They finally arrived! The Classic Sonic Vinyl Figures
To say these have been a pain in the arse to find for sale is an understatement. I ordered them from Forbidden Planet way back in march (along with the 12" statue, which is actually now in stock over at Play-Asia if you're willing to pay the shipping fees) and just today I finally got a set of the First4Figures Classic Sonic vinyl toys, and they do not disappoint.
Here they are in the packaging, which is luckily that kind that lets you place it back in the box if and when you please rather than some sodding blister pack that needs to be slaughtered to open up.
Here's the back of the box. It says 'Series 1' so hopefully one day we'll get more of these. I'd be all up for a set of Metal Sonic, Amy Rose and Robotnik myself. Considering how long it took these ones to fruition I doubt we'll see a series two, though. Please prove me wrong, First4Figures!
More often than not with figures the photo on the box looks a darn sight better than the figure you get in the box itself, but in this case that's not the case. They really do look just as good as they did in the early promo photos. The quality of these toys is up there with the Japanese Mario figures that have been floating about for the last few years, they're simply brilliant.
Sonic is the odd one of the bunch in that he's not in a standing pose, rather a mid run which makes sense as running is what he's known for. For the toy to stand upright the little black stand has littles in dents for the feet to sit inside which work nicely (unlike so many figure stands I've had before that are far too fiddly).
He hasn't got much of an expression going on so this is probably the figure with the least character of the three, but that's not saying much as it's still a whole lot better than 90% of previous Sonic toys. The pose looks great, especially from the side.
The Tails figure is, lets be honest here.. the best Tails shaped lump of plastic to ever be molded. Tails in particular has been a character that companies have rarely got right in toy form: normally he ends up with a smashed-in-the-face-with-a-shovel look. Just compare this new toy to this rather wonky Sonic Adventure one from 1999:
HURRRRRR. DURRRRR. HURRR DURRR.
DERP DERP DERP.
I really cannot fault this one, they've nailed it. My favorite of the three, which is also what I said about the Classic Sonic range plush toys that came out last year. Basing his design on the far cuter Japanese artwork was a very smart move. The proportions are just right, and he has such a joyous smile on his face. What's not to like.
The Knuckles figure is also excellently designed. Again the proportions are as close to the old Japanese artwork as you're going to get. The pose is nice and despite his fits covering up a lot of his chest they haven't forgotten his collar/birthmark//whatever that thing is supposed to be. Even his tail goes wonky at the end like it should. It's the simplicity yet attention to detail that makes these such a brilliant set.
If you can hunt these down I would defiantly recommended buying them. These are quite possible the nicest Sonic figures to have ever been produced, they really are that good. The bar has been raised by First4Figures for quality after years of mostly wonky Sonic merchandise and I hope their 12" Sonic statue is as high quality as these are, though unlike the statue these are a measly £10-15 each so they're also a bargain for how well designed they are (you'd never get a Mickey Mouse Vinyl toy for this kind of price, for example).
Here they are in the packaging, which is luckily that kind that lets you place it back in the box if and when you please rather than some sodding blister pack that needs to be slaughtered to open up.
Here's the back of the box. It says 'Series 1' so hopefully one day we'll get more of these. I'd be all up for a set of Metal Sonic, Amy Rose and Robotnik myself. Considering how long it took these ones to fruition I doubt we'll see a series two, though. Please prove me wrong, First4Figures!
More often than not with figures the photo on the box looks a darn sight better than the figure you get in the box itself, but in this case that's not the case. They really do look just as good as they did in the early promo photos. The quality of these toys is up there with the Japanese Mario figures that have been floating about for the last few years, they're simply brilliant. 
Sonic is the odd one of the bunch in that he's not in a standing pose, rather a mid run which makes sense as running is what he's known for. For the toy to stand upright the little black stand has littles in dents for the feet to sit inside which work nicely (unlike so many figure stands I've had before that are far too fiddly).
He hasn't got much of an expression going on so this is probably the figure with the least character of the three, but that's not saying much as it's still a whole lot better than 90% of previous Sonic toys. The pose looks great, especially from the side. 
The Tails figure is, lets be honest here.. the best Tails shaped lump of plastic to ever be molded. Tails in particular has been a character that companies have rarely got right in toy form: normally he ends up with a smashed-in-the-face-with-a-shovel look. Just compare this new toy to this rather wonky Sonic Adventure one from 1999:
HURRRRRR. DURRRRR. HURRR DURRR.
DERP DERP DERP.
I really cannot fault this one, they've nailed it. My favorite of the three, which is also what I said about the Classic Sonic range plush toys that came out last year. Basing his design on the far cuter Japanese artwork was a very smart move. The proportions are just right, and he has such a joyous smile on his face. What's not to like.
The Knuckles figure is also excellently designed. Again the proportions are as close to the old Japanese artwork as you're going to get. The pose is nice and despite his fits covering up a lot of his chest they haven't forgotten his collar/birthmark//whatever that thing is supposed to be. Even his tail goes wonky at the end like it should. It's the simplicity yet attention to detail that makes these such a brilliant set.
If you can hunt these down I would defiantly recommended buying them. These are quite possible the nicest Sonic figures to have ever been produced, they really are that good. The bar has been raised by First4Figures for quality after years of mostly wonky Sonic merchandise and I hope their 12" Sonic statue is as high quality as these are, though unlike the statue these are a measly £10-15 each so they're also a bargain for how well designed they are (you'd never get a Mickey Mouse Vinyl toy for this kind of price, for example).
15 comments:
Awesome! Amazing! Beautiful! So happy to see these actually existing. I'll have to pick 'em up!
Yeah, I totally want these. But it's quite hard to find anywhere actually stocking them, pfft.
A friendly reminder to USA Sonic figure fans: the Toys R Us exclusive San Diego Comic-Con Metal Sonic goes on sale online in 2 days!
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3579167
I bought some Darkstalkers figures because they were specifically "Vampire Savior" branded figures and I figured that I could use them in a Sega Saturn Junkyard Review. Plus they were in a pawn shop and didn't cost much.
Just then I realized that I am a 27 year old who just bought toys with no intention of giving them to a little kid...
...is this how it starts?
...am I a total nerd now?
...Luckily I read this article and realized that I did not post a 10 paragraph article on my latest purchase and take high def pictures of the items in various poses.
Thanks for making me feel better about myself Gagaman(n)!
Just Kidding!
The Knuckles one looks pretty neat. I could see that as a desk ornament.
Hahaha, that's what this blog is all about, Caleb! Besides, video games are technically toys too, eh? Eh? :P
Video Games were NEVER toys.
They were just branded that way in America because the corporations who sold toys to kids wanted to profit off them.
lol so awesome!
I found some today, in Forbidden Planet Glasgow. They had them in the shop window, and I kind of freaked out >_<
Forbidden Planet seems like a good bet for them. Though there are technically two separate Forbidden Planet companies, which may complicate things. I got mine from a FP International, but there's nothing saying they won't be found in plain old FP.
Caleb: But you play with video games, right? :P
Espy: Yeah, FB was where I got mine online, though I was in a long queue for them: seems there is a lot of demand for them.
I interact Gagaman(n).
I interact with video games.
Good news! I emailed F4F to thank them for the figures, and they replied:
"Hi Sandy,
Thank you for your email and your kind words. Yes, we are now working onsecond series and hope we make more series!
Kind regards,
Kanako Davis"
So look forward to more figures, I guess! Though I think if they don't do a Metal Sonic, there will be an angry fan backlash!
Ah-ha Caleb! But then why is it called gamePLAY? ;)
GagaMan(n), if you know of any (relatively) inexpensive international shipping services, I'd gladly order a Metal Sonic and send it to you. You could reimburse me via paypal. :)
The sculpts on these are fantastic, I'd love to get one of these. Though, honestly, I don't know how willing I am to spend money on a toy these days, especially when I'd rather put it towards other gaming merchandise (like soundtracks, which are admittedly far more expensive).
It would be nice to see a second wave though; my personal picks would be Metal Sonic (Sonic & Knuckles version-- though we'll probably never see that model again), Super Sonic and either Amy or Eggman (or both, I'm not picky).
Any recommendations for reputable online stores to get these from? I trust play-asia, but they're still on pre-order. I found TISINC99.com, but consumer reviews are so-so. Some great, some bad.
Interesting news regarding these figures. I wrote to First4 asking why they don't list them on their site, their reply was:
"Thank you for your email. We don’t sell our vinyl sonic figures at the
moment at our online shop. However we are planning to sell those in a
SPECIAL BOXSET version later this year.
In the meantime, I am afraid I don’t know who is selling this product because we sell to our EU distributor, and not directly to shops. I am sure you can find eBay or some online shop.
Kind regards,
Kanako Davis"
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