Toy OTD: Gentle Giant Clash Of The Titans Statue: Bubo (2007)

Nostalgia does strange things to people. I've never been a huge fan of Ray Harryhausen's last movie, Clash of the Titans (though it does have it moments), nor was I particularly enamored with Bubo, Perseus' mechanical sidekick/comedy relief. Yet when Gentle Giant announced a limited-edition resin Bubo statue, I was interested! I'm not sure how that works, unless you consider my long-running affection for robots.

Regardless of the sanity involved in purchasing a quasi-obscure character from a quasi-obscure '80s fantasy film, Gentle Giant did a terrific job here. The sculpt, paint work, metallic finish and branch perch all feel straight from the movie!

Since an open-winged pose would have been harder to manufacture and ship, Bubo's pose is fairly minimal here. Considering he's a mechanical character, it still feels appropriate. The head is a separate piece, which allows for a little extra pose variety.

The branch display stand is great - not only in helping to set the scene, but it's also subdued enough to support the character, not distract from him. Of course, the lack of branding is always appreciated!

The packaging is also really strong - the original film logo is used, and the new graphics are well art-directed to match to the tone and feel of the poster art. The back panel gets a little busy with text, but in general the box has great shelf presence. Rather than using a cellophane window, GG decided to use photos of the finished maquette. It still gives an accurate view of the product while integrating nicely with the new box art. You can see another side of the box here.

There were only five hundred of these statues made, so the edition is long sold out. Collectors can expect to pay between $150-$200 for Bubo on the secondary market. I paid $200 for mine at a toy show, but there might be one selling for $179.99 + shipping at Razor's Edge Collectibles (via kaboodle.com). Happy hunting!

Two post scripts. First: be careful looking up "Bubo" on Google Image Search. Two words: Bubonic Plague. Second: Mattel had originally planned to make a Bubo puppet-like toy back in the day, but poor response to the merchandising led to production being canceled. Wild!

Some images from gentlegiantcollectors.com and plaidstallions.com.

Toy OTD: Kitchen Sink Press, Bowen Designs "The Girls Of R. Crumb Statue": Catholic Girl (2001)

I think this was a great idea - a series of limited-edition maquettes featuring some of Robert Crumb's fantasy women - but apparently it collapsed along with Kitchen Sink. Did poor sales scuttled future releases? I think this originally cost about $125, which is less than many of the current Bowen pieces, but maybe the higher-end statue market hadn't sufficiently emerged yet. Whatever the reason, Bowen never made another Crumb girl statue in this 11" scale.

It's a shame, because this is a real beauty! Kent Melton does his usual fantastic job, capturing Crumb's style perfectly. It's a simple pose, but Mr. Melton preserves the subtle attitudes and weight distribution from the source art.

The paint work is also well executed, especially the color choices. There's a nice retro feel to the whole piece, due to the muted palette - accurate to the original comics, yet not as bright. Of course, the face needs special care, and the work here supports the sculpt extremely well.

I do think the base could've been simpler, but Bowen/Melton get extra credit for designing the branding plaque in Crumb's handwriting. It performs the prerequisite labeling function, but supports the style of the statue very well!

Since this piece has been sold out for eight years, be prepared to shell out the big bucks! There's the unsigned version in an edition of 3,000, and a signed version in a much more limited edition of 100. The signed version is for sale on eBay right now for $515.00, and it looks like there might be an unsigned one for auction here. Otherwise, save your money and cast out those eBay search nets... good luck!

Toy OTD: Electric Tiki Teeny Weeny Mini-Maquette: Little Lotta

By now, I'm pretty sure it's clear that I'm a Harvey Comics fan. I read tons of them as a kid, and I just can't shake my fondness for that slick Warren Kremer art. But there just hasn't been a lot of really good Harvey swag - until Electric Tiki came along. Then, the floodgates opened!

Electric Tiki has created a fairly substantial line of moderately-sized-and-priced Harveytoon figurines over the years (most being around five inches tall or more, so not really "teeny-weeny"), and they've covered most of the characters that you'd want. Little Lotta may not be Richie Rich, but she's still up there on the visibility-meter!

Tracy M. Lee is the creative force behind Electric Tiki, drawing most (if not all) of the character pose/turnaround art himself. Ruben Procopio, Rich Vanover, Tony Cipriano, Steve Schumacher, James Lopez, William Paquet, Sam Greenwell and Jim McPherson are credited with sculpting some of the products, but it's unclear who sculpted Lotta (maybe the packaging has a sculpting credit).

Regardless, it's a great sculpt! Mr. Lee did a wonderful job preserving the original character design in his pre-pro drawings, and the pose feels like it's right off one of the old covers. The colors are spot-on model as well, and the paint work is fine. The base is very simple, with no unneccessary branding or detail, and it eliminates any stability issues.

The packaging is also attractive, graphically evoking the old cover layouts of the comic books. If you're interested in variants, there's the version I have (sporting a red bow in her hair), a green bow version, and a red dress version, too!

You can still get the first two versions easily at toynk.com for $24.99 + shipping. Since it's a smaller run (fifty pieces), the red dress variant goes for $50 + shipping at dustcatchers.com. Grab your favorite now!

Gentle Giant Unveils Ratatouille And WALL-E Maquettes At New York Comic-Con

Check out the pictures at actionfigs.com! I've been waiting for this for a long time. Gentle Giant is a terrific company for these licenses, and I know they'll do a wonderful job!

They look great - I can't wait to snag 'em when they get released this fall! I'm hoping that Skinner and Anton Ego maquettes are on the way, too! Keep your fingers crossed...

Toy OTD: Electric Tiki World Of Harvey Jackie Jokers (Teeny Weeny) Mini-Maquette

Now, I know what you're thinking - Who in the hell is Jackie Jokers?

Every Harvey Comics character was more or less divvied up into two camps - crossovers notwithstanding, you were either Richie Rich's friend, or Casper's. In the early '70s, Harvey introduced a new character into its kiddie pantheon - Jackie Jokers, stand-up comedian, movie actor & television personality. Jackie, ill-suited for enchanted forests, was firmly in the Richie-verse. It never occurred to me before, but Jackie does resemble a young Johnny Carson in Dick Cavett's clothing.

Remember that post where I mentioned liking toys of really, really obscure characters? I wasn't kidding.

Anyway, this is a terrific maquette! The sculpt is awesome, the pose is strong, and it's bang on-model. The paint work is nice, and its base is built-in, so there's no balance issues. The box design is cool, too, evoking the cover designs of old JJ comics.

Originally, I think these sold for thirty dollars, but you can get one now at collectorsgateway.com for 19.99 + shipping.

Toy OTD: Cartoon Network Powerpuff Girls Maquette: Blossom (Signed)

Originally, I bought the Trendmasters Powerpuff Girls action figures, but while they each had bases, stability was still a problem, so I upgraded to the maquettes (I think I bought the set at Comic-Con one year) after they were released. It's not a cheap solution, but they are well-mounted and stable.

The sculpting is fine - it's a great interpretation of the design, and the attitude is captured nicely, too. The paint work is a little rough, but not to a point where it really detracts. I'm just spoiled by the meticulous work on overseas toys!

I waited in a huge line to get Blossom signed by the show's creator, Craig McCracken. I couldn't help feeling like I shouldn't have had to - Hey, I'm not just another fan... I went to the same school, and I'm working on cool stuff, too, I thought - but I felt like I'd be an asshole if I cut to the front. So I waited for my autograph, and complimented him on the then-newly-released Powerpuff movie, which I enjoyed a great deal.

There's one for sale on eBay for $49.99 + $16.95 shipping. You can make an offer, and it might be worth a try, as I think the shipping charges are pretty steep!

Toy OTD: Cartoon Network Samuai Jack Maquette

Cartoon Network wisely started its own line of merchandise some time ago, and some of it is really great - especially their limited edition maquettes! The Samurai Jack line is terrific - the sculpts interpret the stylized designs beautifully. The paint work is simple, but precise where it needs to be. No silly branding anywhere, which helps keep it looking classy.

The only minus is that they're more expensive than a comparable Gentle Giant figurine - $150 or so, as compared to maybe $80 or $100. I'm assuming that's due in part to smaller production runs.

Jack here is sold out, and I'm not finding him for sale elsewhere online. The pieces I am seeing on eBay look about the same price as they were at the CN website, so that's encouraging. Keep your eyes open there, and at your local toys shows or comic conventions. Good luck!

Toy OTD: Electric Tiki Betty Boop Figurine

Electric Tiki is wonderful at making maquettes of pop culture icons, but this one is exceptional! It's a great sculpt - tightly on-model but very appealing and in character.

The paint work - especially around the eyes, traditionally a problem area for toymakers - is superb! The base is on-theme, and has no visible labeling on it to identify the character (a touch I love). It's not all that big (just 5" tall), so it won't gobble up much shelf space.

Several versions were made - full-color paint jobs with red, black, and plum dresses; and (pictured) a monochrome variant. They both look sweet, but after seeing Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, I knew I had to get the black & white one!

You can pick up a figurine just like this one for $43.99 + shipping at dinstoys.com.

Toy OTD: Bowen Designs Invisible Woman Statue (Half-Visible Version, 2000)

One of the first superhero comic books that I ever read was an issue of The Fantastic Four, and it's still one of my favorite Marvel creations. They hooked up with Bowen for all their statue and mini-bust needs, and DC's still playing quality catch-up. DC Direct may be improving, but Marvel's added Sideshow to their cool manufacturer list!

Anyway, I waffled for the longest time before I finally bought this statue. It wasn't too bad in terms of price (though I'm sure I could've paid less if I'd bought it earlier), and action figures just can't do the whole half-visible thing nearly as well. The sculpt is nice, and the paint work is strong, too. It has the added feature of the later statues - the figure itself can detach from the base, making cleaning and transport easier and less risky.

As you might imagine, there's two other variants of this statue - fully painted, and fully 'invisible'. To be honest, I don't know why the others even exist - the half-and-half version is definitely the way to go! Why not do the entire run that way?

At any rate, I think I paid around $200 for mine, but there's one for sale on eBay that's currently at $47.00 + shipping. Good luck!