REVIEW: NECA Portal 2 Portal 'Bots - ATLAS + P-BODY

**JeffSaylor** · 09-04-2014, 12:25 PM

The Bumbling Co-Player Duo Have Arrived...

CLICK HERE FOR OVER 70 NEW PHOTOS OF NECA'S ATLAS AND P-BODY!

NECA's Portal 'bots have been a long way coming, first annouced with their Valve licensing acquisition back at San Diego Comic-Con 2011 (see HERE). Since that time, fans of the challenging puzzle-solving game have received numerous Portal collectibles in the form of adorable blind-boxed Portal Turret Guns, an incredible limited edition 1:1 scale Portal Gun, and last year's action figure release of Chell (see HERE). But where, oh where could those Portal 'bots be?

In stores now, the bumbling co-player 'bots of Portal 2 - Atlas and P-body - have finally arrived. Priced at a SRP of around $25 each, this portal-zappin' team have been worth the wait. The amount of engineering that went into these figures is pretty amazing, each 'bot starring an array of working parts and packing a cool light-up feature in their eyes and guns.

P-body, the tallest of the two robots, stands in at an impressive 7 1/2 inches tall to the tip of his back antenna. Resembling Bert of Seasame Street's beloved muppet duo Bert and Ernie, the slender 'bot features a conical shaped head with lanky arms and legs attached. P-body's head/ body has some nice back and forth rocker movement, but alas no way of looking side to side. Other joints on P-body include rotating "shoulders," hinged elbows, swivel wrists for gripping the portal gun (note: mine were initially stuck, but they do move), as well as hinged knees, feet and toes. The lack of thigh articulation here actually is a good thing as it allows P-body to stand tall without the fear of drooping. I do wish he had ball jointed feet though, an extra measure in helping stand your figure in case of a warped leg (as is the case with my Atlas). It's small articulation issues like this, or rather the lack thereof, that slightly tarnish both figure's playability. Aesthetically, however, both 'bots shine.

P-body is a looker, NECA's sculptors attentive to every single wire, piston and technical doodad. While paint is limited to P-body's golden stripes, black and gray wires, as well as a couple small splashes of blue and red, the paint applied is crisp and clean. P-body (as well as Atlas) are predominately white and for this NECA used a nice glossy hard plastic. It gives the pair a sleek iPod of the future look.

Like Atlas, P-body stars a light-up feature for his uni-eye and included portal gun. The button to activate P-body's light is easily accessed on his back, the eye glowing a brilliant golden orange to match his striped color scheme. With the push of a button on the bottom of the portal gun, the device lights up a deep red. I should note that of the two 'bots, P-body grasps his portal gun the best, his long slender fingers smoothly slipping into the gizmo's handle. Using his other hand to grip one of the portal gun's protruding wires allows him to handle it well with two hands.

Atlas, the short, stout "Ernie" of the bunch resembles a big ball on legs. His ball head/body features an excellent swiveling motion that allows him to peek up, down and side to side. I absolutely love it. Atlas also features an "eye lid" panel flap that can be adjusted up and down for various expressions.

Unlike P-body, Atlas' shoulders do not move, though he still retains hinged elbows and swivel wrists. Where P-body's are fixed, the thighs on Atlas do move - each leg able to move in and out, back and forth all while working the moving pistons. The pistons can slip out of place if posed too extremely, but they pop back in easy enough. You also get hinged knees, although the joint on my Atlas' left leg is painted shut pretty well. He also has rocker joints in his toes, but as mentioned previously, the right foot on my Atlas is warped pointing inwards. This is where a swivel foot would come in handy to correct the figure's posture. As is, my Atlas is slightly bowlegged and difficult to stand, unless his right leg is positioned back just so. A more pliable plastic is used in Atlas's legs, the cause of the unfortunate warping. I hope that using the hot water method - softening the plastic further and then bending the piece into the desired shape - will do the trick.

My poor Atlas sadly takes another hit with a portal gun that doesn't light up. I'm sure it's a dead battery, or perhaps a faulty button. His eye, however, works very well - the uni-eye blazing blue when the button on the right side of his ball head is pressed in. I should note here that the light-up features on both figures stay on until the button is pressed again - something I really appreciate in a light-up feature.

Small articulation issues aside, NECA's Atlas and P-body are still little works of wonder. Atlas and P-body are very complex in-game designs. To produce them in a tangible three dimensional 7-inch scale action figure form is quite an accomplishment. Kudos to the NECA team for making these a reality and for allowing me to complete my Portal figure collection. Atlas and P-body are available at many fine retailers, including mass market giant Toys"R"Us and even book stores, such as Books A Million!

CLICK HERE FOR OVER 70 NEW PHOTOS OF NECA'S ATLAS AND P-BODY!

Review and Photos by Jeff Saylor

Review Samples Courtesy of NECA

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