NOSFERATU

 I never buy the same figure twice with the only exception of the same character having multiple version of itself, different outfit or amour, basically a new sculpt. When they are color variants i think about it...the color variant must be really special for me to get it but i deffinety neve buy a figure twice just because it have different accesorys. That was a rule i respected until now...

Also, collecting monsters from the black and white era is always tricky because, most of the time, they release them in color or black and white versions or even glow in the dark, but i usually go for the color version and only got the black and white version when i have no other choice. Is not like i dont like black and white, that grey scale color palette is really beautifull and suit the characters soo well, but i dont have enough space for a grey scale display.

I been tempting by the NECA Universl Monsters for a long time but in the end, i got the black and white Nosferatu because of a mix of "color variation" and "different accesorys" soo i could not resist. In scale with pretty much evertything NECA does, this Orlock can stand on his own perfectly and is articulated on the neck, chest, waist, shoulders, elbows, wrists, legs, knees and ankles in a pretty usualy NECA way. The jacket is made if dot plastic but it restrict not only the chest and waist movement but also the legs a little bit but this is not a character that needs extreme freedom of movement. Count Orlock looks better in more stale poses.

I really review this figure time ago....maybe two year ago? I dont remember, but is basically the same sculpt. The wrinkles on the jacket are really really natural on the sleves as well as in the back, the pants have a nice soft texture and the long spidery limbs along side the hunchback match the character on screen perfectly as well as the face structure, long eyebrows and big eyes, this is one of the best sculpts based on Max Schreck rat like vampire.

The color here is the main atraction, or more likely the lack of color. The shoes and inside shirt are deep black while the pants are gunmetal black with a dark wash that works pretty good with the texture and the jacket have a lighter tone of grey, almost a little but bluish and the combination is pretty good for the eye.

The hands and face shine along side the deep grey outfit since Count Orlock skin is completelly white with soft grey airbrush on his checks, around his eyes and fingernails to give them volume and focus. The contrast is really good and he looks very ghostly. The eyes shine and the color aplication is really perfect as well as in the lips and little sections with hair.

Talking about accesorys, he comes with four pair of hands: one pair relaxed, one pair in closed fist, one pair with his claws out and a a pair of rigth hands to hold items. The sculpt and color is perfect and they are easy to swap tough its pretty odd to see some of the hands are designed to hold into items he dosnt have but i guess its a mather of mix with the colored version. My favorite hands are the claw ones for sure.

He also comes with three heads: one have a serious and pretty grave face expression while another have his eyes wide open and smiling in a pretty mischevious and evil way and finally, theres the ehad with his fangs out and eyes that with a blanck impresion. They are pretty easy to swap and each one of them have a perfect sculpt and grey scale painting. For me the best is the fangs out one, its the most disturbing.

Now here is where things got interesting, he dosnt comes with his letter or ink well and feather, no castle keys or tubeteika hat. Instead he comes with his black cloack, whip and Orlok´s outside hat. The whip is made of soft plastic soo it always flows pretty natural no matter how you puse him holding and while the sculpt of the base and end parts is good, the piece is completelly black.

The hat is also made with very soft plastic and fit into his head perfectly. I have no idea how is named this hat in specifit but it have the shape of a witch hat with a pointy end, tough given how he wears the tubeteika, this hat overall shape must be totally different to how he uses it. The balck of the hat is the same as his pants and it have a darker shiny ribbon in the base and a grey feather in top. The feather looks extremelly "Burtonesque", pretty classic design for a german expresionistic movie.

The cloack top part is made of woft plastic and is completelly black with a realistic sculpt of small wrinkles her and there while the rest of the cloack is made with real fabric. The black fabric is thick and black and it opens up in the front. It have a wire all around its perimeter, from the neck section the the bottom section and around it soo it can be posed flowing into the wind or can be folded in any way tough the material is quiet heavy.

Theres two holes at the side for Orlock´s hands to comes out and this holes are also wired. This cloack along side the feather hat and the whip can be seen on the scene where Hutter travels to the castle and Orlock arrives with his carriage to take him. The scene is really brief but i never seen a figure recreate this outfit before and thats the reason why i got this figure. The overall look with the cloack and hat is really ethereal and ghotsly, he looks like a phantom, specially with the way his white eyes contrast.

Sadly this is opening the door for me to buy more black and white variants and i dont want to but slowlly i am getting full of Nosferatu figures pretty fast and thats not a complaing, this is one of the version of the vampire most remembered and not even the mustache version can match this design.