The first figure in my set of Mutant Zone 2 Real X Head figures in one of the quintessential tribute schemes.

Real x Head is a small Japanese vinyl company started and run by Mori Katsura in 2003. Mori’s first figure was the Oni-Head, but he saw much more success with his second figure, the Mutant Head, the start of the iconic Mutant Zone series. The Mutant Head sculpt was borne out of Mori’s love of classic 80’s toys, especially Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Taken from the Super 7 Mook, the Mutants are an invisible race that lives in the forests and mountains in natural harmony, existing outside the realm of human perception. Led by the militaristic Akro-Kaiser, the Mutants dislike humanity because of the damage we do to their natural habitats, and so the Mutants cause accidents and natural disasters to punish us. During an engagement, Mutant Head is injured and loses his ability to stay invisible. Mutant Head is found by a young boy and nursed back to health, showing Head that not all humans are evil. When Mutant Head returns to confront Akro-Kaiser about their aggression towards humanity, a schism erupts within the Mutant world over how to deal with humans, leading to what amounts to a civil war among the Mutants, with the human-defending Mutants being lead by Mutant Head.

Akro-Kaiser is the militaristic leader of the Mutants, and the first release in the much scarier looking ‘bad guy’ wave, Mutant Zone series 2. Akro-Kaiser uses the same basic Mutant body as the previous releases, with a new head, as well as a new piece, the armored vest. Akro-Kaiser’s head features a single eye, big teeth, and in now standard asymmetrical Real X Head fashion, spikes protruding from one side. The armored vest is an awesome addition to the options available for a figure. The vest slips over the basic Mutant body, with holes for the arms to fit into the normal body sockets. It adds a bulky ‘ready for action’ look, and spreads the arms out a bit for a wider stance. The vest also features plenty of ‘creepy’ mutant-ey details, including a spinal cord and a protruding heart. Perhaps these details are ornamentation removed as trophies from some conquered enemies, or the ‘vest’ is really just a twisted mutation in the character’s body?

Happy Halloween! My contribution to this fine holiday is a review of a decidedly creepy pair of designer vinyls...

Okay, I know it's not usual for us to review two toys at once, but in the world of designer kaiju, exceptions ARE the rule!

On this fine Halloween, I present two toys I've been dying to talk about for a while now: Velocitron's Bechigon and Larvagon in the "Emperor" colorway. These are two genuine Japanese slush-molded vinyl figures. These designer (non-character) toys are clearly horror-inspired--more specifically, a bit of a refinement on H.R. Giger's designs from the Alien films.

First up, we have Bechigon, Ricky "Velocitron" Wilson's first toy sculpt. They run around $35 each, and while each colorway is pretty short in terms of run size, there are lots of 'em and they ALL look great! Just check out the various pics in Velocitron's flickr.

Header card.

Bechigon is very reminiscent of the face-hugger pods from Alien, but it seems more like closed fangs at the top rather than an opening for something to hatch. Also, the added tentacles are fantastic. I picked up this particular colorway of Bechigon when it first came out because it was one of the first shot in glow vinyl and because it just looks so cool. The black spray and the spiral masking on the tentacles is brilliantly executed. Also, the gloss red handpaints are a striking accent. This thing looks sick!

I mean, just check out how cool the tentacles look when they're glowing!

Bechigon's tagline was "Egg of the Apocalypse". So what gives? Why would a budding designer vinyl maker start off with an egg...rather than a full-size (ostensibly adult) monster?? Well, Ricky has said that he wanted to create a sort of progression with this toy line. So, start with an egg...then move on to a larva (hint, hint)...and then...

I sorta compare it to the different vinyl makers who release Hedorah toys depicting his different life-cycle forms (larva/tadpole, crawling, flying, adult, etc.). Anyway, clearly, these toys are designed to complement each other when displayed on a shelf. So, I assume that the next in the series will be an adolescent or young adult monster...but I'm getting ahead of myself...

After Bechigon, Ricky released the much-anticipated Larvagon. They retail for around $55. I think of Larvagon as a cross between Giger's face-hugger and the chest-burster designs. Only giant! Well, they're Japanese, so I imagine them being giant! :P

Header card.

Now this damn thing is metal as all hell! I mean, it's grotesquely detailed and monstrous...but it's still just a silly glow kaiju toy. For some reason, I feel like blasting Dethklok while playing with it! ;)

I love how Ricky carried over the Emperor theme into Larvagon. The striped black look has been preserved, and the black paint rub over much of the body accentuates the detail of the sculpt perfectly. [By the way, I have no idea what "Emperor" is supposed to indicate. That's just the name of this colorway. Maybe there is a whole race of these monsters...and this is their leader!]

There are a few neat things about this sculpt. Well, first, it features a whopping two points of articulation! Yep, just those red-clawed tentacles can move. Hey, works for me! Also, there's a sweet removable carapace shot in clear vinyl that fits on top of the head. This is TOTALLY reminiscent of some notable Alien xenomorph toys like the classic 18" Kenner Alien, which had a glow skull underneath a smoky clear cap. Larvagon's carapace has two tusks with a groovy black chain connecting them.

Yo, what's up with the red wad that looks like a mashed strawberry on the left side of his head!? :P

Anyway, not much else to say about these guys. Their beauty--or lack thereof!--speaks for itself. While I think these toys are absolutely great, I can definitely see how your mileage may vary. Designer vinyl, in and of itself, is an acquired taste. I, for one, am looking forward to future releases in this line and completing an Emperor set!

If you're interested in picking some of these toys up, go to skullbrain.org and do search for "Bechigon" or "Larvagon"...you'll find info on how to get in touch with Ricky, get on his mailing list, and see what's in stock...not to mention finding TONS of great pics of other colorways of these toys!

A long review just in time for Halloween of some scary figures: the various mutations of Chaos, the most popular and iconic Real x Head character, and the last of my Mutant Zone I reviews.

Real X Head is a small Japanese vinyl company started and run by Mori Katsura in 2003. Mori’s first figure was the Oni-Head, but he saw much more success with his second figure, the Mutant Head, the start of the iconic Mutant Zone series. The Mutant Head sculpt was borne out of Mori’s love of classic 80’s toys, especially Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Taken from the Super 7 Mook, the Mutants are an invisible race that lives in the forests and mountains in natural harmony, existing outside the realm of human perception. Led by the militaristic Akro-Kaiser, the Mutants dislike humanity because of the damage we do to their natural habitats, and so the Mutants cause accidents and natural disasters to punish us. During an engagement, Mutant Head is injured and loses his ability to stay invisible. Mutant Head is found by a young boy and nursed back to health, showing Head that not all humans are evil. When Mutant Head returns to confront Akro-Kaiser about their aggression towards humanity, a schism erupts within the Mutant world over how to deal with humans, leading to what amounts to a civil war among the Mutants, with the human-defending Mutants being lead by Mutant Head.

Mutant Chaos debuted as the fourth and final hero Mutant in the Mutant Zone I series, and has become the flagship character in the Real x Head line. I am pretty comfortable in believing that more Real x Head figures have come out with a Chaos head on them than any other design… I make the Chaos head distinction for a reason. Mutant Chaos is described as a shapeshifter, and is capable of taking on a variety of forms. In the name of conciseness, and in the spirit of Halloween, I am going to try something different in this review and discuss Chaos in all of his forms that use the original Mutant Zone parts (and one that uses a Mutant Zone II part, but we’ll get to that). I will leave the two more recent all-new Chaos sculpts for separate reviews. So, let’s get started as we look at the direct Chaos ‘family’.

First off we have the figure that started it all, Mutant Chaos. Unlike the first three Mutant Zone figures (Head, Evil, and Bigaro), Chaos was 100% new parts. Mutant Chaos is a shapeshifter, and in his default form he appears to be in something of a permanent flux state. Mutant Chaos still has the characteristic three fingers and toes of the Mutants, but he also has some bits that look like armor, and the prominent weapon hand, as well as the distinctive eye, which is actually a plastic doll eye. Mutant Chaos’s body is a mess of different textures and shapes, but it does not feel random and thoughtless… the mess flows around regular body features, and it looks like Chaos has deliberately morphed smooth legs and feet as well as a hand so he can function alongside the rest of the Mutants. The great Roger Harkavy, a lover of vinyl toys, has always emphasized the tactile experience of hand-sculpted vinyl figures, and Mutant Chaos really brings this idea home for me. There is just so much detail to take in, from the big smooth armored-looking piece on the chest, to the wrinkly and pod segments on the head and the little tail out the back covered in scales. The left arm looks like a weapon, but is described as Chaos’s probe hand, which he uses to sample new forms so he can take those shapes. I like to think it still functions as a weapon of some sort as well. Mutant Chaos is articulated at the regular RXH neck and shoulders, but also features a cut around the ‘elbow’ on the probe arm. The might seem like a mostly useless joint, but it actually enables you to angle the probe different ways and get Mutant Chaos into some cool poses, especially if you like to pretend he can also use the probe as a ray gun or some such.

This particular Mutant Chaos is the Frankenruge variant, a tribute scheme to Frankenruge, a villain kaijin (humanoid monster) from the 1972 tokusatsu show Barom-1. Frankenruge is one of the most popular villains from this much scarier show than the usual Ultraman-style tokusatsu fair, and an extremely hard to find vintage kaijin vinyl figure. This was an early Chaos release, and the unsymmetrical paint scheme from Frank translates well onto the Chaos canvas.

Now we get into the Chaos mutations, made possible by the brilliant interchangeability of the Real x Head figure parts. I am going to cover the next two quickly, as we’ve now seen all the parts that make them up previously.

The Chaosfighter form combines the Mutant Chaos head and arms with the regular Mutant body. The smooth and clean Mutant body contrasts nicely with the complex Chaos head and arms. I think I have more Chaosfighters than Mutant Chaoses in my collection and this is one of my favorites. This guy is molded in black vinyl with an overall metallic tone added and really luscious metallic sprays over top. He is really glossy and full of luster, and I like how the darker colors and tighter sprays bring together the dissimilar body and limbs.

The Chaosman form combines the Mutant Chaos head with the regular Mutant arms and body. The Chaosman combination seems like it functions much better as Chaos’s everyday form working alongside his fellow Mutants. The Chaosman design works really well with either contrasting spray styles on the head and body, or unified with one paint scheme across the whole figure like seen here. This particular Chaosman is from the Junkspot shop in Japan released as a store exclusive from an event a few years back. We also see here the bandanna that has become common (but not definitive) on Real x Head Mutant releases. On the Chasoman design, the bandanna does a great job of hiding the neck joint and bringing the pieces together even better. You can even pull the bandanna up over the face for a ‘bandito’ look to your figure!

The last figure we’ll cover today is the Armored Chaos, a Chaosman wearing an armored vest featured first on the Mutant Zone II Akro-kaizer, a figure I have not covered yet. The armor is another mix-and-match-able piece, slipping over the regular Mutant body. The armor spreads the arms out a little bit, but does not actually hinder articulation of the arms (the vinyl is soft enough that you can push the arms past the armor to do a ‘YMCA’ pose). The armor DOES actually hinder head movement a little, due to the shape of the Chaos head on the right side, but this is minor. This guy is a tribute to Beetleman, a tokusatsu character that I do not actually know anything about (I believe he is pretty obscure). The Armored Chaos is neat for two reasons: first, the body and arms are molder in orange vinyl, while the head and armor are molded in grey, something unusual for Real x Head releases, and second, this is the only production Armored Chaos release, and surprisingly easy to find even though he is really quite cool.

That’s it for the original Mutant Zone I/II Chaos mutations, but not all of the Chaos figures, or all of the figures using Chaos parts. I will continue through the series, covering Mutant Zone II next, and then moving to the new Mutant Zone III releases and Chaos Adult figure, where the story gets really interesting!

We're here to discuss the sculpt, but the figure is also one of my first Real x Head customs, in tribute to Tetsujin 28! The third of the original Mutant Zone characters.

Real x Head is a small Japanese vinyl company started and run by Mori Katsura in 2003. Mori’s first figure was the Oni-Head, but he saw much more success with his second figure, the Mutant Head, the start of the iconic Mutant Zone series. The Mutant Head sculpt was borne out of Mori’s love of classic 80’s toys, especially Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Taken from the Super 7 Mook, the Mutants are an invisible race that lives in the forests and mountains in natural harmony, existing outside the realm of human perception. Led by the militaristic Akro-Kaiser, the Mutants dislike humanity because of the damage we do to their natural habitats, and so the Mutants cause accidents and natural disasters to punish us. During an engagement, Mutant Head is injured and loses his ability to stay invisible. Mutant Head is found by a young boy and nursed back to health, showing Head that not all humans are evil. When Mutant Head returns to confront Akro-Kaiser about their aggression towards humanity, a schism erupts within the Mutant world over how to deal with humans, leading to what amounts to a civil war among the Mutants, with the human-defending Mutants being lead by Mutant Head.

Mutant Bigaro is the third Real x Head to use the Mutant head body as a base, as well as the third friendly character in the Mutant Zone Series. Bigaro looks to be a bit of a brute when compared to the previous Mutants, with a stockier look and single eye in a large cavity, similar to a Zaku mono-eye from the Gundam series. Bigaro has visible cracks in his skin, suggesting a thick and rugged hide, to me, as well as a cape on his back. The actual physical design of the figure in making a new character is unlike any other figure in the line (except for one specific case that we’ll get to later), but the idea of creating add-on parts for the Mutant body to create different characters over a single base body is something integral to the Real x Head style and business plan. Instead of using the neck joints already on the Mutant body, the Bigaro head-piece is a cowl that fits over the shoulders and neck of the Mutant body, using a piece of foam in the front and back to keep it safely in place. This is both a blessing and a curse, and I have somewhat mixed feelings about the Bigaro head-piece. Because the head-piece does not actually clip onto any specific mounting point, it has a large range of movement on its shoulder perch, and can be very expressive. At the same time, however, I do not like how the head-piece flops around in your hands while you handle the figure, making the figure feel almost incomplete. As such, I typically relegate my few Bigaros to shelf-duty and leave them alone. Even with this problem, Bigaro is a popular character with many different colorways, and I am a big fan of the design even if I do not care for its actual execution.

The particular figure pictured here is a custom of mine. The stocky and round appearance of Bigaro gave me a classic Gigantor (Tetsujin-28) feel. I painted the cape to look like flames from Tetsujin’s jetpack, and took advantage of a piece of advice Sanjeev gave me on how to give the blue a metallic finish without using a metallic blue paint by over-spraying the blue coat with a thinned down coat of silver. I painted over a beige ‘flesh’ blank, just like the Mutant Evil I reviewed, as can be seen through a number of spots on this figure where the paint has rubbed off… I did not do a good enough job of sealing this figure, and the paint is not well enough protected, especially around where the head-piece rests on the shoulders.

The second of my Real x Head series, Mutant Evil. Despite the name, he's on our side!

Real x Head is a small Japanese vinyl company started and run by Mori Katsura in 2003. Mori’s first figure was the Oni-Head, but he saw much more success with his second figure, the Mutant Head, the start of the iconic Mutant Zone series. The Mutant Head sculpt was borne out of Mori’s love of classic 80’s toys, especially Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Taken from the Super 7 Mook, the Mutants are an invisible race that lives in the forests and mountains in natural harmony, existing outside the realm of human perception. Led by the militaristic Akro-Kaiser, the Mutants dislike humanity because of the damage we do to their natural habitats, and so the Mutants cause accidents and natural disasters to punish us. During an engagement, Mutant Head is injured and loses his ability to stay invisible. Mutant Head is found by a young boy and nursed back to health, showing Head that not all humans are evil. When Mutant Head returns to confront Akro-Kaiser about their aggression towards humanity, a schism erupts within the Mutant world over how to deal with humans, leading to what amounts to a civil war among the Mutants, with the human-defending Mutants being lead by Mutant Head.

Mutant Evil was the second Mutant Zone figure, utilizing the Mutant Head body, but with an all new head sculpt. Despite the name, Mutant Evil fights alongside Mutant Head in the name of protecting humanity from the Mutants that would do us harm. Evil is described as the first completely original design, with the Ninja Turtle vibe still a little bit heavy in the Mutant Head design. Evil retains the same three points of articulation, at the shoulders and neck, as the previous Head, due to their sharing the same body. Evil features a much more detailed head sculpt that Head, complete with fangs and a scar across his left eye. I like to think Mutant Evil is older than Head, and has seen his fair share of scrapes.

The figure pictured here is a beige ‘flesh’ blank figure, ideal for admiring the sculpt on its own merits, or as the base for a custom painted figure. The tradition of beige skin-tone blanks stems from the vintage days, as I understand, where vinyl toy makers typically produced vinyl doll parts as well as monster toys, and would occasionally release monster figures using the beige doll-colored material when it was in excess, due to the exploding popularity of kaiju in the 60’s and 70’s.

The first of my series on Real x Head, documenting each sculpt. Neo-kaiju just in time for Halloween! I'm going to do the first three Mutant Zone characters this week, and then Chaos on Halloween.

Real x Head is a small Japanese vinyl company started and run by Mori Katsura in 2003. Mori’s first figure was the Oni-Head, but he saw much more success with his second figure, the Mutant Head, the start of the iconic Mutant Zone series. The Mutant Head sculpt was borne out of Mori’s love of classic 80’s toys, especially Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Taken from the Super 7 Mook, the Mutants are an invisible race that lives in the forests and mountains in natural harmony, existing outside the realm of human perception. Led by the militaristic Akro-Kaiser, the Mutants dislike humanity because of the damage we do to their natural habitats, and so the Mutants cause accidents and natural disasters to punish us. During an engagement, Mutant Head is injured and loses his ability to stay invisible. Mutant Head is found by a young boy and nursed back to health, showing Head that not all humans are evil. When Mutant Head returns to confront Akro-Kaiser about their aggression towards humanity, a schism erupts within the Mutant world over how to deal with humans, leading to what amounts to a civil war among the Mutants, with the human-defending Mutants being lead by Mutant Head.

The Mutant Head sculpt’s heritage can clearly be traced back to Mori’s love of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, with its round and friendly face, bare chest, and three fingers and toes. The Mohawk, torn shorts, and skull belt buckle provide a little punk flair, and enough originality to make Mutant Head a fun fight figure. All of the Real x Head Mutant Zone figures stand around 5 ½” tall, and the standard Mutant Body, derived from Mutant Head, is articulated at the shoulders and neck. It might not seem like a lot of play value, but the sculpts are loaded with character, feel great in your hands, and can be posed with some serious dramatic flair. The basic Mutant body does not have a ton of detail, but this is intentional, in order to allow a great deal of detail to be filled in with paint work. The myriad and complex colorways on Real x Head figures have been a major contributing factor in Real x Head’s success. The particular figure reviewed here (only because it is currently the only Mutant Head I own) is a tribute figure stylized after Booska, a Japanese mascot character (about which I admittedly do not know much). Real x Head figures are painted by Goto-san, a legend in the Japanese vinyl industry, who has been painting since Bullmark was the dominant name in Japanese vinyl. Booska Head features a large number of sprays including an opaque cream color, a light and translucent black for the spots, all based on a really vibrant orange vinyl. I believe the eyes are hand painted with a brush, but it is also possible they were done with a mask. A companion Mutant Head exists in a similar paint job, but based on a great looking bubblegum pink vinyl.

I know that the modern Japanese vinyl niche is really not for everyone, but if you are at all interested in vinyl toys, kaiju, or classic 80’s action figures, I’d recommend giving a Real x Head figure a try. Mutant Head here is just a taste of what is out there, and I am going to follow-up with the rest of the line, starting first with all the figures based on the standard Mutant body, and then moving into some of the unique-bodied figures and newer original Mutant Zone sculpts. The characters are fun and imaginative, and the seemingly endless colorways make it so that there really is something for everyone within the RxH line. If you like the look of the figures, I’d recommend just getting out there and picking one up, and then if you like it, taking a look at the RxH section in the Super 7 mook, which documents the first few years of RxH.

With a name like that how could I NOT buy it?

I was out with the wife and friends the other night for our anniversary dinner (8 years, thank you very much) and we decided to kill some time in Newbury comics when I spied this little gem.

Diablo the Satanic Chicken.

Think about that for a minute. Let it sink in. Diablo... Satanic... chicken. It is as if this toy was made specifically for me.

When I bought this, I thought it was just a toy. Come to find out it comes from a webcomic. We won't hold it against it.

Right off the bat - Diablo is a Satanic Chicken.

He comes with a bunch of "evil" accessories, including:

A copy of the Necronomicon (1nd Edition)

A Human Skull

Satanic Whoopie cushion

Three pieces of oversized novelty bacon

Now, all of these props could have greater meaning in the context of the web comic, but I'd rather not know. I like the absurdity of the thing, and its affinity for the dark arts.

Diablo himself is 3" tall and suprisingly articulated. The head, wings, and torso all move.

Nowhere is this listed on the packaging, but you can remove Diablo's head, and there is a bloody ring around the neck.

Also not listed is the ability to place the human skull on the chicken body to create and evil undead human-chicken hybrid.

The Necronomicon does not open, nor can Diablo hold it, which is a shame.

I'm pretty sure the novelty bacon is just added in to cash in on the bacon craze, but hey, I love bacon, so I am not complaining.

This toy is just so screwed up it is wonderful. I love it, Satan loves it, and you will love it.

The Satanic Chicken commands it.

Molly comes from the anime "Oban Star Racers", a joint collaboration between a Japanese and French anime studio. The series centers around a competition called the Great Race of Oban, an intergalactic series of races.

Molly comes from the anime "Oban Star Racers", a joint collaboration between a Japanese and French anime studio. The series centers around a competition called the Great Race of Oban, an intergalactic series of races.

The Earth team is led by Don Wei, a cold-hearted team leader who abandoned his daughter at an boarding school years ago after the death of his wife.

That orphan is a girl named Eva. She escapes the boarding school to be with her father, but upon arrival Don Wei does not recognize her. She makes up the name molly and joins the team as a mechanic.

At the beginning of the races, the Earth Team's star race pilot Rick is seriously injured. Molly fills in as the replacement pilot, and from then on is the pilot for the "Whizzing Arrow", the Earth Teams Star Racer. Molly then tries to earn Don Wei's respect, while he has no idea she's actually his daughter.

All of this is framed within the scope of the Great Race of Oban - A contest in which the winner gets one wish - for anything. The Earth wants to use the wish to stop the war, but the real prize is far greater than anyone could imagine.

Oban Star Racers is an amazing series. The story is grand in scope, the characters amazing, the style and art direction uique and remarkable. The look of it reminds me of a mix between Miyazaki and Moebius.

If I had a toy company, I would make toys of this show. I would have promoted it better, because I think this show never got a fair shake. I think it was pushed into obscurity by being on the ABC family JETIX channel, and because of that, it never found the audience it deserved. I would have killed for action figures and vehicles from the show. It's a shame when this show doesn't get toys but shows like Storm Hawks and Code Lyko do.

Thankfully, Muttpop stepped up and made a figure from the series - the titular character - "Molly". So it's not an articulated action figure, but it will have to do.

The box is a nice solid cardboard, but you cannot see the figure inside, which makes impulse purchases difficult. The art and design to it is really top notch.

Fortunately, the sculpt is pretty good. Molly is 7.5" tall and cast in soft vinyl with a bunch of different matte paint applications. The only articulated parts are the head and one fist.

You can tell several of the parts were molded separately and glued on, such as the music player on her hip, or her suspenders that hang low.

Molly's expression is a bit stoic, which I think does her character an injustice. She is full of life and energy, god and bad, and this expression is just kind of "meh". The face has no nose, but that is how the characters are in the show.

Oban Star Racers never found its audience, at least in the US, which makes chances of seeing more characters from this line pretty slim. Muttpop also released other color variants, including a black, pink and yellow version, but none as interesting as the anime-accurate verson.

When I was approached to review this Mallow figure, I had expected the worst. Imagine my surprise. Something really wonderful happened.

You say the phrase "designer toy" or "art toy" around here and people cringe. And rightly so - most of it is overpriced and under-articulated, at least for Japanese toy and action figure collectors. A lot of it is very pretentious and ego centric.

When I saw Shocker toys was getting into this game, I thought to myself - "A day late and a dollar short".

Not only has the designer toy culture burst, but the culture is so focused on name recognition. If KidRobot makes a vinyl, great - if Mattel makes one - corporate sellout.

So when I was approached to review this Mallow figure, I had expected the worst. Imagine my surprise. Something really wonderful happened.

First of all - Mallows are not vinyl at all, but hard ABS plastic. Secondly, they are articulated, with 9 points of articulation. And finally - they are CHEAP! At about 14.00 USD, you can purchase an army of them for the price of one designer figure. It's quite remarkable really.

The toy comes in a cardboard box, with the toy resting in a clear tray. The packaging is suprisingly sturdy.

A blank mallow is just that - totally undecorated. So far they come in black and white, as well as some pre-painted versions.

The joints on this thing are VERY tight. The plastic is high-quality, with no noticeable flaws or seam lines. It's perfect, and durable.

So I was sitting there, playing with it and posing it and I was struck with inspiration.

See, in my other life I fancy myself something of an artist. I've been drawing skulls since junior high, inspired by Pushead and other 80s heavy metal artists. I have drawn on paper all my life, but now...

Inspired by the toy, I ran right out to the craft store and bought some paint markers. I took that Mallow and did what I do best - drew a skull on it. I was giddy with excitement.

It came out great. Sure, i'm not a popular or famous artist, but I created something with the Mallow as a canvas that made me feel like I could be. And without the pretentiousness or risk or ruining an expensive vinyl piece. The Mallow has just the right amount of canvas and a great texture to work on.

If you have ever though of doing your own custom figure, this is a great low-cost way to get into it.

I really thought I wasn't going to like this, and it quickly became one of my favorite pieces. Mallows are available at Shocker Toys

If your only making 300 pieces of a collectible, is it really asking to much to not get a screwed up one?

From what I remember as a child of the 70's (and now as an adult collector today) is that the soft vinyl toy was meant as a inexpensive impulse buy. They would come in a plastic bag with a simple cardboard header card and be cheap good Kaju (in most cases) fun. 30 years later it's evolved into quite the collecting scene. While I “get” the newer renditions of Kaiju monsters in glow and clear styles, this emerging “Art Toy Collectible” thing on the other hand just baffles me. So color me surprised (and interested) when MINDstyle started showing off their prototype of V.I.N.CENT from Disney's film The Black Hole and saying that 300 would be available at San Diego Comic Con 2009.

I love V.I.N.CENT. and the film The Black Hole. I currently had nothing from the film in my collection and wanted an almost 9 inch tall version on my shelf, but the price... $130 dollars. Yikes! For that kind of money, I am used to getting diecast metal and firing fists but friends that are more involved with this kind of collectible assured me that it had some quality paint applications and would be worth the cash. Besides who is doing anything from The Black Hole these days? Nobody. So I figured I would “know” if I wanted it when/if I saw it at SDCC09. So on Preview Night I did find myself passing MINDstyle's booth and there he was looking awfully spectacular but I just couldn't justify spending the money...

Well in the 11th hour on the last day of the Con, Shogunnadia and Shogundan surprised me with the gift of V.I.N.CENT.

The Black Hole is one of those films that made a huge impact on me as a kid and as an adult I think a) the film still holds up pretty well after all of these years and b) completely floors me that it ever got made. It starts as a Star Wars family adventure and ends as abstractly as Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

It's the story of the crew of the space explorer Palomino as it discovers the science vessel Cygnus (reported missing many years earlier) floating of the edge of a Black Hole and their adventure dealing with the Madman/Genius Dr. Hans Reinhart as he plans to take them into the black hole. I am over simplifying the plot a bit and not doing the film real justice. It's a dark, moody and intellectual film that touches on some great sci-fi and philosophical tenants. Honestly it is very un-Disney-like and it may not be everyone's cup of tea. If you haven't seen it you should at least once.

V.I.N.CENT. was R2-D2 and C-3P0 rolled into one and voiced by the talented and often underrated Roddy McDowall. All the robots in the film are aesthetically well designed and characteristically memorable. While most seem to consider the evil Dr. Hans Reinhart's Maximilian their favorite from the series, I was always more of a V.I.N.CENT. guy myself.

MINDstyle went with a vintage style package to accentuate the 30 year anniversary of the movie. It's a thick die cut box with a lid that wraps around the box and a magnetic clasp to keep it closed up. It's a very nice package really but can't help but wonder if they couldn't have saved everyone 30 bucks on the price by just sticking it in a bag with a header card... but then I guess it wouldn't be an “Art Toy Collectible” then would it? Oh well, fancy box goes in the closet with the rest...

Inside, V.I.N.CENT. is wrapped in a plastic bag (like all classic sofubi) and a card from MINDstyle telling me this was number 56/300 in the SDCC09 “distressed edition” run. In the bag is also a small stump or “third-leg” if you will to brace the figure upright. He stands 8 1/2 inches tall and is almost as wide.

The first thing I notice is just how big and heavy it is. For vinyl it sure has some weight to it and can confirm that it indeed hurts when it falls forward off your computer shelf and lands on your head.

Initially the paint detail is fantastic. All the hand done application (75 different hits of paint to be exact according to MINDstyle's blog) is more than excellent but the pad printing on mine is noticeably screwed up. And not just in a little way...

Right on the front of the main body it looks like the pad “slipped” for the designation number markings or they put the piece in the bag before it was dry. I'm thinking the first really. How does someone not catch this while is going through the painting process?

The rest is all good. The sculpt detail is phenomenal and looks exactly like V.I.N.CENT from the movie.

Sadly he does NOTHING. The head doesn't turn, rise or lower. The “legs” or anti-gravity generators do not extend and neither do his laser guns or claws. I guess action features and articulation aren't really expected on a piece like this.

For all their lip service to these being “art” and “collectible” I find it hard to believe that nobody from MINDstyle noticed such an obvious printing error. So whether no one was really paying any attention or they did see it and figured it was good enough, I ended up with a less than perfect piece. If your only making 300 in the run, is it really asking to much to not get a screwed up one? It just seems to reinforce my take on the whole “designer/vinyl scene” and leaves a bad taste in my mouth... “You'll take what we sell you and like it!”

With that said, I do love having an almost 9 inch tall likeness of one of my favorite robots of my childhood added to the shelves. A regular edition appears to be due in September for the low, low price of $149.99. I'm really not convinced it's worth that asking price.