Review > Young Eleanor & Little Sister (Bioshock, NECA)

Roger Ebert recently brought down quite a controversy on his head by stating his belief that videogames can never be art. It’s a surprisingly Grumpy Old Man position for someone who’s usually as reasonable as Ebert, but given his age, reputation and so forth, I guess he’s allowed a few of those.

If I were to attempt to refute his argument, though, I think the first exhibit I’d offer would be Bioshock. Created by 2K (formerly and now once again Irrational) Games and published in 2007, Bioshock is a first-person shooter that bursts the conventions of the genre by offering not just a great story (gamers had seen that before, i.e., Half-Life & Half-Life 2) and the usual great graphics, but by having an incredible, cohesive artistic vision and even introducing players to a little bit of philosophy. As I watched the opening intro to that game, and the bathysphere came up over the ridge to reveal the underwater city of Rapture, I knew Bioshock was going to be–ahem–a game-changer.

One of the game’s moral quandaries is whether to “harvest” or “rescue” the Little Sisters–corrupted little girls who have been transformed by mad scientists into living generators of ADAM, a sort of genetic mana that allows you to gain all sorts of superpowers. Protected by the iconic Big Daddies (cyborgs in giant diving suits), Little Sisters haunt the dying city of Rapture, harvesting ADAM from corpses and chattering mindlessly to their Big Daddy escorts.

In Bioshock 2 we meet Eleanor Lamb, who was one of the earliest Little Sisters who was paired with Subject Delta, the game’s protagonist. Eleanor was later rescued and rehabilitated from her Little Sisterhood, but she still dreamed of her “daddy,” Subject Delta.

Packaging: Young Eleanor and the Little Sister come in a narrow clamshell package that features some great graphics, all done in the theme of Bioshock 2. While I’m not fond of clamshell packaging (not the best for the environment), it does make for a nice MOC look.

Design & Sculpt: One thing that’s impressive about NECA’s video game lines is how well they translate game graphics and concept art into realistic sculpts. Neither the renders nor the concept art offer the real-world reference of movie photos (i.e., Terminator 2), so there’s some level of artistic interpretation going on. Fortunately, NECA’s sculptors are more than up to the challenge, and the results are impressive.

Both Young Eleanor and the Little Sister closely match their appearances in Bioshock 2 (the Little Sister’s slightly oversized head is part of the game design, so blame 2K, not NECA). Eleanor has a unique head sculpt, as well as unique lower legs, since she’s wearing shoes. Both figures feature the same highly-detailed dress. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: when it comes to highly-detailed action figures (mass market or otherwise), NECA is at the forefront of the industry.

Plastic & Paint: NECA used to have some significant issues with their paint applications, particularly for human characters, but that changed a few years back and it’s been great ever since. The gray skin tones used for the Little Sisters reflects their genetically-altered nature, and the wash on the Little Sister’s dress looks good without being too obviously a wash, really bringing out the details of the sculpt. And then there’s the blood on the Little Sister’s hands, which is suitable disturbing.

There’s a tiny bit of blue splotching on the white part of my Little Sister’s dress, but given her overall dirty appearance it’s hardly noticeable.

Articulation: For whatever reason, NECA seems to limit the articulation on their movie figures (despite how many of us would love a fully-articulated Terminator), but not their videogame figures. Given their small size and supporting role in both games, NECA could have given the Little Sisters just a smidgen of articulation and left it at that.

Instead, Eleanor and the Little Sister have ball jointed necks, ball jointed shoulders, hinges at the elbows, knees, and abdomen, and swivels at the biceps and hips. It allows for plenty of great poses with the Big Daddies. Despite how slender the joints are, none of them have broken on my figures (one of Eleanor’s arms did pop off at the elbow, but it popped right back on).

Accessories: Eleanor and the Little Sister come with two ADAM needles and a miniature version of Eleanor’s “Subject Delta” doll. It’s a good number of accessories that makes the $14 for two small figures much more palatable.

Quality Control: As I mentioned, my Little Sister had some blue paint splotches on her dress, and Eleanor’s arm came off but I was able to re-attach it. Other than that, no problems.

Overall: My Big Daddy figure just looked incomplete without a Little Sister, so it was great of NECA to give us this set without forcing us to buy another full-sized figure. The Young Eleanor can be posed with Subject Delta, while Little Sister can be given to any Big Daddy of your choice. I do wish NECA would offer Americans the single-packed Little Sister available in the U.K., so I could have one Little Sister for every Big Daddy I own, but that’s a separate issue.

[raven 4.5]

NECA Credits

Product Development: Randy Falk

Sculpt: Jason Frailey, Chris Gawrych

Paint: Jon Wardell, Geoffrey Trapp

Prototypes: Adam Smith

Photography & Packaging: Nicole Falk

Previous

MOTUC Bio Discussion #17: The Goddess

Next

Pic of the Day

18 Comments

  1. Hey Poe, nice review! I was wondering if you ended loosening the leg articulation on the Bouncer. Mine were pretty much tight beyond belief (not stuck though), but he DOES have swivel hinge hips knees and ankles. They're just a bit stiff. 😉

  2. Fengschwing

    @Poe:

    I know the feeling, but you undersell yourself, the Bioshock pics are easily some of your best and your other material has been really good, way better than mine!

  3. dayraven

    who doesn't love creepy little girls? i bet young eleanor would look great in a dio w/ a freddy fig too.

  4. Mecha-Shiva

    The world needs more creepy children action figures.The Big Daddy looks great on that Captain Nemo Diorama that came with the figure,all you need now is some lighting effects/photoshop.

  5. Poe

    @Barbecue17: Yeah, it's only when I'm bringing a figure in for my desk. No show and tell or anything.

    @Fengschwing: I want to take some more with the Bioshock figures, something a bit more atmospheric. I'll probably put those on Flickr. Though honestly, Ed Speir IV's work almost makes me think, why bother?

  6. Fengschwing

    @Poe: By the by, awesome photos, wish they were on Flickr so I could fave them all, especially the last one.

  7. Fengschwing

    I've taken the 11th Doctor, Tardis, Super Skrull and Hellboy to work in my back pack.

    I'm not going to tell you what they did there, but it was awesome.

  8. Thrawn

    I never have liked Roger Ebert.

  9. Mose

    Oops. The Rosie is only slightly taller than the Bouncer. My bad.

  10. Barbecue17

    Big Daddy is definitely pretty sturdy.

    That is kind of a funny image, Poe: You carrying your toys to work in a plastic bag. Does your office have playtime?

    Of course, I have lots of toys and junk on my desk at work too, so I can't judge.

  11. Poe

    @FakeEyes22: Actually, they're not that fragile at all. I've carried my Big Daddy Bouncer to work and back in a plastic bag in my backpack several times now, and not even the little gauge coming out of the backpack has broken off.

  12. FakeEyes22

    I got a good look at the female Splicer at TRU. It made me want to claw my eyes out in terror. Signs of an well done figure and a game that provides a wealth of repressed memories.

    I've been afraid that the Daddies' bulk to joint ratio would make them fragile, am I wrong?

  13. Mose

    Thanks guys!

    I've had the Rosie for a few weeks and it is truly an imposing figure. The amount of detail on it is remarkable and it towers over the Bouncer. The rivet gun itself is fun to look at and is an impressive piece in its own right.

    I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes the Bioshock line.

  14. Fengschwing

    Good Lord, a UK exclusive! I may pick her up, not played the game but a creepy little girl figure can antagonize Hellboy nicely and she's under a tenner, score!

  15. PrfktTear

    Shoutouts to Mose!

    I love this NECA Bioshock stuff. Its very steampunk-ish. I've never played the game, so I don't have any attachment to the figures, but if I was a fan of the game I'd be lovin' this stuff even more!

  16. Poe

    @Mose: Thanks for posting! Always great to hear from new people.

    I'm definitely going to review Subject Delta, and I may do Rosie and the Big Sister.

  17. Mose

    Hey Poe, Long time reader first time poster.

    The Little Sisters are great additions to the line and go well with the Big Daddies. The ones I picked up are well done and seem to have no QC issues.

    Should we be expecting a Rosie review soon? It's an amazing figure.

  18. Barbecue17

    I'd love to pick up a few more Bioshock figures. You're absolutely right, Poe. NECA is definitely the leader in the industry for sculpt, paint, and design. Too bad they tend to give up on some licenses so quickly (Resident Evil) and other times just act so mysterious about releases (so much stuff just kind of shows up without any warning.)

    Still, I always look froward to new NECA releases, sometimes even from properties I don't care about.

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén