Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Review 1: Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Diecast Series 1/6th scale RoboCop Collectible Figure

Part Man. Part Machine. All Cop.

RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, and Ronny Cox. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan, in the near future, RoboCop centers on police officer Alex Murphy (played by Peter Weller) who is brutally murdered by a gang of criminals and subsequently revived by the malevolent mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP) as a superhuman cyborg law enforcer known as "RoboCop".

The character of RoboCop itself was inspired by British comic book hero Judge Dredd, as well as the Marvel Comics superhero Rom. A Rom comic book appears onscreen during the film's convenience store robbery. Another Rom comic appears in a flashback of Murphy's son.


This is Hot Toys' remake of the classic robot / cyborg character, having previously produced and released at least three versions of RocoCop (MMS010, MMS026 and MMS032) and two versions of ED209 (MMS012 and MMS025), all featured in the 2010 issue of "Figure King" magazine celebrating Hot Toys 10th Anniversary. You can check out my toy blog post HERE.

Hot Toys decided to go with die-cast materials in re-releasing an all new RoboCop figure and with all the advancements in technology and skill sets, has produced a much improved version of RoboCop that looks and feels much better than the original versions.

Scroll down to see all 28 pictures posted just for this first part Toy Haven review of Hot Toys MMS202-D04 1/6th scale Die-cast RoboCop Collectible Figure. Click on the pictures for bigger and better views.



The box packaging is similar with all of Hot Toys die-cut series released so far. This is the second Hot Toys MMS die-cast figure I am reviewing, the first being the Hot Toys MMS195-D01 "Iron Man 3" 1/6th scale Die-cast Iron Patriot 12-inch Collectible Action Figure (see my posts HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE). Just like die-cast Iron Patriot, the outer box opens in two parts, top and bottom, and inside is a foam box containing the die-cast RoboCop figure.


Here's Hot Toys MMS202-D04 1/6th scale Die-cast RoboCop Collectible Figure in the box with his accessories. Additional accessories including the figure display stand, magnetic handle, remote control and batteries are all in a tray at the back. The RoboCop User Guide (Instruction Sheet / Booklet / Manual) has eight pages of instructions on how to activate the sound effect function, change helmets and faces (mouth pieces), change chest armor, hands (palms), and how to move the arms, shoulders, waist, legs and feet. I always say "Read then Play", otherwise "Cry when Broken".


Two pistols are included (seen near the top left in the pictures posted) for RoboCop: one is a die-cast pistol meant only for the holster while the other plastic (normal) pistol is meant for posing. According to Hot Toys, you are not supposed to insert the normal pistol into the holster as it is slightly longer and does not fit in the holster.


Here are all the accessories for Hot Toys die-cast RoboCop laid out. From the top of the picture: Hexagonal figure stand with RoboCop nameplate and movie logo, magnetic handle, three extra interchangeable lower faces, interchangeable battle damaged helmet, interchangeable battle damaged chest armor, one interchangeable right fist hand with spike, one pair of hands with movable digits / fingers,  remote control for voice activation, batteries for the remote, two pistols: solid die-cast molded piece and plastic version with removable magazine and movable slide (articulated barrel).


Close-up shot of the two pistols: solid die-cast molded piece (top) and plastic version (bottom) with removable magazine and movable slide (articulated barrel). The original gun for RoboCop was a Desert Eagle, but this was deemed too small. A Beretta 93R was heavily modified by Ray Williams of Freshour Machine, Texas City, Texas, who extended the gun barrel to make it look bigger and more proportional to RoboCop's hand. 


Here's a closer look at the voice control remote with batteries packed separately. Good move on Hot Toys' part. There have been too many stories of damaged toys from leaking batteries left in the battery compartment of the toy / figure. See my toy blog post from September 2011 titled "Hot Toy Collecting Tip #1: Remove ALL Batteries!"


Hexagonal figure stand with RoboCop nameplate and movie logo, and magnetic handle for removing the armor plate on RoboCop's back to insert batteries for sound effect function.


And now I present Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Die-cast Series MMS202D04 1/6th scale RoboCop 12-inch (30 cm) Collectible Figure out of the box. First thing I did was switch out the fist hands he comes with to the pair of hands with articulated fingers. You will also notice that this latest Hot Toys RoboCop is not in the correct metallic blue paint as seen in the preview pictures (posted HERE) but has been painted silver instead. My wife who is a big supporter asked me why RoboCop is not blue and I was flabbergasted. Even she could see the mistake. When you google "RoboCop", all the pictures show a more bluish metallic RoboCop and the silver color of Hot Toys die-cast RoboCop hardly matches any of the pictures shown. So much for movie accuracy.


Other than the disappointing color, the sculpting and details are GREAT! This is definitely a much improved RoboCop from the earlier released versions. The die-cast RoboCop is hefty and the increased weight does add to the feel. It makes you realize it's less of a toy and more of a robot. Check out the turnaround views.


Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Diecast Series MMS202D04 1/6th scale RoboCop Collectible Figure features a new sculpted body, black, light grey and silver armor, interchangeable lower faces, working thigh gun holster and the ability to speak memorable quotes from the movie. RoboCop is approximately 30 cm tall with over 25 points of articulation.


For the 1987 RoboCop film, the suit's color was supposed to be bright blue; however, it was given a more grayish tint to make it look more metallic and produce less glare on the camera when it was being filmed. Hot Toys has gone the opposite direction with their die-cast RoboCop color LOL


Posted below are pictures of Hot Toys die-cast RoboCop with the three different expressions. The three additional face sculpts are easily changeable and each of them is as realistic as they come, all thanks to the great sculpting and paintwork. I'll probably stick to the original version with the closed lips.


Before Peter Weller was cast, Rutger Hauer and Arnold Schwarzenegger were favored to play RoboCop by Verhoeven and the producers, respectively. However, each man's large frame would have made it difficult for either of them to move in the cumbersome RoboCop suit, which had been modeled on hockey gear and designed to be large and bulky. Weller won the role both because Verhoeven felt that he could adequately convey pathos with his lower face, and because Weller was especially lithe and could more easily move inside the suit than a bigger actor.


Check out all the nice details found on this Hot Toys die-cast RoboCop figure. The black, light grey and silver armor which contains die-cast materials really stands out.


The magnetic handle attaches to the armor plate on the back of the figure easily and is used to remove the armor plate to reveal the battery compartment.


Hot Toys die-cast RoboCop figure requires two batteries (LR1/AMS, Size 8, 1.5V) which are NOT included. The sound effect function is activated by turning the on/off switch. The sounds are triggered by pressing the button on the remote control after turning it on. Six (6) memorable quotes from the RoboCop movie will be spoken: “Drop the gun, you are under arrest.” “Thank you for your cooperation. Goodnight.” “Stay out of trouble!” “Dead or alive, you are coming with me.” “Come quietly or there will be… trouble.” “Serve the public trust. Protect the innocent. Uphold the law.”


Here's the Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Die-cast Series MMS202D04 1/6th scale RoboCop 12-inch (30 cm) Collectible Figure with the interchangeable right fist hand with spike.


NEXT: RoboCop with his gun and featuring the unique thigh holster that is as much a part of RoboCop as Peter Weller.

Related posts:
March 20, 2009 – Hot Toys MMS010 RoboCop 12-inch figure (The First / Original version) reviewed HERE
March 18, 2009 – Hot Toys MMS032 1/6th scale RoboCop with flight pack figure as seen in "RoboCop 3" (pictures HERE)
April 26, 2008 – Removal of Hot Toys RoboCop 3 helmet to reveal his full face posted HERE
March 31, 2009 – Hot Toys 1/6th scale "RoboCop" ED-209 full review posted HERE

2 comments:

Unknown said...

As the figure is licensed, I'm sure, that the film studio, or however ownes the rights approved the colour of the figure, so it should be correct. In the first Robocop movie the colour is not blue. I have the Bluray, and I watched the movie several times. In the second movie the Robocop is clearly another colour. There comes the blue metallic paint.

alex teo said...

The RoboCop suit got bluer (more blue) with each sequel but it wasn't so silver in color initially. I felt it should be more grayish as seen in the screen grabs of the first RoboCop film.