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PACIFIC RIM UPRISING Figures Have Come Ashore (Toy Review)

The first Pacific Rim film led to the arrival of kaiju and Jaeger toys on shelves, and in the years since its release, NECA made nearly every kaiju and Jaeger shown in the film. They’ve also made replicas of every possible scene-specific variant of the main hero mech, Gipsy Danger. Their license expired before Pacific Rim Uprising started revving up, and now Diamond Select has it. They’re making figures in the same scale as NECA so they won’t look too out of place with any existing collection you may have.

As with most Diamond Select action figures, the ones in the big boxy packaging (above) will run you $24.99, while Toys”R”Us blister-carded versions are $17.99. With this first series, only one really merits shelling out the extra cash: Gipsy Avenger, the new hero mech, which clearly got the kaiju’s share of the tooling budget in this wave as it comes with multiple interchangeable arms and hands.

Bracer Phoenix only comes with extra hands, and Saber Athena has the extra hands plus one long sword and two short swords. In neither case do the extras feel like seven dollars worth, though a Saber Athena without a saber would be ironic. Unless you’re an in-package collector, in which case the standard non-TRU Diamond Select packaging is, as usual, designed to be display-shelf ready.

Like many Diamond figures, they sport around 16 points of articulation, but unlike more humanoid figures, most of them are ball joints, which fit easily into a robotic sculpt and allow for more fighting moves.

Saber Athena, who seems designed with more of a feminine aesthetic and looks a little Evangelion-ish, is particularly versatile when it comes to poses.

In addition to the added articulation, Diamond has upped the game with washes and simulated paint-chipping that gives them all a battle-worn look.

Gipsy’s accessories include a sword arm, two chainsaw arms, gravity whip arms, open hands, and closed fists. The arms fit tightly so you’ll need some hand strength to pop them on and off. The shoulder pads are designed to pop off easily rather than break, much like many Transformers.

At approximately seven inches tall, they can also make good robot figures to fight other heroes with, if you don’t happen to be into the whole Pacific Rim thing.

A second series is already on the way, plus at least one kaiju. Unlike with Ghostbusters, there’s no collectible diorama here, but if the line does well enough, it’d be great to see some small scale buildings or ships for these metal maulers to stomp on.

Pacific Rim Uprising hits theaters March 23. Expect to see these figures in stores any day now.

Images: Luke Y. Thompson

Editor’s note: Nerdist Industries is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.

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