Like them or not, when it comes to NECA, it isn't surprising that they'll go beyond the call of action when it comes to the figures they release, especially if its for a series that is big on sales! Pacific Rim, though only one movie into its planned trilogy, has garnered a cult following that includes fans of the Kaiju genre as well as anime, mecha, and more. So it would be stupid to just stop releasing figures after the main Kaiju and Jaegers have been done with!
A couple months ago, we saw the release of the first Jaeger featured in the prologue sequence of Pacific Rim (2013), Tacit Ronin. Now we have Mark I Jaeger, Romeo Blue, one of the very first Jaegers in mankind's war against the Kaiju. It did not survive to see action in the rest of the film, but it is the one Jaeger in the prologue sequence to be given the most screen time.
So, how does this particular Jaeger stack up with the rest? Let us check it out together!
Romeo Blue, in height, is shorter than most of the Jaegers NECA has given us so far. It stands around the same height as Tacit Ronin, which is in the 6-7 inch range. Being a Mark 1 Jaeger compared to others like Gipsy Danger (Mark 3) and Striker Eureka (Mark 5), the shorter height is understandable and perhaps film accurate, much like Tacit Ronin. The figure's sculpt is very smooth and streamlined than most Jaegers that vary from sharp and jagged to robust and clunky. The way Romeo Blue was designed, it reminds me of an older styled mecha from American cartoons rather than Japanese anime (the latter which seemed to be a huge influence on the designs for Tacit Ronin and Coyote Tango.)
The paint work on Romeo Blue (at least my figure, since details on NECA figures tend to differ from figure-to-figure) are quite well done and there seems to be no bleeds or drips anywhere. A majority of the figure is painted in a solid metallic blue color with red and yellow markings throughout the body. The main visor for Romeo Blue is red. There are various meticulous markings around Romeo's body, which turned out quite well.
Articulation on Romeo Blue is definitely an improvement of sorts over the likes of Hong Kong Brawl Gipsy Danger and Tacit Ronin. Again, I'm certain that the stiffness/looseness of joints varies from figure to figure, but on my figure it seems to be at a fine balance between stiff and loose. This allows Romeo Blue to be posed in more dynamic poses than any other Jaeger I've bought, with the exception being Cherno Alpha.
There's not much else to talk about in regards to Romeo Blue except that, despite what other's have said about it, this figure is certainly right up there with Cherno Alpha as one of the better Jaegers released by NECA. I am aware that there have been some issues with this particular figure with other reviewers and my opinions on NECA's figures have been rather mixed over the past year and a half, however, my impressions on Romeo Blue are nothing but positive (which I found surprising.)
If you
are a massive Pacific Rim fan (much like myself) and are a
completist, then I recommend this figure to you. However if you are
happy enough with the main set of Jaegers (Gipsy Danger, Striker
Eureka, Crimson Typhoon, and Cherno Alpha) then this is an easy pass
for you.
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