REVIEW: Medicom RAH NEO 597 (Evangelion Unit 01)

Released 2013

Medicom and Studio Khara come out all guns blazing with this quality high end collectible!

  Let's start things off with a bang.  When lesser figures won't do, you review something like this... Arguably, the single baddest ass Evangelion Figure ever produced.  

  I had posted up initial impressions of this figure on my FB, but that really isn't an ideal place for such a REVIEW so I've decided to transcribe those comments here along with anything I've noticed since then.  To give this some structure I've established a few talking points for all my reviews going forward.  If you guys have other aspects that you want covered please let me know so that I can include those is future reviews.  I may not hit all points in order, but will make an effort to cover all the bases.

To my knowledge, this is the first officially licensed Eva Unit produced by Medicom, and despite being released in the time frame of The Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0, is actually a 2.0 product. In recent years Medicom has been somewhat dethroned by Hot Toys as THE premier maker of 1:6 scale collectible figures.

I get the sense that the Neo line was designed to prove a point... That the big M can still go toe to toe with Hot Toys and win. This figure is as sharply detailed as anything Hot Toys has released, while being FAR more articulated and at a cost that is somewhat lower than the competition as well.

SCALE and HEIGHT

  While this figure is being casually referred to as 1:6 scale for it's approximate dimensions, this is by no means 1:6 scale.  Eva Units are supposed to be the size of buildings, so it's difficult to get a sense of what the true scale of this figure would be.  What's probably more relevant to collectors is "How big is this thing?" in real world dimensions.  And in that respect, it doesn't disappoint, clocking in at about 16 inches (measured from the top of the shoulder "blades").  There have been bigger Evas released in the past, but none that have been this articulated and detailed at the same time.

Since this Evangelion is a REBUILD design, it varies slightly from the TV show both proportionally and from a detail perspective.

  

PAINT APPLICATIONS / NOTEWORTHY DETAILS

There is a lot to love when it comes to the detail on the Neo.  Every aspect, is sharp, clean, and screams "High End".  If you are the kind of collector that knows what NERV stands for, or what kind of Fastex buckles were used on the Colonial Marines armor in Aliens, you're exactly the type that Medicom is eyeballing with the Neo.  Detail freaks, who want their collectibles to be a PERFECT recreation of their favorite obsession, and don't mind paying a little extra for it.  The hardcore adult collector.

  And here too, the Neo shines.

Printed detail is superb on the Neo. There is zero paint bleed to be found.

 This baby features the new (REBUILD style) markings and color scheme down to an insane level of minutia. For example, Khara added a little "aileron" to the purple forearm "wing" surfaces... a detail faithfully recreated on the Neo. Incredible.

Shoulder markings use the two tone color border (green and yellow-orange) of the REBUILD style rather than the TV Show style seen on previous figures.

The head rests on a ball joint that allows for a wide range of movement.

As good as this is, it would have been better if a neck joint allowing for a lateral pivot were included (like the old Kaiyodo Evas). Currently you can't get that " looking down the iron sights" pose.

The "unicorn-horn" on the Neo feels like a semi firm plastic which I fear might be terribly brittle. One shelf dive and I'd expect it to be gone. Not a problem for the glass display case crowd, but not every collector has access to that kind of protection. And with a thickness of about 1mm, good luck re-gluing it. A more rubberized material would have proved a more durable option.

As you'd hope, the jaw IS articulated revealing a red set of teeth and (I believe) a molded tongue. 

I'd need a better camera than my iPhone to get a good shot.

The upper spine area opens up to reveal a port for the entry plug.

The Neo includes not one, but THREE entry plugs!

For those of you that like displaying the Eva's entry plug, Medicom has got you covered.  Every detail is represented down to the release hatch handles.  With three different display options, it almost feels like overkill.  In truth, I would have preferred a design that supports one full size plug and a little more love to have gone into the stand that comes with the Neo.  But as is you have the following options to choose from:

• Fully Inserted (left)
• Partially ejected (middle)
• Fully ejected (right)

Here is the Neo with the fully inserted Entry Plug in place.

The rear hatch actuates an internal mechanism for raising the plug from this position, so you don't have to rely on tweezers to get it out.  Nice work, Medicom.

ARTICULATION

As I've mentioned above, this figure is EXTREMELY articulated, allowing you to recreate nearly any of the iconic poses seen in the show / REBUILD films.  I won't get into every specific joint type and location here but I was impressed with the engineering that underpins this figures ability to be posed (particularly the hip and spine joints)

In order to conceal the joints, nearly all of the figure is covered by a fitted "body suit" upon which much of the armor rests.

The legs are covered with a stretchy fabric, which can have the unfortunate tendency to bunch up under the armor creating wrinkles in the backs of the knees. This happens on one leg more than the other on my figure.

The arms are covered with a sculpted rubberized material which avoids these problems and looks spot on. But in the past, Hot Toys has had trouble with tearing of rubberized joint covers over time. I can only hope that the Neo proves more resilient.

Also, while the joints are semi-firm they don't seem strong enough to bear the load of more extreme poses, instead folding under.  This is like the Neo telling you "No, you can't have a pony."  You can see all the fun that could be had, you just can't have it.

The joint that is used for wrists and ankles both rotates and pivots allowing for a wide range of articulation. These joints are not ratcheted (though the hip joints are) like you might find on a Revoltech style figure.

More ratcheting might have allowed a bit more support for extreme poses (alleviating the "joint folding" collapse issue). Also these joint pegs are prone to slip or even fall out when not under load... Particularly the ankles.

Lastly, I found the rocker joints (that allow for camber adjustment) in the ankles to be overly tight but maybe this is necessary for pose longevity.

SPECIAL FEATURES

  Above and beyond the laundry list of features present in the base figure and accessories, the pre-order crowd (and those willing to get fleeced on ebay) were treated to one more special add on.  Whether this is worth the extra cash is up to the individual collector, but completionists and variant chasers will likely find it hard to resist.

A very small number of the initial production run include a bonus that will never again be available:

A full scale acetate AT-Field and two hands specially designed to appear to be ripping it. 

Here is a shot of the hands and AT-Field in their tray.

 The paint looks airbrushed, or at least gradiates to transparent exactly as seen in the show / films. No masking lines are anywhere to be seen. This is quality work.

ACCESSORIES

  The Neo isn't looking to compete with the absurd amount of Accessories included with previous Revoltech, Robot Spirits, or Chogokin releases... It doesn't have to.  It's amazing enough on it's own to impress without 42 extra hands, swords, pinwheels and over-sized foam cowboy hats.  But what it DOES include might be considered Evangelion ESSENTIALS.  The core pieces of kit you'd expect to accompany a flagship release like the Neo.  Angel fighting gear, without anything extraneous or wasted.

Including the two relaxed hands that come attached by default, the Neo comes with a total of 12 hands with which nearly any iconic scene from the films can be recreated. While I do wish a set of fully articulated hands (as is found in Hot Toys releases) were included, I can imagine that such hands might have been too fragile given the Eva's lithe proportions.

A pair of closed fists

As you can imagine, you can get a ton of mileage out of closed fists, and I'd expect to see  lot of poses that use these.  All hands are made of a semi-hard material that allows just a bit of give. On more open posed hands, this allows you to maneuver fingers by a few millimeters if needed.

A set of semi-relaxed hands.

The semi-relaxed hands have more of an index finger POINTING pose than the default hands.

The "karate chop" hands.

Unless you plan on making your Eva bust super sentai poses, I'd save these to recreate the sprinting scenes seen in the films. Unfortunately, while the figure itself is MORE than capable of pulling off such a pose, doing so is undermined by a WEAK stand that isn't up to supporting the figures weight.  This is a point you're going to hear about throughout the review.

Better than Jazz Hands...

These "flexed" hands look great in a variety if positions but seem ideally designed for the "Runners Start" pose seen in the promotional shots of the Neo (and in the REBUILD films). But again, the weak stand makes such a pose impossible. It's a shame since the hips were specially designed to allow for crazy high kicking poses and other extreme dorsiflexion.

It may be possible to get the figure two do a three point balance WITHOUT the stand, but the figure's delicate nature has robbed me of the courage to try.

Something Gendo Ikari has never done

This hand (while also capable of a wicked "thumbs up"!) seems designed to hold the Progressive Knife.  While I haven't tested it out personally, it looks like both fore and reverse grips are possible allowing for some wicked, Angel slicing action.

The Angel Tickler

The Neo includes one Palette Rifle, which (If I've learned anything from Evangelion) is basically useless against Angels.  But damn if it doesn't look bad ass.  Detail is extremely crisp as is the case all over this figure.

One downside, is that it is extremely difficult to get the gun holding hand onto the rifle itself. After numerous unsuccessful attempts I ended up having to pre-stretch the fingers into a more open position before affixing it to the gun. Now that its on, I can safely say that I will NEVER remove the hand, since it was such an Asuka-sized pain in the ass to get on.

Angel sticker

Also included is the redesigned Progressive knife! This design is a vast improvement over the original prog knives seen in the TV Show.

Unfortunately, it cannot be housed or deployed from the tall shoulder "blades" as in the anime. I suppose that would have been just too much awesome for any one figure to handle.

And that brings us to the damned STAND.  I don't really know what Medicom was thinking here.  Design the ultimate, most bad ass, pose-able Evangelion in the history of the world... and then include a craptastic stand that won't support what the Neo is capable of.  For a savings of what... a few bucks (or a few hundred yen).  REALLY, Medicom???

 The stand is probably the only truly disappointing accessory included with the Neo. A lot of great poses are wasted without a stand that is up to the challenge.  There goes your pony.

SIZE COMPARISON

It's difficult to find something to stand up next to the Neo for comparison since it's scale is uncommon but it can be seen here next to my 18 inch PVC Unit 01 from TSUKUDA HOBBY.

While its now out of production (my search for a Tsukuda Unit 02 goes on-contact me if you've got one to part with), it serves to clearly illustrate the evolution of the Evangelion design since the release of the TV show in 1995.

By comparison, the REBUILD Eva's have longer, thicker torso's, more narrow shoulders and shorter limbs.

The purple hue has less red in it, and there is much more prevalent use of the green secondary color.... A green that is much more intense (saturated) than before. The "clavicle area" is black now, instead of being purple. I love the running color changes. The jury is still out in the proportions.

While I experimented with some other poses (sprinting, jumping kicks, etc) these were undermined by the weak stand. So I settled on a pose from the promo images that I knew was possible and was different from the fixed standing poses of my two TSUKUDA Eva's.

One thing I haven't touched on is the spine articulation, which is quite impressive. There seem to be three ratcheting spine joints that allow not only bending sideways and spine rotation, but also great hunched over poses.

Since Eva's are prone to hunching over a lot, this design really makes possible poses that are consistent with the anime, and wouldn't otherwise be possible.

The left hip joint had to be "unlocked" (by pulling down first) to allow the knee to get past 90 degrees of dorsiflexion.

Closer up shot to show the included Umbilical cable affixed to Unit 01's back.

The cable itself is thick and rubberized but doesn't include internal wiring to allow for dynamic posing.

OTHER VERSIONS (previous versions)

Robot Spirits Unit 01 by Bandai

In many respects, I think that Medicom designed the Neo to be an up scaled version of Bandai's excellent ROBOT SPIRITS figure (which also included an AT-Field). They certainly had a long look at it. But being more of a toy, that figure doesn't have the scope to push the envelope as far as the Neo does.

Medicom Neo "Awakened Version" Unit 01

And for the truly exclusive, Medicom has also released the Neo "Awakened Version". Even at $400+ these immediately sold out in hours and I've yet to see one appear on eBay. If they ever do, expect to give up a kidney to get one.

Opinion, Value and VERDICT

This is overall a fantastic collectible that can serve as the crown jewel of any Otaku's loot like few other items can hope to (Project BM Kanada Bike from Akira springs to mind as a contender, though).  Is it worth the asking price?  For sure.  Is it worth the eBay price?  That depends.  If you LOVE Evangelion, this is a no brainer.

  But if you've got little nubs running around or pets with a taste for plastic, you might want to think of how willing you are to shed some serious tears.  As awesome as it is, this is not really intended to be a toy as much as an object of worship.

Here is the same pose viewed from the front. Love this pose!

Closing thoughts

  The Neo has one other thing you really need to be aware of before taking the plunge: It's Fragile.  One light press on the pelvis armor during gentle posing produced a cringe worthy "CRACK" that was the stuff of nightmares.  I'm still shaking it off as I look for my Loctite glue.  And by all means: Get a new stand if you plan to attempt any of the more extreme poses.

One last close up of Unit 01 letting out a roar!

I hope to be able to get my hands on the Medicom Neo Unit 02 when it releases June 2013, but until then Unit 01 is awesome enough to keep me smiling.

If you enjoyed these initial impressions, please leave comments and SUBSCRIBE! Until next time...