Pacific Rim Deluxe Kaiju Are Bigger, Better & Badder

NECA takes full advantage of a new deluxe price point to deliver the coolest Pacific Rim Kaiju yet.

On top of the new wave of Jaegers, NECA has also unleashed another pair of Kaiju in the first ever deluxe series of Pacific Rim action figures.  Trespasser and the all new version of Knifehead are not only enormous… but they’re an enormous step up from the earlier monsters in this series.

We already saw a Knifehead released last year in the first wave of Pacific Rim toys, but the new version is infinitely cooler.  Not only is the creature’s size and design much more screen accurate, but the newly designed figure has double the articulation of its predecessor, adding joints at the neck, waist, knees, ankles, secondary arms and wrists, and also increasing the range of motion in the shoulders, hips and jaw.  Since this guy is technically a repeat, NECA opted to release the new Knifehead in a new battle damaged deco as well, covered in its own neon blue-green blood.

The figure is remarkably well detailed, from its leathery skin to its razor sharp teeth, and it strikes the same fearsome and iconic silhouette as the film’s creature design, courtesy of Wayne Barlowe.  The paint detailing is just as remarkable, with even minor new flourishes like the film-accurate blue mouth and tongue and a grey wash to add depth to the sculpt of the monster’s hide making this figure infinitely cooler than the last take on the character.  Even tweaks like the new bendable tail, simple as they may be, add so much to the overall look and feel of the figure.

Some people were disappointed by the Battle Damage paint apps of this new version, but I think it makes the monster even more unique.  For those who would prefer a “standard” Knifehead in this new scale, it’s worth noting that the damage is all achieved via paint apps, with no sculpting.  This means it should be easy enough for NECA to release a “normal” Knifehead with no new tooling required… and even if they don’t, you can very easily repaint the bloody parts yourself.

Trespasser is an all new Kaiju for the toy line, and he makes smart reuse of some shared Knifehead parts with enough new tooling to make him very much his own monster.  Once again the strong creature design from the film is translated perfectly, and the axe-like crest and back fin on this beast make for a very distinct looking Kaiju.  While Knifehead gets its blue accents, Trespasser makes good compliment with small orange and red details strewn about its brownish-grey body.

This Kaiju once again bulks up the articulation of the earlier figures, allowing for lots of posing options thanks to the good neck, shoulder and hip articulation and the great hinged jaw.  Both Trespasser and Knifehead share a great sense of scale, and adequately tower over their Jaeger opponents with added height and a lot more bulk, just like in the movie.

I could talk all day long about the technical aspect of these Kaiju figures, but at the end of the day what’s easiest and most exciting to appreciate about them is how big and bulky and cool they are.  I’ve long said– as any toy collector worth their salt will agree– there are few toys more appealing than the big hunks of plastic, figures whose heft and size just demand you to pick them up and play with them.  These new Kaiju are perfect examples of this– not only are they HUGE toys, they are nearly impossible to put down and stop posing and messing around with.

Since the Kaiju in this series are typified as Deluxe, they carry a slightly bigger price tag, but for toys this good, even $25 or $30 for these creatures feels like an absolute bargain.  I’m thoroughly impressed by this pair of figures, even by NECA’s typically sky-high standards, and after having these beasts in hand, I’m more stoked than ever to check out the other Kaiju NECA is cooking up next.

The Pacific Rim deluxe Kaiju are available now at many etailers, as well as NECA’s eBay store.  Click Here to order yours today!