Labyrinth Fans Are Likely To Be Thrilled Enough By The Jareth Pop! Vinyl!

The Good: Good sculpt, Decent coloring, Collectible value
The Bad: Problematic seam under the head, Lack of articulation
The Basics: The Pop! Vinyl Jareth figure is likely to be a generally pleasant surprise for Labyrinth fans, though it is not the best-made vinyl figure ever.


My wife is a huge fan of the works of David Bowie, which she very much brought me around to early on in our relationship. One of her favorite films is Labyrinth and in trying to decorate our space together, I have found that the years I have on her were spent well with acquiring collectibles and now I'm working to catch my wife up. As it turns out, there is not a whole ton of Labyrinth merchandise out there, but most of it actually does feature Davide Bowie's iconic character Jareth the Goblin King. One of the newer pieces of merchandise I have found for her growing Labyrinth collection is the Funko Pop! Vinyl Jareth figure.

For those unfamiliar with Jareth, he is the primary antagonist in Labyrinth (reviewed here!). Having kidnapped Sarah's baby brother, Jareth returns to his castle at the center of the Labyrinth where he holds the baby ransom. Sarah has a time limit to get through the Labyrinth before Toby will be the Goblin King's forever. In the process, Jareth falls in love with Sarah and wants her to join him.

The Pop! Vinyl Jareth figure is stylized, but otherwise generally well-rendered and anyone who has seen how David Bowie as Jareth looked will recognize this character. This looks like a caricature version of Jareth with a significantly larger head than is appropriate.

Basics

Jareth is the Goblin King in his casual outfit that he wears when walking around the Labyrinth. The figure stands 4 5/8" tall, from his feet to the top of his spiky hair. Jareth is dressed in a purple, black, and gray outfit with his spiked hair, recognizable brooch and belt buckle and undershirt molded on.

This toy is a decent sculpt for the stylized version of the Goblin King, which includes things like the pant cuffs folded up, the tiny studs on the jacket's wrist and lapel. The sculpt is brought down a little bit by the head of Jareth. Jareth looks recognizable-enough (it could be pretty much any hair band Pop! Vinyl by the mouthless sculpt), but when the Jareth Pop! Vinyl figure is out of the package, there is a troubling seam under the head. The head, which only turns ten degrees, it attached to the body by what seems to be a plug, like the figure was made with a different head, which was then removed and a new one stuck on. It is comparatively sloppy and that is a bit disappointing for die-hard fans. Funko almost makes up for that with the riding crop that Jareth is holding in his right hand. Jareth's jacket tails are well-sculpted in a soft, rubbery plastic that accents the figure nicely.

The coloring of the Jareth Pop! Vinyl figure is wonderful, in its basic way. There are no subtleties to the coloring, but Funko did paint all of the accents on the figure. The belt buckle, amulet, and studs are all painted to offer contrast with the monotonal jacket, pants and shoes. On Jareth's face, there is the cat eye make-up that Jareth had, which is accurate.

Accessories

Jareth, despite holding a riding crop, is not actually adorned with any accessories; this is a Funko Pop! vinyl figure on its own without a stand or any additional elements to the figure.

Playability

The Pop! Vinyl toy line is a stylized version of Jareth that stands all right, despite its giant head. Outside the head, none of the joints are in any way articulated. The head turns only a few degrees, but it acts more like a statue than an action figure.

Collectibility

The Jareth is part of the Pop! Vinyl Movie collection. Despite my not being grabbed by the concept of the stylized figures, other people seem to like them and this is #364 in the ever-expanding line of Pop! Movie vinyl figures. Because there are so few pieces of Labyrinth merchandise, the Jareth Pop! Vinyl figure has, at least, maintained its value since it sold out in the primary market.

Overview

The Pop! Vinyl Jareth toy is all right, but the sloppiness in its construction is a little disappointing compared to the quality of the sculpt and coloring.

For other Labyrinth merchandise and Pop! Vinyls, please check out my reviews of:
NECA 12" Talking Jareth Figurl
Toy Vault Plush Worm
2014 Comic Con Exclusive Blood-Splattered Sharknado Pop! Vinyl

6/10

For other toy reviews, please check out the Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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How Much Would You Pay For An Empty Box? The Doctor Who T.A.R.D.I.S. Pop! Vinyl Is Fun!

The Good: Cute, Stable, Collectible value
The Bad: Essentially an accessory, No light or sound function to enhance it
The Basics: The Pop! Vinyl T.A.R.D.I.S. accessory is pretty necessary for anyone's Doctor Who Pop! Vinyl collection, but it is somewhat unimpressive on its own.


Now that my wife is a bona fide Whovian, I have been on the lookout for Doctor Who merchandise that she actually likes and wants around. Not long ago, I decided to take a chance and pick her up the Pop! Vinyl T.A.R.D.I.S. while at a convention. Neither my wife nor I are huge fans of the Funko Pop! Vinyl line (though she has a little collection of them now as I have stretched for gifts for her) and the T.A.R.D.I.S. was the first one that she showed any real interest in (though, to be fair, she has not seen the Ninth Doctor Pop! Vinyl in person). She politely accepted my gift of the T.A.R.D.I.S. Pop! Vinyl, but it did not become a gateway to further collecting for her.

The Pop! Vinyl T.A.R.D.I.S. accessory is a pretty basic recreation of The Doctor's iconic vehicle in a scale large enough to accommodate one big-headed Doctor Who Pop! vinyl figure.

Basics

The T.A.R.D.I.S. Pop! Vinyl figure is the blue police box vehicle with a door that can open. The vehicle measures 7 1/8" tall from the bottom of the base to the top of the light on the center, top, of the box. The T.A.R.D.I.S. vehicle is 4 1/2" long and 4 1/2" wide.

This toy is a very basic sculpt of the T.A.R.D.I.S. The T.A.R.D.I.S. Pop! Vinyl truly is just a police box - there is nothing on the inside that indicates anything reminiscent of the T.A.R.D.I.S. Like the T.A.R.D.I.S., though, the door opens inward, as opposed to being a pull-open like a proper police box. There is no bottom to the T.A.R.D.I.S. Pop! Vinyl vehicle, which allows consumers to place a figure right in it. The T.A.R.D.I.S. is sculpted with smooth sides, so it does not appear to be made of wood, like the T.A.R.D.I.S. camouflage appears.

The coloring of the T.A.R.D.I.S. Pop! Vinyl is monolithic blue and white. The sign on the front door and the police symbol on the door that opens are expertly painted on - they look silk-screened, but without any border or evidence of that process. The light on the top of the police box is made of clear plastic. The paint job on the lettering above the doors is crisp and clear, even if it is monotonal.

Accessories

The T.A.R.D.I.S. Pop! Vinyl vehicle is the police box on its own, without any flare. I was a little disappointed that this Pop! vinyl did not have any sort of light and/or sound feature. The light fixture on top of the T.A.R.D.I.S. could have been built to light up and it would have been easy enough for Funko to include a sound box that played the distinctive T.A.R.D.I.S. sound effect. Funko did neither; this is just the Pop! vinyl T.A.R.D.I.S. on its own without any flair or embellishments.

Playability

The Pop! Vinyl toy line was designed for collectors, not children. Despite that, the T.A.R.D.I.S. Pop! Vinyl figure has a little more playability than many other Pop! vinyls as its door opens and closes and it is big enough to house a single figure.

Collectibility

The T.A.R.D.I.S. is part of the Pop! Vinyl Television collection, which is a fairly expansive collection. The T.A.R.D.I.S. is number 227 in the Television collection and it seems to be fairly commonly available. It was not a limited edition, but it was not available with the common releases of the Doctor Who Pop! vinyls. The oversized one seem to be available at a different rate than the common, regular-sized ones, but not have any greater value to them.

Overview

The Pop! Vinyl T.A.R.D.I.S. toy is all right, but not at all extraordinary, which makes it a little less thrilling than most Doctor Who fans would want.

For other Doctor Who or Funko toys, please check out my reviews of:
12" Clockwork Man Doll
Sharknado Pop! Vinyl Figure
Boushh Star Wars Pop! Vinyl

5/10

For other toy reviews, please check out the Random Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Cute, But Vastly Overpriced: 2014 Comic Con Sharknado Blood-Splattered Shark Pop! Vinyl Figure

The Good: Very cute, Stable
The Bad: Incredibly expensive, Base is weak on the concept
The Basics: The Pop! Vinyl Blood-Splattered Shark Sharknado figure is a cute variant, but one that does not fix the issues with the original release.


Not long ago, my wife became joyfully obsessed with the Sharknado franchise. My wife loves c-rate films, the way I love cheese and I've gotten her some merchandise related to b-movies. The first merchandise I found for her was the Sharknado Pop! Vinyl figure (reviewed here!). More recently, I managed to track down The Pop! Vinyl Blood-Splattered Shark variant.

For those unfamiliar with the Sharknado, the SyFy Network film Sharknado and its subsequent sequels involve the convergence of weather phenomenon and natural predator disasters when spouts of water bring sharks out of the deep and into the air. The tornadoes filled with sharks fall upon populated areas where the protagonist just happens to be and he has to kill sharks and stop the weather events to save the city or the world.

The Pop! Vinyl Blood-Splattered Shark figure is a the same cute shark on a watery base with waterspout pieces embedded into its side and a tornado halo on the top of the shark, with bright red paint in the figure's mouth to simulate blood!

Basics

The 2014 Comic Con Sharknado Blood-Splattered Shark Pop! Vinyl figure is a shark within a water spout only vaguely reminiscent of anything from Sharknado. The figure stands 4" tall from the bottom of the base to the tip of the dorsal fin. The Blood-Splattered Shark figure is 4 3/4" long and 3 1/2" wide.

This toy is a cool sculpt, even if it is pretty basic and more conceptual than representative. The Pop! Vinyl 2014 Comic Con Sharknado Blood-Splattered Shark figure is a generic gray shark figure with giant black eyes and an open mouth with big white teeth. The shark is, frankly, adorable. The teeth are not sharp, so the toy is fairly safe to be around people. The ventral fins look somewhat stuck on and Funko actually did an awesome job with the detailing in that the underside of the shark is an off-white color! The mouth is colored bright red to mimic the look of blood after the sharks have attacked people.

What makes the blood-splattered shark into a Sharknado Pop! Vinyl figure is the base, the translucent water spout pieces attached to the sides of the shark and the halo water spout on the top of the shark figure. Here is where the figure could have been more representative of the actual sharknadoes from the movies; the base is essentially choppy water. Had the base or any of the other pieces had fins or even painted on little sharks, it would have been more emblematic of the swarm of sharks from the movie. As it is, the Pop! Vinyl 2014 Comic Con Sharknado Blood-Splattered Shark figure is still pretty cute.

Accessories

The Sharknado Pop! Vinyl figure comes only with its choppy water stand, no other accessories. No part of the water spout is detachable from the shark, so the figure remains a consistent, stable Sharknado. The Sharknado does not detach from the stand and keeps the figure perfectly stable there.

Playability

The Pop! Vinyl toy line was designed for collectors, not children. The 2014 Comic Con Sharknado Blood-Splattered Shark Pop! Vinyl figure has no articulation, even in its jaw. As a result, this is like a cute little ridiculous statue and it is definitely intended for display more than play.

Collectibility

The 2014 Comic Con Sharknado Blood-Splattered Shark was an exclusive released only at the San Diego Comic Con. The variant is number 134 in the Funko television line and it has exploded in both price and value. It is a tough Pop! vinyl figure to track down, but the difference in price is a marginal difference for variation. It is hard to justify the overpriced nature of the variant, though it is still cute.

Overview

The Pop! Vinyl 2014 Comic Con Sharknado Blood-Splattered Shark toy is a neat variant, but it is incredibly expensive for the difference it has between the regular and variant version.

For other toys, please check out my reviews of:
Reverse-Flash The Flash Action figure
Cordelia Angel Action Figure
Holographic Engineer (Pressure Suit) Prometheus Action Figure

7.5/10

For other toy reviews, please check out the Random Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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"We're Gonna' Need A Bigger Shelf!" The Sharknado Pop! Vinyl Figure!

The Good: Adorable, Stable, Collectible value
The Bad: Ridiculously expensive now, Concept is incomplete in its base.
The Basics: The Pop! Vinyl Sharknado figure is fun and worth tracking down for those who love collectibles from d-rate movies!


There are a few ways my wife and I differ significantly. When it comes to media, I tend to go for drama; she loves comedy. We both love science fiction, but while I tend to be drawn to the cerebral and sometimes disturbing, my wife is enamored with science fiction that makes her laugh (ironically, she is a huge Game Of Thrones fan, so she loves her Fantasy dark and gory!). While I have filled our home with collectibles, my wife has not really gotten into collecting merchandise from the programs she loves (I'm getting her there!). When I was out at our local discount store on a bad day my wife was having, kismet converged upon us when they had a Pop! Vinyl Sharknado toy. The Pop! Vinyl Sharknado figure, as it turns out, is incredibly valuable on the secondary market to collectors of obscure and adorable Pop! Vinyl figures, but we managed to find it dirt cheap at the discount store, presumably, because some collector returned it because of its damaged box. Well, my wife doesn't abide by the whole "collectibles have to be kept in their packaging" ridiculousness (on that, we agree!), so it was a perfect fit for her and her slowly-growing collection.

For those unfamiliar with the Sharknado, the SyFy Network film Sharknado and its subsequent sequels involve the convergence of weather phenomenon and natural predator disasters when spouts of water bring sharks out of the deep and into the air. The tornadoes filled with sharks fall upon populated areas where the protagonist just happens to be and he has to kill sharks and stop the weather events to save the city or the world.

The Pop! Vinyl Sharknado figure is an adorable shark on a watery base with waterspout pieces embedded into its side and a tornado halo on the top of the shark!

Basics

The Sharknado Pop! Vinyl figure is a shark within a water spout only vaguely reminiscent of anything from Sharknado. The figure stands 4" tall from the bottom of the base to the tip of the dorsal fin. The Sharknado figure is 4 3/4" long and 3 1/2" wide.

This toy is a cool sculpt, even if it is pretty basic and more conceptual than representative. The Pop! Vinyl Sharknado figure is a generic gray shark figure with giant black eyes and an open mouth with big white teeth. The shark is, frankly, adorable. The teeth are not sharp, so the toy is fairly safe to be around people. The ventral fins look somewhat stuck on and Funko actually did an awesome job with the detailing in that the underside of the shark is an off-white color!

What makes the shark into a Sharknado Pop! Vinyl figure is the base, the translucent water spout pieces attached to the sides of the shark and the halo water spout on the top of the shark figure. Here is where the figure could have been more representative of the actual sharknadoes from the movies; the base is essentially choppy water. Had the base or any of the other pieces had fins or even painted on little sharks, it would have been more emblematic of the swarm of sharks from the movie. As it is, the Pop! Vinyl Sharknado figure is one cute little sharknado for the shelf!

Accessories

The Sharknado Pop! Vinyl figure comes only with its choppy water stand, no other accessories. No part of the water spout is detachable from the shark, so the figure remains a consistent, stable Sharknado. The Sharknado does not detach from the stand and keeps the figure perfectly stable there.

Playability

The Pop! Vinyl toy line was designed for collectors, not children. The Sharknado Pop! Vinyl figure has no articulation, even in its jaw. As a result, this is like a cute little ridiculous statue and it is definitely intended for display more than play.

Collectibility

The Sharknado is part of the Pop! Vinyl Movie collection, which is a pretty expansive collection. Despite my finding this Pop! Vinyl figure dirt cheap, the Sharknado Pop! Vinyl figure is one of the most expensive and has already appreciated in value. The fact that there was a bloody-mouth San Diego Comic Con variant did nothing to depress the value of this Funko figure, so one suspects that it is at its peak price point now. As more Sharknado films are released, it is likely this will continue to appreciate in value given it is one of the few Sharknado-themed collectibles on the market!

Overview

The Pop! Vinyl Sharknado toy is ridiculous and adorable and while it might not be my thing (or objectively perfect), it is surprisingly cute and it quickly has become one of the few collectibles my wife has come to treasure. That makes it pretty exceptional in my book!

For other fairly random toys, please check out my reviews of:
Boushh Star Wars Pop! Vinyl Bobble-Head
Wizard World Chicago Invader Zim (Old Man Disguise) Invader Zim Action Figure
12" Clockwork Man Doctor Who Doll

8.5/10

For other toy reviews, please check out the Random Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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I Break My Rule And Discover The Star Wars Boushh Pop! Vinyl Bobble-Head Is Cool!

The Good: Outfit looks good, Good detailing for accessories, Collectible value, Base
The Bad: Dumb animated look, Giant head, Lack of articulation
The Basics: The Pop! Vinyl Bobble-Head Princess Leia as Boushh figure might well be the best of a pretty lame toy line!


I never bought into the whole Pop! Vinyl craze and I never truly got into bobble-heads. As a fan of many genre works, I had to start prioritizing my collecting dollars long before Pop! Vinyl and bobble-heads came to be a thing for genre collectibles. So, I've seen a plethora of Pop! Vinyl collectibles without ever once buying any. Last week, however, right before going to see Suicide Squad (reviewed here!), I hurt my back pretty badly and my wife spent the time since taking care of me. We have a local discount store in our small town and the other day, on their truck of completely random things, they got in two Pop! Vinyl toys that finally got me to buy. My wife has a love of b-rate films and of all of the various Star Wars bounty hunters, one of the few that can usually get me interest in collecting something is Boushh. Well, the local discount store got in, completely randomly, a Pop! Vinyl Sharknado figure and a Princess Leia as Boushh Pop! Vinyl Bobble-Head. So, after years of resisting the trend, I got my wife the kitschy Sharknado collectible as a thank you for taking care of so many things while my back was hurt and I got the Boushh bobble-head for myself . . . well, just because.

For those unfamiliar with Princess Leia as Boushh she is the bounty hunter disguise used by the Princess, at the beginning of Return Of The Jedi (reviewed here!) when she enters Jabba's Palace! As Boushh, Princess Leia threatened Jabba The Hutt with a thermal detonator. This figure represents Princess Leia as Boushh prepared to blow up Jabba after she brings Chewbacca into the Palace to collect the bounty on his head.

The Pop! Vinyl Bobble-Head Boushh figure is stylized, but otherwise well-rendered and anyone who has seen how Princess Leia as Boushh actually looked will recognize this bears little resemblance to the character's actual form. This looks like a caricature version of Boushh with a significantly larger head than is appropriate.

Basics

Princess Leia as Boushh is a human Rebel leader, seen on Tatooine briefly before being exposed as Princess Leia at the beginning of Return Of The Jedi. The figure stands 4" tall. Princess Leia as Boushh is dressed in a tan, brown, and orange outfit with the distinctive helmet that briefly defined Boushh.

This toy is a surprisingly-decent sculpt with ribbing on the boots and belt, which are realistic and even studs on the gloves. As one might guess, the otherwise accurate sculpt is topped with an oversized Pop! Vinyl Bobble-Head. Boushh is holding the thermal detonator in her left hand and the staff she held in the scene in her right hand. The sculpt is cool enough in that it even includes the jetpack and cape!

Accessories

Princess Leia as Boushh, extortionist of vile gangsters, comes only with a stand. The 2 3/4" in diameter black stand features two pegs which fit into the two holes in both of Boushh's feet. The figure easily disconnects from the stand and keeps the figure perfectly stable when it is attached.

Playability

The Pop! Vinyl Bobble-Head toy line was designed for no good reason I can find, perhaps just because someone realized Star Wars fans would buy anything (I swear, we won’t!). This light toy has a head that is mounted on a spring, but is otherwise a statue-like display piece. The head bounces when tapped or the toy is shaken.

Outside the head, none of the joints are in any way articulated.

Collectibility

The Boushh is part of the Pop! Vinyl Bobble-Head Star Wars collection. Despite my not being grabbed by the concept, other people seem to like them and this is #50 in the ever-expanding line of Star Wars bobble-heads. Despite my finding this Pop! Vinyl Bobble-Head dirt cheap, this Bobble-Head has generally retained its value since it was released a few years ago. Pop! Vinyl Bobble-Heads are generally mass-produced beyond consumer demand (save exclusives for certain stores and San Diego Comic Con), so it is unlikely this will appreciate in value any time soon.

Overview

The Pop! Vinyl Bobble-Head Boushh toy is fun and looks a lot better than some of the other, similar, toys with oversized heads. It is, at the very least, fun, even if it is not exceptional.

For other Boushh merchandise, please check out my reviews of:
Sideshow 12" Boushh Doll
Saga Legends Boushh Action Figure
2013 Boushh Limited Edition Hallmark Ornament

5/10

For other Star Wars toy reviews, please check out the Star Wars Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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