NECA Figures: Lineup, Sizes and How to Pick

What NECA makes

NECA figures on Amazon US fall into four types in our data: action figures, statues and busts, anime figures, and display cases and stands. Action figures are almost all of it. The two display items are a set of 10 black figure stands and a small storage capsule for 3¾-inch figures.

NECA's own about page says the company was founded in 1996, started its toy division in 2002 and has its main office in New Jersey. It describes NECA as a maker of licensed toys and collectibles, known for detailed action figures, plus prop replicas.

The licensed lines in the grid, as the listings name them, lean hard toward film horror and sci-fi: Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream, IT, Chucky, Gremlins, Alien and Aliens, Predator, The Thing, Universal Monsters, Nosferatu and Blade Runner 2049. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has several entries. Iron Maiden and Elvira show up too. We name them only as the listings do.

NECA lineup: the lines that tell figures apart

NECA uses a handful of line names. Each one tells you something different about size and style. Here's what the listings show.

NECA Ultimates (7-inch scale)

The Ultimates are the biggest group in the grid. Every Ultimates listing in our data says 7-inch scale. Most list a long parts box. A few examples, as listed:

• Friday the 13th Part 4 Jason: 2 masks, 2 heads and a stack of props, 25 joints
• Predator 2 Warrior Predator: unmasked head, hands, spears and more, 30 joints, 8 in tall
• The Thing MacReady: 3 heads, hands, hat, goggles and props
• Universal Monsters Frankenstein's Monster: 3 heads, 6 hands, shackles

Many Ultimates listings say the box is a window box with an opening flap. That's a box with a little door on the front. If you keep boxes, the flap lets you see the figure without opening anything.

Here's the number that trips people up. "7-inch scale" isn't a height. It means the figure is made as if a full-size adult were 7 in tall. So a tall alien lists 9 in. A doll-sized character lists 4 in. Same scale, very different shelf. Both numbers are right.

Who it suits: a collector who wants to pose, swap heads and display a character a few different ways. Who should skip it: anyone who only wants one look. The extra parts are the point of this line.

NECA clothed figures (8 inch)

The clothed line uses real fabric outfits on a figure body. Some listings call it Retro. Listings in our data state 8 in for most. A few examples: Victor Crowley from Hatchet, Ghost Face, Elvira, Pennywise and a Halloween II two-pack.

Clothed figures list fewer parts than Ultimates. A belt sander and an axe on one, swap heads and hands on another. The appeal is the look, not the parts count.

One listing in this group, the Halloween III set, lists a 6 in height even though it's part of the clothed line. Read the height on each listing.

Who it suits: someone who likes the cloth-outfit look or collects 8-inch figures already. Who should skip it: anyone building a shelf of 7-inch figures who wants every head at the same height.

Deluxe and Ultra Deluxe

These are the big boxed figures. In our data:

• Ultra Deluxe Xenomorph Queen: 15 in, 30 joints, display stand and two swap inner mouths
• Deluxe Spider Gremlin: 10 in, 30 joints, display stand
• Deluxe Bat Gremlin: 6 in, display stand

The Xenomorph Queen at 15 in is the tallest figure in the grid. A figure that size needs a shelf to itself, and probably the shelf above it moved up a peg.

TMNT figures

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles listings come from several sources, per their names: the 1987 cartoon, the 1990 movie, the third movie and the Archie comics. All but one state 7-inch scale. The exception, a 1990-movie Michelangelo, lists a 7.1 in height instead and carries an exclusive label. A cartoon two-pack and a movie two-pack are in the grid too.

If you're collecting Turtles from one source, stick with the listings that name it. A cartoon figure and a movie figure of the same character look very different side by side.

Predator figures

Two Ultimates Predator listings are in the grid: a Shaman Predator and a Predator 2 Warrior. Both list long accessory sets. The Warrior lists 8 in and 30 joints. If you're shopping NECA Predator figures, those are the two currently listed in our data.

Toony Terrors and Kenner Tribute

Toony Terrors is a stylized, cartoon-look line. The listing in our data is a 6 in Freddy Krueger. It's simpler and rounder than one of the Ultimates.

Kenner Tribute is the line name on one listing in our data. We don't have more from NECA on how the line is made, so we stick to what the listing says. The Night Cougar listing in our data includes a detachable magnetic drone. That's a magnet in a toy, so the magnet line below applies.

The rest of the 7-inch figures

A few more 7-inch listings belong on the same shelf as the Ultimates:

• Aliens: Fireteam Elite Runner Alien: 9 in, 30 joints
• Blade Runner 2049 Deckard: 7 in, with a gun
• Alien Brown Alien Warrior (Ultimates): 9 in, 30 joints, with a facehugger, chestburster and egg
• Gremlins Santa Stripe (Ultimates): a fabric Santa costume, beard, hat and a mini Gizmo, per the listing

The Santa Stripe listing is a good example of how NECA mixes styles. It's an Ultimates figure with cloth parts. The line name tells you the scale. The parts list tells you the rest.

Iron Maiden

One listing is an 8-inch clothed Mummy Eddie from Iron Maiden, filed under NECA Retro. If you collect band figures, it's the one in our data. Super7 makes music figures too, at a different size; the Super7 page covers those.

Display stands and capsules

Two listings are for display, not figures: a set of 10 black figure stands and a Valuelock storage capsule for 3¾-inch figures. Ten stands in one pack. At the shop we'd call that a starter kit.

NECA vs McFarlane

NECA and McFarlane Toys both make 7-inch figures, so the question comes up. Here's the table version from our data, not a ranking.

Field	NECA	McFarlane Toys
Main size	7-inch scale (Ultimates), 8 in (clothed)	7-inch scale (DC Multiverse and others)
Listed joints	15 to 30 where stated	22 on most 7-inch listings that state it
Other sizes	Deluxe 6–15 in	1/6 and 1/10 statues, 4.5 in Collector Vinyl
Lines in the data	Horror and sci-fi film, TMNT	DC, anime, sports, Spawn

Pick by the characters you want first. If you want lots of swap parts on a horror or sci-fi figure, the Ultimates listings spell them out. If you want DC or sports figures, the McFarlane Toys page covers those lines.

How to pick a NECA figure

Start with the line, then the height

Here's my one opinion for this page: for a first NECA figure, start with one of the Ultimates. The reason is in the listings. Every Ultimates listing states its scale, and most list exactly what's in the box. You know what you're getting before you open the flap. The clothed and Deluxe lines are great too. They just ask you to read a little more of the listing.

Then read the height. A 7-inch-scale figure can be 4 in or 9 in. Measure the gap on your shelf, then check the height on the listing.

There's no single best NECA figure

People search for the best NECA figures. We don't rank them, and here's why: the right one depends on the character you want and the shelf you have. A 9 in alien with 30 joints and a 4 in doll figure are both NECA, both 7-inch scale, and they solve completely different problems. Start with the character, then use the line name and height to check the fit.

Count the parts you'll use

Ultimates figures list heads, hands and props. Most of that sits in a drawer at any one time. If you know you'll display one look, a clothed figure or a Toony Terrors figure gives you that look without the parts box.

Mind the box if you keep it

Window boxes with an opening flap are taller and deeper than the figure inside. If you keep boxes, measure the box, not the figure.

Theo's take: "A two-pack is the only box where one plus one is still one purchase." He meant it as a compliment to the box.

Check the seller and the exclusive label

A few listings carry an exclusive label. Some listings come from third-party sellers. Read who sells it, who ships it and the delivery date before you buy.

Who NECA figures aren't for

Most NECA lines in our data come from horror and sci-fi films, by their names, and several figures come with prop weapons. None of the listings in our data states an age. That's a fact about the lines, not a judgment. If a figure is going in a kid's room, read the listing name and look at every photo first.

Small parts and magnets

Swap hands, props and weapons are small parts. Check the age label on the listing. Toys with small parts are a choking hazard for children under 3.

Swallowed magnets can cause serious internal injuries. Keep loose or broken magnetic pieces away from young children.

What we left out

NECA's about page gave us a founding year, the year the toy division started and the location of its main office. We didn't find where each figure is produced, so that isn't here. Everything else comes from the listings in our data, checked on Amazon US on the date at the top.

Read the line name. Then read the height. Then open the little door.