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Hula Homer
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One of the more unusual, but cute, Simpsons
items to come out recently is the new Hula Homer, from Gemmy Industries. Homer
stands about 8" tall, and is a psuedo-bobble head. His whole
upper body does the bobble though, instead of just his head.
Homer is wearing the traditional Hawaiian
costume, with grass skirt, lei around his head, and coconut bra. He
also has whitey tighties under the skirt, since he's a shy kind of
guy. To top it off, he talks, similar to the WOS line. Pressing
a button on his foot treats you to a half dozen or so sayings, the best
being a rendition of one bar of "Tiny Bubbles". You have to
hear it to truly appreciate it.
For those that would like Homer to accompany
them on long road trips, he comes with little velcro strips that can be
attached to his feet and to your dashboard. It better be an SUV
though, since he's a pretty big wobbler.
You can find him at many on-line and
specialty stores for around $15. Although he's quite a bit larger than the
WOS figures, he still fits in nicely with many of the other general Simpsons
collectibles.
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Packaging - *
The package is nothing special, and is about as basic and simple as
possible. But let's face it, you have to open this guy up anyway.
Sculpting - ***
The sculpt is fairly good, and the overall design is cool. I
particularly like the arm position, giving him the feeling of motion, and
looking good when you get him rocking around.
But the facial sculpt isn't
quite the design I'd like. Don't get me wrong - he looks just like
Homer. It's just not the facial expression that I think works the best
for this particular outfit.
Paint - ***
The paint lines are fairly clean, although the white around the eyes and
undies is a little sloppy. There's not tons of details here, and it's
not particularly small, so you'd expect the paint work to be a little
cleaner.
Articulation - ***
There's one point of articulation - his bobble waist. But it's well
designed, and works well when you get the car moving.
Quality - ***1/2
The grass skirt is well done, and looks like it will hold up over
time. I'd expect a lot of fading though if you have him on the dash.
The plastic is nice and heavy
as well, and the construction is sturdy. The only knock here is that
he's so big, it might be tough to keep him stuck to the dash with the small
velcro strips.
Talking Feature - ***1/2
Yep, he's cute, and the wobbling works well, but the talking feature is what
really makes this a great toy. The lines are all great, but the Tiny
Bubbles rendition is just hilarious. The sound is loud and clear, and
most of the lines sound like Homer, rather than a bad impression.
Value - **1/2
This would be a much better value around $10 rather than $15, but it's
such a neat little item that its tough to pass up even at the higher
price.
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Overall - ***
If your a big Simpsons fan, do yourself a favor and pick this
up. It's going to make you laugh out loud, and it'll look great on
the dash of any vehicle. It's an imaginative item that will get
folks talking, and he'll keep you company on those long, lonely toy runs.
Where to Buy -
I bought mine at a Software Etc. store, which is a division of Barnes and
Noble. Gamestop stores are also part of Barnes and Noble and have
them already. I'd expect other specialty stores to get them
soon. On-line:
- Grants
Toys has them for a good price at $13 plus shipping.
- Gamestop.com
has them for $14.99, just like the stores, plus shipping.
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Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford. |
