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Disney Cosbaby vinyl figures
Hot Toys
"The
following is a guest review. The review
and photos do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Michael Crawford
or Michael's Review of the Week, and are the opinion and work of the
guest author."
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Jeff checks in tonight with a
look some more of those damn adorable Cosbaby figures - this time it's Disney! What's the scoop, Jeff?
Thank you as always to Michael.
The Cosbaby look and indeed the
whole ‘product idea’ is not for everyone, but it’s an aesthetic that
lends itself more to some licences than others. Well, ultimately they
all end up looking cute, and some look cuter than others, but sometimes
they end up looking uber cute, and this set pull that off effortlessly.
We already had a Disney set of Cosbaby figures a couple of years ago.
They were released to coincide with the Chinese Olympics and were dressed in traditional Chinese gowns to mark the year of the rat… sorry, mouse!
It
was a nice set but the unusual outfits made them less than instantly
recognisable, well I say that Mickey’s ears are so iconic, as are the
silhouettes of all the main Disney stars that we knew who they were,
but the outfits made us wonder why they were wearing them.
This time
around they come just as Unky Walt intended, and the special edition
set have just a little Christmas spice thrown in for good measure.
So,
if you are die hard Disneyphile do you really need these for your
collection, Oh, I think so… well, at least your favourite character
anyway!
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Packaging
- Main set *** Christmas set ***1/2
The
standard set of figures come blind packaged in bright red boxes.
There’s a line of silhouettes of the figures on the front and various
smaller pics of the figures over the rest of the box. Inside the
figures are held in small plastic trays like with the recent Iron Man 2
set. The Christmas set comes boxed like the Goemon 2 packs, so we get a
big front window through which you can clearly see the two figures. The
package is then Christmassed up to the max with red tartan, golden bows
and the whole shebang. Inside both figures are held secure by a double
vac formed tray.
So, not packaging that will get you too excited,
but it’s colourful, robust and relatively space efficient, so there’s
not much to grumble about either!
Sculpting
- ***1/2
These
are exactly what you expect them to be, meaning that the chosen
characters are taken and simply Cosbabied up. So we get the little
oblong bodies, simple arms and legs and huge ol’noggins! The selection
for the standard set here is-
1- Mickey
2- Minnie
3- Donald
4- Goofy
5- Stitch
6- Pinocchio
And the limited chase figure is….
7- Pinocchio, after telling a porky (his nose is long and has leaves sprouting from it)
The Christmas set has Mickey and Donald, both in Santa outfits.
The
sculpting is all first class and gives them the classic Cosbaby style
without deviating too far from the traditional look of the characters.
The outfits are pared down to their basic ‘cuboid’ body forms, apart
from Donald who keeps his poofy ass. Everyone will have a favourite,
and for me it’s Stitch. Like a lot of people of a certain age, once you
have kids you kind of rediscover the Disney films through them, and
when one becomes the favourite of your little ray of sunshine it can
end up on a constant watch and re-watch loop… it can get pretty…
annoying!
But Lilo & Stitch (and ‘most’ of the subsequent
sequels) still remain constant perennials in our household. And I have
to admit to the cardinal sin of not actually being ‘that’ into Mickey
Mouse. Don’t get me wrong I always enjoyed the toons when I was a
nipper, but I don’t really feel any connection with the characters.
Give me Bugs and Daffy over Mickey and Donald any day of the week.
There
are still lots of sweet details to admire here and Mickey and Minnie
even have delicate little tails sticking out behind. The chase figure
of Pinocchio is cute, as not only have they made his nose bigger but
they have changed his expression too, from happy to sad. As much as I
love the extra Pinocchio, I have to admit I was secretly hoping we
would get an angry Stitch with fangs bared, in his space suit with an
extra set of arms, but c’est la vie!
Ultimately these are just
what you expect, a very cute little set of figures that deserve to do
well. But I guess having the Disney logo on the box usually pretty much
ensures that, so go get em while ya can!!
Paint
-
***
There are
actually some sweet details picked out on these, nothing ground
breaking but nicely observed nonetheless. Things like the joints on
Pinocchio’s arms are carefully painted in (probably mechanically, but
even so!) all the colours are bright with good depth and the division
lines are crisp, neat and well applied. Not much more than that to
report really, other than the quality is very solid for pocket money
toys.
Outfit
- N/A
All the clothing is sculpted, apart from Stitch who’s butt naked!
Articulation
- ***
These
have exactly the same articulation as every other set of Cosbaby
figures. That means we get tiny ball and cup joints at the neck,
shoulders, hips and ankles and little peg joints at the wrists. They’re
not the most articulated figures on the planet, but there’s enough
movement there to get some cute poses, and my youngest daughter has
enjoyed playing with them, so they obviously did something right!
Accessories
- N/A
I guess
you could call Pinocchio’s hat an accessory as it’s removable, but it’s
also pretty essential to his final look, so I’m giving them the same
ranking, i.e Not applicable!
Value
- ***1/2
Sideshow
has them up for $8.99 each, but no mention of the Pinocchio variant,
maybe they pack him at random for people ordering the standard
Pinocchio… either that or there’s a warehouse somewhere full of all the
rare chase variant Cosbaby figures Sideshow have ever received,
probably to be auctioned off for the pension fund, yeah, that’ll be it!
Anyway,
back to the matter at hand. At $9 a pop these seem like a sweet pocket
money priced deal to me. You get exactly what you see, and the quality
and paint app seem well above the average for a $9 toy. Not the deal of
the century but on the whole they’re good value for money, and they
might even prove to be a shrewd investment… who knows?
Fun
Factor - ***
As I said, my youngest daughter (6) enjoyed
playing with them, but really they more intended as collectibles for
your shelf. As such they are a fun item, and the fact thy have some
articulation raises them a modicum above the usual little plastic
statues that Disney put out.
Overall
- ***1/2
Each one
represents the character well and the details are nicely observed, the
price point is affordable and the selection of figures is a nice
opening choice, leaving the doors open for countless other sets should
the demand be there. The quality is
consistent throughout and the new packaging innovation of the tiny
vac-formed tray means they are even more likely than ever to arrive in
A1 condition. Highly recommended as either a cute addition to your own
desk or as an unusual gift to the Disneyphile in your life.
Where
to Buy -
Sideshow has them for $8.99 each or you try Michael’s sponsors Big Bad Toystore who are selling them for $9.99. Alternatively many traders are also selling them on eBay.
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This product was provided free for the review by the manufacturer.
Photos and text by Jeff Parker.
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