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Maybe he should have "scouted" his way to a better costume.
When the filmmakers behind Predator 2 needed to create more aliens to cameo at the end of the movie, they basically took the same suit they'd been using for the main guy, threw different armor on it and airbrushed on some new colors. Well, usually they did. In at least one case, they just got lazy.
You really can't blame them - none of the Lost Predators were going to be seen for more than a few seconds, in the dark, through the fog. After designing eight unique Preds, the inspiration well was probably running a little dry, so they just needed something quick and dirty... and that's definitely what they got.
The key differentiating feature of a Predator is his mask, and this one is reused; and not just from anywhere, either - it's the original "Jungle Hunter" mask from the first Predator! That's why the fan nickname for this guy (before NECA gave him an official name) was "P1 Type." Presumably this is the same sculpt as NECA's masked Jungle Hunter, but this wouldn't be the first time they've surprised us.
Below the neck, the body is the same as the City Hunter: same armor, same hands, etc. Re-use is the name of the game, so that's not a big surprise. He does get a new necklace (a single animal skull on a string) and a new belt (which is basically Boar's piece with an added bit of cloth tucked into it to act as a loincloth - a fully sculpted loincloth that's part of the mold). At last, a little modesty among Predators! It's bad enough you come to our planet and hunt us for sport - do we really need to look at your buttcrack too, Mr. Predator? Talk about adding insult to injury!
The colors on Scout's body fall about halfway between the gray/brown/yellow of the Predator Predator and the white/black/orange of the Predator 2 Predator. Basically, the things that were pale on the City Hunter are a stronger yellow here, but otherwise the layouts of the colors are almost the same. Considering that all nine Lost Predators looked almost identical due to the lighting conditions in their ship, it's amazing that we've gotten as much variety as we have among these figures.
The articulation on all the Predators is the same:
swivel head and balljointed neck, swivel/hinge shoulders and elbows, balljointed wrists and waist, swivel/hinge hips, swivel thighs, double-hinged knees and balljointed ankles. It's always surprising that an 8" figure can stand securely on balljointed feet, but the Preds manage. There are no special weapons with Scout Predator: just the wrist blade and the throwing disc (which actually seems to stay in the leg slot better than most of them).
As far as the Lost Tribe goes, Scout is the runt of the litter - he's got a reused body and a reused head, and pretty much a reused colorscheme, making him easily the most boring of all nine "Losties." But his faults are the result of the source material, so we can hardly blame NECA for that. If you're collecting the Lost Tribe, you're going to get him no matter what. If you're not collecting them, well, that's your loss. But he's a nice generic Predator that combines elements from both films, and there's certainly something to be said for that.
-- 12/29/12
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