The debut of the mold for this action figure was, surprisingly, a Comic-Con exclusive! Technically a "prepaint," Funko's Predator (Invisible, Bloody) was one of the few things that had be drooling at the show - the clear version of the figure was acceptable, sure, but getting it early with some nasty green splatters on it? Oh man, sold. The figure is typical of this kind of toy - 5 joints, and the neck is restricted due to the figure's design. The long hair and shoulder cannon prevent movement, but it is a separate piece. This is sensible, given there are a whopping five Predators coming so far and there are two heads between them.
A taller figure, Predator stands 4-inches tall and is slightly shorter than the Alien we got last year. Original Kenner Star Wars figures are a bit shorter, but this raises the question of how big this guy should be - according to Wikipedia, the original Alien was about 7-foot 2-inches. Predator was 7-foot 3-inches. The Alien figure is about a half inch taller, so I'd argue that the Predator should be larger - but by keeping him this size he retains compatibility with vehicles of that era, allowing him to stand, sit, and of course pass the Landspeeder TestTM. Even more stunning, the hands were designed to hold many old Kenner weapons - you can give the Predator a Stormtrooper blaster and he holds it without any real fuss.
By and large the sculpting feels close to what they might have done in 1985 or so with a few exceptions - one, the blades on the right arm are very thin and bendy. I would expect solid, thicker protrusions to avoid breakage (and undercuts). Two, the feet stick out like a "V" rather than being more or less parallel to one another. And three... well, that's really it. It's a little gangly and gawky for a muscular, powerful alien but that's fitting with this particular style. I have conversed with many a wise man who have pointed out that, technically, if you were making "retro" Predator toys they should be 1987 chic, which would probably place them in the house style of Hasbro's G.I. Joe line. I'd agree with that sentiment, but given my toy ancestry I much prefer the style they selected. Kenner certainly rubs me the right way.
I have heard many QC issues with the Rocketeer and Alien figures - which you can see on their reviews - but the Predator manages to skirt most of these quite handily. Green neon splatter is hard to get wrong, so it looks accurate. I sincerely doubt that this splatter would be a thing in the 1980s or 1990s, and it reminds me a lot of some of the pink splatter on various projects from the Sucklord. Even more amazingly, the splatter was applied to the bubble on the figure's packaging, with additional green splatter on the cardback as green foil. Funko cut no corners in this capacity, so I have to give them props for doing just a tiny bit more to make this figure - and the matching Jules and Vincent bloody figures - just a little bit more interesting.
Of the ReAction figures I've opened so far, it seems Funko wins best when there are no human skin tones or eyes to decorate - aliens and monsters and masked things come out best. The green splatter is a little silly, but for a special edition debut deco? I dig what they did here, especially since it's not so incredibly awesome that you'll cry if you miss it. (Like, say, Mal's coat, Jayne's hat, or Sloth's shirt.) Funko picked the right exclusive and did a nice enough job with it that I would suggest you chase it if the price is right, which may be tricky as Entertainment Earth blew through their allotment in a few days and now it's eBay, Amazon, or bust. Given that the regular, unsplattered one is $10 I'd say that might be the better way to go.
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