Review: NECA Spider Gremlin

My NECA Hellraiser figures used to be proudly on display in my flat. I've always loved the Hellraiser films (well, the first couple) and the cenobites NECA produced were fantastic (if a little breakable). I moved out of my flat coming up for 8 years ago. Since that time the cenobites have lived in a box at the back of a cupboard.

Coincidentally, this was around the time my eldest son was born.

There was a certain amount of worry that Junior would be a little scared of these particular toys, hence one of the reasons why they've only been out of their box a couple of times in the past 8 years (the other reason being I have no where to display them). NECA don't make cenobites anymore (they don't need to - they basically already made them all) however they do have the Gremlins license and not so long ago produced the Spider Gremlin figure.

"Dad, can you move the Spider Gremlin?" asked my now 7 and a half year old child. "It's scary."
"But you've watched Gremlins 2," I said. "You weren't scared then."
"Gremlins 2 is a film. That toy looks real."

Which pretty much all you need to know about how well sculpted and painted this figure is.

Spidey comes boxed with the legs detached. Getting them into the body is one hell of a task. You will definitely need to heat up & soften the ends with a hairdryer before you stand any hope of getting them plugged into the body. Of course this means that once they're in, they won't be going anywhere.

Each leg is articulated at several points, with additional joints at the arms, one in the body and at the jaw (all monster toys should get moving jaws!). All are nice and tight. He comes with his little bottle of spider DNA which he can hold securely in his hand. The spider comes with a clear 'rod' which plugs into his abdomen to hold the weight of the toy, the legs being unable to do so on their own. It's a plain and simple display stand and thus is barely noticeable.

While the sculpt on this toy is good, it's the paint that really brings it alive. Just look at it!

I don't think I've ever encountered a toy with such a detailed paint scheme before. It's simply stunning.

Spider Gremlin is possibly the best figure NECA have ever produced and is an absolute bargain for the price. It's sad that the Gremlins line hasn't sold as well as fans (and NECA) hoped and thus the likelihood is that we'll never see such things as the female Gremlin or (my personal favourite) the Bat Gremlin. Come on, toy-buying people, surely you need the Bat as much as you need another Predator?