The day is finally here! Let's take a look at this puppy!
The Noisy Cricket! A replica that I used to drool over when Icons looked to be in the planning stages to make one. Now that we've gone through so many replica companies that have tried to tackle the MIB license, it's now fallen onto factory Entertainment to deliver the goods. Will this iconic weapon beat the bar that was by their own J-2 blaster? Let's find out.
Build: This was unfortunately the first part of the replica that jumped out at me since it was very conspicuous and all around noisy. The pull back hammer is very wiggly and loose when in it's off position and barely feels more tight when pulled back. Moving the Noisy Cricket around makes all kinds of ding noises and it's disappointing that the hammer wasn't fitted in more tightly. Everything else is very top notch especially the trigger. I was a little worried that the trigger guard would shake around due to the size of the piece, but it feels very solid. While the trigger itself wiggles a bit in all directions it still feels secure and pulling it gives a nice feeling of resistance to push it back.
5/10
Quality: Top notch all around. After showing this baby around my workplace, everyone was impressed at how much weight there was to this piece. There are some areas where the chrome plating isn't perfectly flat, but that can easily be overlooked as just part of the material it was plated over. The plastic grips are well done and fit nicely onto the side.
8/10
Special Features: Probably the most controversial part of the whole replica is it's light and sound mechanics. Many have said that the prop is had this green tubing thing inside of the grill (like a garden hose), but I actually like the direction Factory Entertainment took with the Blue LEDs. The way they turn on one by one as the Cricket noise starts up is always a pleaser, and the flash when the trigger is pulled is an excellent touch. About the only downside of this system is the "discharge" sound that's used when the trigger is pulled. It sounds exactly like a Neuralyzer discharge only with the last few seconds cut out. While watching the movie, I did notice that despite it's multiple uses, there was barely a discharge sound to the thing at all, so I'm not that bothered. At least it doesn't sound out of place.
9/10
And the replica's overall score is a
7.5/10
If the hammer didn't shake around like crazy and make a lot of noise, this would have easily been a 9/10 replica. Despite that big flaw, it's still a well made replica with a great fun factor in it's electronics. Definitely will be keeping this one. I'll most likely 'very gently' put in electric tape in the hammer housing to make it more stiff. I just can't stand that noise!
