NECA have previously released a set of Action Figure stands. These first stands were circular and designed to slot into the peg holes of the NECA figures. We took a closer look at them HERE. NECA have now taken their Action Figure stands one step further - in fact several leaps further - with the release of their Dynamic Action Figure stand.
The stand comes on a retro designed blister and card back. The backdrop is very Tron-esque and the text fonts very 1980's, an era favoured by NECA and their designers.
Once unpacked you will find a number of parts to assemble. The claw arm fits into the shorter piece of tubing, the slots here are hexaganal so you need to choose the correct orientation depending how you are going to attach the claw to the figure - don't try and turn these once connected.
This top arm then fits into the lower arm which is on a larger base and comes with a ratcheted section and thumb slider, from which you can vary the height of your figure. Finally, and we are looking at floor standing mode first, this lower piece clips into a wider base section.
Once stood the base can support, and keep a wide rage of figures elevated. We tried it on figures ranging from 3.75" Star Wars up to and including the NECA figures it is ultimately designed for. Within this we also tried Diamond Select 7" figures, Hasbro 6" figures and a couple from the 5" Doctor Who range.
All were easily gripped in the claw and then supported up to the point we went for the larger Alien figures from NECA where the weight finally brought the pivot arm back down to earth. But even here, as you can see in the image, the stand still held the figure upright and in much more dynamic action poses than could ever be achieved previously.
It is worth stating that although the stand is robust, you need to take care. The plastic is very strong, but also with no give what so ever so is also brittle under pressure. The ratchet doesn't work all that smoothly to raise the height, so ease it up gently. And the claw is best worked with two hands one on each prong to open and close it the rear handle doesn't really help all that much. That being said there are nut & bolt connectors on the upper pivot and the claw which can be loosened or tightened as you see fit.
The second element of this base is the ability to swap out the base for one with two suction cups. This is designed to attach to a vertical surface and keep you figures in a flying pose.
We tested this on a number of surfaces, including the Ikea Billy laminate bookcase system that is a mainstay for lots of collectors. Sadly, the suction cups will only stay adhered to a glass or high gloss perspex surface. Once adhered to a suitable surface however they are pretty secure. We kept a "stunt" figure suspended at 5ft on a glass display door for nearly 4 weeks.
My advise though is don't stick any expensive figures on this stand until you've tested it at length, particularly if they are suspended at height.
This stand is not cheap, retailing at between £10 and £15 here in the UK, and between $10 and $15 in the US.
Unless you are loaded you wont be putting loads of these in your collection, but they are nice to use on centre piece figures or displays. They will also be great for Toy photography allowing you to maintain some dynamic poses.
