TOYSREVIL's Top 10 Blind Box Series for 2012
Listed here are a total of 10 series-es - of which the main bulk I do own personally and hence can comment directly about, and a couple of "Wants" aka Items I have interest in, but not own.
Will my collection's status quo remain the same in 2013 Or will new series pop up to snag my attention? We'll see!
#10 - G.I.Joe from The Loyal Subjects x Hasbro
Released only recently by The Loyal Subjects, Hasbro's G.I.Joe characters get the 'super-deformed' treatment and get housed "blind boxed" for your pulling pleasures. The 3" figurines are currently available as Singles are US$12.99 and a Case at US$208. Featuring designs by Les Schettkoe, they patrol the "DMZ zone" between "art toy" and "mass market license".
ASIDE: This could perhaps have tied with Tokidoki's Unicornos Series 2, but based on my earlier unpleasant review of a couple of "special edition" Unicronos, I'm being biased and am personally keeping away from them myself.
#9 - BE@RBRICK from Medicom Toy
What started me down the path of "blind box" was actually BE@RBRICKS above all else. Two series from Medicom Toy was released in 2012: the ho-hum Series 24, and the sightly more interesting Series 25. I've not done a blind-box pulls for a long while now, with luckily a number of collectors thru the years who buy them by the case full, and break down the basic sets or individual BE@RBRICKS, which I then gleefully pickup circumventing the blind-pulls, but never be able to pull a "chase" … you'd be surprised at the secondary-market value of B@RBRICKS in-force locally, compared to other blind pulls ala the "art toy" genre specific.
But tis hard-pressed to supress the joy of opening blind boxed BBs … and I do miss doing so, frankly speaking … if not for "old times' sake" :)
#8 - JIBIBUTS ARTIST SERIES from Noferin
One of the only other series I do not own a single piece of, I am intrigued with the Artists designs I have been posting about on my humble blog. And with adoring these wooden figures from their first release, I somehow doubt I will be disappointed with these. And while I am unable to procure an entire box full, they somehow represent a fleeting notion for what "might have been", IMHO.
#7 - DUDEBOX by Dudebox
Made the purchase of a select few boxes back when they had a sale, I found them pretty delightful and well printed. Actually they were very well made, but alas whatever "hype" they might have had got drowned out by the sheer number of products and designs being doled out and flooded their range.
It would have been an extremely distressing attempt at trying to collect all of them, methinks. But collecting piecemeal per opened blindbox? Perhaps for the toy-tourist in you, as I clearly turned out to be. But swell pieces I would insist, and featuring artists not necessarily amongst the top tier of practitioners in current toy-culture, and for that, they get extra props!
#6 - MISFORTUNE CATS by Playge
Released by Playge, featuring designs by Ferg, this came somewhat under the radar of over-hype, and I managed to secure a couple of pulls and a singular exclusive from Jeremyriad, and pretty much adored them! Having liked the larger Misfortune Cat (and beg unable to afford them), this was a swell option to have instead, and I remain placated with them.
Although truth be told, the "chase" aspect is not as exciting as I hoped it would be, but the toy-love for the larger form (as mentioned) keeps these kitties firmly in #7 place!
#5 - BRUCE LEE'S TEMPLE OF KUNG-FU from Round5
Courtesy of the folks at Round5, I managed to have a few boxes - which I reviewed on video - and found the figures to be surprisingly fun, as opposed to seeing them in still pictures when I blogged about them. Designed by MAD, these characters feature enough articulation for them to be played with ("adult-possibility" versus "child-bashing", mind you LOL) and accessories to add to the fun. I recommend them to whomever would want to actually play with their toys, besides just posing them on display shelves - simply because they NEED to be played with!
#4 - LUNARTIK CUP OF MINI TEA SERIES 2 from Lunartik
I had only ever opened up a single cuppa of Mini Tea from Series 2, and had been suitably impressed with the wickedly clever packaging alone! (Helps that I scored a chase too ;p). Created by Lunartik, this would have been quite the design sensation for the design set, but perhaps for the art toy set, the packaging is less of an allure, than the figure itself? Regardless, the packing gets top spot, while pushing this series to #4!
#3 - APOCALYPSE DUNNY from Kidrobot
Out of all Dunny-releases in 2012, this themed-series really hit the right note with my personal sensibilities. The notion of "Apocalypse" brings a smile on my face, and the artists/creators in this list let rip! The irony was, not much was left for me to grab at my local fav retailers Ozzo (i was late to the party and most everything else was grabbed) and the notion of blind-pulls beyond my shores, is pretty apocalyptical to me (I've never been really lucky at pulls…). These are what I have, and I wish I had them all! (Something I would not have expect to exclaim for any Dunny series).
Fav out of the lot has to be Huck Gee's DOG. Mad Max FTW!
#2 - SCHRODINGER'S CAT from Manbeki Necro
Technically, this two-piece "Schrödinger's Resin Figure" set IS blind boxed, as you would either get one "alive" or one "dead". Thanks to Maneki Nekro I was spared the agony and I LOVED the sculpt! Seriously bang for the buck, and featuring exceptional sculpt, the figurines are tactile to the touch and a pure warped-delight to behold, IMHO! Purchase yours here!
#1 - ANDROIDS SERIES 3 from DYZ Plastic
My toy-love for Android Collectibles by DYZ Plastic blossomed by Series 2, and by Series 3, the lil'collectibles had me twirled around their little Android-toy-fingers LOL
Courtesy of The Taken Shop, I experienced the blind box sensation full-on with de-boxing them on video, and scoring both the triumphant of chase figures, and the agony of doubles. Featuring a swell selection of designs from even niftier artists, the designs were non-threatening, and perhaps that is why there were endearing and leaves behind good vibes for their collective likability? Good times, nay, GREAT TIMES to be had, these Blind Boxed Days LOL
