First off, let me just say thanks to
Phantom Troublemaker for inviting me to write this guest post. The
invite was quite timely, as I have been jonesing to write this post
just so I could tell everyone how awesome these figures are.
Funko, for the uninitiated, has taken
the concept of the classic bobble-head and made them geeky, with
licensed figures representing everything from Marvel and DC comics to
Disney and Game of Thrones. All at prices that don’t require a
second mortgage on your man cave. I own two other Funko Pops figures,
the Silver Surfer and General Ursus from the original Planet of the
Apes, and both are fun and look great in my writing cave. But the
Robby and B-9 definitely crank it up a notch in my opinion.
The Pops figures are basically
caricatures, with big heads and smaller bodies, but the aesthetics of
the line really lend themselves to the look and feel of these classic
robots. B-9 looks just like the film version, with realistic paint.
The torso also rotates 360 degrees, just like it did in the show,
which I thought was a very nice touch. The paint job is good over all
and, while there are a few minor defects in this department, it makes
this a one of a kind figure in my mind.
Robby’s dimensions are a bit more
exaggerated than B-9—the upper body is more rounded and squat, the
dome less egg-shaped—but somehow it works. Robby’s torso also
rotates 360 degrees, but this wasn’t a prominent feature of the
original Robby suit. What did turn was the robot’s head, which this
figure can’t do, but that’s a minor quibble, as everything else
looks great. The paint on Robby looks really good.
Robby the Robot and B-9 are my favorite
movie and TV robots, with Robby easily taking the lead. I encountered
him off and on during my childhood, from the Lost in Space
episode “War of the Robots,” to bit parts in other TV shows and
films like Gremlins, and finally to Forbidden Planet,
which has become one of my favorite classic science fiction films.
B-9, or the Robot as he was called on Lost in Space, had color
and whimsy, brought to full life by actor and stunt man Bob May. It’s
no wonder these two robots hold such a special place in my heart and
look so great sitting together on my desk, since they were both
created by the same man, the late Robert Kinoshita.
Even if you’re not into the other
Funko Pops vinyl figures, if you’re a retro robot fan, you’ll
want Robby and B-9 for your collection. They lend a touch of retro
chic to any office, den, or geek man cave and, when no one’s
looking, you can re-enact your favorite moments from War of the
Robots to your heart’s content. My only wish now is that Funko
will release these as Kenner-style action figures for their Re Action
line of action figures.
James Palmer is an award-nominated
writer, editor and publisher of science fiction and pulp adventure
best known for the alternate history giant monster anthology Monster
Earth. He is a frequent guest on podcasts such as ESO, The Revolution
SF Revcast, and the White Rocket. When not writing, he can be found
watching Daredevil on Netflix. A recovering comic book addict, James
lives in Northeast Georgia with his wife, daughter, two dogs, and a
metric crap-ton of books. For retro reviews and other foolishness,
visit www.jamespalmerbooks.com.
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