I understand why everyone wants to be a rock star - rock stars always get the chicks. But why would rock stars want to do something else? You'd have to ask Rob Zombie, who made his first directorial effort last year with the film House of a 1000 Corpses.

It should be fairly apparent from the title that it's not a romantic comedy, unless you're seriously twisted. This psycho slasher flick flows in the same vein as Texas Chainsaw Massacre or The Hills Have Eyes, where it's not one but a whole family of wackos that our poor victims must deal with.

The film wasn't a critical success, but Rob's fans seemed to enjoy it, enough so that there's a sequel due this year called The Devil's Rejects. The film was also so successful that not one but two companies have produced toys - the Stevenson Entertainment Group did a set that was less than stellar, and now NECA has picked up the license for this film and the sequel. Tonight's review will cover two of the first wave from NECA, the exclusive Captain Spaulding, and Dr. Satan himself.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can always reach me at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this review, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael's Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. Now on to the review!

"House of 1000 Corpses Spaulding and Dr. Satan"

There is a regular release version of Spaulding that comes in his overall red, white and blue outfit, but this version is an exclusive to the Musicland family of stores, that includes Media Play, Sam Goody and Suncoast. The Dr. Satan is the regular wave 1 figure, and both can be had in the $13 range.

Packaging - ***
NECA goes with clamshells, like much of the industry these days. These are nice because they are very sturdy, will stand up to shelf wear, and store pretty easily. They also allow for some creativity with the interior insert artwork. The downside is that you'll need a knife, and a sharp one at that, to get them open.

I'm a big fan of the clamshells, but something about this series left me a little cold. They aren't terrible, but they weren't as eye catching as some of the other work we've seen from NECA.

Sculpting - Spaulding ****; Satan ***
Both of these figures have amazing sculpts, and I suspect fans of the film will be extremely happy. I deducted slightly from the dear Doctor because he doesn't look quite as on target to the source material as does Spaulding, but it's only a minor variation.

Spaulding is rock solid dead on, and is one of the best sculpts I've seen this year. The head is truly amazing in how accurate it is, from style to proportion, although some might think it makes him look just a little younger than he did in the movie.

I also deducted slightly on Satan because the sculpting of the emaciation of his upper body just doesn't quite work for me. Perhaps the cuts are too broad, or too deep, but whatever the case, they look more cartoonish than realistic.

Both figures are sculpted to hold their accessories, and they both stand great on their own. The lower body articulation is limited, but the sculpted pose works very well for both.

Paint - Spaulding ***; Satan **1/2
If you're not a fan of dry brushing or paint washes, then back away slowly. Nothing to see here! Even I have to admit that this time around, NECA has gotten a bit carried away with these two paint techniques.

Washes are usually darker colors put on and then wiped off, to infiltrate the cracks and crevasses and bring out detail. Dry brushing is the reverse, where a usually lighter color is brushed on to hit the highlights of the sculpt, but with the same intent - to bring out details.

Here, you'll see examples of both, and both are done fairly heavily. While I can understand the dry brushing on Spaulding's face - it looks like the remnants of his clown makeup, it's over done on the beard and other areas. The washes make them see too dirty, especially on the body of Dr. Satan.

The quality of the detail work is great though, with everything spot on. Check out the paint details on Spaulding's face, and you'll see what I mean. That's truly impressive work, right down to the perfect placement of the iris'. His arm tattoos and shirt logo appear to be decals, but they look perfect, as are the love and hate tattoos on both sets of hands. And if you're looking for something to ruin your appetite, look no further than Dr. Satan's toes!

Articulation - Spaulding ***; Satan **1/2
Neither of these figures is super articulated, but are done in a style that you'll expect.

They both have the oh so critical and oh so cool ball jointed necks, cut biceps, and cut wrists. Spaulding also has ball jointed shoulders, cut waist, and cut ankles, while Dr. Satan has pin ankles, cut forearms, a pseudo ball jointed waist, and cut shoulders.

As I mentioned earlier, both figures stand great on their own, but their lower body poses are extremely limited. Spaulding can take a number of upper body poses, but the doc's range of movement is severely limited by the mechanical apparatus he wears on his back, and his long lab apron. You would have thought with that many points of articulation, he'd be able to pose in many more ways than he actually can.

Spaulding's hands are designed to pop off pretty easily, and his extra set pops on well. Actually, you can also pop off Satan's hands, if you're so inclined, but he doesn't have any extras.

Accessories - Satan ****; Spaulding ***1/2
If you're looking for a ton of accessories, look no further than the good doctor. Not only does he come with an excellent oxygen tank and mask, which he can easily hold in his left hand and still stand, but he has a plethora of tools - 15 in all! There's a drill gun, various hemostats and pliers, and lots of pokey and sharp instruments of torture. Many of these are jointed, so that the can open and close or turn. They all fit within pockets on his apron as well, and he looks appropriately gruesome with them all in place.

Spaulding has his extra set of hands, one set flipping you the bird, the other designed to hold the other accessories. He has his tiny Uncle Sam hat, and they used an elastic string rather than a magnet or peg. That's actually a wise decision, as it kept the head sculpt (the best part of this figure) clean and neat.

He also has a gun, a bag of chicken with his cartoon face on it, and the monster hand/bathroom key. Flipping people off is something he thinks is tremendously funny, as you can see from the bathroom key holder.

Fun Factor - *1/2
If these particular action figures are your kid's idea of a good time, I'd sleep very lightly. With a locked door.

Value - ***
At around $12, these are a pretty standard specialty market value. Good articulation, excellent sculpting, and a ton of accessories help push them up a half star over the average.

Things to Watch Out For
Take your time finding just the right pouches for the various accessories on Dr. Satan. It might seem like you can find a spot for all of them, but if you get them in the right places it will all work out.

Overall - ***1/2
Spaulding is an excellent figure for fans of the film, and only the overuse of the paint techniques kept him from a four star score for me. Dr. Satan wasn't quite as good in several of the categories, but in the end I simply couldn't argue with the amazing array of accessories, and the level of detail and care that was put into their execution.

The regular first wave of figures includes a redecoed version of Spaulding (or the exclusive is the redeco, depending on your point of view), Dr. Satan and Otis. I don't have Otis, but I've heard he's not at the same level of quality as these two. Still, fans of the film should be fairly satisfied, and I'll be very interested in seeing how the Devil's Reject line works out.

Where to Buy -
You can find Spaulding at your local Sam Goody, Suncoast or Media Play, since he's an exclusive. The rest of the normal first wave can also be found online:

- omgcnfo.com has the set for the excellent price of $31, and the single figures for $11, including their pre-orders for the Devil's Rejects.

- Killer Toys has the individual figures for $12, or the set of three for $33. They also have the pre-order up for the 18" version of Spaulding!

- CornerStoreComics has the set of three for $35, or the individual figures for $12. They also have pre-orders up for the Devil's Reject figures, and have a couple more exclusive versions of Spaulding available.

Related Links
This new section of each review covers links of interest that tie in with the review somehow. For example:

- Here's a guest review of the entire first wave from NECA.

- Here's another guest review, this time of the first set of figures from SEG, and a guest review of the exclusive Spaulding.

- and here's the official web site for the film itself.