Packaging - ***
I believe the word 'minimalist' applies nicely here. There's not
much to the packaging, but there doesn't need to be. The toy speaks
for itself, and by only placing a box around the base, they give you
complete freedom to try it out in the store.
Sculpting - ***
It's Krusty - not a perfect Krusty, but a passable one. It's
hard to completely mess up cartoon characters, with the less detail that's
natural to the medium. But this sculpt only gets is close enough to
keep you satisfied, without reaching perfection.
The head may appear small,
but that's due to the style of toy. Scale isn't really the goal
here, and the cloth body and hands are baggy and oversized, making the
head appear incorrect. This type of toy is supposed to have that
sort of cartoonish appearance, even for a cartoon character.
Paint - Face **1/2, Tin
****
I'm giving two scores here, since the paint work and methods on the head
of Krusty and the tin box itself are very different.
Krusty's head and face have a
bit of slop, with some gloppy spots (that's a technical term!) and less
than perfect lines between the colors. The paint is fairly thick
too, and overall his face is again acceptable, but less than perfect.
Now the tin - wow! I've
always love lithographed tin, and I'm continuously amazed at how wonderful
it can look when done right. The colors are bright and vibrant, the
details terrific, and there's no doubt about the high quality.
Jack in the Box Feature - ***
I've heard of some folks having problems with the mechanical feature of
the box. Either the lid wouldn't stay shut or the the mechanism
wasn't working well.
I'm happy to say that mine
has no problems at all. The box stays shut without any effort, and
Krusty pops up cleanly every time.
The only issue I have here is
the song. They play 'Pop Goes the Weasel', the standard Jack-in-the-
box tune. I think they missed a great opportunity where they could
have used something more associated with the show.
Value - **1/2
This is a tough call - tin toys aren't cheap. But at $20-$25 I think
we're a little too high. If you can find him for under $20, this
score would go up.
Overall - ***
Krusty is a solid three. If they'd given us a more imaginative
tune, or the price was another 20% lower, they score could have
improved. Still, he's a neat item for any Simpsons collection, and
I'm glad I picked one up.
Where to buy -
I've seen these at Media Play stores so far, for about $25 each.
On-line options:
- The best price I found was
at Comics Infinity, for $19.55
plus shipping. Customer service is always tops with them as well!
Look under the New Toys, Simpsons section.
- Warped
Evolution has a terrific price at $20 plus shipping. I've never
ordered from them, but the owner is a regular at the Simpsons Collector
Sector.
- Grants
Toys is where I picked up mine. They have the for $25 plus
shipping, and I've always gotten great customer service.
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