Review – Ashley Wood’s Bambaboss DIY
So last week we took a look at the Moneygrip DIY (review here) and earlier this week we took a look at the World War Robot-related Shadow Zombie by Ashley Wood (review here).
You know what? It’s time to take Wood’s art and the DIY designer toy idea and mash them together to create a 12-inch tall, blank, hoodie-wearing robot toy that may not even be a robot. Say hello to Bambaboss!
Ugly Box
I’m stunned. I know this is only a DIY toy, but after how awesome the packaging for every other Ashley Wood toy has looked I expected more than this. It’s functional, yes, but a simple white box with a label applied isn’t what I expect from 3A. This box is destined for the trash.
Hoodie-Wearing . . . Thing
Bambaboss comes with three different faces, one of which looks child-like, so it’s hard to say exactly what this guy is. The gas mask face is my favorite one (duh), while the line with circular eye would have to be my choice for second favorite. That child-like face is creepy, and makes me think of the Square (review here), and doesn’t feel at all appropriate to me. But I need to remember that the Square’s didn’t work for me at first so maybe I’ll grow to appreciate the third Bambaboss face.
The faces pop out of the head and the fit is quite tight. I had to use a sharp object to pop the non-gas mask heads out (the gas mask gives you a handle), but it was then pointed out to me that a chopstick through the hole in the back of the toy pops that face right out. Man, I should have noticed that.
Articulation
No, not really all that articulated, but his hands do move a little and his feet are on ball joints. Bambaboss is more statue than action figure, standing there on his awesome feet and just letting his arms hang to the sides. What you see in the various photos of this guy online (the Bambaboss customs thread at 3A toys is a great place to go for pics) is what he can do. I wish he would have had just a little more articulation, but for a DIY art toy this is a completely acceptable level of articulation.
A Great Design
As you can see in the pics, the Bambaboss toy beautifully blends Wood’s art style with the more sleek look of “urban vinyl” toys, making this something of a hybrid of the two styles. The clunky feet, unusual faces, and still hands are so out-of-place with the hoodie that the package works perfectly.
The Bambaboss may not be the most exciting toy that Ashley Wood has produced, but it’s a great work that’s going to appeal to those designer toy collectors out there who aren’t a huge fan of zombies or robots (there can’t be anyone out there who doesn’t like zombies or robots).
Closing Thoughts
Priced at about $40, the Bambaboss DIY toy — for a piece of his size — was perfectly priced for the vinyl toy market. Yeah, it’s expensive in comparison to what you find in the big box chain stores, but this was a one-time white run that was sold on pre-orders alone so $40 isn’t at all out of line. Collecting designer toys can be a very expensive hobby, and I’m amazed at how the entire collector scene appears to be capable of supporting so many limited, high-end releases.
Bambaboss isn’t fun to play with as a toy, but as a blank canvas he’s perfect. I’ve got two of these and I’m just waiting for the right idea before I start covering the white with something else.
If you wanna see some of the work people have done so far with the Bambaboss then check this thread at the 3A forums. I’ve posted a couple of the pics below, by forum users nizzit and nwo, to give you a sneak peek.
Philip Reed would apologize that the review is so short but, well, what can he say about a blank toy that’s gonna fill a lot of space?
The hips do actually rotate as well. Doesn’t really make it much more articulated but I thought I’d point it out as well. And I have to agree, I was rather disappointed by the packaging design as well.
It’s true it’s a DIY but $40…