Nendoroid Alex DeLarge

I haven't really ever written about toys here, not because I'm not interested, but because I always had other outlets to talk about them. See, where most reasonably bright people used their college educations to become accountants, salespeople, C-levels, doctors, and whatnot, I used mine to join the collectibles business. It's what I did for money up until 3 years ago.

During that time, I got to work with a lot of really cool companies. Among them was Tokyo's Good Smile Company, makers of a lot of really rad pieces. One of their lead lines is Nendoroid; it's their articulated, chibi-style figure in a window box. They've been releasing these since 2005, have released/announced over 1,300 styles, and have covered the gamut of Asian pop culture. Long before I ever did any work with them, I became got hipped to them because they did some really fun Hatsune Miku Nendoroids back in the day. What can I say: I'm a sucker for a virtual idol.

Flash forward to a couple days ago. A buddy of mine sends me a link with the caption "!!!" as the header. I click, and I find this handsome fella:

Look, I have plenty of Kenner/Hasbro Star Wars 3 3/4" figures and Legos spread throughout my collection (also, I have a toy collection [sorry, gang, I'm taken]). But, to me, the more perverse or "inappropriate" the license or style, the better. And I think that's why this release puts a big ol' smile on my face. After all, Mattel's not going to look a 50-year-old Stanley Kubrick film about antisocial youth and say, "THIS is our next big release!" It IS, however, very normal for a Japanese toy company to release this alongside a pair of Frozen Nendoroids and a Kingdom Hearts character.

If you're looking for something screen-accurate, built to scale, or super serious, this is NOT your cuppa. While there's a casual resemblance to a POP!, these are articulated, more detailed, while still remaining stylized. These are awesome to play with, pose out, and can get a conversation started like little else. Little Alex comes with a couple of different faces, a glass of milk, a walking cane and a mask. Sadly, no phallus sculpture comes in the package, but maybe that's what Good Smile is planning for the DX release.

Nendoroid 1270 - Alex DeLarge (A Clockwork Orange) is currently scheduled for an Asian release July 2020, at a retail price of ¥4,364. Expect to pay around $50 USD when this hits American shores. The Good Smile US webstore has already closed pre-orders, but holler at your local comic shop; they should be able to hook you up.