The virtual band Gorillaz had toys in the works back in 2002 through Art Asylum, but for whatever reason, these didn’t materialize. (View the unreleased toys HERE.) Artsy-fartsy toy store Kidrobot apparently picked up the sculpts, dumped the planned Gorilla figure and a bunch of the accessories, and has released the toys as very limited-run, large vinyl figures just in time for the group’s new album, “Demon Days”.
The paint and sculpting on these figures is virtually flawless. From the even coats (you wont see apps this clean on any mass-market line) to the subtle details like the circles under Russel’s eyes, it’s some of the best paint I’ve ever seen. We don’t even need to talk about how great the sculpts are – you can see for yourself. Look at the subtle curve to 2D’s legs. How about that wry smirk on Murdoc? It’s a tribute not only to the sculptors, but to Jamie Hewlett’s original designs as well. Many simplified, graphic characters like the Gorillaz have a tough time making the jump to three dimensions. But Hewlett’s Gorillaz actually turn around quite well, which makes turning them into action figures a lot easier.
The plastic used is rigid and durable. Even in the increasingly hot weather, the Gorillaz are standing straight and tall on my bookshelf, while the 10″ Teen Titans figures next to them are crashing to the ground. This is no mean feat; most manufacturers have moved to softer plastics for both cost savings and the fact that they’re supposedly better at capturing small sculpt details. Clearly, the excellent Gorillaz toys put lie to that.
Frontman 2D is probably my favorite figure of the bunch. I love the sculpting on his teeth (including the missing ones), and his pose is probably not the first drawing off his model sheet. The posing on the hands is just spectacular, and the inclusion of the cigarette is ballsy considering how demonized smoking is these days in the action figure world. At about thirteen inches tall, he’s a pretty big toy and the tallest of the bunch. The “Pink Rabbit” design on his shirt is a fun choice, but I suspect we’ll see quite a few repaints using this tooling sporting new shirts. Though these figures are not really intended for play, 2D is articulated with a swivel neck and limited shoulder swivels.
The creepy bass player, Murdoc is captured beautifully here. A little shorter than 2D at about twelve and a half inches, Murdoc’s “arms folded” pose leaves him a little less articulated than his bandmates, but no less appealing. All the nastiness is there – from the one red eye, to the upside-down cross dangling from his neck.
Little Noodle comes with the most articulation of the set-head swivel, limited shoulder swivels and wrist swivels. She measures about seven and a half inches. Unfortunately, with Noodle, the rigid nature of the materials used becomes problematic. Though she’s intended to be posed holding the guitar accessory, it’s pretty difficult to fit it into both hands, and trying to do so caused some minor paint rubs. I’m a bit worried about the durability of the wire used to make her headphone antennas as well; it looks like it could bend or break given the right conditions. Still, she’s as beautiful as the rest of them.
Russel is a bit of an anomaly in that while most of the character’s designs remained fairly static from album one to album two, his appearance changed quite a bit. Though he’s still a hefty guy, he’s lost weight and gained a far less simian appearance. Because these sculpts were originally done a few years back, Russel’s figure is based off of the earlier album’s artwork. I do kind of wish they’d tweaked his sculpt a bit, considering how closely tied into the promotion of the “Demon Days” these toys are. He’s about eleven inches tall. I am also a bit disappointed that his radio features no detailing at all-it’s quite literally a gray box.
Each figure comes in a brown box of varying size depending on the character inside. If you’re not up to comparing sizes to guess who’s who, there’s graphic of the included character’s head on the top of each box. Line up the four boxes in the right order and they spell “Gorillaz” in spray painted text, making a nice backdrop for the band. Inside, they’re all packed into a two piece plastic tray, which keeps them nice and safe from all but the angriest delivery guy. Each includes the same sheet of stickers for customizing you figures, your furniture, or in my case, your sketchbook.
Kidrobot’s Gorillaz vinyl figures are something really different from your standard action figure. Though I generally favor toys that are more oriented to playability, in this case I make an exception. The $150 price tag on the set of four may seem steep. But considering it’s the only three dimensional representation of these characters, if you’re a fan, it’s worth it. These are truly beautiful figures, and capture the essences of perhaps the best post-millenium cartoon characters perfectly. The limited production run on these, coupled with Kidrobot’s site calling these “Black Editions”, leads me to believe we’ll see this tooling utilized again in the future. In addition, I’d love to see smaller, more articulated figures and some trading figure-style dioramas would be great as well.
The Gorillaz Vinyl figures can be found at Kidrobot.com.