could scarcely believe my eyes – although I’d known about this Sideshow Collectibles figure for years, it had sold out very quickly soon after release in 1998 and I thought it unlikely that I would ever happen upon one at a bargain price – certainly not in Rome, Italy! I’m a huge fan of those old Universal Pictures monster movies so this was a must-have!

E.T. 20th Anniversary Interactive action figure

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial 20th Anniversary Interactive Figure!

This was a recent market stall find – quite literally, at the bottom of a box of mostly broken toys. Amazingly, this 5 inch Interactive E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial action figure was still in working condition, with plenty of life left in what are probably the original batteries! I discovered there and then that pressing down on E.T.’s head would elicit one of the classic lines spoken by the alien creature in Spielberg’s movie – “Home” – but it wasn’t until much later that I discovered, quite by accident, that his heart light glows red and his index finger lights-up to the words “Be Good!” if you pull back his left arm!

Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds by Hot Toys!

If you’re a Brad Pitt fan and action figure collector (or even a Quentin Tarantino fan for that matter) you’re certain to be tempted by this brand new limited edition 12-inch action figure release from Hot Toys featuring the actor as he appeared in Tarantino’s World War II spoof Inglourious Basterds in the role of Lt. Aldo Raine. The 12-inch action figure body has a staggering 34 points of articulation and is also equipped with a plethora of accessories and weapons.

Santa Jack from Tim Burton’s ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’

Christmas is almost upon us so here’s a seasonal look at a classic Christmas-themed action figure – Santa Jack from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, released in NECA’s second wave of 7 inch action figures for the film.

For those of you who haven’t seen the stop motion masterpiece, Jack Skellington is the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, a creature more skilled at spreading terror during Halloween than joy at Christmas time! This all changes when he accidentally discovers Christmas Town, however, and this figure shows him dressed as Santa in his efforts to embrace Christmas!