KK Reviews: Stinky Ginger by Circus Posterus x Tomenosuke-syoten

Stinky Ginger, designed by Chris Ryniak, is the third figure in the Circus Posterus x Tomenosuke-syoten sofubi line. (Click here to check out the first figure - Brandt Peters' Stingy Jack, and here to check out the second figure - Kathie Olivas' Calliope Jackalope.)

Stinky Ginger represents an interesting departure from the first two figures, with a stronger emphasis on texture and sculpting detail and a sharper, more angular design - in contrast to the round, smooth designs of Jack and Calliope. To my mind, that helps make the series more well rounded, as it incorporates other sofubi design traditions.

If I were to categorize Stinky, I might place the figure in a similar vein with sculpts from Shikaruna and Yamomark, which are extremely bold and detailed.

Let's start with a look at the packaging.

The figure comes in a traditional bag + stapled header card, which has a really fun illustration, lettering, and color matching the figure.

More after the jump:

The card is signed by Chris, but this edition (of 65) wasn't numbered.

Stinky Ginger was based on illustrations by Chris. This print was sold in April, 2012 as part of a fundraiser for the CP artists to raise money to travel to Japan. Copies of the print are still available here. Interestingly, if you check out the other prints in the series, you'll see two other figures in the CP x T sofubi line. Even better, you can still buy all the prints. I haven't got any, but I think it would look pretty awesome to display the prints and figures together.

For this photo shoot, Stinky joined me for a bus ride.

To the supermarket!

  Let's take a look at Stinky from all sides:

The figure stands at 165 mm (6.5") tall. Once again, Yohei Kaneko of Mirock Toys did the final sculpt used to make the mold.

On the left, you can see Chris's original sculpt. The size was brought down to bring the figure in line with other CP x T figures. (Stingy Jack also stands at exactly 6.5" tall.)

The figure has four parts: By far, the largest is the top part, where you can see all the detail that went into the texture work and stalks jutting out from the head.

Here's a closer look at the top, where the design details really stand out.

And a close-up look at the face. Stinky strikes me as more bold and assertive than previous toys that Chris has designed - like Big Muscamoot, Crumbeater, and Bubblegut. However, Stinky maintains the signature large eyes. The raised eyebrow gives Stinky a really in-your-face expression, but that comes at something of a price, since with the glare you no longer have a perfect orb or oval shape for the eyeballs. And the resulting asymmetric shapes make it difficult to use doll eyes for future versions, which might have been awesome. Well, those are just my musings. As with all design decisions, there's always give and take.

The hands are one of my favorite parts of the figure. They're beautifully sculpted, and they rotate 360 degrees, providing lots of nice posing options.

With his rotatable hands, Stinky can even carry long stalks of vegetables, in case - you know, you want to get together for a hot pot meal. Hot pot is delicious.

Stinky swivels nicely at the waist. Once again , the CP x T team proves they are very skilled at the technical aspects of sofubi making. The cut is made at a nearly perfectly round point, so when Stinky swivels, it looks natural, and there are no large bits jutting out. Also, the excellent balance means you can swivel and leave the figure in place, with Stinky standing firmly and not toppling over. I love the way the CP x T team always keeps playability in mind.

  We'll leave the final word to Stinky...

I knew many of these roots. They were friends of mine. The Grocer has gone too far this time!

I've received word that future versions of Stinky, including the upcoming Pickled Ginger version, will be painted. I'm eager to see the masking and painting on that one, which should be gorgeous.

Finally, here are details of how you can get future versions:

For the series, sales of the figure in North America will be handled by Stranger Factory:
Stranger Factory
109 Carlisle Blvd. NE
Albuquerque, NM 87106 USA

While international sales will be handled by Tomenosuke-syoten.
Tomenosuke-syoten
3-44, HONMACHI
TAKAYAMA-SHI, GIFU, 5060011
Japan

And that's a wrap on our review of Stinky Ginger. Thanks for reading, and remember - when you go to toy conventions - get Stinky, but don't go stinky!