Brute Splicer

I picked up this Brute Splicer on a whim the last time I went to a Blockbuster store. I have not played any of the BioShock games, but I had seen this guys warming pegs at several locations, generally at full retail price, but when I stumbled upon one that was about 60% Off, I decided to go for it.

The immediate draw for me was it’s bulk. The Brute Splicer is easily one of the heaviest lumps of plastic I have bought. Even though the scale is roughly that of other NECA action figures, the Splicer uses about twice as much plastic.

The Brute Splicer is supposed to be some sort of brawler, and the character design certainly conveys that impression. The Brute has most of his mass distributed onto the upper torso, with impossibly massive arms and a decidedly rotund paunch. The legs are also quite thick, but next to the upper limbs they tend to look ridiculously thin.

The face sculpt does an admirable job of portraying the violent nature of this Brute Splicer. In addition to the rolls of fat dangling from his cheeks, this guy also suffers from some sort of skin condition, as he has gruesome boils sculpted onto the right side of his face and his forearms.

The Brute Splicer is attired in a decidedly old fashion style, with a removable bowler hat, white shirt, yellow vest, pinstriped pants, suspenders and blunt two-color shoes. All of these pieces of clothing are suitably sculpted and textured, and even the rips in the fabric caused by an apparently sudden increase of bulk are very nicely sculpted.

Articulation is not quite as extensive as in other NECA figures, and the legs are mostly sculpted in a pre-defined pose, but this guy still got:

• Barbell mounted neck.

• Pegged hinge shoulders.

• Pegged hinge elbows.

• Barbell mounted waist.

• V-cut hips.

• Barbell mounted ankles.

This is a very sparse articulation design, but for a character this bulky it really makes more sense to have as much stability as possible instead of having him doing splits.

The paintjob on the Brute Splicer is really nice too. The clothes all have nice subtle shading that complements very well the sculpted textures, even though the yellow lines applied on the legs of his pants are neither really straight nor evenly spaced, but the addition of blood splatters onto his clothes helps to disguise that fact.

The painted skin tones are fairly realistic. The boils are portrayed very effectively using a lighter flesh tone and there are even veins painted on the back of his hands. The paint on the head is particularly well applied, with the subtle stubble on the top of his head and the inside of the mouth fully painted.

I was not really expecting to like this action figure as much as I do, but it has a definite Mr. Hyde vibe that appeals to my steampunk side. The facts that it is also a very well crafted action figure and I got it real cheap are just icing on the cake.

Errex Score: 87/100

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Tags: Bioshock 2, Brute Splicer, NECA

Category: Featured, Other Games, Toy Reviews, Video Games