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Write a Review link for that item. Universal Monsters (Neca) (Neca)If you've never heard of London After Midnight, that's because there's no way to see it now. An old horror/mystery film from the 1920's, the film was lost to a vault fire a few decades later, but many an enthusiast has taken to preserving what's available of the film and keeping the story of it alive. NECA is also one of those people, but they're keeping it in the minds of classic horror fans not through stories and screencaps, but through action figures. The packaging design is similar to the Universal Monsters we've been seeing from NECA, with old poster art on the front and photos of the figure on all the other sides. It's not designated as part of that line, however, since the film was distributed by MGM, not Universal (plus I think it's public domain now). The figure and most accessories are held in place by plastic trays; no ties with those, but the larger accessory included is held onto another tray with ties. You'll still need scissors for those few ties as well as the tape, but as with any NECA box, it becomes easy to get everything out once all that stuff is removed. Here is the film's most recognizable character in the Man in the Beaver Hat, played by Professor Edward Burke, played himself by Lon Chaney Sr. The sculpt of Burke and his accessories are attributed to three different people - Ray Santoleri, Jason Frailey, and Kyle Windrix - and I'm just going to assume Santoleri did the likeness for him. Burke/Chaney's make-up gives him a vampiric appearance, with stringy hair, bloodshot eyes, and a delightfully deranged smile showing off his false fanged teeth. Although the film was in black-and-white, NECA's take on Burke gives his character a pasty, inhuman skin tone, with dark hair and, as mentioned already, red eyes. The paint is very clean and well done on all of the heads, and yes, there's three of them; aside from the default portrait, you have a more subdued expression, and a slightly less ecstatic look. Burke is dressed in an outfit befitting 1920's London, with a fancy, all-black outfit over a white shirt and bowtie, and a long coat. Both the coat and vest are layers of rubbery material over the body underneath, and while it's not so much black as it is a dark gray, there's plenty of wash to it to give it a more realistic look. He also has a cloak draped over the shoulders, and this is a separate piece that can be removed with ease, keeping it from getting in the way of arm movement. The Man in the Beaver Hat is referred to as such because of his top hat, crafted from beaver fur. The texture on it here is good, and it fits firmly onto any of his heads. Without the hat on, Burke stands around 7 1/4" tall, putting him slightly on the tall side. Despite not being part of the Universal Monsters line, Burke's articulation is very much like those figures. He has barbell joints for the head, neck, chest, and waist, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles, ball-jointed hips, and swivel thighs and shins. The joints move easily, and while he'll have some trouble standing up from time to time, there's plenty of poses he can achieve. The heads swap easily and so do the hands, but the neck tends to pop out every now and then. Burke has a set of loosely gesturing hands by default, but he also includes a more open right hand, a tight right grip, and a loosely gripping left. The gripping right is designed to hold the included lantern, which has a great realistic look to it, but the main thing here is the faux bat wings. This huge piece of black washed, semi-transparent rubber is designed to fit over the neck and wrists, and he'll look great with it, being able to achieve the iconic wings-out pose. If the soft plastic cloak isn't to your liking, he also has a fabric one, with a peg on the collar that just slides into a gap between the shirt collar and back of the coat. Inbetween all the iconic movie monsters, it's surprising to see NECA put out a lesser-known character (and one that's not even a monster), but they did a fantastic job with Burke, thanks to the great sculpt and paint. I imagine we'll get a black-and-white version soon, but this is a design that just looks better in full color. Even if you're not familiar with his origin, go ahead and pick him up anyways, and add a bit of deep-cut movie history to your shelf. - 8/9/24   by RMaster007 |
| Tombstone |  | Submission Order |  | Sla'Ker |
| Count Orlok (Nosferatu) | | Universal Monsters (Neca) Series | | Bride of Frankenstein (Color) |
| Tombstone | | Written by RMaster007 | | Sla'Ker |
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