The Good: Cute, Well-made, Decent rendering, Collectible value
The Bad: Does not stand, Comparatively expensive, Not in scale
The Basics: A super cute plush of Ludo from Labyrinth, the Toy Vault 8" plush Ludo is worth picking up, even if it is far from perfect!
Yesterday was my wife’s 25th birthday and as a concept giftgiving experience, I gave her twenty-five gifts. It was quite an undertaking and a few of the gifts had to be reworked for time or budget reasons. So, when I was planning the whole event, I was looking for gifts that would illustrate my understanding of my wife, her dreams, and the things she likes, in addition to getting her things I knew she wanted. For most of her life, her favorite movie has been Labyrinth (reviewed here!) and given that a few years ago I had a successful gift in getting her the Toy Vault plush Worm (reviewed here!), when I stumbled upon the follow-up plush Ludo, I knew it would be perfect for my wife’s birthday celebration.
It was. It was one of the few items I picked up for her that she did not even know existed and given how she already placed it in a prominent position in our bedroom, I think I hit the mark. The amusing thing about the two plush outings from Toy Vault is that Ludo is very small and The Worm is very big, which is the opposite of how their characters appear in the film Labyrinth! The Worm is at about 2:1 scale and Ludo is about 1:8 scale! Regardless, this is a fun little plush that is sure to amuse fans of Labyrinth!
The 8" plush Ludo toy is made and sold through Toy Vault. I have only found this collectible plush online, so I know that they were not massively produced and remain a highly sought-after toy for those fans who actually know they exist!
Basics
Toy Vault makes plush toys based on various characters from various media and Ludo is only the second product by them I have bought. This stuffed toys are designed to look cute and resemble the character of Ludo from Labyrinth and it lives up quite well, despite not having shaddy fur and being much, much smaller than the character seen in the film. Ludo from Labyrinth is a brown and orange colored beast with descending horns sticking out of the sides of its head and a perpetual frown coming from his severe underbite. Ludo has small round plastic marble-like eyes that are glossy and are mounted on unfortunately cheap looking felt pieces that serve as his eye sockets.
The stuffed toy is, appropriately, a biped, but it is virtually impossible to get this 8” tall guy to actually stand on his two feet. Still, Toy Works made an obvious effort to get the shape and detailing of Ludo right. He has three distinct fingers on each hand and three toes on each foot (sewn to segregate the toes as opposed to cut that way like the fingers) and his big floppy ears and horns are quite cute. Ludo’s face is smoother felt while the main body, arms and legs are furry, so he looks (mostly) like the picture on the big cardboard tag.
Fans of Labyrinth are bound to be amused by the cute factor this plus has, even if the face is far less of a realistic rendering of the character than The Worm was. Ludo from Toy Works is composed primarily of polyester fibers..
Accessories
Ludo, given that he is based upon a cute life-sized costume or puppet from an early 1980’s fantasy movie, does not have much that he could be accessorized with. He comes with just his tag that tells those unfamiliar with the toy what he is.
Playability
Ludo is not much for play, especially considering he does not stand up on his own. Outside the small, hard eyes, this is a kid-safe toy. Small children will not be able to get their mouth around the eyes and older fans will not want to try. Ideally, this works just fine as a display piece, prop or something to hug from the Labyrinth (whatwith David Bowie not being readily available)!
Collectibility
Tow Works toys are much more limited than plush toys from major manufacturers. Ludo has never been widely available (many fans do not yet know he exists!), so his price is already going up. Given Toy Vault’s history of producing limited toys, getting Ludo now while he is less expensive is better than paying the eventual collectible prices.
Overview
Ludo is very cute and right now is pretty affordable. The danger of this little guy, however is that fans will start demanding a life-sized Ludo and one can only imagine how expensive that would be! For now and for those of us perpetually on a budget, the 8” Ludo is a fun way to accessorize one’s Labyrinth collection!
For other plush toys, please check out my reviews of:
Invader Zim Germy Gir Plush
Banpresto Koopa Troopa from Super Mario Brothers
Sore Throat Giant Microbes
6.5/10
For other toy reviews, please check out my index page on the subject for an organized listing!
© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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