Iron Maiden Eddie Figures: Three Eddies, Three Eras

8 hours ago

5 min read

Iron Maiden Eddie figures are never just generic band merchandise. The character changes with Iron Maiden’s artwork, and every version carries the colours, costume and atmosphere of a particular release. Put The Trooper beside The Number of the Beast and Somewhere in Time and you are not looking at three small variations of the same mascot. You are looking at three different periods of Iron Maiden made physical.

That makes the useful collector question surprisingly specific. Do you want fabric and the unmistakable silhouette of a classic single cover? A miniature scene built around one of heavy metal’s best-known album images? Or two articulated Eddies that connect the futuristic world of 1986 with the samurai armour of 2021?

The three NECA releases below answer those questions in very different ways.

NECA Senjutsu Eddie and Somewhere in Time Cyborg Eddie figures standing side by side on a white background

Why these Iron Maiden Eddie figures are not interchangeable

All three releases begin with Iron Maiden artwork, but they do not use the same collecting format. The Trooper is an approximately 8-inch clothed figure. The Number of the Beast is a 7-inch-scale figure set arranged around Eddie and his devil puppet. The Future Past World Tour release is a two-pack of fully articulated 7-inch-scale figures with interchangeable parts and weapons.

The difference matters more than a centimetre here or there. Fabric creates a different presence from a fully sculpted costume. A scene with several linked characters reads differently from a single poseable figure. A two-pack built for alternate heads, hands and weapons asks for more interaction from the collector than a figure whose strongest feature is its immediately recognisable outline.

So the right choice is not simply “the best Eddie.” It is the version of Eddie—and the kind of object—that makes sense in your collection.

The Trooper: cloth, movement and a single-cover silhouette

Iron Maiden released “The Trooper” as a single in 1983. NECA translated its cover image into a poseable 8-inch clothed Eddie with tailored fabric clothing, a tattered Union Jack and a sabre. The current HEO listing describes the figure as 20.3 cm tall; the Wix title rounds that to 20 cm.

NECA Iron Maiden Trooper clothed Eddie figure with sabre and tattered Union Jack

The fabric is the defining choice. Instead of sculpting every fold into the body, the coat and trousers give the figure a rough, toy-like texture that suits the torn flag and battlefield pose. The flag and sabre also make the reference legible from a distance: even before you inspect Eddie’s face, the red uniform and damaged Union Jack identify the image.

This is the most straightforward of the three releases. It does not try to reproduce a complete album-cover scene, and it does not arrive with a long menu of interchangeable parts. It concentrates on costume, pose and the visual impact of one famous Eddie.

NECA originally presented the figure on a blister card with a removable protective clamshell. That packaging leaves the clothed format visible, so a sealed display still communicates what makes this version different.

Best fit: collectors who want The Trooper specifically, prefer fabric costumes to fully sculpted clothing, or want a single Eddie whose identity is immediately readable on the shelf.

The Number of the Beast: an album cover turned into a figure set

The Number of the Beast was released on 22 March 1982. For the album’s 40th anniversary, NECA built a figure set around Eddie as he appears on the album and title-track single covers, recreating the relationship at the centre of Derek Riggs’ artwork: Eddie controls a devil puppet, and the devil holds a smaller Eddie puppet of his own.

NECA Number of the Beast Eddie figure with devil puppet against flames

That nested scene is what distinguishes this release. It is less about choosing one heroic pose and more about reconstructing the visual joke of the cover in three dimensions. An alternate Satan head is included to reference the “The Number of the Beast” single cover, giving the set a second specific artwork connection rather than an unrelated accessory.

NECA lists the figure at 7-inch scale, while the current HEO listing gives a height of 17.8 cm. It comes in special 40th-anniversary five-panel packaging with an opening front flap. For a collector who keeps figures boxed, that packaging is part of the concept rather than a neutral container.

Best fit: collectors who want an object centred on the 1982 album artwork, enjoy small display scenes, or prefer a figure set with a clear visual narrative.

Future Past: two Eddies and two points in Iron Maiden history

The Future Past World Tour two-pack makes the comparison part of the product. Samurai Eddie comes from the cover of Senjutsu, released on 3 September 2021. Cyborg Eddie comes from Somewhere in Time, released on 29 September 1986. Instead of asking one figure to represent the whole band, the box places two sharply different visual eras beside each other.

Samurai Eddie includes interchangeable heads and hands, a helmet, katana, flaming katana, sheaths, dagger and removable shoulder armour. Cyborg Eddie includes interchangeable hands, a blaster rifle and two laser blasters. Both figures are fully articulated and stand in 7-inch scale.

NECA Senjutsu Eddie and Cyborg Eddie figures with their included accessories

This is the release for collectors who enjoy changing a display. Samurai Eddie can move between armoured portraits and sword poses; Cyborg Eddie can be arranged with different weapons against the neon visual language of Somewhere in Time. The two figures also work as a deliberate contrast: ancient armour and blades on one side, exposed machinery and firearms on the other.

The double gate-fold window box keeps that pairing visible for a sealed display. Product photography also shows the figures and accessories laid out together, which is the clearest way to judge how much of the set’s appeal comes from posing and reconfiguration.

Best fit: collectors who want the broadest posing options, prefer two complementary figures to one self-contained scene, or specifically want Senjutsu and Somewhere in Time represented together.

Which Iron Maiden Eddie figure fits your shelf?

Choose The Trooper if the single artwork and cloth costume are the point. It is the cleanest, most immediate translation of one Eddie image into a standalone figure.

Choose The Number of the Beast if you want album art reconstructed as a miniature scene. Eddie, the devil and the smaller puppet make the composition more important than any one accessory.

Choose the Future Past two-pack if posing, interchangeable parts and contrast between eras matter most. It contains the widest range of verified accessories of these three releases and is the only one that gives you two full-size Eddies in the same box.

Check the current preorder price and availability for The Trooper, The Number of the Beast 40th Anniversary set, or the Future Past World Tour two-pack.

There is one practical check before ordering: confirm the exact SKU, current availability and box format on the product page. Names such as “Eddie,” “Ultimate” and “The Trooper” recur across merchandise lines, and a 7-inch sculpted set is not the same object as an 8-inch clothed figure even when both represent the same mascot.

The most satisfying choice is the one that preserves the Iron Maiden image you actually care about. Eddie has survived for decades because he changes. A collection becomes more interesting when it shows that change instead of treating every version as interchangeable.

If your collection also includes objects from the live experience, our guide to official tour posters, signatures and provenance explains a very different kind of metal collectible. For the stage version of Iron Maiden’s visual history, revisit our Run for Your Lives Tour review from Berlin.