Syroco stands for the Syracuse Ornamental Company, founded just before the turn of the 20th century. Known for producing wood ornamental pieces through a molding process, when the style of furniture and decorations shifted to the less ornate in the 40's, they shifted to producing wooden figures, corkscrews and other novelties. They used the same process of mass producing original wood carvings with a mixture of wood floor, resin and wax.

They did a number of cartoon characters, including a variety of licensed figures like Superman. These pressed wood figures are popular with collectors today, and Dark Horse has been producing a series of characters stylized to appear as these did back in the day. Everyone from Beetle Bailey to Little Orphan Annie has gotten the treatment, and they decided to apply this old world look to Our Favorite Family.

I haven't heard of any additional statues planned, but I have hopes for a Mr. Burns at least. These run around $40 each, depending on the retailer, and I have some suggestions at the end of the review. While that seems expensive, these are also very limited, with just 550 produced of each.

Packaging - ****
I love these packages! They are metal boxes with lithograph style artwork of the various characters. Nothing old school about the quality or the style here! Inside is an upper and lower protective foam tray, as well as an upper and lower plastic tray. They look terrific, and are likely to be as collectible long term as the figure itself. They are also completely collector friendly, and look great displayed on the shelf behind the statues. What more could you want?

Sculpting - ***1/2
This is a style you'll either love or hate - falling in between isn't likely.

They've grown on me, and the quirky look is in contrast to the smooth appearance of action figures and statues that we've gotten before. They've gone for that rough hewn look, accented by the paint work, that reminds me of folk art.

The base has the name of each character carved in the front, done in a rough style as well. These look like something your kid might have made for you in elementary school, if your kid was an art prodigy.

These are similar in size to some action figure series, with the adults running about 5" tall. Unlike World of Springfield though, the kids are a bit better scaled to the adults.

I got a pretty good price on Bart, only to find that his wrist was broken. I'll be getting back in contact with the retailer, and hopefully they can replace him for me. Perhaps the thin arm on the Bart statue is an indication that he'll be a hard one to find 10 years down the road.

Paint - ***
The dirty brown wash is designed to give these the same appearance their non-resin pressed wood ancestors had. I wasn't a big fan with just Homer, but I have to admit that after picking up several and displaying them together, I like the overall appearance quite a bit more.

Still, there's some slop that shouldn't be here, particularly with some of the cut lines. Yea, they aren't supposed to be perfect, I get it, but at $40 I still have a certain expectation of quality.

Articulation - Bupkis
Nope, they're statues. No articulation, nothing comes apart.

Accessories - **1/2
While these are statues, they actually come with some extras.

There's a character pin back button, about a inch across. These are about the quality you'd expect for a normal pin back button, and while they are fairly simple, they'll look good on a cap.

There's also a small paper booklet with some background info on the character and the Simpsons. I'm not a huge fan of paper extras, but I won't throw these out.

Fun Factor - *1/2
These aren't intended as toys, or action figures. They break - just look at Bart! - and no kid is going to find them all that amusing. They're definitely for collectors, particularly the psycho Simpsons collector.

Value - **
At $40 or so a pop, these are damn expensive. The limited nature is a plus, and I suspect that then years from they'll be might scarce. Still, if you keep your eyes peeled you can find a deal on these now.

Things to Watch Out For -
While these might look like pressed wood, they are definitely resin. Don't drop them!

Overall - ***
These are most definitely not for everyone. These are like art - you'll either like them, or you won't. If they are your thing, then it's good to know the quality you're getting, but if they aren't you're thing, then it's best just to move along - nothing to see here.

The style has grown on me over time, and I have to admit that when I first got Homer, i wasn't sure that these were something I needed to add to the Simpsons shelf. Now with just Lisa to go, I'm glad I've stuck with it and picked them up. Krusty and CBG are the winners of the series, but that's largely because we get so much less product with these two guys.

Score Recap:
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - Bupkis
Accessories - **1/2
Fun Factor - *1/2
Value - **
Overall - ***

Where to Buy -
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Big Bad Toy Store has them for about $40 each.

- Things From Another World has them for around $45 each.

- Entertainment Earth has them at $50 each.

- or you can search ebay.

Related Links -
I checked out the first release, Homer, back when he first hit.

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