Funko Friday: Pops in the garden

After a week of playline doll reviews, I thought it was time to change things up a bit, so I took my four human-style Funko POP figures outside for some end-of-the-week photos.

L-R: Hiccup, Jamie, Hook & Bucky.

Out of the Box: Hiccup & Drago (Spinmaster's How to Train your Dragon 2)

Out of the box: Hiccup and Drago

I think I've mentioned once or twice that I'm quite fond of the How To Train Your Dragon franchise. I've always thought it's a shame that, aside from the FunkoPop figures, there weren't any collector figures out there, but since it is fundamentally a kids' movie, I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the play figures that are available.

The majority of the HTTYD toys that have been released are of the dragons - and some of those are stunning, although I've held off on picking any up because they tend to be either too large (and being about to move house, I'm trying not to bring home any new large items) or so small that I'd be afraid of misplacing them.  So instead I decided to check out a couple of the human figures that are sold as accessories to the dragons (they're designed to be able to sit on the backs of the associated figures).

Out of the Box: Hiccup (Funko Pop How To Train Your Dragon 2)

Funko Pop's Hiccup

I'm still not sure if I think that the big-headed Funko Pop figurines are brilliant or pointless, but it seems I've just picked up my first one, Hiccup from How To Train Your Dragon 2.

The part of me that thinks they're brilliant appreciates the way they make clearly recognizable versions of characters in such a simple form - if you wanted to do some geek decorating, they're certainly more affordable than more detailed figures, and the simple and uniform look means that they can work with a wider variety of styles.  I was visiting a friend a couple of weeks ago whose husband has built a basement toy room, and the Funko Pop case has the cleanest lines and the least cluttered look to it (I wish I'd been able to take some photos!).

On the flip side though I'm conflicted about even calling this a line of action figures since they're not articulated and marketed for display rather than play.  And then there's the blank-eyes, is that cute or creepy?  I'm never quite sure...

In any case, as I mentioned when I looked at the Spinworks Defenders of Berk figures, I'm a fan of the franchise (and a collector of figures with prostheses), so it was probably inevitable that I'd bring this figure home regardless of my thoughts on the line as a whole.

In the box.

The box itself is, as is standard for the line, a white box with colourful cartoonish detailing and a corner window that shows of the figure itself.  Inside, the figurine is cradled in a plastic shell case which means it's simple to open - and to return to the original state, which is great for people who like to alternate between keeping the toy in-box and out-of-box (that would be people who aren't me though: the box went into the recycling bin after I took these photos).

The back of the figure.

 The detailing on the figure actually surprised me - for all that the face is two circles and a nose, the body is actually quite nicely detailed.  The armour, boot, prosthesis and sword all have  a solid level of sculpted detail and a well-selected colour scheme.

From the front.

I have to say, for all time I spent debating whether or not to pick this figure up, he's really grown on me; I think I may find myself adding another from the line to keep him company soon.  Possibly more than one - I've been thinking about giving the Lootcrate subscription box service a try, and they seem to include Funko figures fairly regularly (if you're a subscriber, how are you feeling about it?).  We shall see!

Random Toy of the Day: Hiccup (Spinwork's Defenders of Berk mini line)

Another day, another holiday mini-post, and another nod to a summer movie that I've not yet seen!

Up today is this tiny Hiccup figure from Spinmaster's How to Train Your Dragon: Defenders of Berk line (a tie-in to the TV series that spans the time between the two movies).  The figure is designed to fit in with the mini-dragons that were released and as such is about half the size of a standard action figure.

As one might expect of a tiny playline toy, the detail on this figure is minimal, but is there is actually quite well done - the textured fur vest and the different shades of green do a nice job of capturing the look of the character, and the doll can hold the sword and shield accessories.  It's also worth noting that pre-HTTYD2, this was the only Hiccup figure that included the prosthesis.

The figure is also jointed not only at the shoulders, neck and hips but also at the knees, which gives it surprising pose-ability.