City Hunter Predator (Ghost)

August 8, 2014 | By More


Ghost (18)

 

Ghost (20)

I had been aware of NECA holding the Predator license well before I actually got one of their figures. After I got my Dutch figure last year, I began paying more attention to what was available around me, and one of the figures that caught my eye was this version of the City Hunter Predator, from the Predator 2 film.

 

According to the back of the package, this Predator is also known as “Ghost” and is a member of the Lost Clan, which are the group of aliens that appear right at the end of the movie.

 

The base body is incredibly detailed and textured, with clear plastic attachments glued on to simulate armored plates, weapons and the characteristic head tendrils. Since this is a fully equipped Predator, he is sculpted with a non-removable, pitted mask covering his face.

 

One trait of these aliens is their size, and the ghost Predator is at least a good head taller and bulkier than any other human-sized action figure in NECA’s range. Articulation is quite extensive and well integrated into the character designs, consisting of:

 

Ghost (19)• Barbell mounted head.

• Pegged hinge shoulders.

• Pegged hinge elbows.

• Ball jointed wrists.

• Barbell mounted waist.

• Pegged hinge hips.

• Upper thigh swivels.

• Double hinged knees.

• Ball jointed ankles.

 

All of these joints work just fine within the constraints imposed by the armor design, allowing the Ghost Predator to pull off some nicely dynamic poses. The head tendrils and waist armor are made from a very pliable material that grants a wide range of movement to neck and hips.

Ghost (21)

Being a fully cloaked Predator, there is no paintjob to speak of, but the different materials selected for this figure are nicely consistent in color and transparency, with the exception of the solid white articulation pins.

 

In my own experience, translucent plastics tend to be more brittle than their colored versions, so I am glad NECA chose to go with opaque plastic for the pin joints, as these pieces are most likely to experience structural stress during regular use.

 

The end result is not all that distracting, in my opinion, and it certainly reveals a lot about the way these figures are constructed, which is something I always find fascinating.

 

Ghost (25)The Ghost Predator doesn’t come with much in terms of accessories, although he does carry a pretty representative selection of Predator weaponry.

 

Ghost sports a plasma cannon mounted on a moving array over his left shoulder, a smart disk weapon and a pair of those nasty–looking, extending blades in his right bracer.

 

The smart disk has holes on it keyed to fit the fingertips of the Predator’s right hand, but the weapon can also be carried in a holster-like attachment on his right thigh, although it is a fairly loose fit.

 

Ghost (14)Also included is a giant skull from one hunting trophy of clearly alien origin that seems to belong to a much larger species. The piece is painted stark white and has a strong shading wash that showcases the heavy textured surface. The back of the skull has a large hexagonal port that would serve to affix it to a wall mount or something similar.

 

Even though I do have a certain predisposition towards translucent figures, I was not quite sure of what to expect from my first NECA Predator figure, but this Ghost Predator clearly surpassed all my expectations.

 Ghost (8)

 

Errex Score: 95/100

 Ghost (15)

Be Sociable, Share!

Tags: , , , , ,

Category: Featured, Other Film, Toy Reviews

About the Author ()

I've been collecting action figures since the original Kenner Star Wars days. Nowadays, I still collect pretty much anything that catches my eye.

Comments (1)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. Engineernerd says:

    I’m a sucker for clear figures. Really like this one. (Great pics, BTW!)