Hot Toys Broken Tusk Predator Review

If I were the Alien Warrior, I’d take one look at what Broken Tusk is wearing and keep walking. The guy has a Xenomorph head strapped to his chest, right down to the shiny little teeth. I love that Hot Toys went for this particular Predator. You could put him in the back of a display case full of movie Predators and I’d still pick him out by that blue dome and green armor.

This is the Collector Edition of Broken Tusk from the Dark Horse Aliens vs. Predator comics. He’s the hunter who fights alongside Machiko Noguchi on Ryushi, and the one detail you really want Hot Toys to get right is the busted fang that gives him his name. That’s where this figure drives me a little nuts. The dead Alien has these shiny, metallic teeth, while the end of the Predator’s own tusk looks like bare plastic.

That Xenomorph Chest Plate Is Freaking Awesome

What I like most about that Alien head is how different the finish is from everything around it. The dome has a metallic blue shine and the teeth look almost chrome. Underneath it, the armor has chips, dark grooves and patches of lighter green, like a piece of copper that’s spent years outdoors. Put the sword down by his side so you can see where the tubes run from the head into the chest plate. Half the fun of this figure is trying to work out where the dead Alien ends and the guy wearing it begins.

Turn him around and the backpack looks a little like a beetle shell. There are smooth plates sitting over these rough, ridged sections, with brighter green on the tips of the spikes. I’m glad the weathering goes all the way around the back. I’d stand him at a slight angle so you catch some of that backpack behind his shoulder and can still make out the teeth on his chest.

The little asymmetrical details are fun, too. One gauntlet has a plain green screen, and the other opens up to show the self-destruct symbols printed inside. Down at his waist there’s a bone trophy hanging over the black netting. The net itself looks a little thick against his yellow skin. There’s texture sculpted underneath it that would be easier to see if the skin between the strands had some darker shading.

Hot Toys, What Happened to His Tusk?

I like Broken Tusk with the mask off. The yellow around his eyes, the dark brow and the brown spots across his forehead give him a really mean look, especially if you angle his head down just enough for him to stare out from under that brow. The skin has a wet shine to it, and the paint app even picks out the gums behind those little teeth. Then you get to the broken tusk itself. The end is flat, smooth and all one color. It looks like the tip was clipped off a plastic tooth. Some rough edges and a little discoloration there would have made a world of difference.

I can also see the seams where the mandibles meet the front of the face. Removable mandibles make sense because you need the room to fit the biomask, but they only give you the closed set. I want him baring those little teeth at an Alien Warrior, and with his jaws closed most of that work on the gums is hidden anyway. I’d take a roaring set over the two closed fists.

In my Jungle Hunter 2.0 review, I loved that I could give him a sideways glance and still have his face pointing toward the front of the case. Broken Tusk’s eyes are painted in place, so I have to turn his whole head to get him looking at another figure. The rubber dreads hang straight down his back. From the front I can see the little quills flaring out on either side of his head, and it makes me wish the beaded dreads had a bit of that spread over his shoulders, too.

Which Gold Biomask Comes With Broken Tusk?

The Collector Edition comes with the gold biomask with the lightning bolt on the forehead. I like the gold with this green armor more than I expected to. The dark wash settles in the marks across the mask and the reddish shading makes parts of the metal look scorched. There’s mesh over the eyes and a little targeting unit up top, though it doesn’t light up. I could take or leave the bolt itself. It’s right for the comic, but I think that worn gold would look incredible all on its own.

The gold biomask with a jagged hole exposing one eye is the Special Edition bonus. The Collector Edition comes with the intact lightning-marked mask only.

I like being able to see the eye through the busted mask, but I’d be happy with the Collector Edition. I already have a hard enough time choosing between the gold mask and the bare face, and that chipped tusk is the whole reason I’d keep coming back to the unmasked look.

I’d Give Him the Double-Bladed Sword

Of all the gear in the box, the sword is the piece I’d leave in his hand. You can split it into two shorter swords, and I really like how Hot Toys handled the connection. The end of the handle flips around to expose the peg that joins them together. There’s no tiny adapter to put back in the tray and then spend twenty minutes looking for the next time you change his pose. I’d be gentle with that peg when separating the two halves because it is plastic.

The blades have nicks along the edges and all these little spikes that run down toward the grips. Look at the handles, too. The green is lighter along the raised ridges where you’d expect them to wear. I’d keep the sword in one piece for a standing pose with the lower blade pointing toward the base. If you’d rather have him squaring up to an Alien, split it and give him a blade in each hand. I just wish his fingers curled around the handles a little more. The extended finger looks fine on the burner and a bit odd on a sword.

I’m used to seeing a Predator with a cannon up on his shoulder, so a handheld burner with a sling is a pretty cool change. There’s a rough metal texture along the body, and the dark wash brings out the markings in the sides. The strap is adjustable, though it looks awfully clean next to all that beat-up armor. Of the seven hands, I prefer the open ones over the fists with the burner slung. The paint on the backs picks out the spots nicely. The palms are nearly all yellow, which is a shame considering you can see little scales and folds sculpted right into them.

The removable wrist blades go on the right gauntlet. There’s some green speckling in the finish, but I do miss the diecast blades from older Hot Toys Predators. I’d figure out where I wanted his hands first, then add the blades, so I didn’t have to work around those thin plastic tips while turning his wrists. Between those and the sword you can get an awful lot of spikes pointing in different directions on one shelf.

Broken Tusk Needs an Alien on His Shelf

At about 35 cm tall, he’s a pretty big guy even before you give him that long sword. I’d put an Alien Warrior a little off to his left and angle Broken Tusk’s face toward it. You can turn the head farther to the side than you might expect with all that gear around his neck. Keep the chest turned toward the front of your case, though. Turn him too far toward the Alien and all you’ll see of that blue dome is the side of it.

The hips let him spread his feet for a wide stance, and there’s enough ankle tilt to plant the soles. The knees have far less bend, so getting him way down low like he’s about to spring at something is a different story. His waist turns, but there’s very little forward crunch under the big chest plate. The single elbows are another giveaway. Bend one and you see a smooth section of joint right between his scaly arm and the gauntlet. I’d keep that elbow angled away from the front of the case. I wish it hid as well as the ankle joint does when you slide the cuff down over it.

The base has a metal-deck pattern, a support and a Broken Tusk nameplate with the Predator lettering I love. The translucent bits of Alien remains lift off. From the front, you can see daylight under parts of them where they don’t quite follow the shape of the deck. I’d leave those in the box and give the space to the Alien itself. If you want a specific companion, the Alien Warrior Deluxe comes with an egg you could put between the two figures. That’s a separate release, worth allowing a little extra shelf depth for if you want the whole scene.

Would I Pick Broken Tusk Over Another Movie Predator?

For my first Predator, I’d still want the masked hunter from the original movie. If you already have that guy, Broken Tusk is the one I’d put beside him. I’ve covered figures in my Hot Toys reviews where a new version made me want to replace the old one. Here I want to keep both. Look at how different the two hunters are in the face alone when you put the silver mask on Jungle Hunter and leave Broken Tusk unmasked.

I give the Broken Tusk Predator Collector Edition an 8.4 out of 10. The green armor is some of my favorite work Hot Toys has done on a Predator, and I’d love to see them tackle more of the Dark Horse characters. Next time, spend a little of that paint budget on the poor guy’s tooth.