Review – Legend Of Plaseebo Mummy with Sarcophagus

I posted about this limited edition toy back in March (mentioned here) and I hate to admit that it has been sitting here waiting for me to open it since April. What took me so long? Just finding the right time and inspiration to sit down and pop the bag open. Many times throughout the summer I almost started playing with the toy, but it wasn’t until today that I finally took the time to remove it from its bag and see exactly what I had bought from Bob Conge at Plaseebo (website, Twitter). This was my first toy from Plaseebo and, after spending the afternoon with it, I can promise you that this won’t be my last.

Packaging

The bag with header card approach, but the header is massive. Which it needed to be since the sarcophagus is about 9-inches tall and a bulky piece. Fortunately, that massive header card was used to give us a great illustration; I’m going to display the artwork along with the toy. Yeah, it’s that cool.

Sarcophagus

First up is the sarcophagus that holds the mummy. As mentioned, this piece measures 9-inches from end to end and it’s a rough, gorgeous work of art with just enough detail work to bring it from a simple piece to a work of art that will display quite nicely. I love the Plaseebo face logo sculpted into the head of the sarcophagus while the word “Awaken” across the foot is another nice touch.

One minor complaint with the toy is the name. When announced it was listed as “Legend Of Plaseebo Mummy with Sarcophagus” but the packaging and the sarcophagus both say “Awaken” so I’m not totally clear on what the official name is. It doesn’t matter that much, and it certainly doesn’t harm the toy, but the name issue is bugging me and I thought that mentioning it here might attract someone who has the definitive name for this piece.

For being two pieces of vinyl the sarcophagus actually has some pretty impressive weight behind it. The paint is well-suited to the sculpt and overall I’m completely happy with the look and feel of the sarcophagus. It’s got that ancient, native vibe down perfectly and feels and looks more like an artifact that it does a vinyl toy. And that’s quite fitting for the weird, disturbing mummy that’s hidden beneath the lid of the sarcophagus.

Mummy

As cool as the sarcophagus is, though, it’s the 7.5-inch tall mummified thing inside the sarcophagus that is the true star of this $85 toy. Misshapen and deformed doesn’t even begin to describe this thing; look at the photos and you can see how the baby doll-like legs work their way into an alien-like torso with over-sized hands and a truly warped and distorted head. The look of this mummy is awesome and will look nasty as hell sitting on the shelf alongside other vinyl toys.

And while the appearance is great, it’s the cloth-like texture that wraps the mummy that keeps attracting my attention. As much as I pick and tear at the “cloth” it will not separate from the toy; this is actually part of the vinyl toy and not simply something that was wrapped around a base. I suspect that cloth was used when the master was created, but it’s also possible that some insane — no, let’s say crazy — and talented person sculpted this cloth-like wrapping. Regardless of how it was done the texture on the “cloth” is one of my favorite parts of the toy and it now has me wondering how I could duplicate the effect in one of my own projects.

And for such a tiny amount of paint applied to the toy — the original description referred to the paint as an “umber wash” — the effect is excellent for something that is meant to have been entombed in the included sarcophagus for thousands of years.

Is it articulated?

Yes, but only at the legs and it’s again that sort of articulation that feels like it was important to manufacturing the toy and not intended as a play component. But since the articulation is just enough for me to position the mummy in a seated position I’m quite happy with the result. I’m serious when I say this thing looks pretty disturbing sitting beside you. It’s sitting on the desk beside me as I write this and it feels more like an evil artifact than it does a designer toy; and that’s what makes me say this is a fantastic work of art. I’m glad I took the chance on this but I could kick myself for taking so long to open the bag.

Closing Thoughts

While this may have been my first toy from Bob Conge at Plaseebo (website, Twitter) I really hope it isn’t the last. Unfortunately, Bob’s work is mostly short run and one-off customs and the prices can get pretty high — see the Plaseebo online shop for an idea of the prices on his work — so it’s going to be a real treat the next time that I get my hands on one of his toys. These may be expensive, but the designs and style are incredible.

At $85 this Legend Of Plaseebo Mummy with Sarcophagus toy set feels to me as if it was a steal. The mummy alone in various colorways pops up on eBay for anywhere from $70 to $100 so I count myself lucky that I was one of the ten people who got this set for $85. I know this toy isn’t for everyone, but it suits me and makes me happy and is going to be a beautiful and creepy addition to the collection.

It’s just a good thing that it’s a weak glow or the mummy might scare me at night.

Philip Reed is going to try to mix up the reviews a bit in 2011 and avoid the “review several of the same type of thing in a row” trap that he often fell into in 2010. And what better way to start this new practice than with a limited run and bizarre vinyl toy?