Review – Kubrick Violator

I remember how excited I was when Todd McFarlane’s Spawn comic launched. Cool art, what looked like it was going to be a fun story, and the general buzz of Image at the time added up to a hot launch and a comic that many of us — yeah, probably even you — picked up and devoured. By about issue #18 I had lost interest, though, as the storyline failed to grow more exciting.

That doesn’t stop me from enjoying Spawn toys, though, and this cute Violator toy is a great piece that’s short, silly looking, and fun.

Packaging

Nothing exciting. Just a simple clamshell with an insert card and some stickers on the front. The card claims that it’s a “limited edition,” but I don’t have any idea if that means limited to 1,000 or limited to 10,000. The number doesn’t really matter, since I’m sure there’s enough of these out there that anyone who really wants one should be able to find it.

The packaging is functional, but boring.

Violator’s a Cute Guy

To the top of his horn, Violator clocks in at 4-inches tall and is ready for action with almost any toy in your collection. The smaller the other toy is, the scarier Violator looks; on the other end of the spectrum, Violator next to a 12-inch action figure looks super silly.

Cast out of hard, red plastic, Violator’s got a dark red wash over the lighter plastic, paint on his horns and eyes, and a dark paint outlining his eyes. It’s not a lot of different colors of paint on the figure, but it looks like the factory did a great job with what little paint they used.

The sculpting is clean but a little simple and nowhere near as complicated or detailed as toys we’ve seen from McFarlane Toys in the past. For a Kubrick figure, though, it’s a lot more involved than I’ve seen in the past, which makes it a nice blend of the two styles. I mean, most of the Kubrick toys I’ve ever seen are blocky guys while this one’s got some actual shape and style to him.

As for articulation, Kubrick Violator’s arms are simple “hole stuck on ball” setups and it’s easy to pop the arms off. The wrists twist around (and snap off), while the waist also twists and the legs use the same type of joint as the arms. It’s not an overwhelming amount of articulation, but it feels like the perfect amount for such a cute toy. Violator’s not going to go toe-to-toe with a G.I. Joe action figure, but he’s gonna work out just fine with most of your smaller toys.

Closing Thoughts

I know this review is pretty short, but there’s really not a lot to say about the Kubrick Violator. He’s cute, pretty well balanced, painted nicely (very clean paint job, in fact), and a fun little toy that’s really not worth searching for. If you stumble across one at a low price — say between $6 and $10 — and you’re a Spawn fan, then he’s worth grabbing. Otherwise, I think you can safely ignore this Violator toy.

I’m gonna keep mine, but only because he looks so cute when he’s stuck in place with other toys. Like in the photo above and the photo below. Man, it seems like all of my smaller toys get a chance at riding around in Star Wars mini-rigs these days.

Philip Reed is gonna arrange Violator on the toy shelf with one of his vehicles. Probably sitting inside a mini-rig, since he fits so well in those old Star Wars toys.