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Scavage Predator (NECA Toys)


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#1 Ridureyu

Ridureyu

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Posted 22 April 2015 - 08:12 AM

 
 

 

 

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Back when I was a kid, I loved the Kenner Aliens and Predator lines. In fact, they are what graduated me out of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and into higher-quality stuff. After the initial Aliens well ran dry, Kenner introduced the Predators to their toy universe, and the first set included Scavage.

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One of the first few figures was a green-skinned Predator named “Scavage.” His big gimmick was the gigantic twin missile launcher he came with – it was as big as he is! It clasped around his waist and used a skull-tipped staff to support its weight, and then either fired two missiles at once, or one bola if you tied them together. Closer to the end of the line, Kenner took a few of their earlier figures and repainted them into new characters. Scavage was redone with a new paint job – black skin, gold armor – and christened “Nightstorm.” NECA actually produced Nightstorm first, but they have now come around to Scavage.

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***
A half breed: Part Yautja, part Super Predator. Although raised in a small Yautja village, Scavage prefers a nomadic lifestyle and has no official clan affiliation. A direct descendent of the ancient Elder Nightstorm, he forged his armor and weapons to pay tribute to his powerful great ancestor, trading the gold of royalty for the warrior's steel. Unlike his Super Predator cousin, Scavage lives by the Yautja honor code, but his silent nature as well as his blatant reverence for Nightstorm is often the cause of much contention among the other Yautja. A paradoxical loner ith no interest in dealing with others, he will only follow those he greatly repects, such as the Elder Cracked Tusk. Scavage is also known to bring his hound on hunts... it's the only living creature he truly trusts.
***

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SCAVAGE: n. a toll charged of merchant strangers by mayors or towns on goods offered or sold in their districts.

That makes no sense. Anyway, I should have taken a picture of Scavage with a hound, but I forgot. maybe for a photo of the day. So, they adequately explained his appearance - why not take a look at the figure itself?

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PACKAGING: ****

Kenner-Style NECA Predators come in retro packaging, complete with the old pixellated explosion effect. It's a great tribute!

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SCULPT: ****

NECA Predators all use the same few bodies. Scavage is built from the Super Predator body. It's an amazing coincidence that the original figure looked like one of the Super Preds - same detailing onhis forehead, armor style, lack of netting, and so on. NECA has really taken advantage of that.

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At first glance, Scavage looks just like Nightstorm - a combination of new and old Super Predator pieces. However, he isn't exact. If you look closely, you'll note that his armor is missing the horiontal strap, and his claws are entirely different. The claws look like n improvement in technology - instead of the superlong hinged weapons of before, he has some pretty vicious swordlike blades, reminscent of more practical versions of the Alien Vs. Predator weapons.

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PAINT: ****

Much like the original figure, Scavage's primary colors are green, silver, and red. The original toy was a flat, muddy green, and muddy green is included in the new one's color scheme, but NECA has instead layered many shades of green gradiating all the way up to near-turquoise. The effect makes him look more like a real, living creature, and helps him stand out from the other green Predators - Lost and the Super Predators, essentially. He has some old on his costume, but mostly it's silver, and the effect goes well with his skin color.

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If I were to complain about one thing, it is that his red dreadlocks look sloppy. Most Predator drads in this line are very cleanly-painted, especially among other Super Predators, but Scavage's seem to have been doused with a thick layer and left to dry. The effect makes it look like he dyes them, perhaps in blood, which is an interesting angle, and certainly not a problem if that was their idea.

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ARTICULATION: ****

Scavage uses the Super Predator body, and thus has ball-jointed wrists and head, ball-and-socket shoulders and knees, cut joints in his thighs, v-cut hips, a swivel waist, swivels in his boot tops and ankles, and a ball-and-hinge combo for his plasma caster.

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The boot swivels are actually important, as they spell the difference between a cool action pose and awkward leg-bending. The main point of contention is in his legs – modern Predator bodies lack thigh cuts but have ball-jointed hips. While it is true that ball-jointed hips offer more inherent poseability, the V-cuts are far sturdier, and the Super Predator thigh cuts actually make up for most of the lost articulation. I have to be careful with newer Predator bodies because their hip joints come lose very easily, and if I pose them too much, they lose the ability to stand. But my Super Predators (and I have all of them) have so far remained firm. Scavage's articulation also allows for slightly different poses than other Predators, including the much-elusive kneeling stance. You trade some poses for others, and gain a little bit of durability. So in my book, it evens out.

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ACCESSORIES: ****

Scavage does not come with the original figure's massive twin bola cannon, but NECA did include the cannon's post as a battle staff for him - same as with Nightstorm. The weapon is painted silver, and maintains details from the original like the hand guard or flared, blunt sphere on the bottom, but all with more detail. The staff also more clearly shows off a human skull and spinal cord, but also has a Xenomorph tail stinger sticking up from the skull! It is now a weapon as well as a scepter, and looks great in a huge variety of poses.

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And then he has his mask. Nightstorm was the first Predator to feature a removable mask, and Scavage has the same design. It is a very cool silver scarab that slips over his mandibles - fitting the way they stuck out in the original figure - and even has osm epaint and sculptural detail on the inside.

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Scavage's plasma caster is inherently more durable than other kinds, and can also pop off from his shoulder with ease. If you do that, you can then plug it into his back, and hang his staff for a really, really cool effect!

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Scavage's wrist blades are huge and vicious-looking, matching the toy's more closely than Nightstorm's, though they are clearly their own thing. When it comes to gigantic wrist blades, his are longer than most Super predator weapons, but shorter than the AVP blades. They seem to be just long enough to still be practical, and just thick and strong enough to realistically lift a large prey animal. I do wish that they detatched or were more flexible, because they feel fragile.

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VALUE: ****

Just like any other Predator, this guy will cost $20-$25, depending on the retailer.

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THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:

Be careful with Scavage's huge and thin wrist blades, as hey are his least durable part.

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WHERE TO BUY:

Like all of NECA's product, Toys R Us is a great bet.

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OVERALL: ****

When I saw that the next set of Kenner Predators would essentially be repaints of the first, I admi that I was a little apprehensive. When I got them in-hand, my opinion completely changed. Scavage is an excellent idea of how to make a repaint wor. Although I personally find Nightstor's color scheme more striking, Scavage seems like he would more easily fit into a movie. He's a fantastic figure, and a great addition tot he ever-growing Kenner Tribe.

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