Crimson Typhoon

Crimson Typhoon is the second Jager robot released by NECA from the movie Pacific Rim. This three-armed mech has an odd design but works well on screen.

I’ve had a lot of time to think about these Pacific Rim toys. I loved the movie – really, really loved it. It was this intense love that made me so sad about the toys we got from NECA. If it was another movie or franchise, I doubt I would have cared. I was so disappointed that we did not get high-quality toys from Bandai, 3A or Hot Toys. Instead, we get these cheap, mass-market figures from NECA. Along with them comes the NECA baggage, which we will go into as we discuss the figure. The figure itself is not terrible – in fact it’s quite nice considering the price point. But the odd design decisions combined with the fact that I’ve been spoiled by better toys makes this bittersweet.

Crimson Typhoon is rather tall and solid, built entirely out of thick, rubbery PVC. Some hard ABS plastic would have gone a long way in increasing the feel of this thing.

The paint applications are FANTASTIC. The weathering is great and the small printed on details and letters are very sharp. I love the small details like the Kaiju kill list. Also the choice of molded colors is very good, and it feels like the mech I saw in the movie.

The love affair begins to wane once you handle the toy. Perplexing choices in articulation are all over this guy.

The head is a tiny cyclopean eye, one of the weak points of the original screen-used design. This is no fault of NECA’s. However the myriad pistons presented a challenge which they solved by attaching what looks like droopy dog ears to either side of the head. What should have been either omitted or attached to the body now look odd and get in the way.

The left arm is a large thick arm with limited articulation. The shoulder is a standard ball joint but the large rubber plate limits movement. The elbow has a hinge joint that bends too far backward, and the large claw at the end rotates. There’s no bicep swivel, and some simple joints in the claws would have gone a long way. For what it is, it’s acceptable.

On the right side you have two arms. Starting with the back arm you have a ball joint at the shoulder, hinge for the elbow (with a good range of movement) and a hinged wrist that only turns the wrist in.

wat?

But wait. The front arm does away with the ball joint for some reason, and reduces the movement to a swivel joint. The elbow and wrist are the same as the rear arm.

wat wat wat?

The decision to make one out of the three arms a swivel joint baffles me.

EDIT: Apparently it is a ball joint, but due to a defect in the first wave, the ball joint is fused to the arm with some kind of glue? I was unable to free it by hand, and did not want to risk damaging it any further.

The torso is ball jointed but there seems to be too much space before it connects to the waist. And speaking of the waist, where the legs attach to the hips – there’s too much space on one of the hips, making it look asymmetrical.

Crimson Typhoon has backwards chicken legs, and as such has two knee joints. I can’t quite tell what the neutral pose is supposed to be (crouched or extended) but the weight of the toy ensures that it’s crouched, if not knocked over. After repeated movement, the joints get loose and causes the toy to topple over.

The feet are simple hinges which is a shame considering the nice ball jointed ankles of Gipsy Danger.

Shortly after I shot this review, The left leg joint disintegrated at the lower knee. The pin that held it in place split.

I don’t like this toy, but I love the design and I love Pacific Rim. What am I to do? I will support the movie by buying these releases, in hopes that sales will encourage other companies to produce better quality toys.