Written by Arlo Hansen
After the release of the regular "land" Otachi earlier this year, rumors and speculation immediately spread in regards to the release of an eventual "flying" version of the fan-favorite Category-4 Kaiju. Ultimately our speculations were confirmed when NECA unveiled the Ultra Deluxe Flying Otachi, slated for a July 2015 release.
This representation of Otachi is of its flying form, seen during her battle with Gipsy Danger in (technically above) Hong Kong. Does this version of Otachi live up to my gleaming opinions about the first figure? Let's see...
SCULPT:
Flying Otachi is the widest of all the Kaiju that NECA has released thus far. Its wingspan reaches around two feet. On its own, Otachi stands at around five inches tall from its feet to the highest point on its body, but when attached to its display base and stand, it's around a foot tall. Otachi utilizes much of the same exact mold as its land version, released earlier this year. However, there have been a few notable changes that I will cover right now.
Aside from the head, main body and legs, Flying Otachi is equipped with some new body parts not seen on the previous land version. The obvious difference between the first version and this one are the massive wings, which are nicely detailed (more on that later,) and colored. The less obvious difference between this figure and the first one is the neck sculpt. The original had an inflated neck, which in the film would be its acid sack. On Flying Otachi, the neck is deflated and thin, giving the figure a more leaner look compared to the previous one. The necks between this figure and the land version are swappable.
DETAILS:
Otachi is amongst one of the more detailed Kaiju in NECA's Pacific Rim series of action figures. The head and mouth are very well done. The inside of the mouth is all blue with different hues and fleshy pattens. The tongue is bumpy with lighter colored glands in which Otachi's acidic bile comes out of.
The primary feature of this figure are Otachi's massive wings. The wings are sculpted out of a thin, flexible, translucent green plastic that looks neat under lighting. The wings have a fleshy skin texture to them and various veins are painted on them and are best seen under direct light. A thing to note about the material is that the plastic NECA used feels cheap, and there is no doubt that if left unattended, the material will deteriorate over time one way or another.
The chest details on this figure are pretty much the same as on the land-based version. The scars, inflicted by Crimson Typhoon, are still present with the Kaiju's natural body pattern underneath.
The back is also the same as the original with dots of bioluminescence lining Otachi's back and up to the base of it's missing tail.
Oh yeah, Otachi's tail! That's gone. Instead there's a fleshy stump where it used to be. This stump is connected to the body on a ball joint and can be removed so that you can attach the full tail from the land version to create "Ultimate Otachi." The detailing of the severed tail base is quite neat. It has a very bumpy, wrinkly and glossy texture, contrasting it against the smooth reptilian skinned body.
ARTICULATION:
Otachi possesses a decent range of articulation, but nothing too dynamic unfortunately. Unlike the land version, Flying Otachi can't be displayed on its own effectively and requires the use of the flight stand. Therefore much of the articulation is rendered pretty useless or at best, limited in range.
Other than Otachi's jaws, Otachi has ball joints on the back of her head and neck, allowing her to look in all directions.
The shoulders and elbows are on ball joints as well. Due to the size and weight of the wings, the joints sag and ultimately lose their stiffness over time. An unfortunate aspect about this figure.
Otachi's claws are also on ball joints, and they can be rotated all around and move up and down.
Otachi's legs are the same as that on the land version. However, due to the top-heavy nature of this figure and the addition of the flight stand, their pretty useless in regards to display.
ACCESSORIES:
Flying Otachi comes with two accessories. The first is rather necessary for the figure's display: its flight stand. The stand comes in two seperate pieces: the base and the actual stand. To attach the base and stand together, you must insert a couple of screws (which are provided with the figure) with the use of a small screwdriver. Once assembled, the stand is quite stable.
Otachi can be displayed on its flight stand and base in two ways. One way is to rest Otachi's chest on the stand's arm as seen in the image above. However this method requires a bit of patience since Otachi's not being held in place, but merely resting on a couple of indentations in the arm molded to fit parts of its chest sculpt into.
The second method, which I prefer, is to take the stand's arm and insert it into Otachi's midsection, as seen above.
This method allows Otachi to be safe and secure in its stand without any risk of falling over.
If you were wondering why the display stand was designed the way it is, it's because that at the bottom you can fit a Jaeger - utilized Horizon Brave since I don't have my Hong Kong Brawl Gipsy Danger on hand right now - so it will look like Otachi's carrying it. I don't have a major problem with this (since this is not a way I'll display my figure,) but if it's meant to look like Otachi's supposed to be carrying the Jaeger, at least have Otachi's feet be able to reach down far enough to actually make contact with the Jaeger. The way it looks in person, and even the official images from NECA, it looks like the Jaeger is floating under Otachi's feet. Still, not a big issue for me. But I can see how some collectors may be irked by it.
The next accessory is something that would suit the land Otachi figure a lot better, and it's the elongated tongue, used to locate Dr. Newt Geiszler in the collapsed underground shelter before Gipsy Danger intercepted it.
Alternating the tongues is an easy feat, but with Flying Otachi, I suggest heating the original tongue up with a hairdryer before removing it. If you don't you'll have a hard time removing it due to paint drying up in the tongue's socket.
SCALE:
Otachi fits perfectly in scale with all the other Pacific Rim figures. On its stand, it overshadows all the other figures!
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Without a doubt, Flying Otachi is certainly impressive to look at, and it has a domineering shelf presence. However, if you do not have the space for it, then it's best to stick with just the land version. Flying Otachi, while neat, has flaws that may worsen over time such as the thin plastic on the wings, sagging joints, and depending on how you display it, poor balance. Still, with that said, I still recommend it even for the moderate Pacific Rim fan. It is an eye catching figure, and because of its wings, it's not another land-based Kaiju like Knifehead, Trespasser and Scunner.
If you're interesting in purchasing this figure, check out BigBadToyStore! That's where I bought mine.
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