Booty-ful Pirates!    (20.09.12)
  

   Crackers! - Biscuits! - Toonhound reckons these new Pirates! figures
   from Robert Harrop Designs are their best ever. And that's saying
   something, given that this super studio has produced so many
   desirable editions over the years...

   Oh, hang on. Let's step back a bit before our enthusiasm runs away
   with us. If you've been stranded on a desert island, you won't know
   that The Pirates! are the stars of Aardman Animations' most recent
   stop-motion extravaganza. "The Pirates! In an Adventure with
   Scientists" has just launched on blu-ray/DVD here in the UK.
   It's adapted from the hysterical historical books by Gideon
   Defoe, and nimbly directed by Aardman co-founder Peter Lord.
   They're pirates, certainly, but not as we know them because
   a) they're rubbish, and b) they exist in a strange anachronistic world
   with ultra-modern pop culture references, and stuffy historical figures
   behaving inappropriately. Think Terry Pratchett meets Monty Python,
   if you like. And Toonhound does like. A lot.

   Meanwhile, we have Robert Harrop Designs. What can we say about
   them? Well, if you love animated characters as much as Toonhound,
   and if you love to collect things associated with 'em, then you should
   know this jolly talented team produce the best collectable figurines
   in the UK. Fact. Discussion. End of. 

   Harrop have recently struck the figurine Mother Lode via Aardman
   Animations. They began producing limited-edition Wallace & Gromit
   figures a couple of years ago, and they haven't looked back. Their
   super-special limited-edition Wallace & Gromit Christmas pieces
   have been incredible. You'd have thought they were unbeatable.
   But they've done it. Robert Harrop Designs have surpassed
   themselves.

   

   And here's the proof. It's a range of eight extraordinary Pirates!
   figures, plus a collection plaque, that are simply to die for. They
   look like they've just stepped straight off the screen. The largest
   piece depicts the Pirate Captain. He stands around 7" high. Tiny
   Polly, meanwhile, is just 2.5" tall. But rest assured, big or small,
   there's no reduction in the detail. It's amazing. The Pirate Captain's
   beard is reproduced in all its luxuriant curling glory. The fiddly
   brocade on his jacket, the notches on his blade, even the slight
   creasing of his leather belt - there's so much to savour here.
   And then there's dear Polly, she's almost transluscent, her
   feathers are pluckable, surely.

   Black Bellamy and Cutlass Liz are just as grand. Bellamy's got
   all those fab swirls on his boot lining and a proper miniature
   flintlock in his hand. Liz is curvy in all the right places, there are
   bright eyes in the skull on the handle of her sword, and that
   skull and crossbones in her navel jumps out. Mr Bobo, too,
   is spat-tacularly presented, with a fab droll face, and a tray
   with an exquisite miniature brandy bottle and glass.

   We could go on. But you don't need a superlative-filled description
   for every piece. You just need to know that these are faultless
   creations. The Hound's photos barely do them justice. When you
   get up close to them for real, it's like you're standing in The
   Barnacle's Face with them...

   

   Best of all, these figures are super-special limited-editions. How
   limited? - Well, turn 'em over and you'll spy an edition number on
   the base. The Pirate Captain and Polly are restricted to a mere
   200 editions. And the rest of the crew are even rarer. Harrop have
   produced just 150 editions of these. Each comes in its own
   Pirates! box, and there's a teeny-tiny numbered certficate of
   authenticity too, to reinforce how collectable they are.

   The Hound has just over half the collection, thus far, and he's
   raiding his piggy bank as you read this, so's he can purchase
   the rest of these merciless misfits before they disappear.
   Because they will. And quickly too. Here's the complete list
   for you:

   • (AR01) The Pirate Captain
   • (AR02) Polly
   • (AR03) The Pirate With A Scarf
   • (AR04) Black Bellamy
   • (AR05) Cutlass Liz
   • (AR06) The Pirate With Gout
   • (AR07) Charles Darwin
   • (AR08) Mr Bobo
   • (ARCP) The Pirates! Collection Plaque

   A collectable figurine should look exactly like its screen counterpart,
   shouldn't it? And if it's based upon a stop-motion character, the best
   a fan could hope for would be for that figure to look and feel like
   you're holding the self-same puppet in your hands. You're yearning
   for that very particular, tactile sensation, aren't you? - Well, you
   get that here, in spades. Once these nautical wonders are in your
   paws you just don't want to let go of them.

   For more information on these exclusive figurines, row on over
   to the Robert Harrop Designs website!
   
                                             More: The Pirates! at Robert Harrop

 
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