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Michael Jackson Thriller Cosbaby Figures
By Hot Toys

Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures

   "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."

While we patiently wait for the release of the exceptional looking Michael Jackson Thriller sixth scale figure from Hot Toys, Jeff Parker is here to tide us over with a look at their Cosbaby release - tell us all about them, Jeff!

Last year Hot Toys entered into what was to be a series of Michael Jackson related goodies, intended to celebrate his career both past, present and hopefully future. I’m sure we would have had an O2 concert figure had things turned out differently, but sadly, as I’m sure you already know, unless you have been living at the bottom of a very deep well, on another planet with your mobile switched off… In which case ‘brace yourself’, as on the 25th of June Michael Jackson passed away after suffering a heart attack.

We’ve already had the MJ figure from the Billie Jean tour, and seen the recent announcement of a Thriller figure with two alternate heads and costumes (expect this to sell faster than Ice pops on Tatooine!).  And now we have the Cosbaby set, these were announced and indeed released before the sad news of Jackson’s death and they’re are a pretty diverse collection, showing many of his most iconic outfits in that inimitable Cosbaby style!
Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures

Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures
Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures
Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures
Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures
Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures
Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures
Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures
Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figuresThriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures
Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures

Packaging - **1/2
As is always the case with Cosbaby figures, they come blind boxed (well, at least they do for the Asian markets, the recently imported Batman set sold by DC Direct came on a blister-card). However in a move that kind of defeats the object of this practice most retailers and e-tailers will sell them by individual design rather than ‘chance’, and lets face it, if you want a complete set, getting them blind boxed can be pretty vexing… I remember getting some of the old Konami ALIEN figures this way from Forbidden Planet in London! Again continuing the Cosbaby trend there are six official figures in the line plus a short-packed chase figure, on this occasion there is also a second chase figure made only for the Japanese market featuring MJ in his college jacket

So, the selection is-
1- Billie Jean
2- History
3- Black or White
4- Moonwalker
5- Thriller (regular version)
6- Thriller (werewolf version)
7- Thriller (zombie), Chase figure
8- Thriller (college jacket), Japan exclusive, not featured in this review.

Hot Toys carry on the tried and tested formula of an oblong cardboard box with the polly-bagged figure inside, so not the most exciting packaging you will receive this year, but it does a fair job of protecting the little critter inside!

Sculpting - ***1/2
As I’ve said in all my other Cosbaby reviews, these are not intended to actually look facially like their designated character/person. No, they are more intended to capture something of their essence, whilst looking like a toddler dressed up in a cosplay outfit… so here we have a bunch of kids at a Michael Jackson themed party (I think we can expect a lot of ‘Thriller’ zombies this Halloween).

All the faces are identical, differing only in paint app, they have slightly better defined noses than all the human Cosbaby figures that came before (but to be fair, MJ has had a few noses to choose from), these have more of a slope and point rather than the usual ‘button’. 

The seven figures come with one of two hairstyles, the three ‘Thriller’ versions have the same style which is slightly shorter, but still with tons of fine detail on the tufts at the front and curls at the back. Whilst all the others have a slightly longer style with the straggly strands hanging over the right eye and a ponytail at the back.

As far as the outfits go, many of the defining details are picked out by the differing colour schemes. The three Thriller figures have identical sculpts as do the ‘Black or White’ and ‘Billie Jean’ versions, the ‘Moonwalker is almost the same as these but with added jacket lapels. The most distinct one is the ‘History’ figure, as he comes with the elaborate and ornate golden body harness and also a pair of shades as an accessory. He is not however the only one to come with an accessory, as both the Moonwalker and Billie Jean figures both come with hats, these are identical to each other in sculpt but again have different paint jobs.
So, basically your Cosbaby sculpts are what they are, and that is a very cute stylised cartoon character embodying the essence of their subject matter, so with that being the case these pretty much answer the brief perfectly…as always!

Paint - ***1/2
When looking at the photos it’s worth keeping in mind that they only stand about 3 inches tall, but they still manage some pretty impressive apps and crisp division lines. As I said above the three Thriller versions are identical in sculpt so all the differences are applied in paint. The classic and werewolf are the same apart from the eyes, whereas the zombie has dirtied up clothes and different app on the face with dark rings around the grey eyes and scars on the cheeks. All the others have different details that are variations on a theme, with a sparkly jacket here and a smart white tux there, but all without exception are carried out expertly.

Articulation  - ***
A Cosbaby is not a super articulated figure, but it doesn’t claim to be. These are small affordable collectibles from the same camp as Kubrick's and Mez-itz so you get some simple ball jointed ‘pop-on’ legs arms and necks, just enough to inject a little personality when you pose them, which is kind of all you need! Plus, with a small blob of Blu-Tack you can even get the classic Moonwalker dance pose and get the figure to lean right over… but as I said, don’t forget the Blu-Tack!

I did find some joints were tighter than others and even needed a little gentle manipulation to free them up, whilst others were more on the loose side. There didn’t seem to be any real pattern to this, and I still managed to get all 7 of mine to stand just fine.

Accessories - **1/2
As stated above only the Moonwalker, Billie Jean and History figures come with an accessory, so for all the others it’s a big zilcharoonie!

Both the hats fit well in as much as they sit well on the head, they do not however grip it tightly, so it’s definitely a pop on the head and display item rather than a plaything… but I think we’ve always known that!

The tiny shades that come with the History figure seem to have been primarily designed to be held in his hands (that’s how they were shown in the promo pics), however by lifting the hair strands and slipping the glasses under I got mine to stay on the face just fine. The paint on the accessories is simple but solid as well, the Billie Jean hat is plain black whilst the Moonwalker one is white with a black band and finally the shades are a glossy black with gold edging.

Fun Factor -  ****
Look at them, how could you give them anything other than a full score?

I’m pretty certain I’ve given every Cosbaby set I own a full score, and these definitely deserve to follow that trend. I’m sure these will be popular with your growing ranks of Cosbaby completeists, not to mention your average MJ fans, and lets face it there are a quite a few out there! So in this present climate of manic memorabilia purchasing, I think it’s obvious that this is the set that will just go crazy in price on the secondary market, sha’mon, get 'em while ya can!

Value - ***1/2
Cosbabys aren’t generally that expensive, but recent events have seen these jump in price dramatically already!
When these were first put up for pre-order on eBay they were between $8 to $10 each with sets of 7 going for around $70, but now you can’t find them on eBay for under $20 each, with some traders asking for $50 to $70 for the rarer chase figures alone. So my score is based on that pre-order price which I thought was pretty fair, however if you are paying these new ‘skyrocketed’ prices, due to Michaels sad demise, then it really is up to the individual on how much they mean to you, and how high you are comfortable paying.

Overall - ***1/2
Once again, like with many of the other Cosbaby sets I came very close to giving these a full score, and I’m sure there are many hardcore MJ fans out there who would do so at the drop of a hat!

So for me, the only thing holding these back is price, which as I said I thought was fair, but certainly not a bargain. The other thing is the lack of accessories… you could ask ‘well what else can you give them?’, and perhaps you are right, but even a little mic stand would have been cool.
If recent events hadn’t transpired, then these would have been a fun collectible for your general MJ fan to buy and put on their desk, however with the way these things are going up in price it would now seem they will only end up in the hands of his most devout Jackson fans or Cosbaby completeists, which is kind of a shame, as they deserve a bigger, and dare I say more casual audience!

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

Where to Buy -
For some reason I’m having trouble finding these available in either the US or UK, so I’m guessing for whatever licensing reasons these were intended for the Asian markets only. The problem being they have come out at a time when anything to do with Michael Jackson is in very high demand, so all I can say is trawl eBay and hope for one of those rarest of things… a bargain!
Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures
Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures
Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures
Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures
Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures
Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures

Thriller Michael Jackson Cosbaby action figures


Figures from the collection of Jeff Parker

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