Wednesday, December 2, 2015

A Wonderful Foil To Last Year's Ornament, The 2015 Heat Miser Ornament Succeeds!


The Good: Decent sculpted details, Glitter, Coloring details, Decent balance
The Bad: No sound chip/feature, Noticeable seams
The Basics: The 2015 "Heat Miser" ornament from The Year Without Santa Claus is decent, even though it looks like it was assembled.


Last year, one of the surprises to hit my wife's Hallmark ornament want list was the Snow Miser (reviewed here!) from The Year Without Santa Claus. In our six years together, she had never expressed a desire to watch any holiday programs with me, but apparently, she has a strong attraction to that particular holiday special. Her enthusiasm with last year's ornament from the special extended to this year and the new Heat Miser ornament.

For those unfamiliar with The Year Without Santa Claus, Heat Miser was one of two weather-controlling brothers who was part of manipulating Christmas. Mother Nature convinces the Heat Miser to stop ruining Christmas. It is Heat Miser, flamelike hair and fire in the palm of his hand, that is the subject of this year’s The Year Without Santa Claus ornament!

Ken Crow did a detailed and accurate sculpt of the Heat Miser and the ornament was affordable and cute at the original issue price of $14.95, even without any sort of sound or light function!

Basics

The "Heat Miser" ornament recreates Heat Miser as he appeared in The Year Without Santa Claus, though not in any iconic moment I recognize. The ornament, released in 2015, is an entirely accurate sculpt of Heat Miser with fine detailing on the hair, teeth peeking out from his cockeyed smile and pointed toed shoes, reminiscent of an elf's. The subject of the ornament was an animated (or Claymation-style stop animation) one and Ken Crow captured the whimsy and originality of the character’s design. Measuring two and three-quarters inches tall by 1 1/2” wide by 1 1/2" deep, the "Heat Miser" ornament is on-scale with most of the other character ornaments Hallmark offers, though it is smaller than the Snow Miser. As well, it is one of the more affordable Hallmark Keepsake ornaments at only $14.95.

The Hallmark "Heat Miser" ornament is made of durable, opaque plastic and has the character Heat Miser, standing with a scowl on his face and a little flame in his right palm. The Heat Miser’s nose is right red and a monotone color that lacks any depth and shading. This ornament is augmented by glitter on the pants and shirt that might suggest he is sparking. All other elements of the Heat Miser ornament are clean and clearly rendered in simple plastic. Unfortunately, Heat Miser’s arms and head have strong seams, making it clear that they were attached to each other after the initial sculpting.

The Heat Miser is colored in simplistic, but solid colors, which is entirely accurate for the character.

Features

As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, "Heat Miser" could have a sound or light function, but it does not. The closest it actually possesses is the glitter. For those who are fans of The Year Without Santa Claus, it might be disappointing that Heat Miser does not feature an electronic function that would allow him to play a sound clip from one of his distinctive songs.

Balance

As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake "Heat Miser" ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate Christmas Tree, the "Heat Miser" ornament is very much a worthwhile addition. The ornament has the standard brass hook loop embedded into the top back of Heat Miser’s flaming hair. From that position, the Heat Miser ornament hangs with great positioning, stability and balance.

Collectibility

Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition original U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (reviewed here!). Within a few years, every major franchise from Star Wars to A Nightmare Before Christmas to Indiana Jones started making Hallmark ornaments. "Heat Miser" is part of the The Year Without Santa Claus ornament line and the only one from that franchise in 2015. This ornament has sold out at more than half of the Hallmark Keepsake stores I have been to since their release in October. As a result, I suspect that the Heat Miser ornament will at least retain its value, if not appreciate rapidly in the secondary market.

Overview

Fans of The Year Without Santa Claus, Heat Miser, Hallmark ornaments and Christmas in general are likely to enjoy the Heat Miser ornament!

For other Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2015 Crayola Crayons Big Box Of 64! ornament
2015 Celebration Barbie ornament
2015 Season's Treatings ornament

8.5/10

For other ornament reviews, please visit my Ornament Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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