Review – TheGodBeastBoys’ Gloops

Anyone who has spent some time poking around the designer toy scene — primarily the really underground stuff — has encountered the work of TheGodBeast. It was his crazy Battle Beasts and M.U.S.C.L.E.s customs that first caught my eye, but the more I see of his work the more impressed I am.

Well, TheGodBeast has some serious competition now. Competition from his two sons, Kobe and MJ. These two are starting to craft their own toys — with a little help from dad — and I was recently lucky enough to place my hands on the work of one of the two, Kobe. Follow me as I take the work of a child and realize just how talented TheGodBeastBoys really are.

Packaging

Not as much packaging as it is a protective shell, three of the Gloops — and the crown — were inside a plastic clamshell along with a business card from TheGodBeast. Hey, I’ve got TheGodBeast’s phone number now. I wonder if he is available 24/7 for resin casting questions?

The clamshell’s almost a nice idea. If it had been large enough to hold all four Gloops — and if there had been some sort of custom insert — this would have worked just fine. As it is, though, this is more of a practical, functional pack than it is art. TheGodBeast, maybe you can put together a slightly larger clamshell using the Gloop sketches as the basis for a packaging insert. I think that would be pretty sweet and make this an even better package for collectors.

Of course, since I always open toys the packaging isn’t all that important in the end. So let’s discard this clamshell and move on.

Welcome, Gloops

A Gloops set includes four different Gloops and a crown that you can glue to one of your Gloops. What’s a Gloop? It’s some sort of gelatinous creature with anywhere from one to three eyes and — at least on some of them — a mouth. As you can see in the photos, my Gloops are translucent purple but that’s not the only color choice available. Hit TheGodBeastBoys’ page for a look at other Gloop colors.

How big is a Gloop?

They’re actually tiny little guys, with Gloops raning in size from about one-half of an inch to three inches. Of course, they’ll look much larger if you place them in your 3.75-inch action figure collection so you can use these as monstrous enemies for your Star Wars or G.I. Joe figures.

Just like snowflakes, every Gloop is unique.

You know, if I hadn’t already known that the Gloops were sculpted by a child I never would have been able to guess the artist’s age. These look fantastic. The sculpts are clean, without any of the fingerprints or smudges that I see whenever I try to sculpt something, and they’re smooth pieces without being so smooth that they look machined.

The photo above shows the smallest of the four Gloops. I’m not sure what he was sculpted out of, but the detail work on the eye and tentacles makes me think that Kobe’s going to come up with some really amazing pieces as his skills mature. I mean, the quality of work is already excellent so he’s only going to get better. I’m definitely jealous of his skills.

Closing Thoughts

Though they’re a little expensive for their size, the Gloops set is a great addition to any resin toy collection. Small, stylized, and cute, buying a set of Gloops not only gives you a few neat toys but it also encourages the creativity of TheGodBeastBoys, which has to be a good thing for the future of the resin toy scene. The only change I would make would be an upgrade to the packaging — I’d love to see whatever sketches Kobe put together before he started sculpting and/or any drawings he creates inspired by the pieces — to make the Gloops just a little more collectible.

If you’re a fan of resin toys then you owe it to yourself to at least hop on over to TheGodBeastBoys’ page and look at their work. And if you can, I recommend ordering a set for yourself. You’ll get a toy and the boys will get a little money . . . and just maybe they’ll use the cash to buy themselves some toys.

Good work, guys.

Philip Reed will be 40 in a few years and he’s never made his own toy. Why is it TheGodBeastBoys are already making toys? Lucky, lucky kids with a great dad who helps them grow creatively. Who is gonna help Philip with his creativity?