NECA has described the continued success of their Pacific Rim line as "a phenomenon." The movie came out in 2013, but the toyline just keeps plugging along. It's one of their top three sellers, along with Aliens and Predator. There's just something about robots vs. monsters the public loves!
Designation: Horizon Brave
Classification: Mark-1
OS: Linux-Nettix
Weight: 7,890 tons
Energy Core: CCLO energy nucleus
Like Romeo Blue, Horizon Brave is another Jaeger who appeared in the movie's prologue. We saw her (and another, identical Jaeger) under construction, we saw a toy version of her, and we saw her turned into a cute little cartoon. Basically, Horizon Brave's distinct design made her a star in the early days of the war. She's a Chinese Jaeger, but doesn't really have any stereotypical design elements.
HB is easily recognized by the fact that she has two huge missiles on her shoulders, but we'll get to those in a bit. For now, let's talk her head. It's rectangular and has a single round eye in the center, making it look kind of like an old-fashioned security camera. It also looks like it's being pushed down and forward, by the missile pack.
Overall, Horizon Brave has a body
that looks like a fat baby. The arms have an ellipsoid cross-section, and round wrists. Although the legs are very square, like stacked metal ammunition cases, they're also incredibly thick; the thickest we've seen on any Jaeger so far. Even the crotch plate looks like a big diaper! Thus, "humungous baby." Heck, if you really look at it, the shape of the neck even looks like a bib. Somebody was working a theme the day this design came through.
One really cool feature, though?
The feet. Each foot has a big, solid heel, then three individual toes of varying sizes. They're mounted on individual (sculpted) hinges and have a deep texture on the bottom that suggests they'd have incredible traction. The art book does say she's got a "speed" of 8 (out of 10, presumably), so those must help her retain control when zipping around.
The articulation is on par with the other recent Jaegers. She's got balljointed ankles, hips, wrists, and head; hinged knees, elbows, and neck; swivel biceps; and swivel/hinge shoulders and waist. Everything moved perfectly straight out of the tray (though the twist-ties holding her in place are among the stiffest I've ever run into on a toy).
And finally, of course, we come to the missile launchers on her shoulders. Did you know Horizon Brave had missile launchers on her shoulders? You should, we've mentioned it a bunch of times now. NECA decided to make them removable, for some reason, but it looks pretty cool. The uncredited sculptor(s?) fully detailed the area underneath, so it doesn't look wrong if you pull them off.
Whether they're on or off, they're still part
of the first action feature NECA's put into one of these Jaegers. Yes, we've had poseable blades and extending hands, but this is different: this time, the rockets are spring-loaded and fire at the push of a button. They're short - shorter than you'd guess from seeing the casing - but still fire a decent distance. In the world of the movie, they're cryo cannons that can flash-freeze kaiju during battle or power her "Sub-zero suckerpunch" move.
With the release of Horizon Brave, I honestly don't know if there are any Jaegers left to do. Sure, there are plenty of other names that have been bandied about (Brawler Yukon, Diablo Intercept, etc.), but did any of them actually appear in the movie, or would NECA just be making them up from scratch? Whatever the case, Horizon Brave is another fun robot suit.
-- 07/05/15
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