Toy-Review: Treeson & Other Stories Series 2 from Crazy Label
TOY-STORY: Treeson & Other Stories Series 2 is based on characters created by Bubi Au Yeung for her book of the same name. This series is the second collection to be released from Crazy Label.
The set consists of 7 basic characters / figures, with the 8th a "mystery chase" figure. Procuring an entire box, will see you complete the 7 basic figures, with the final figure either a repeat, or (cross-your-fingers) the chase. Yes, the figures are blind-boxed, and within the box, are sealed in a silver-foil packaging. The previously released Series 1 possessed 16 x blind-boxes in a box, so this is a slightly more petite display box to consider.
Each box has a SRP of US$7.95, while a box of 8 is going for US$59.95. Do check with your local retailers fir availability, or procure yours online via the Crazy-Label shop.
This set was a gift from Andy Woo of Crazy Label (thanks Andy!) a while back, and I have previously posted snaps of some of them out and about (posted below, at a dim sum outing to celebrate my dad's birthday). I do not have any figures from Series 1, so will review based on what I have instead.
CHARACTERS: Treeson's best friend "Ren" makes antihero appearance (this time without his wagon in Series 1, and sitting down for a breather instead. Other humanoid-figures include the mohawked "Chestnut", the red-hoodied "Girl" and the diminutive "b" (I pulled two "b"s, so there went my chain of a chase ;p).
I relived my Treeson-days with both a "Shy Treeson" (with a heart hidden behind it's back) and the dioramic-ish set; "Treeson & Mushroom". Note that all accessories of the figures mentioned are not removable from the figure. The "Star Pack" was basically as the image shows - 4 separate stars from a molded net.
ARTICULATION: All humanoid-figures (Ren, Chestnut, b and Girl) possess one single point of articulation = a swivel head, while others do not have any articulation.
PAINT-APPS & MARKINGS: As smooth as possible on the scale this small, the paint-app is reasonably well, and pretty vibrant - moreso that the box-graphics might depict. Exception goes to the rich-red "Girl"! Although, having a tinge of GID (glow-in-the-dark) for the Star Pack would have been nice/r, IMHO.
Surprisingly, not all figures are marked at the feets tho.
[Above: Charming "Star Pack" / Below: snaps of some of the figures out-n-about]
WRAP-UP: If you have the first series, there is no reason why you would miss this set (unless you did not like the series). And as a first-timer collecting toys, I dare say these will grow on you, even if you scored a box or two initially. While not needing to harp on the "chase" figure aspect of this blind-box series, it would be less of a heartbreak if you managed to score an entire set, IMHO.
The price-point is reasonable for art toys in this arena, and as well this is a regular release accepted by others without the need to worry about secondary markets or flippers - so purchase happily! I am happy with my set, and hope you will be too :)
