TFC Toys Hercules: Neckbreaker

Neckbreaker is the first of the Hercules set that feels not so great. The TFC Toys analog for Bonecrusher, this figure shares a lot with Exgraver, but executes not as well.

By now, the general positives of the Hercules figures have been well documented. Fun. Good looking. Nice Cybertron aesthetic. Amusing to transform. Decently but not excessively posable. Neckbreaker exhibits all of those things. But he is a figure that generally disappoints.

But the problems begin in robot mode. The torso of the figure looks good, as the body and arms are pretty standard TFC “Constructicon” at this point. The issues being with the legs and hips, which are the same on Neckbreaker as they are on Exgraver. The hips are the same generally floppy ball jointed ones as on Exgraver, but the problem with Neckbreaker is that the shovel from vehicle mode flips up over the top of the tread parts of the hips, as though it is supposed to be armor, or maybe just to add a different color to the lower half of the robot mode. But the shovel parts are floppy, and the hips are floppy, and the legs are generally loose where they attach to the hips. The result is a figure that sometimes has trouble standing, and usually has trouble being posed for parts moving around or not holding their place. The attempt at having the shovel form hip pads is a good effort, but just doesn’t work out as well as it was intended. The shovel is a problem in general, but more on that to come. The parts that rest above the hips are attached to the legs by a swinging armature, and any pose other than standing straight legged jostles this armature, which then compromises the hip pads.  

 

The legs look good when Neckbreaker is just standing there, as the shovel parts add something to the otherwise very plain treads with feet look. The center section of the shovel drapes over the robot chest, forming a chest plate that also adds something to the overall appearance. The front grill of the vehicle mode flips underneath the forearms of robot mode, again adding something to the general appearance, and every little bit helps. Out of all six Hercules members, Neckbreaker is the one that looks the least like his official G1 character, and it may be for that reason that Neckbreaker is the least impressive looking of all six Hercules members. Thus far, that close-enough resemblance to G1 characters has been a staple of the TFC Toys figures (at least), but this is the first instance of a figure being so different from the original’s look that it could be a totally separate, not-G1 third party figure. If Neckbreaker were not Constructicon green, one would not really recognize him as a Constructicon analog.

The shoulders droop a bit too low to look good, and as usual the blaster is a lump of plastic that you are supposed to recognize as being a blaster. The head sculpt is really, really nice and characterful. Not Bonecrusher at all, Neckbreaker has a good frowning face and an adorable pair of miner or welder’s goggles on his forehead. Or maybe they are intended to be lights. Regardless, the top of the helmet includes a pair of translucent red blocks of plastic that look like goggles or headlamps, whichever you may like better. 

Bulldozer mode is super cute, a blocky, chunky vehicle. Also similar to Exgraver in this regard, Neckbreaker’s vehicle mode looks like a toy truck, and there is something really endearing about that. The shovel, which is formed from the two hip pad pieces as well as the chest plate in robot mode, is mounted on pistons which allows it to be raised and lowered, and pivoted forward and back. Unfortunately, the shovel parts don’t connect to each other very well, so moving the shovel inevitably causes it to come apart. The three parts connect via tabs and slots, but the parts do not ‘tab’ together. The tabs are aligned with corresponding slots that just barely fit together, so moving the shovel causes it to split apart and, since all three parts are attached to the vehicle independently, once they become detached they are kind of irritating to line up again. The vehicle cockpit is, again like Exgraver, a removable plastic block, and it again fulfills its function but doesn’t really look the best in doing so. Overall the vehicle is cute but isn’t as much fun as it looks like it should be.

Neckbreaker in general is not a very good figure. The robot mode is fidgety and weak. The vehicle mode is neat but is hampered by the same level of fidgetiness that plagues the robot mode. The fact that this is also largely a redo of Exgraver certainly does not help Neckbreaker, as Exgraver takes this body and does a good job of being a figure, while Neckbreaker does not. The similarities to G1 Bonecrusher are all in the vehicle mode, which lessens the impact of the figure as a robot as well: thus far, all the Hercules figures have had some semblance of their G1 inspirations, but the closest thing that Neckbreaker has is the shovel chest plate, and how far that goes is really a matter of interpretation. It’s not with any pleasure that this next bit is written, but it feels very, very fortunate for TFC Toys that Neckbreaker was the fifth of six figures released, as if he were first, or maybe even second, it is believable that a number of collectors investing in the Hercules set may have been disappointed enough to abandon the project. Yes, Neckbreaker is that poor of a toy, and in that 2011-2013 era, there were a number of third party Constructicon options to choose from, so one could have their pick of the crowd.

It is not the intention to decry Neckbreaker as being a deal-ruining figure, nor to smear him as being some damning entry in an otherwise good set of toys or a company-destroying toy on his own, but compared to the other figures in this set, and even to later figures like Phlogeus, Neckbreaker is a bad figure. Sure, he has some stiff competitors among his own team to deal with, and they can’t all be zingers, but for the entire time he has been in my collection, I have tried and tried to find good things to say about him, and simply can’t. on a personal note, I do try to find good in every toy I come to own, if for no other reason than my owning it means I spent money to obtain it, and should therefore feel positive about the transaction. But with this figure, the best response I can muster is essentially that while he is bad, he is a necessary part of Hercules, and he performs his role in that capacity very well, thus raising his overall marks to “ok”. But he is simply “ok,” and there really is no room for that determination to be improved. Nevertheless, Neckbreaker is necessary for Hercules, but on his own, he is nothing to get excited over.