{"id":21999,"date":"2014-09-28T21:47:04","date_gmt":"2014-09-29T01:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/?p=21999"},"modified":"2016-05-28T12:04:39","modified_gmt":"2016-05-28T16:04:39","slug":"soon-forget-necas-unreleased-prototypes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/2014\/09\/soon-forget-necas-unreleased-prototypes\/","title":{"rendered":"Soon Forget: NECA's unreleased prototypes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This is the latest in a series (of indefinite length and regularity) of blog posts memorializing cancelled toys. Our subject today is a bit different.<\/p>\n<p>A few weeks ago, NECA tweeted the following:<br \/>\n<center><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A figure we prototyped years ago may finally see release. We've gone back in to refine the articulation & it's quite impressive. More soon<\/p>\n<p>-- NECA (@NECA_TOYS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NECA_TOYS\/status\/512340602768613376\">September 17, 2014<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/center><\/p>\n<p>They've given a few clues already - not a Gremlin, not Shredder, way older than Prometheus and with way better sales potential - so today, let's look at the things they've shown over the years that have never been released.<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->Luckily for us, it was just a while ago that NECA had a contest on Twitter where the winner had to name unreleased prototypes. Here's the list they came up with:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>O-Ren<\/li>\n<li>Shredder<\/li>\n<li>Samara<\/li>\n<li>Xerxes<\/li>\n<li>Frank n Furter<\/li>\n<li>Riff Raff<\/li>\n<li>Zombie Ed<\/li>\n<li>Bob Marley<\/li>\n<li>7 (from the movie 9)<\/li>\n<li>Hellraiser Engineer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We'll start with those, even the ones they've already disavowed.<\/p>\n<p>O-Ren Ishii was famously cancelled because Lucy Liu didn't approve the likeness:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/yo\/art\/kb2_elle8.jpg\" width=\"220\" height=\"440\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/p>\n<p>Shredder (and the other Foot figures) fell victim to Playmates' unwillingness to play nice with others:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/neca_tmntfoot.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/neca_tmntfoot-300x152.jpg\" title=\"TMNT Foot Soldiers\" width=\"300\" height=\"152\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Samara, with her two interchangeable display bases, was never released because NECA couldn't secure international distribution rights (but according to Jean St.Jean, it got as far as being tooled):<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/neca_ringsam.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/neca_ringsam-138x300.jpg\" title=\"Samara\" width=\"138\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Xerxes was solicited in <i>Previews<\/i>, but orders were apparently too low:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/neca_300x.jpg\" title=\"King Xerxes\" width=\"390\" height=\"515\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/p>\n<p>Frank and Riff Raff <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/?p=21505\">we've discussed before<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/rhps.jpg\" alt=\"Rocky Horror\" width=\"440\" height=\"515\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/p>\n<p>Zombie Ed <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/yo\/cult8_zed.php\">had his molds stolen<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/yo\/art\/cult8_zed8.jpg\" width=\"350\" height=\"520\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/p>\n<p>The same might have happened with Bob Marley, who was never officially released, but is still available from many Chinese sellers:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/neca_bob.jpg\" title=\"Bob Marley\" width=\"375\" height=\"515\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/p>\n<p>7 missed out when her movie under-performed (though it still would have been better to get her than the character we did get, 1):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/neca_97.jpg\" title=\"7\" width=\"485\" height=\"475\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/p>\n<p>The <i>Hellraiser<\/i> Engineer was sculpted by Rudy Garcia, and was going to come in a two-pack with Kirsty Cotton, but the line petered out before it could be released:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/neca_helleng.jpg\" title=\"Engineer\" width=\"450\" height=\"535\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/p>\n<p>But those are just the ones from that list. There are plenty of others, though, like these extra <i>Labyrinth<\/i> goblins:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/neca_labgob.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/neca_labgob-300x199.jpg\" title=\"Labyrinth goblins\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Or this <i>Devil May Cry<\/i> Dante that was well under way when Capcom suddenly pulled out:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/neca_dante.jpg\" title=\"Dante\" width=\"490\" height=\"455\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/p>\n<p>And let's not forget this <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/yo\/necagowuk.php\">highly articulated Kratos<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/neca_kratos.jpg\" title=\"Kratos\" width=\"350\" height=\"515\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/p>\n<p>And just because, here are the Gremlins we're still waiting for, including the cocoon, the Female Gremlin, and the Melting Witch Gremlin:<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-21999 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/sdcc13_t_neca1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/sdcc13_t_neca1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/sdcc_neca_mogwai.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/sdcc_neca_mogwai-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>And the <i>Prometheus<\/i> figures of Shaw and Fifield, which were cancelled because of slow sales (aka people were tired of buying Engineers):<\/p>\n<p><center><a href=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/neca_promshaw.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/neca_promshaw-191x300.jpg\" title=\"Shaw\" width=\"191\" height=\"300\"><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/neca_promfif.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/neca_promfi-185x300.jpg\" title=\"Fifield\" width=\"185\" height=\"300\"><\/a><\/center><\/p>\n<p>That's <b>a lot<\/b> of figures has tried to make over the years, but has been unable to. It's likely that this is an average number of failed licenses for any toy company, but that the difference is NECA actually talks to its fans and shows these things off rather than hiding them away.<\/p>\n<p>What do you think the unreleased figure will be?<\/p>\n<div class=\"SPOSTARBUST-Related-Posts\"><H5>&lt;i&gt;And now, some more OAFEry:&lt;\/i&gt;<\/H5><ul class=\"entry-meta\"><li class=\"SPOSTARBUST-Related-Post\"><a title=\"Minimate Mini-Review #256 - Kill Bill - Deadly Assassins\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/2015\/09\/minimate-mini-review-256-kill-bill-deadly-assassins\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Minimate Mini-Review #256 - Kill Bill - Deadly Assassins<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"SPOSTARBUST-Related-Post\"><a title=\"Soon Forget: McFarlane's Hellraiser\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/2003\/03\/soon-forget-mcfarlanes-hellraiser\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Soon Forget: McFarlane's Hellraiser<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"SPOSTARBUST-Related-Post\"><a title=\"Foot Clan strategy meeting\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/2020\/11\/foot-clan-strategy-meeting\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Foot Clan strategy meeting<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"SPOSTARBUST-Related-Post\"><a title=\"Doom Arachnotron addendum\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/2025\/05\/doom-arachnotron-addendum\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Doom Arachnotron addendum<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"SPOSTARBUST-Related-Post\"><a title=\"ATFC '16 - Day 3: Mattel\/Mega Bloks\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/2016\/02\/atfc-16-day-3-mattelmega-bloks\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">ATFC '16 - Day 3: Mattel\/Mega Bloks<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is the latest in a series (of indefinite length and regularity) of blog posts memorializing cancelled toys. Our subject today is a bit different. A few weeks ago, NECA tweeted the following: A figure we prototyped years ago may &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/2014\/09\/soon-forget-necas-unreleased-prototypes\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[331,37,36],"tags":[121,146,299,60,337,28],"class_list":["post-21999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cancelled-toys","category-lists","category-neca","tag-gremlins","tag-hellraiser","tag-kill-bill","tag-player-select","tag-rocky-horror","tag-tmnt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21999"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22521,"href":"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21999\/revisions\/22521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}