September 19, 2006

{ SUPER BASTARD - by undoboy }

http://www.crowndozen.com/main/archives/upload/2006/09/1-thumb.jpg

Let's be honest. Those of us who've been in the mix on the whole designer toy phenomenon the past few years have become a bit jaded. We've seen countless derivative iterations of the same old sameyness, everybody and thier second-cousin seems to have their own toy line coming out, and the once sparsely populated shelves of collectors and retailers are now swarming with hordes of designer knicknacks, gimcracks and bric-a-brac. And no designer toy format has become more swollen, bloated and over than the mini-figure. It's practically been done to death. Enter the SUPER BASTARD. This is hands-down the most unique concept I've seen in years, and one of the best things to happen to the mini-figure format in a long long time. When I opened my first blind-packed box to reveal the SUPER BASTARD inside, I felt a sense of genuine excitement that harkened back to the first ever Bearbrick box I opened, or even further back, to the delight I felt when ripping into a fresh pack of Garbage Pail Kids. With 16 possible figures, and with each figure bearing four distinct character designs, there's a real sense of surprise and discovery loaded into each box. That element of surprise is also built into the figures themselves, with removeable "sleeves" covering the head and waist/legs of each piece, obscuring little secrets about each character.

http://www.crowndozen.com/main/archives/upload/2006/09/undoboyflyerfinal-thumb.bmp

And it is in the simple design of the SUPER BASTARD that the real genius of undoboy is revealed. At heart, these are just, well, boxes. Printed on high-grade thick card-stock with a smooth finish, each of the four sides of these rectangular figures bears the likeness of a different character, for 64 total designs across the 16 separate pieces. The adorably blocky character designs represent celebrities and historical figures; everyone from Jesus to Hitler and Michael Jackson to Mother Theresa are thrown into the mix. There are also a slew of general archetypes; clown, porn star, spaceman, pirate, ninja, etc. all rendered with an abundance of fairly innocent charm. It's when you remove the box tops and bottoms that things get a bit devious. Removing the heads of most characters reveals a boxy-skull beneath, though there are a few varying surprises here and there. The real fun kicks in when you take the pants off these guys and gals (just like in real life!) as you get a chance to see what kind of skivvies each character is sporting, or in the case of a few, to discover that they're wearing nothing underneath at all. There are also some other hidden treats in store, secret props that become visible once the characters are de-pantsed, or in-jokes that prompt a little social commentary about the person they represent. The pieces themselves look fantastic, and despite the fact that they're made of cardstock, they carry just as much oomph (if not more) than similarly-sized figures crafted of PVC or vinyl. They have incredible presence as well, the cheeky character designs pack a lot of punch, and they've got an old-school quirkiness that calls to mind Kubricks crossed with Michael Lau. SUPER BASTARDs retail for about $6, and you'll probably find yourself nearly as enamored with the packaging art (which riffs off the pixellated flyer art seen above) as you are with what's inside. Overall, undoboy has crafted one of the freshest pieces of collectible toy-art I've seen to date. It's an impressive debut into a crowded field, and I get the feeling that this is really just a small glimpse of what's to come.

http://www.crowndozen.com/main/archives/upload/2006/09/4-thumb.jpg

» SUPER BASTARD (with link to buy)
» undoboy official site

By Adam in Reviews, Toys | Comments:

Comments

i have nothing profound to say here except that these things are totally and completely badass. worth every single cent, and in my book, about 245% cooler than 99.5% of the other toys on the market today, yesterday, all of last year, and most of next.

i know it's hard to get past the fact that they're simply made of paper, but so is a limited edition print by an artist, so get over that shit and buy some of these already - you won't regret it!

oh, and great piece adam!

Posted by: shane at September 25, 2006 5:16 AM