TOY REVIEW: COMMANDER JIM JIM from Acid Rain x GUMS Productions
In anticipation of their debut at the coming Soft Vinyl Festival, I had an opportunity to lay my hands on a trio of figures releasing at the 2-Day event (Aug 5th-6th) by GUMS Productions, and I’d love to share snaps and my humble thoughts on them! THIS is one of the three figures: COMMANDER JIM JIM!
COMMANDER JIM JIM is designed by Kit Lau AKA Acid Rain from Hong Kong, and this is his first vinyl project with GUMS Productions.
First off, I had no specific idea how HUGE this figure is, I mean, I’ve blogged about the bagged-n-tagged reveal, but holding the figure in my own hands, is impressive! Standing (slightly above) 9-inches tall (23cm), this figure vinyl figure comes articulated and finished in a glossy hot PINK color - ALL of the images I’ve featured here do not come as close to the actual color, unfortunately. “FUSIA HOT PINK” comes immediately to mind!
The sculpt is decently and smartly done for a figure of this size, keeping the lines clean without frills or depth to details - like a pouch bag on the harness is “pouch—bag”-shaped with no additional buttons or faux-fabric-folds etc.
The design itself lends a tinge of “retro-play” in it’s simplicity of lines, and I suspect in it’s articulation too - with lack of multiple joints, as most “soldier” characters are wont to have - for “soldierly-posing - including hand-grips to hold weapons = neither of which exists for this character here, unlike the character designs of Acid Rain’s range with Toynami, so do not come expecting otherwise, IMO.
But this is hardly old-skool-for-the-sake-of, not just with the character design aspect, but with the material make, IMHO. The figure is hard vinyl, with the only “squishible” item being the removable helmet (scroll down to view video and snaps), while everything is hard and sturdy. It feels like a darn good production piece that will last for a long while on the shelf, IMHO!
Personally I really liked the design for the legs/kneepads/boots, with the aesthetics closest to what I see in AcidRain’s previous futuristic soldiers, IMHO.
Another “plus” for me - “design-wise” - were the “boots”, where instead of a flat base, the design featured an ever so slightly lifted up tip of the boot - which on first look, it felt as if the figure does not have stable footing, but in actual fact stands steady and sturdy!
It is ALWAYS a plus for me when a collectible figure can stand properly by itself, IMO. A collectible can look amazing “aesthetically” and all, but if it cannot STAND properly? Well…
Another “interesting” aspect of this figure’s sculpt, and perhaps to do with the design/manufacture of this figure, is the “battle harness” (*not official name), as it is somewhat not glued down to the figure’ body, but attached ON it - but not removable - giving it a somewhat tactile feeling, not quite a “single moulded piece of plastic” as one might expect from looking at the pictures, or at last mine anyways :p
Articulation is essentially 5 points - the neck, the arms (at the shoulder joints), and interestingly the legs - via the lower torso, somewhat veiled “underneath” the tunic design (interesting design) = ALL of whom swivels 360* in a single direction.
One factor which pushes the playability and design of this figure, is the removable helmet+mask (via a cut/scour at back of full-face helmet), revealing the gooey face of “Commander Jim Jim”! And while he retain his hair, his face instead is all melty!
I certainly am intrigued to know more about the “infected/zombified” (???) Commander, and of his relation with the “Vegan Commander” (another product to be unleashed at SVF2017) … or are they the same person, but different time in their soldier lives? hhhmmmm
"But is it worth your hard-earned toy-buying money?", you might ask?
Depending on your collecting focus, this character design is pretty much rooted in a specific genre - be it of a “soldier”, “futuristic miliarty operator” or even simply “bipedal humanoid” (I am unsure if Jim Jim is a "zombie" at this point, so I did not include the sub-genre :p) - but in THIS particular chosen colorway, it might well sit pretty yummy alongside similarly-hued collectibles in your collection :)
But if "genre" is not the issue, then this is a splendidly made figure from GUMS Productions, with a design rooted in sci-fi x post-apocalyptical world building fueled the promise of Acid Rain's story-telling, in an new genre of toys to his current action figures with Toynami, so is definitely worth your attention, IMO.
Cheers
Andy TOYSREVIL
*You can view individual featured images HERE on Facebook :)
And while quantities have yet to be revealed, the item is priced at HKD$500 (approx. USD$64 / SGD$87) first available at Angel Abby (Shop: 22,1/F,Tin Hau Apple Mall,14 King's Road,Tin Hau,Hong Kong. 852-9674-3956) from August 5th, 2017.
I would also assume eventual online release via shop.gumsproductions.com at a later (undisclosed) date, which I’d recommend you to stay tuned to updates via GUMS’ Instagram @gumsproductions and/or Facebook!
Also stay connected to Kit Lau / Acid Rain via his Instagram @acidrainworld, his personal Facebook and read more about the Acid Rain World via acidrainworld.blogspot.com.
(Major thanks to Benny Fok at GUMS for his generosity and the opportunity!)
