Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Wallace and Gromit

“I just love cheese Gromit!  Walkie!  Walkie! Well done lad!”

If you are a fan of the stop-motion Claymation adventures of Wallace & Gromit, courtesy of Aardvark Studios in England, you recognize those quotes.

I have three of the figures from The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit full length, stop-motion animated film shown in 2005. They are Hutch The Rabbit, Wallace in his work uniform and Constable PC Mackintosh.

In the film an experiment to deter rabbits from ravaging gardens goes horribly wrong.

Wallace becomes a Were-Rabbit and his intended first bunny victim takes on the characteristics of Wallace.

Hutch The Rabbit suddenly has the urge to eat crackers and cheese, dress in sweaters and wear a cap.

The Hutch articulated figure by McFarlane Toys stands about 3-inches tall and looks exactly like his animated namesake.

As with the other Wallace & Gromit toy figures Hutch comes packaged in a bubble pack, hanger/standing container decorated with the movie logo and a photo of Wallace & Gromit.

The figure includes a section of floor as seen in Wallace’s house, which is decorated with strips and shapes of blue, red and tan.

Included with the figure are a blue cap, a plate with two wedges of cheese, Wallace’s slippers in plaid, a black handle screwdriver, a wrench and a large porcelain cup decorated with a large ’W’ and blue horizontal strips on white.

Hutch stands upright in his knitted green sweater.

His body is a deep brown and he has two floppy ears, a large pink nose, two buggy eyes, buckteeth and short stubby legs, long arms and big feet.

Paint application is precise and clean, character articulation is minimal with almost invisible articulation points and overall the figure is high quality sculpting loaded with details.

The Wallace figure comes dressed in his light blue overalls with a blue belt and silver buckle, buttoned shirt pocket and high collar with button.

Additional clothing pieces include a blue long brim hat, white gloves and high black rubber boots with light gray upper openings.

Included with the figure are a garden gnome, rabbit catcher with shovel handle that Wallace can hold in his right hand, a flashlight and a base consisting of two large orange pumpkins, carrots, a green watermelon, vines and grass.

Wallace is articulated in the arms, hands and neck, holds the flashlight in his left hand and has his characteristic big ears and nose with a wide mouth and white teeth.  His round bugged out eyes peer over his big nose.

The black rabbit catcher has a latch/hook that actually opens and the gnome is decorated in a red cap, a dark blue outfit with black boots, belt with buckle and black boots.

He has large bushy eyebrows, a beard and small red eyes.  He holds a small pitchfork.

Of the three figures I have of the full set the Constable PC Mackintosh is my favorite.

This London Bobby comes dressed entirely in black with a high belt with silver buckle, flared coat with three silver buttons, a white shirt, black tie, black shoes and the characterize high rounded hat with a large silver star worn by Bobbies.

He sports white gloves and carries a ring binder/ledger.  A large black Billy club with leather straps is also included, as is a London street light, also black, with ornate decorations and a wide base.  It comes in two sections. A cobblestone base makes up the ensemble.

Mackintosh sports a large black mustache that obscures his mouth.  He has large bushy eyebrows, big ears and eyes. Paint application is spot on with a matt finish black on his cloths and lamppost. 

Check out the ornamentation on the post with its pointed top, corner accents and twisted ‘S’ curve lamp supports.  The lamp itself has translucent panels just like its London namesake.

Mackintosh holds his ledger in his left hand and can hold the Billy club in his
right.

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