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.

Maximillian! The time has come to liquidate our guests.

"Maximillian! The time has come to liquidate our guests."

With that line, a chill went up my spine. I was 6 years old, and I met my first evil robot.

Maximillian comes from the 1979 Disney movie "The Black Hole". This movie was like nothing made before it, and in my opinion, nothing made after it. It was one of the first movies to use computer animation (in the opening sequences), and an odd choice for a Disney movie.

See, Star Wars had just exploded on the American psyche, and every studio began looking for their "Star Wars" movie. It began a golden era for Sci-Fi, and studio executives greenlighted a ton of projects without looking too-closely at the scripts. Although The Black Hole was in production as early as 1975, the influence of Star Wars on it can clearly be seen.

The Black Hole was a movie that on the surface was made for kids, but below the veneer was a dark and twisted movie. There was no comedy. There were tortured souls, lost in space, images of heaven and hell, and graphic murder.

In the movie, the crew of the Palomino are on an exploratory mission when they encounter the lost ship, the Cygnus, sitting at the edge of a black hole. They find the ship abandoned, aside from its captain, Doctor Hans Reinhart, and his crew of robot helpers.

Doctor Reinhart plans to go through the Black Hole. He claims his crew revolted and left the ship, leaving the Doctor alone to build his robotic companions. Doctor Reinhard, along with his companion, the robot Maximillian, make preparations to send the Cygnus into the black hole...

*SPOILER ALERT*

Of course, all those robots were the crew, and Doctor Reinhart was insane. He killed the whole crew and turned them into cyborg zombies. Once the crew of the Palomino figure out what he is up to, the Doctor orders Maximillian to kill the visiting crew.

Maximillian is "de-activated" with a duel with the robot V.I.N.CENT, and falls into the black hole. There, in a sequence that defies description, Doctor Reinhart's "soul" is trapped inside of Maximillian's shell, in HELL, while the remainders of the Palomino crew speed through the black hole, through HEAVEN, and end up on the other side of the universe.

THAT IS A DISNEY MOVIE.

Imagine what did to my mind in 1979.

So yeah, there were toys of the characters from the movie. They were made by MEGO in the now standard 3 3/4 size, and for the most part, they were terrible. The human figures were atrocious, and the robot figures only marginally better. The best of the line were Maximillian, V.I.N.CENT and Old B.O.B..

Mego Black Hole Commercial

Unfortunately though, the best wasn't very good. Maximillian is made out of hard plastic and has only 3 points of articulation. The head turns, and so do each chrome arm. Oh and the leg flaps move, if you want to call it articulation. The color of the figure is all wrong from the character, and it requires a clear stand (not shown) for the toy to be displayed properly. The card for this figure was the same as all the other cards, with a sticker to differentiate the toy.

Its not that great, but it is all Black Hole fans had for a while, not counting the model kit or the italian Gig magnetic toys. In 2004, Medicom released a Maximillian Kubrick that is more accurate to the design shown in the movie.

Oh, and I would have given anything for this RC V.I.N.CENT (only a prototype was ever made)

Maximillian comes from the Disney live action movie The Black Hole. It is part of Medicom's Disney Characters Series 6 Kubricks.

Kubricks are small toys based around a common block frame. Maximillian doesn't look like a Kubrick at first, but separate the halves and you will notice a Kubrick upper torso inside. He's about 3" tall, and comes with a clear stand.

Maximillian's head and arms rotate, and the legs pivot on hinges. Some assembly is required.

Old B.O.B. comes from the 1979 Disney movie "The Black Hole". Bob is one of the last service robots left on the U.S.S. Cygnus, a spaceship from earth. Voiced by Slim Pickens, Old Bob helps the heroes escape from Dr. Hans Reinhardt, who is bent on traveling through a Black Hole.

Medicom Toys of Japan released Old B.O.B. as part of it's Disney Kubrick line. He comes from series 5, and you have an 8% chance of getting him (The boxes are not marked as to which figure is inside.). Disney introduced a Maximillian figure in wave 6, so we can only hope for a V.I.N.CENT. in wave 7. these are the first new Black Hole toys since the Mego toys from the 80s.

Kubricks are blocky little action figures, all based off of the same body style. What makes Old Bob a Kubrick? Well, if you remove his top, there is a Kubrick chest piece inside. Check out a picture here.

Old Bob comes packed in a small box, wrapped in plastic, His only accessory is the clear stand, and you have to assemble his one leg. He has virtually no articulation, save for his rotating head. It's a beautiful sculpt, although a little cleaner than he looks in the movie.