Funko Inc. is an American company that manufactures licensed pop culture collectibles, with Pop! Vinyl figurines featuring small bobblehead characters being one of their most popular items. Today, these figurines can be found in almost every major retailer across Australia. For me, Funko pops were the first official collectible items I ever properly owned; and throughout the years, I've collected a fair few of them. The following are 8 of my own personal favourites.
Based on the rich and adventurious character 'Scrooge McDuck' from Disney XD's DuckTales (2017), this figure is a remake of the original Scrooge McDuck figure based on the 1987 DuckTales series. This Entertainment Earth exclusive Funko Pop differs from the original by featuring a red coat rather than blue, as well as various other recoloured decorations. Aside from the fact that I am a big fan of the DuckTales series, this was given to me by a friend who had moved away, and therefore has great sentimental value.
The Projectionist is an antagonist from the indie horror game 'Bendy and the Ink Machine', created by TheMeatly. I love this figure in particular mainly due to the small details and dramatic character proportions. Although bobblehead figures are known for having comparatively smaller bodies, the large projector head of the Projectionist perched on the small base of the figure is ridiculously large, which I believe gives it plenty of charm. The design of the speaker on his chest is also highly detailed, something Pop! Vinyls don't usually include on their figures due to their simplistic designs.
Nightmare Bonnie is an animatronic character featured in the fourth installment of the indie horror franchise 'Five Nights at Freddys'. During the time I purchased this figure, Funko Pops were typically very similar to one another in terms of face shape and overall structure. The Nightmare Bonnie figure was one of the few that differed, having white eyes rather than black, as well as holes and ridges across the figure.
Yet another figure from the Five Nights at Freddys series, Springtrap is the main antagonist of the third installment of the games. Aside from the character being a personal favourite of mine, it was only recently that I discovered that the figure had a drastically different texture compared to other Pop Vinyls. Instead of the usual smooth surface, the Springtrap figure had a fuzzy and felt-like exterior, making it more similar to its in-game counterpart.
Moving from Cartoon and Video Game centred Funko Pops, figures based on popular anime series are also very common. The Weakened All Might figure, based on the show 'My Hero Academia', is somewhat different from the typical Vinyl pops as well. Rather than having the same square face shape, bulging eyes and rounded hands, the figure features a more realistic facial structure, rough grooves on the limbs, as well as flat painted set of eyes, really emphasising the fragile state of the character.
Based on the character Shoto Todoroki from 'My Hero Academia', this Funko Pop is a variation of the an older model on the same character. In this variation, the figure features glow in the dark flames and ice coming out from the figure's body, as well as a more dynamic pose and different clothing. The variation in the figure is nice to look at, and the glowing features are a nice additional touch.
The Undertaker is a character from the 2006 anime series 'Black Butler', and is the second Funko Pop I ever bought back in 2014. Although structurally, it is not as unique or detailed as some of the newer figures, I find the small silver accessories attached to the figure to be a nice touch. I also appreciated that the figure still included eyes underneath the hair, as they could have easily just left it out. Seeing this Funko Pop in particular reminds me of the excitement I had purchasing these collectibles many years ago.
This Funko Pop featuring Eren Jaeger, the protagonist of the popular anime series 'Attack on Titan', was the first Funko Pop I had ever bought. Sentimental value aside, the figure is also a special monochromatic version of the original coloured figure, giving it a very unique look in contrast to the box art. The details on the Pop Vinyl's harness and weapons are also something I greatly appreciate.