Review – Crystal Nekosaur

It’s not every day that I buy a toy that was manufactured in Japan. Hell, it’s not even every month. But more and more I find the Japanese vinyl toys — the crazy kaiju toys — interesting me and, recently, I went ahead and ordered an American-design kaiju toy that was sculpted and manufactured in Japan. And here he is, the Crystal Nekosaur from Incubot. And he’s neat, but I’m not sure if he’s $90 worth of neat. Or maybe he is.

Damn, this is gonna be a tough review to write.

Clear Vinyl Toys are Growing On Me

I’m not a major fan — or crazy obsessed like some fans — of clear toys. They are kinda neat, yes, but I always have a problem fully seeing the sculpt of a clear toy. I mean, it’s clear so looking at it is tough since you see right through to the opposite side. I mean, the effect is cool but I always feel like I’m missing the real attraction of clear toys whenever I start chatting with one of those hardcore clear toy nuts. And once the discussion devolves into air bubbles and imperfections I’m lost; yeah, I’d much rather have a solid toy with a great paint job than a clear toy. Or, barring that, a clear toy that has been painted by a master like Matt Walker of Dead Presidents (website, Twitter).

But recently I find myself starting to appreciate the beauty of clear toys (not when trying to photograph them, though, because that’s a major pain). The smooth, glass-like surface combined with the reflections and the hint of the other side is kinda surreal and weird all rolled up in a ball of vinyl fun. Yeah, the more clear toys I handle the more I can understand the attraction.

Someone help me, I’m turning into one of those clear toy fanatics. Send painted toys over, stat! Help me!

$30 for Each Point of Articulation

Built out of four pieces — head, arms, and body/legs — this $90 toy features only three basic points of articulation. It’s not much, but one of the things I’m learning about Japanese vinyl toys is that articulation comes a distant third to sculpt and paint apps. (Well, not on clear toys. You know what I mean.)

The Sculpt is Fun

Okay, so articulation isn’t this toy’s strength. Fortunately, the sculpt is fantastic. A robot cat, the Crystal Nekosaur has some great details and very crisp edges on the design. Nothing sharp enough to cut you, but there’s no rough spots or questionable areas; everything about the sculpt is artistic and professional. The review at CollectionDX says:

“The whole figure has a classic super robot design combined with modern sensibilities. I mean, it’s a cat robot, it’s got cat ears and a tail. Neko = Cat. It’s cool.”

Yeah, a robot cat is neat. And what’s really fun about this design is that the cat elements aren’t immediately obvious; we definitely get more robot than cat in this sculpt. And that’s a good thing.

Cut, Fold, Insert

So the toy is clear, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any visual details or color. It’s just that the color and linework comes in the form of paper inserts that can either come already inserted into the hollow toy or that you can DIY. Well, I got the DIY version and Gina spent an hour or so cutting paper and rolling/folding pieces and inserting them into the toy. It’s a neat idea, but not something I would enjoy doing.

It’s a good thing Gina enjoys assembling things like this.

Closing Thoughts

I’m constantly surprised at the wide range of prices that exist in the toy market. From the inexpensive Hot Wheels cars to the most expensive World War Robot or one-of-a-kind art toy there’s a price point for everyone. Unfortunately, the terrifyingly high price of most Japanese vinyl toys — this guy’s $90 for six-inches — means that most people will never even own one of them. And the high price also means that I’ll never own nearly as many of these as I do Star Wars and Marvel Universe action figures.

The Crystal Nekosaur is fun and weird, but I cannot recommend this to anyone who isn’t already collecting the types of toys that are constantly featured at sites like toybot studios and Kaiju Chronicle. Those of you who are already buying Japanese vinyl toys, though, may want to keep your eyes on the Incubot website because even though this design is sold out it can only be a matter of time before a new colorway is released.

I won’t buy a second version of this design, but I’m happy that I added this Crystal Nekosaur to my toy collection.

Philip Reed now wants another clear toy. Someone should slap him.