Toy OTD: Dark Horse Deluxe, Disney's Gremlins Vinyl Figure: Fafinella (2006)

Toy licensing has exploded to such a degree in recent years, not only are companies reaching into increasingly distant corners of pop culture for inspiration, now they're merchandising properties that never reached the finish line!

Roald Dahl wrote and published a children's book called Gremlins (unrelated to Joe Dante's 1984 movie) in 1943. The rights were optioned by the Disney studio in the hopes of developing the story into a film, but for various reasons the project never went beyond the early stages. The book remained popular with Disney and Dahl fans, but was not reprinted again until two years ago.

Since the book features brightly colored fantasy characters, Dark Horse wisely got permission to make merchandise based on the story! Some of the best of these new spin-offs included a line of resin statues, pvc mini-figures and larger vinyl toys.

This is one of two of the large vinyls - Fafinella, or a female gremlin. It's really a wonderful figure - the sculpt has some nice touches to it that throw the symmetry off without making it difficult to cast. I really like how the extemely stylized helmet (especially the visor) is faithfully duplicated from the original artwork.

The paint work is a little loose, but the apps are tight enough to keep crisp borders between the punchy colors. The 'lipstick' and 'eye shadow/lashes' are nicely done, preserving the appeal of the design. The paint/vinyl colors are also faithful to the book.

There's no articulation at all - it's basically a vinyl statue made from a bunch of separately molded parts. There's some balance issues due to the top-heaviness of the character, but the casting is very well done, so it's not as precarious as it could be.

The packaging is simple, but reflects the source book exceptionally well - the cover colors are treated like a branding palette, so the box is decorated to look just like the reprinted edition! A wide plastic window lets you look the toys over before buying.

Fafinella and Widget (a male) are sold together as a set. It's still very easy to get - you can buy one for $24.49 at tfaw.com. Enjoy!

Toy OTD: Dark Horse Deluxe Mutts Vinyl Figures

Dark Horse scores again with another pair of nifty toys! These Mutts figures are spot-on model and very appealing. There's not much in the way of paint apps here, but they're very well applied. The sculpts are nice too, though they're a little symmetrical.

Since the characters are so simple, special care has been applied to the details. Earl's fabric collar and license are nicely made, while Mooch has his pink sock, attached (to be removable) with a bit of Velcro. So cute!

The biggest minus - once again - is balance. While the poses help them to stand, it doesn't take much to tip them over. A pegged base would have made a big difference without significantly driving up the price point.

These figures are still quite easy to get, and very affordable. You can buy Earl at tfaw.com for $10.79 + shipping, and Mooch goes for $14.03 + shipping at superherogameland.com.