Review – RawShark/Real X Head Callgrim

Line: Glyos * Manufacturer: RawShark and Real X Head * Year: 2010

Real X Head and Onell Design fans have been snagging the joint vinyl toys for over a year now, and late last year Glyos System’s Callgrim got in on the action with this 9-inch tall vinyl toy. How does it compare to the previous Onell/RXH Pheyaos Man (review here)? Very favorably, but you need to be a fan of both Callgrim and RXH toys to really appreciate the toy.

Like Pheyaos Man, but Different

Callgrim here shares the same basic body as Pheyaos Man, so if you’ve seen one of the toys (or my Pheyaos Man review) then you have a good idea what to expect. The differences — other than paint — come down to the left arm and the head. I do not know the RXH line well enough to know whether or not the arm is a new sculpt, but the head is sure as hell a new sculpt and it’s a great interpretation of Jesse Moore’s Callgrim character in vinyl.

Paint

Though not as colorful as Pheyaos Man, Callgrim here actually has more paint than it may look like at a first glance. It looks like paint wipes on the feet, head, and right hand and subtle sprays on the torso with detail paint on the eyes and the arm cannon painted a shimmery, semi-metallic bronzish grey. Minimal paint apps, yes, but the overall effect looks good.

Vanished Immediately

Callgrim was released in early November and, unsurprisingly, he was sold-out almost immediately. Collecting RXH toys isn’t exactly easy, but these Glyos cross-over toys are damned tough to get . . . which makes me very happy that I have such a healthy number of the releases that have hit so far. Which ones are in my collection? Well, at the moment I’ve got Callgrim here as well as two versions of Pheyaos (review here and second review here), Pheyaos Man (review here), Mini-Pheyden (review here), Mini-Scar Pheyden (review here), and Rilleco Chaos (review here). Whew, that’s a more impressive collection than I realized and I can safely say that they definitely look better as a group than as single toys. There’s not a problem with each individual toy, but when they’re all assembled together it’s actually a pretty impressive sight.

Closing Thoughts

You either love the Japanese vinyl toys from Real X Head, or you’re interested in them, or you have absolutely no interest at all (and may even hate them), and nothing I say is going to change your mind . . . unless of course you’re in that “hmmmm, those are kinda neat” stage. If you’re at that stage then beware: Looking at too many of these toys can lead you down the path of collecting Japanese vinyl toys. And I am sure I’m not alone in telling you that it is a dangerous path.

But if you decide to wander down that path then don’t worry. I’ll be right ahead of you tripping over some new release or other and cussing every single one of you who has tricked me into getting my feet wet with these toys.

Thanks for the shove, guys.

Philip Reed wonders what is next from Onell/RawShark/RXH. Maybe we can get an insane collaboration and see a Steregon toy with two Callgrim heads and both arms replaced with two Pheyaos Man arms. That would be pretty damned awesome. Whatta ya mean the parts aren’t compatible? That’s not my problem, I just want the toy.