Review – Skull Toys’ Dock ‘n Roll No. 2
Manufacturer: Skull Toys * Year: 2009
This is only the second Skull Toys (website) release I’ve reviewed here at battlegrip.com (Dokurocks “Skulletor†review here) and I like to think that I’ve got a bit more experience with Japanese vinyl than I did when I wrote that first review. But maybe not; I admit that I had to consult An Encyclopedia of Kaiju (reading post here) to identify the toy, so maybe I’m still not worth listening to when it comes to Japanese vinyl.
Oh well. At least you can still enjoy the photos.
6-Inches Tall and $20
Even though the Dock ‘n Roll toy is only 6-inches tall it feels a lot meatier; the wide stance and spread arms gives the toy a lot of bulk and it really fills my hand when I hold it. And that’s one of the things that’s not really understandable until you hold some of these vinyl toys; unlike mass market action figures, a lot of vinyl toys feel like substantial pieces when you hold them and play with them. If you don’t have any experience with these toys then I suggest that the next time you are in Wal-Mart or Target you grab one of the Ben 10 Ultimate Alien vinyl toys (Ben 10 Hyperalien Ultimate Swampfire review here, Ben 10 Ultimate Alien Hyperalien Vilgax review here) and that will give you a pretty good idea of what I’m talking about when I say that these toys have some heft to them. Not so much the weight (they’re hollow) but just the feel. Try one and you’ll understand.
Articulation and Paint
As with most Japanese vinyl toys there’s minimal articulation on this meatball, with just three points — shoulders and neck — that swivel. But since these toys are more about the style and design than the articulation that’s not a huge loss. The waist is almost articulated, but the oval-like shape of the waist joint means that you can’t get any real movement there. But I suspect that was never meant as a point of articulation and the legs and torso were cast as two pieces only because of the manufacturing requirements.
The paint’s simple and straightforward, with silver and black sprays and red eyes and nails painted over white vinyl. But as you can see in the photos the work is clean and the effect pleasant to look at. Looking at the Skull Toys shop I see that as of this writing they have this guy in black with silver and red details; actually, that looks pretty awesome and might even be cooler than this colorway that I’ve already got.
Neat, but One is Enough
But even though that black version looks cool I’ve gotta say that the toy isn’t quite enough fun for me to want more than one. The design is cute and all, but I just don’t feel the need to track down a second colorway. Unlike the Ino Zombi (review here) and Screaming Pumpkin (review here) shown in the photo below; I still want more of those. But that’s a talk for another day.
Closing Thoughts
In the end the Dock ‘n Roll No. 2 is a decent design that looks good in the display but it’s not quite exciting enough for me to jump up and down and demand that everyone rush out and buy one. It’s perfectly acceptable when it comes to the sculpt, paint, and quality of the plastic, but the design doesn’t scream at me the way that some Japanese vinyl toys do.
Which means that if you find the look exciting then you’ll want this guy in your collection, because with this toy it’s only the overall design that’s holding me back from ranking it as more than a good toy. It’s a professional work, but it’s not exactly my sort of thing.
Philip Reed tried to buy a second Screaming Pumpkin at Toy Tokyo last week but ran into a slight problem at the store. Frustrating, because he was ready to spend the cash but now he’s back to being forced to order one online.