Fallout 3 was one
of my favourite games throughout late 2008 and early 2009. I was going through a
bit of a rough patch personally and it was an absolute lifeline at the time.
Ever since, I’ve really enjoyed the series – New Vegas was hilarious fun (though I never did finish it) and I am
eagerly anticipating the imminent arrival of Fallout 4.
I was quite pleased when I found out Funko had picked up the
Fallout license. One of my favourite games meeting one of my favourite
collectables? Should be great!
In practice the Fallout POPs are kind of a mixed bag; the
male and female adventurers look great, as does the Brotherhood of Steel
figure, but the Deathclaw isn’t as great. I like the Super Mutant, but feel
like he should be a 6” POP (as should the Deathclaw too, really). The Feral
Ghoul is fun, but it would be better if he glowed red in the dark.
Last but not least we come to Vault Boy, the subject of
today’s review, isn’t actually a character in the game; rather, he’s something
of a mascot for the series, both in-game and out. In the game's backstory, he’s the mascot
of Vault-Tec, the company that produced the vaults which play such a central
role in the game. In practice, this means he turns up in your skills menu
(wearing a variety of zany outfits) and may show up on the odd bit of
background scenery, like an in-game poster or something.
Though I like that Funko have done this figure, I’m not sure
it’s entirely necessary. Vault Boy, after all, appears in-game as a variety of
different bobbleheads -- and a number of companies have already released real-life bobbleheads
rendered in a game-accurate style. Funko has also just confirmed it will
be releasing Fallout
blind-boxed figures, which hew closer to the game’s art style (I must
confess, I plan to order a box of them). Perhaps most curious is that they decided to sculpt him with his hands on his hips, rather than in his signature "thumbs up" pose
But there is also a fun variant – the Green Screen Vault
Boy. What’s so special about him? Well, if you’ve been reading this blog for
any length of time you’ll know that I am a huge sucker for things that glow in
the dark. Which this guy happens to, and so I had to have both versions of the character. It's a nice touch, actually; the glow is more
relevant here than on most occasions, given how much of the Fallout series revolves around
radioactivity.
In America, this variant is a Hot Topic exclusive; in
Australia he’s available from a variety of sources, including EB Games and
Popcultcha. In all likelihood he’ll show up in a few other places too, though
they’ve only hit stores in the last couple of days.
To summarise, Vault Boy isn’t my favourite POP -- but he does conjures up a lot
of fond memories and will tide me over nicely until the game arrives.
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