Be@rbricks are a 2001 spin-off of Medicom Toy's popular Kubrick line. The standard Be@rbrick figures are 7cm tall and feature a generic anthropomorphic bear sculpt with a potbelly and ears in a block-figure style. I find the combination of this default sculpt overlayed with recognizable character designs to be fun and quirky. The concept has been duplicated often, notably with Disney's 2008 Vinylmation line, but I find the original Be@rbricks to be the most appealing. Twenty-five years into the line, and the character selection is predictably daunting. Luckily I always narrow my focus my to superheroes which makes the hunt a lot more reasonable. Recently I discovered that a Spider-Man wave was released in 2022 with a variety of Spider-Ladies. They were pretty easy and inexpensive to pick up on eBay, but now I'm inspired to pick up others like DC and MCU. I suspect I will have a large assortment of these odd little bears by this time next year. But in the meantime, let's check out the Spider-Ladies below!
UNITING ALL WOMEN OF PLASTIC
Showing posts with label Medicom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Medicom. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
Saturday, August 30, 2025
Tron Kubrick - YORI!
I've had this set for ages but finally got around to opening it last week. I frankly don't remember purchasing this, but when I was moving house four years ago, I found it buried in a closet encased up in bubble wrap with zero recollection of how I got it. I probably paid a fortune and blocked out the memory over guilt. It was funny to mark it off my "must have" checklist by accidentally discovering that I already owned it. I also found multiple Planet of the Apes Kubrick sets in the same box so it was a thrilling discovery. This figure is notable for being the first toy of Yori ever. As the token female of Tron (1982), and a pretty significant character, she was criminally neglected in the merchandise department. So far I have three Yori items, but hopefully there will be momentum for more in the future, but I definitely would love to see more. I think a company like NECA should take the reigns and give us a full vintage line (hopefully with characters unmade in the DST line). Let's check out Yori below!
Monday, October 7, 2024
MAFEX - Batman: Hush - HUNTRESS!
Tomorrow I should be getting my McFarlane Platinum Huntress in the mail (from BBTS) and I am giddy with excitement over opening and reviewing the two new Helena figures. But that excitement also served as a reminder that I had this beauty sitting in the wings for several years waiting for me to post her. In all honesty, I find purple characters to be the hardest to photograph. The slightest change in the lighting conditions or zoom level can make the color look completely different. It always takes a ton of color tweaking to make the photos match real life in the most consistent way. It can be a major chore and characters like Huntress tend to suffer because of my laziness. When this Mafex figure was released, it had been eight years since we last got a figure of Helena. And honestly, the previous two figures were pretty lackluster. But then here comes Medicom with a perfect rendition of the Jim Lee Hush Huntress. This truly is a magnificent-looking figure. Let's check her out below!
Saturday, June 8, 2024
Dark Knight Rises - CATWOMAN!
The MAFEX line from Medicom has come a long way since its beginnings in 2014. This specific Catwoman figure is the 9th release from 2015. And while this figure is very nice, it pales in comparison to the 2021 Hush Catwoman I recently opened. In fact, there is a version 2.0 of this Dark Knight Rises Catwoman released two years later in 2017 (MAFEX 050), that appears greatly improved. Unfortunately, that 2.0 figure's secondary market price is often in the hundreds of dollars. (But meanwhile you can easily get this MAFEX 009 version for $25 bucks today). I was really happy to finally open and review all my backlogged DKR Catwoman figures. I've had this one for seven years and she looks great finally displayed on my Catwoman shelf. My desire to do a group photo with the new McFarlane DC Multiverse figure made me finally dig all these figures out of the depths of my closets and finally give them the attention they deserve. Let's check out this (long-neglected by me) Mafex DKR Catwoman below!
Thursday, May 16, 2024
MAFEX - Batman: Hush - HARLEY QUINN!
Harley Quinn has become one of the most popular characters in the DC Universe. From her humble beginnings as one of Joker's henchmen in Batman the Animated Series to her leap to mainstream comics, a solo title, then to video games, the silver screen, and then back to animation with her own show, she has run the gamut of pop culture. Despite all her changes and evolutions, I will always hold her appearances in Batman: Hush (2002-2003) to be her most iconic. At this stage, she still retained her classic jester design, but she was showing her more sadistic and unhinged side underneath the wacky antics. I know her comic persona was developed greatly in her solo series since 2000, but Hush was just different. She was suddenly darker and more formidable, but still with that zany edge that makes her so unique. I think this Mafex figure from 2022 is the best representation of her from this era. Previous attempts have all been a bit off, but this just captures her perfectly. Let's check out Harley Quinn below!
Monday, April 1, 2024
MAFEX - Batman: Hush - CATWOMAN!
Hush is probably my favorite Batman storyline of all time. It ran twelve issues from Batman #608 (2002) through Batman #619 (2003) and featured nearly all of the active bat-characters at the time with a story by Jeph Loeb and art by the one-and-only Jim Lee. Everything about it was iconic and it's amazing to see it's still being celebrated (and merchandized) twenty years later. One of the unsung side-effects of Hush though was the elevation of Catwoman's utilitarian costume to permanent status. We may take this black goggled costume for granted now, but when Hush started, Selina had been wearing it less than a year. I feel that there is always danger of a new costume fading into obscurity too soon. The Darwyn Cooke redesign was amazing, but not everyone was into the stylized art in the Catwoman title, so its future was uncertain. But there was something about seeing the costume through the filter of an industry legend like Jim Lee that got everyone on board. This MAFEX figure perfectly captures that look.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
MAFEX - Batman: Hush - POISON IVY!
2002 was an eventful year for me. I had graduated college the year before, but the world was in turmoil so my adult life was a little delayed. In 2002 I moved to a city, launched my career, had my first mature relationship, and once I accepted that my life was (somewhat) stable, I began resurrecting my old hobbies that I hadn't indulged since high school. I suddenly had access to comic book stores again and there was a bit of a renaissance happening. My favorite titles on the shelves that year were Darwyn Cooke's Catwoman, Mike Allred's X-Force, Olivier Coipel's Legion, and of course Jim Lee's Hush storyline in Batman. With a rogue's gallery as impressive as Batman's, it's shocking that no one had attempted a storyline that brought them all together before. Hush was special because, despite it's huge cast, each character truly got to shine. The writing, art, and complex character histories were a recipe for a perfect comic event. It was so impactful that we're still getting merchandise 20-plus years later.
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Mafex - CARRIE KELLEY ROBIN!
Hyper-articulated import action figures really intimidate me. Lines like S.H.Figuarts, Figma, MAFEX, and Amazing Yamaguchi are super appealing to me. Despite their high price point, I find myself picking up a few each year. But the amusing thing is that I rarely ever open them. All the little accessories, the pressure to find the perfect pose, and the anxiety of doing a neverending photoshoot all lead me to delay opening for some future day when I'm feeling more brave. This Carrie Kelley is the 5th or 6th MAFEX figure I've purchased, but she's the first I've ever opened. She broke through my wall of hesitation because I wanted to add her (and the new Multiverse figure) to my Carrie collection (and I wanted to eBay the Batman figure she came with). I'm glad she snapped me out of my pattern. She is really fun to pose and has a terrific sculpt. I'm curious to see if her role in the upcoming Gotham Knights show alongside Bluebird and Duela Dent will increase her popularity. I hope so. Let's check out Carrie below!
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Suicide Squad HARLEY QUINN Bearbrick!
I have a real love/hate relationship with Medicom's Be@rbrick series. I find them very aesthetically... unpleasant. But conversely, I love odd creepy things, even if I find them ugly. Bearbricks started in 2001 as a spinoff of the popular Kubrick line that had started the year before. All Bearbrick figures share the same mold of a potbellied cartoonish bear. You've seen this same gimmick used with Vinylmation and Qee figures since, but Bearbricks are the earliest versions I can think of (excluding "plain" block figures like Lego and Minimates). I appreciate their legacy and the odd-looking superheroes that have come from the line. I have a list of four or five more that I have my eye out for, but they can be expensive so I'm in no rush. The female superheroes are often the "secret" figures that aren't listed on the back-of-the-box checklists, so they can be pricier and harder to track down. Let's check out the Suicide Squad Harley Quinn Bearbrick below!
Saturday, May 2, 2015
DC Comics Kubrick - SPOILER!
I never thought I would get my hands on this figure. As one of the only pieces of Spoiler merchandise out there, it's been on my radar for over a decade. However, being the rare "Secret" figure of Series 01 makes her especially hard to find. The Kubrick collectors are pretty thorough, too, so that doubles the competition trying to get their hands on lil' ol Steph here. You can almost always find her on eBay for around $100, but that was always far beyond my budget for a tiny, undetailed brick figure. Luckily I snagged her super-duper cheap recently and I'm ecstatic. Stephanie Brown was completely off my radar until she became Robin in 2005. Unfortunately that was a very brief (and tragic) stint. I didn't notice her again until she became the new Batgirl in 2009. Then I was completely hooked. I quickly backtracked and became obsessed with her earliest incarnations as Spoiler, daughter of Cluemaster who was dedicated to "spoiling" the criminal plans of her father and other Gotham villains. Then New52 got her. She was shockingly absent in comics for years, but thankfully re-emerged again as Spoiler in 2014. Let's check her out!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Monday, September 24, 2012
Dark Knight Rises CATWOMAN BEARBRICK!
The Medicom Company of Japan makes the most wonderfully quirky toys. Their line of Kubrick brick figures continues to amaze me with adorable representations of some of the most randomly awesome characters. Where else will you find a toy of Gumby's mother, Edward Scissorhands' topiaries, or Audrey Tautou as Amélie? The whole line is a collector's dream because nothing about it is predictable or boring. Their Bearbrick line is somewhat less appealing to me. This line uses a standard buck of a potbellied teddy bear, which in my humble opinion can tend to limit the aesthetic of the toys, especially when it comes to female characters. When the first DKR products started being revealed, I started googling for a Catwoman Kubrick from the movie (which I still assume is inevitable). One fateful day my search returned images of this Catwoman Bearbrick. She was a "Mystery Figure" meaning that she wasn't included in the Series 24 solicit images (which had been circulating for a while) and only became known once she hit the stores.
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