Toy OTD: Medicom, Disney Vinyl Collectible Doll: Ariel (2002)

I bought this toy for my wife Anita because she's such a big fan of the film. This is executed so well, though, that I don't mind having it in my collection one bit! It's really a wonderful 3-D execution of the 2-D design.

The sculpt is simply terrific, and the figure balances nicely thanks to the choice of a seated pose. It's a logical answer to balance a mermaid character, but you'd be surprised how many toys there are that don't choose the obvious solution!

Like many other VCD figures, this toy utilizes paint and dyed vinyl extremely well. The facial paint work is really tight and delicate, plus Medicom gets big points for making Ariel's waist fin translucent - just another example of how they go the extra mile in their products. There's no artiuculation here, but the pose is dynamic enough that you don't really need any.

The packaging isn't particularly imaginative or attractive, but at least the money is in the toy - plus credit is due for how well protected VCD figures are in their sturdy clamshell/box containers. Warping and pain rubs are extremely rare in this line!

There isn't one of these figures for sale online right now, so you'll need to warm up another eBay favorite search. Good hunting!

Medicom VCD Modern Pets Mickey Mouse (2006)

There's been a lot of re-imagining of Mickey Mouse going on in the last few years, and this vinyl figure is one of the most successful examples. This toy is a nice merging of the Modern Pets style with classic Mickey - it still feels like the character, even though it's a significant departure from the current design.

It's very appealing, and like most Medicom toys, extremely well made! The sculpted pose is really strong, and the color work is a terrific combination of tight paint passes and different colors of vinyl. It all comes together to form an attractive 3-D version of stylized cartoon design.

I think I originally paid around $40 for this figure. It's been out for a couple of years now, so its price has climbed to $68.99 + shipping at yesasia.com. Get on it!

Toy OTD: Medicom Star Wars Kubrick Figures: Max Rebo

In general, I much prefer Kubricks to the many other mini-figures that are now flooding the market. They were one of the first out of the gate, they're well designed and constructed - and you don't have to buy expensive construction sets to get them (like Lego mini-figs).

This is a nice example of what makes Kubrick figures so neat - it's just a great distillation of the character (though some are even more boiled down to their essence)! I really like breaking a design down to the fewest elements and seeing how far you can go and still get the jist of it across. Plus... well, they're just cute!

Max here was part of a larger Star Wars set that included few of the other band members. Unfortunately, it's been out for a while, so it'll cost you $275 big ones to get it from eBay complete and mint in the box (MIB)! Other sites go as high as $300 (before they sold out), so this set will take some serious cash or patience. Happy hunting!

Toy OTD: Medicom Toucan Sam Vinyl Figure (2004)

I can't exactly remember where I got this toy from - I think it was Hobby Link Japan - but it was before Dark Horse began to distribute them (at a much lower price) to comic shops. D'oh!

Regardless, this is a great figure through and through! The idea to make vinyl toys of '60s Kellogg cereal mascots is terrific, the sculpt is wonderful and the construction is subtle but solid. Last but not least, the paint apps - not trivial on this toy - are (for the most part) accurate and crisp. It's just a joy to behold!

Toucan Sam was one of three cereal characters in this line - Medicom also made Sugar Pops Pete and Cornelius the (Corn Flakes) Rooster. They're cool too, but Sam is the best of them if you're on a budget, and have to prioritize.

Since the only difference between the Japanese (I think I paid around thirty or forty dollars originally) and domestic releases is the packaging, the latter is still easily available. In fact, it's on sale over at Things From Another World for $5.99 + shipping! Wow - snap it up!

Toy OTD: Medicom Vinyl Collectible Dolls: Fantasia Mickey

This one's just out of the park - it's one of my favorites and a bunch of categories: Medicom toys, Disney toys, Mickey toys. It's simply stunning - a fantastic sculpt of a terrific pose. It may not be spot on from the film, but it's been tweaked in a really good way to allow for a great figure!

Most of the color is in the vinyl rather than paint, which helps make it look gorgeous. It balances well, and the pose holds up great over time. The only bad thing about this toy is that you can't buy it on the primary market! You'll have to try to find it at a boutique toy website, or on eBay. I can't find it online anywhere, so I'd suggest cranking up the Favorite Search. Good luck!

Toy OTD: Medicom Vinyl Collectible Dolls: Alice (In Wonderland)

Another toy touchdown from Medicom! Alice isn't one of my favorite Disney films, but it's hard to resist another wonderful sculpt. The pose is a bit symmetrical, but I love how simply the shapes are executed. They also do a great job of combining different colors of vinyl rather than painting, which looks really awesome (it inspired me when I was designing my toy).

Even though there's not much paint on this figure, the factory really did a nice job. Check out that face! Granted, the expression's a little cold, but it's very tight paint work.

It's not pictured here, but the figure does come with its own display stand. Big points (as usual) for that!

This figure's been out for a while, so it'll be a little tougher to get. You can buy one right now from eBay for $29.80 + $27.80 shipping. Usually, these toys cost around $20-$40, so that's not a lot of markup. Happy shopping!

Toy OTD: Medicom Real Action Heroes Matrix Figure: Trinity (2004)

Like a lot of Matrix fans, Trinity is my favorite character (I still think she'd make a great Wonder Woman). There was a fair amount of good merchandise for the film, but this is by far my favorite Trinity figure. The likeness is great, the paint work is tight, and the costume detail is simply phenomenal!

As usual, Medicom doesn't forget about display - it comes with a really nice stand that fits the figure perfectly. Granted, this version has almost no articulation, and what little it has is restricted by the costume. Still, you'd be hard-pressed to find better Matrix swag!

This has been sold out for a while, so you'll probably have to pay between $200-$300 to get one now. The best bargain I found was an eBay auction for both the Trinity and Neo RAH figures starting at $200 + shipping. Looks like it's favorite search time!

Toy OTD: Medicom Kubrick Lightcycle (2002)

Medicom's Kubrick figures didn't interest me at first - at least, not until they started picking up movie licenses. The line that finally broke my resistance (and I think it was one of the first major film licenses that they got) was the Tron series. There wasn't a lot of good Tron merchandise back in the day, and it hadn't quite become the nostalgia magnet that it is today.

There's a lot of blind-boxed, individually-packed figures out now, but Medicom went all the way with these toys - five boxed sets, each with a vehicle and at least one figure. The packaging was terrific, too - all black with the logo and the iconic lightcycle grid! Almost every design element was on-model, and straight from the movie. The cycles even open up to store a figure, and have rolling wheels, too!

Set A had a gold lightcycle, and figures of Tron and Yori. Set B had a tank, a red cycle, and a Flynn figure. Set C had a Recognizer, a yellow cycle, and a warrior figure (you know - the ones that wore gussied-up paint masks). Set D had the blue cycle, the MCP (which opens up to feature the aged chess program inside!), and a Sark figure. The fifth set was called "Wire Frame Model", and had "low-res" versions of the lightcycle and Tron (black plastic with grids painted on them). You can see pictures of all the sets and their packaging here.

This lightcycle is from set D, and the crowning touch is the display stand, which is truly ingenious. Since the toys can't stand by themselves, Medicom packaged a portion of the walls the cycles create in their standout sequence. You fit the "wall" into the rear wheel, looking just like it does in the film. Since it's a short "L" shape, it supports the cycle without weakening the design - in fact, the stand actually embellishes the toy. Simple, but perfect!

It looks like all of the Tron Kubricks are easily available - at least, they are right now. If you can read some French, you can buy set C and set D from lulu-berlu.com for 54.99 € each. Set A is on eBay right now starting at $9.99, with set B currently at $15.50 (sets C and D are also up for auction). The "Wire Frame Model" set is for sale for $49.99 + shipping. Happy shopping, programs!

Toy OTD: Medicom Vinyl Collectible Doll: Buzz Lightyear

I've been enamored with this toy line for quite a while, and this Buzz toy is still one of their best figures! It's simply gorgeous. The sculpt and paint work are so on-model, it's as if they had access to the digital files - but I don't think they did, which makes the likeness and pose all the more impressive. This sculpt is so good, the artist mimicked the model intersection points in the pose - in other words, the places where the pose caused parts of the character model to intersect each other (out of view of the camera, of course). Awesome!!

Many Buzz Lightyear toys have to drop the helmet for safety reasons, so it's great to see a full bubble for Buzz when he's in delusional mode. He doesn't know if our atmosphere is breathable yet! Better articulation, a sound chip, and an LED for Buzz's "laser" would've been cool, but the raw quality of this figure helps reduce those points to quibbles.

This figure's been out for a while, so it might be tougher to buy (I think I paid $50-$60 for mine originally). There's one for sale on eBay Malaysia for $150 + shipping - ouch! You may want to wait and try to find a better price. Good luck!

Toy OTD: Medicom Parappa The Rapper Vinyl Figures: Parappa, Sunny Funny, Um Jammer Lammy (1998)

It's not unheard of, but it's certainly unusual for vinyl figures to sport fabric clothing. The scale of the figure is just big enough to allow the denim jeans to work. The balance of the toy is a bit precarious, and the pose almost completely symmetrical, but the sculpt, paint work and costume more than compensate. Making a real 'knit' cap and molding the ears from black vinyl are great touches - it's just very appealing and well constructed overall!

Medicom made three figures in this series from the Parappa game and its sister title, Um Jammer Lammy - Parappa, Sunny Funny, and Um Jammer herself. If I recall correctly, Um Jammer has two or three colorways as well. They're all as tightly on-model and well-made as Parappa.







I think Parappa cost me $40-$60 at a toy show originally, but it's hard to find almost ten years later. There's a Hong Kong eBay auction going on right now - it's currently at $30.50 + $25.25 shipping. Sunny Funny is much easier, with a figure for sale for $24.99 + shipping at GameExpress.com. I can't find any Um Jammer Lammy figures for sale anywere. Keep digging!

Toy OTD: Medicom Vinyl Collectible Dolls: Stitch

This toy line continually hits it out of the park - this is by far the best Stitch figure I've ever seen! Fantastic pose, amazing sculpt, great paint work. It's a nice size (14 cm tall) - not big enough to be a shelf pig, but not so small you'll be afraid that you'll lose it, either.

Like most of the other VCD figures, it's not horribly expensive - you can get it for $33.28 + shipping at hlj.com. I hope Medicom makes a Lilo figure to go with it at some point! The bounty hunters'd be awesome, too...

Toy OTD: Medicom, H8Graphix Vinyl Collectible Doll: Spider-Man 3 Figure (Black Costume Variant)

Recently, Medicom has started to produce highly stylized superhero figures as part of their Vinyl Collectible Doll line. They're not chibi-style, but their proportions and features are very exaggerated.

This is my current favorite of the new additions - the stylization and posing complement each other really well in the sculpt. The color palette is pretty simple, but the paint apps on the costume's webbing are very nice. There's a traditional, red-and-blue costumed version, but I like the simplicity of this colorway better.

You can still get either version at ningyoushi.com for $65.00 + shipping each.

Toy OTD: Medicom Vinyl Collectible Dolls: Minnie Mouse From 'Two-Gun Mickey' (2004)

Once again, Medicom hits it out of the park with this fantastic retro Disney figure! A gorgeous sculpt, a strong pose, and an appropriately monochromatic color scheme. The only thing that keeps this toy from being utterly perfect is the lack of a dispaly base, but it does stand well on its own. It's a lovely piece of work.

Minnie wasn't as popular a seller as the Two-Gun Mickey was, so you might be able to find one for sale outside of eBay, even though it came out three years ago. Hobby Link Japan might be able to get you one for about $32.00 + shipping, and Toy Tokyo is selling it for $44.99 + shipping.