Review of Locutus of Borg - Star Trek The Next Generation
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

Very early in the history of EXO-6, they announced plans to do Locutus of Borg. They knew what a critical character he was, and how he would set them apart in the industry and with the fan base. In fact, his item number ends in '003'.

But when it came time for the rubber to hit the road, things got bumpy. This is a complex costume, with a light up feature and very specific design requirements. He was not going to be as cost effective for collectors as some of their other early releases, and the manufacturing process was going to be much more difficult. And these issues, as is often the case, required more time.

That time has passed, and Locutus is now shipping. Lots of folks that pre-ordered should start seeing their figures any day now, and this is only their second release in the TNG line up. Yes, I know we already have a Picard and Data, but these were from the film First Contact. This will be the second release - of many, I hope - from the television show itself, after Q.

As I said, this guy was more expensive than usual, coming in around $245, depending on the retailer.

Packaging - ***1/2
With this release, they went with a higher end box. The outer box is still separated from the inner box by the corner protectors, as well as a plastic bag. The art box has a wrap around lid, and inside the figure and accessories are cradled in foam, rather than simple plastic trays. It keeps everything very safe, and is entirely collector friendly.

Sculpting - ****
This is an excellent Picard sculpt, wearing the Locutus bits. It's slightly younger than the FC release, and matches his look on screen extremely well.

The expression is dead, somewhat mannequin - as it absolutely should be with this character. Unlike most human portraits, this one should have dead eyes and a slack expression, consistent with the Borg appearance.

There's plenty of realism as well, with a finely detailed skin texture right down to the puckering of the flesh where the tubes attach. They continue to impress me with their sculpts, rivaling much larger companies with the quality of the production release.

Of course, this time the costume sculpting is critical as well. I'll discuss some of the areas in more detail in the Outfit section, but here I'd like to mention the use of the rubber hoses and spring-like tubes. These are very high quality, especially around the joints where the loose fitting nature allows for great posing. This is one of those design areas where they created an excellent look while maintaining other critical factors.

Paint - ***1/2
This was a tricky one, since they had to go with a *slightly* less life-like skin color. Picard had a pasty look as Locutus, but it wasn't extreme. They've captured it nicely in the look here, lightening the skin and lips just enough to get the right appearance and not go overboard.

Details are all well done of course. The eyes, slightly darker, give him a creepy appearance, and the key edges around the eyebrows and Borg parts are sharp and well defined.

The Borg parts are all black, as you'd expect. However, they did play with the finishes a bit to add some contrast. The mechanical parts have a very matte finish, setting it apart from the slightly glossy look of the tubes, and the fabric of the body suit. There's some nice wear here and there as well, creating a very realistic suit overall.

I am a little worried about the matte black on some of the plastic though - handle with care to avoid rub marks.

Articulation - ***1/2
I was quite surprised by this one. It's always impressive when a company can take what appears to be a very restrictive suit, and still get solid posability out of it.

The neck is the usual ball joint, but there are a couple tubes that attach to the back from the head. These are easy to slip out and slip back into the connectors on the upper back however, making it easy to move the head without fear of damaging them.

The shoulders are a bit restricted by the armor, but the elbows and wrists work great. Of course, that's just the left wrist - the right wrist is not articulated in the usual way because of the long armor. Instead, The silver 'hand' is held in place with a magnet, so you can turn it and adjust it a bit. As with the head, there are several hoses here that run from the hand to the forearm, but these are easy to remove from the ports in the arm and replace without fear of damage.

The torso turns and tilts a little, and the hips, knees, and ankles all have a solid range of movement. I'm particularly happy with the ankles, where the sculpt and suit design hides the excellent joint.

Accessories - **1/2
Here's where he's going to take a bit of a hit, largely because the costume and light feature ended up costing so much. I suspect there wasn't a lot left in the budget for extras.

There are two additional left hands, and these swap pretty easy. Of course, take some time and pay particular attention to where you are holding the arm to avoid squishing anything on the suit.

There's the standard display base as well, with the two different plastic covers and a crotch support. And there's a 'autograph' card too, in case you get the chance to meet Patrick Stewart.

As I mentioned, the right hand is removable, held in place with a magnet. They didn't give us a second hand however, but it does open up some custom potential.

Light Feature - ***
The light feature is pretty straight forward - there's a small red light on the Borg attachment on the side of his head.

There were no batteries with my figure. Many countries, like Australia, are moving to ban the little button batteries, so I suspect this will end up becoming more and more of an issue. He takes two LR1130 size (also called AG10), which I picked up through Amazon.

Remove the Borg bits on the side of the head by carefully pulling them out - they are just held in place with a strong magnet. You can also remove the hoses from the back of the suit, but I managed to do it without pulling them out. It was just a bit more of a juggling act, and I appreciate they took that into consideration with the design.

There is no other battery lid, so you just pop in the two batteries, flip the switch, and replace the Borg plate. This is a fairly easy light feature to use, since you don't need a tool to remove the cover and flip the switch. Still, it's not particularly bright, and can be difficult to see in a fully lit room.

Outfit - ****
I'm really, really impressed with the overall quality of the costume, with the sculpted armor and various soft good pieces intricately woven together.

As I mentioned earlier, the sculpted bits look terrific, and have a very metallic, harsh appearance. The various tubes appear to be made out of an automotive grade material, making them more likely to last for years, and giving them the strength to hold up over time at the joints.

The black color can hide some of the intricate detail, and there's a ton. The bits attached to the head have lots of texture and minutia, and the design of the back plate, ports, rivets, hoses, etc is very impressive.

There's also almost a hieroglyphic nature to some of the detailing, giving him a look that's a cross between futuristic technology and ancient art. I'd never noticed this before when watching the show, but EXO-6 brought it out thanks to their attention to detail.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
I'm really looking forward to an extensive set of TNG figures, and while it might seem odd that Locutus is the first, it's great to get such a complex release early. For now, he'll hang out with Q and the FC Data and Picard, but eventually we'll have quite the collection.

Value - **
While this is a higher end figure in several ways - more complex costume, light feature - I have no doubt that the price tag scared off some early adopters. I suspect this will be one that ends up on the 'regrets list' for many.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. It is a complex costume, so I'd be very careful handling it. I didn't have any issues, but squeezing the bits too tightly is always a bad idea.

Overall - ***1/2
Remember when I said that Seven of Nine would be a figure people slept on, and years from now will be the one to have? Add Locutus to that list.

He comes with a higher price tag due to his complexity, but he's definitely worth it. Yet, I'm sure it kept some folks from pre-ordering it...and now those pre-orders have all dried up. If you're still hunting for one, it's a good idea to keep on eye on the EXO-6 social media accounts, because they might - might - have an immediate sale sometime soon, as they have with other figures in the series. Then again, they might not.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - **1/2
Light Feature - ***
Outfit - ****
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth was also at $245, but yea, they're also pre-sold out. Looks like this one is going fast!

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other recent EXO-6 Star Trek figures include Archer and Chakotay.

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