Hi guys, how are you? Do you know what funko is? Today we are going to talk about these action figures adorable and their participation in pop culture. We can see many of these dolls out there all with different styles. But there is a company called Funko that stands out in the market because of its various toy production patents and also several other items that are based on pop culture, including anime, manga and games.
In this time of technology, almost nothing is isolated in one place, things spread across the world and often become so widespread and popular that they are difficult to forget. Mania, music, movies, action figures, electronic items and everything else that can be done in one part of the planet has the potential to spread throughout it, like a fire that spreads wherever it can burn.
Throughout the article we will leave some funko products for you to look at on Amazon Brasil.
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Funko is a global culture
For those who don't know, I'll try to explain what pop culture is. I don't know if it will be the best explanation but it will serve for this article. Basically, pop culture or popular culture is the set of practices, beliefs and objects that are dominant in a society at a given time. It is strongly influenced by the mass media and permeates the lives of people in societies.
For example, our dear action figures, they are popular both in Brazil and Japan. They are all over the world and most people know what they are or have seen one. Pop culture is that, a custom that is dominantly present in a society. In the case of action figures, they are global pop culture, if that's the right term.
Getting to know the Funko company
Funko is an American company that produces licensed pop culture collectibles. Funko is renowned for making licensed vinyl figures and bobbleheads. In addition to licensed electronics and plush items.
Founded in 1998, the company was created as a small project to create various low-tech, nostalgic-themed toys. Sold in 2005, the company increased the catalog of several of its toy lines and also made licensing agreements with companies like Netflix, Ubisoft, Paramount Pictures, Cartoon network, Pokemon company among others.
Its brand specializing in pop culture has a global reach, and consequently its products are found all over the world. Below I will put some genres of toys related to the products she produces.
designer toys
Designer toys are innovative, collectible toys made by independent artists. Usually produced in limited editions, they are made from materials such as vinyl, metal, latex and resin. The first designer toys appeared in the 1990s.
This kind of toy makes a great collaboration in pop culture, after all what would we be without our cute and cuddly action figures? And in the case of animes, they are even more successful, and these artists however are not licensed but also part of the industry.
The article is still halfway through, but we recommend also reading:
urban vinyl
Urban vinyl is a type of designer toy, with action figures in particular, which are usually made from vinyl. As we already know vinyl is a type of synthetic plastic made of polymer, putting it in layman's terms, it is PVC, that type of material that the water pipes used in the plumbing of most homes here in Brazil are made.
To specify this type of toy, these are toys that have original designs, small production numbers and are marketed to collectors, who are usually adults.
Resin Toys
Resin toys are another sub-category of designer toys. And with property name already says, they are made of Resin. They are created by melting the resin and adjusting it after it has been cast. For finishing they are painted using automotive aerosol paint and occasionally given a coat of varnish over the paint.
This process is more laborious and time consuming than vinyl. Unlike vinyl toys, these are carved, molded and painted by a single artist. That's because vinyl toys have practicality to be industrialized.
Plush toys
Plush toys, another sub-category of designer toys, are soft, stuffed dolls created in limited quantities by artists and designers. Common designs include animals or human-like shapes, designers often feature entirely unique character designs. These toys are often given names and personalities, with their distinct personalities depicted on their labels or in booklets included in their packaging.
Bobblehead
Also known as a nodder or wobbler, this is a type of collectible doll. But it is already a different category from designer toys. Its head is often large compared to its body. And instead of its connection being stable, the head is connected to the body only by a spring or hook, in such a way that any shake will make the head wobble.
This one despite being part of pop culture currently its creation is not entirely new. For this we will present a little of the history of this specific type of figures. This story isn't exactly necessary, but it might be interesting to learn more about it.
A little bit of Funko history
Religious and Buddha figures were produced in the 17th century in Asia. The earliest reference to these dolls is believed to be in Nikolai Gogol's 1842 short story "The Coat". During the 19th century, bobbleheads made from bisque were being made in small quantities for the US market.
During the 1920s and 1930s, many of these dolls that were consumed in the US were produced in Germany. As early as the 1950s, they had a substantial rise in popularity with items made from plastic or bisque.
rise in popularity
In the approximately 1960s, Major League Baseball, a major league baseball in the US, entered this culture and produced a series of papier-mâché bobblehead dolls, and each championship team received one. Over the next decade these were made of ceramics, within a few years this theme was copied by other sports.
The next increase took place in the late 1990s. Despite being sought after, these dolls had almost no innovation. What ultimately motivated their innovation were cheaper manufacturing processes. So instead of ceramic, these are now made of plastic. So it was possible to make these products in the proper numbers so that they could be collectible.
Collectible Funko
Like other types of dolls and toys, bobbleheads have an impact on pop culture. These objects are objects of admiration and obsessive searches, especially the rarer ones, as well as anything else that one likes to collect. The difference here is its scope and level of influence, as millions of people collect these articles.
Based on my research, I can say that collecting these dolls or the others already mentioned is not cheap. But as I once heard, “It's not the things that are expensive, it's your monetary capacity that's low for such things”. Sad but it's the pure reality.
Funko product line
Funko has created more than 13,000 different products in dozens of toy lines. The first line was Wacky wobblers, which is a line of Bobbleheads representing various characters. Mainly pop culture.
In March 2018, the company announced its cereal brand, which includes mini-pop characters inside the box. This cereal was scheduled to be released in June of the same year. Other current production lines include Hikari, legacy collection, fabrikations mopeez and Rock candy.
In 2015, Funko announced a brand called Vinyl Sugar. But there are also other older lines, these include Spastilk Plastik, Blox, FunkoVision, Funko force and more.
Funko Pop!
Funko Pop! It's a vinyl line of super deformed Japanese style modeled figures. Typically this line represents licensed characters from franchises such as Marvel, Disney, Star Wars, Harry Potter, DC comics and others.
Several other products were launched using the Pop! and your style. Such as plush toys, t-shirts, key chains (miniature versions of the original versions) and ceramic mugs.
And within this theme there is Funko Rides, which presents the puppet in a vehicle. In addition Funko produces Pop! Deluxes, where you find a character sitting on external pieces like a throne and less often in a vehicle or a creature of some sort.
Another relevant content is the production of the Movie and Como Momentos line, which feature Pop! Interacting with each other and displaying scenes that reproduce moments from movies, comic books or the like.
Conclusion
I personally don't have any of these products, which is unfortunate. But that doesn't mean I don't like to admire them. They are lovely things and pleasing to the eye, yet they are priced to match their virtues.
Plush, vinyl, resin or bobblehead toys are all items that are collectible, not to be sold like water. This is the main reason for their prices, of course it has the influence of their licenses and the manufacturing cost, among others. But I can say that although these dolls are popular, the hobby of collecting these toys is not for everyone.
This article is over. But if you have any questions, suggestions, criticisms or others, just comment. And just to satisfy my curiosity, if anyone has a collection of these products, comment below. Furthermore, thank you, my dear reader, for reading this article this far. And until next time.
