Saturday, August 4, 2012

Review: Boba Fett Blox!

Some of my favourite items in my Star Wars collection are the oddities - the twisted, bizarre, bootleg, or super-deformed versions of our favourite characters from a galaxy far away. And why not shake it up a little bit? Visual artists frequently create their own stylised interpretations of  Luke, Han, Chewie and the gang, so why not carry that aesthetic across to toys? We've already had decades of screen accurate characters, so I welcome any product that tries something different.

We've already taken a look at Funko's Pop Vinyl bobblehead figures but they also have released a range of larger, wafer-thin, stylised vinyl figures called Blox. Thanks to our very own Jacinta, I now own Boba Fett. Check him out...


This may almost be a case of what-you-see-is-what-you-get but join me after the jump and we'll break him out and show a few more images...



The back of the box shows two other figures from the Star Wars line, namely Vader and a Stormtrooper...


And yet interestingly this is number 24. I have a feeling that the numbering covers all of their available Blox licenses. I know they've done a Batman and a Joker, and I believe they've done some cereal monsters like Frankenberry and Count Chocula. A quick Google search also reveals Mars Attacks and KISS. So an eclectic line at best, and considering how many franchises they've covered with their Pop Vinyl line, I'd say they have plenty of room to grow.

So we free him from his ironic carbonite-esque prison and here he is in all of his near-two-dimensional bounty hunting glory...


The biggest surprise for me here is that he's actually a bobblehead as opposed to a single piece figure. There's a big old dangerous spring in his neck and the slightest touch will send him into an enthusiastic fit. I don't know if the other Blox figures are also bobbleheads, or if this is exclusive to the Star Wars license (you may recall that the Dark Knight Rises and Muppet Pop Vinyl were solid figures, unlike their perpetually nodding Star Wars counterparts).

The other thing of note is that he's large and heavy. There's a rug under my photo tent and he is sinking deep into it from his weight. 

I also really love the art style here. I think he's a really appealing figure, although they're too big to collect a ton of them. I think most people will just pick out their favourite. Boba Fett is a great choice in that regard, definitely the one I would have gone for.

Here's something you haven't seen! His back!


And to give you an idea of how thin these are...


Pretty thin indeed! Which is actually great for display because you can put them at the back of a shelf very easily with a lot of smaller figures in front of them. I like that they included the little tauntaun skull on his shoulder too. Nice little detail that they probably could have gotten away with skipping.

So overall, yes, I approve! He's fun! I'm a total sucker for vinyl figures in general. Got to love the oddities!

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