Vinyl Sugar's TMNT Dorbz Vinyl Figures Review
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Funko has made quite a name for themselves with their Funko Pops! vinyl figures. Particularly impressive is just how many different intellectual
properties they have covered in the line. But that doesn't mean that they don't want to come up with ways to get even more of fans' money. The
solution, start a subsiderary company and produce another version of vinyl figures in a different style. (Honestly, I'm not sure why you would
even need to bother with the new company.) But that's what Funko did, and thus we have Vinyl Sugar and their line of vinyl figures, Dorbz. The
new line includes six Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle characters as well, the four Turtles and Bebop and Rocksteady, all in their classic cartoon style.
There was also a box set available at New York Comic Con that included all four Turtles in grey colors and all red masks for those that prefer an
old school look.
Packaging - 6/10The boxes for the regular Dorbz figures are a bit larger than necessary for the figures at four and half inches wide and five inches tall. They have a large window on both the front and back so you can clearly see the figure from multiple angles and with plenty of light. A large photo of the character is on one side of the box while small images of all six available figures are on the other side. The design is simple but looks nice. They could use a better interior background than plain cardboard. And they seem to have some quality issues. About half of the figures I got initially had the clear tape seals popping off of the top flap. And more than one had the plastic for the window falling off inside the box. Someone needs to invest in better quality adhesive.
Sculpting - Turtles 7/10, Bebop & Rocksteady 8/10The concept behind the Dorbz line is fairly simple. Each figure shares a generic body which is shaped like the bottom two thirds of a bowling pin with lumps on the sides for the arms and a spherical head with minimal sculpted details. The minimalist style isn't going to appeal to many people. But if you don't mind the style, I have to admit that they made it work well. The Turtles share a single head sculpt which has a sculpted mask and a slight protrusion for the nose/beak. It's subtle but quite cute. The head sculpts for Bebop and Rocksteady are more elaborate and just as cute. Who wouldn't love Bebop's sculpted ponytail on his mohawk and ear and nose rings?
Paint - 7/10The Dorbz figures use of mix of printed graphics for the bodies and painted details for the heads. The combination works well. The printed graphics for the bodies mean that you can get a lot more detail than you could have gotten with just paint. The quality is pretty good as well. I have yet to see any issues with stray paint marks on the figures I have seen which is roughly three complete sets of figures.
Articulation - 3/10The Dorbz figures have a single rotating neck joint. There isn't really much opporunity for more other than shoulder joints. But the little blobs of an arm wouldn't be good for anything anyway. So why bother.
Accessories - 0/10The TMNT Dorbz don't have any accessories.
Value - 5/10The Dorbz figures sell for $8 to $9 each depending upon the store. While I will give them credit that they are cuter than I expected, that is a steep price considering all four Turtles are the same sculpt and they can't do anything other than sit on your desk looking cute. Still, they are the cheapest option for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle vinyl figures and since they are not sold as blind boxes so you can pick just the ones you want and won't need to buy duplicates to get a rare chase figure.
Happy Hunting:The Dorbz figures are available through specialty retailers. I have seen them at Barnes and Noble stores and Hot Topic while shopping for the holidays. (Though only Hot Topic had the TMNT Dorbz.) They have also been included in the TMNTBox gift boxes for the last two months. My set actually came from Big Bad Toy Store since they were the first site to have the TMNT Dorbz available.
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