Designer toys are collectables made in limited runs by artists around the world. Most of the time they're made of vinyl, but according to wikipedia they've used everything from wood to metal to resin. Wikipedia also mentions that "plush" toys (aka 'stuffed animals') fall into the designer toy category as well. However, my interest mainly is focused within the "blind box" vinyl toy category of this. I (obviously) enjoy collecting things - TMNT as a child, Pokemon as a youth, video games as a teen and adult - so these toys have always appealed to me. They come boxed at random from a pool of possible figures in each series. The picture of this box will describe it much better than I can.
As you can see, this is a series of 12 figures, each with different odds of the package containing that figure. The figures in black with the question marks are called "chase" figures. The odds of finding them aren't made explicitly clear, but they're the rarest to find from the set.
I finally broke down and bought one of these which is treading dangerous waters for me. I tend to get a bit carried away with collecting stuff, and at $10 each these gambles aren't exactly cheap. Fortunately I don't have a store nearby where I can impulse buy them, so I'm somewhat safe. I really love Futurama, and I needed additional content for the blog, and truth be told I've always kinda wanted to get into this hobby.
My box arrived this morning from the internet, and I was pretty excited to open it. Of the series, the only figure I'm not really a fan of is Mom (but if I want to try to catch 'em all I'll need her anyway...) so it didn't really matter which one I got. Inside the box (which is sealed with a sticker and glue at both ends) is a foil package. Apparently there were people actually scanning these boxes with xrays or something to decide if they were worth keeping or not (no kidding) so they had to switch to these foil pouches. I felt the bag before I opened it to see if I could guess which figure I'd be getting...
I guessed correctly by the way. Nibbler! Who doesn't love Nibbler!? While I was hoping for Bender (or one of the more rare ones of course) I can never feign disinterest in good ole Nibbler. He also came with a few accessories - his cape (his head comes off to allow for it to go on), his food dish, and a whole chicken. The detail and quality of this is pretty superb, and I have to admit I enjoyed the excitement of opening the package. I've found a few online communities that have active trading message boards, so my fear of eventually getting doubles is reduced. There is also a Simpsons series (as well as a Treehouse of Horrors sub-series) that I'd be interested in...and a lot of people are requesting Adventure Time. I'd probably spend a bit too much money on Adventure Time.
I enjoyed getting this quite a bit, so I've decided that each paycheck (every other week) I'll be purchasing one of these boxes. It won't always be Futurama (although my first few definitely will be), so you'll get to see a variety of what is available from Kidrobot.
Stick around for more (future posts will be shorter, probably just a few words and a picture) and remember to FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK! :]
No comments:
Post a Comment