COLLECTABLES
Things we’ve been playing with this month
Playing with toys for a living? What kind of job is this? All those POP! vinyls are too much to bear.
Unite the DC superhero team in cute plastic form with these Pop! Justice League vinyl figures (FPI price £9.99 each; product codes H3022, H3023, H3024, H3025, H3027). Superman’s striking the classic superhero touchdown pose, while Wonder Woman is accessorised with sword, lasso and battlelashes. An entirely featureless Batman rocks Bat-goggles and a Barry Gibb-lookalike Aquaman wields a trident, while Cyborg stares at you with a red Smartie eye. Also available: the Flash – he was too fast to be photographed.
Does anyone in the real world actually drink out of steins? We know Thor’s fond of them, and that any Hobbit, Dwarf or Elf on a Tolkien-esque quest is likely to sink a couple, but actual planet Earth humans? Still, manufacturers will persist in shoving branding on them. These Harry Potter/The Lord Of The Rings glass steins (FPI price £10.99 each; product codes H6324, H6323) are good as far as they go – while they don’t look authentic to either franchise, they boast nice metal emblems for Hogwarts and The Prancing Pony, respectively. But let’s be realistic, we’ll be sticking with pints.
If those steins set off your “movie authenticity” klaxon, you’re not going to think much of this The Lord Of The Rings mug (FPI price £5.99; product code H6322) – nobody ever saw Aragorn stopping off for a cuppa on his way to Mordor. It’s emblazoned with the logo of popular Shire hostelry The Green Dragon – presumably to make sure you don’t run off with it. We’re not sure if Hobbit-sized scale replicas are available – if not you may just have to try holding it a good distance away from your face.
Holy stylised superhero beverage receptacle! Quaff cup-a-soup out of the Dark Knight’s noggin with this Batman
Pop! mug (FPI price £10.99; product code H3323). Something about the eyebrows and glaring white eyes suggest Bats is unhappy, but the absence of a mouth means he can only scream his displeasure internally. That and the fact he’s made of ceramic.
“I am Adam, Prince of Eternia and defender of the secrets of Castle Grayskull. Fabulous powers were revealed to me the day I held aloft my magic sword and said, ‘By the Power of Grayskull.’ My head expanded to freakish proportions, my face fixed into a cartoony scowl, and my body contorted into a trapezoid. The same fate has afflicted Skeletor disciple Trap Jaw. It seems we’re destined to be trapped as these new Funko Vinyl
He-Man figures (FPI price £19.99 for the pair; product code H5052) for all eternity. Send help. But not Orko – he’s rubbish.”
Do you get as mad as a raging Hulk when you’re peckish? Banish those hunger pangs with the help of these embossed Marvel bowls from Half Moon Bay (FPI £9.99 each; product codes H2948, H2949, H2950). They feature retro designs of Spider-Man, Hulk and Thor, plus a picture of a little comic-book price sticker on the inside rim. Matching mugs are also available, with appropriately shaped handles – the Thor one’s based on his hammer, for example.
For readers of a certain vintage, this Rock Candy
Elvira vinyl figure (FPI price £9.99; product code H3533) requires no explanation. For younglings: Cassanda Peterson adopted the gothic persona to host horror films on TV in the ’80s, eventually spinning the character off into a movie. Beyond the hair and cleavage, this bears little resemblance to the Mistress Of The Dark. Plus unsightly seams on the right hand make it look like she’s suffered a blender accident.