Toy Review: Fresh Monkey Fiction Naughty or Nice Wave 1: Classic Santa
For a variety of reasons, it's been a while since I last reviewed a toy. We really don't have room for me to collect the way I used to, the blog's focus shifted more towards movies, and - frankly - after a while, I felt like I was repeating the same basic descriptions I'd written a thousand times before. Also, we rarely saw much interest in those posts relative to the time it took to write them. That's why you don't see reviews of random toys the way you used to in the early years of this blog.
However, once in a while something special comes along. And that brings us to the "Naughty or Nice" line from Fresh Monkey Fiction. Don't feel bad if you've never heard of them - I hadn't either before these showed up on preorder a couple years ago. As far as I've been able to piece together, they're a small toy company specializing in original creations. And most importantly, they're the company that finally realized there'd be a market for six-inch action figures of Santa Claus.
I've wanted something like this for decades. Despite being public domain, no one ever bothered to make a generic, affordable, articulated figure in this scale until now. The six-inch (also called twelfth scale) is the current standard for superhero action figures and the like. So if you've got Batman (Mattel, McFarlane, or DC Direct) toys, Marvel Legends, Star Wars Black, or anything of the like, this is the size you want for them to hang out together.
These were supposed to arrive in time for Christmas last year, but due to a combination of shipping and weather delays, I received them a couple days after Christmas, which is the only reason I didn't rush out reviews then.
The packaging for these is simple but nice. Fresh Monkey Fiction is clearly going with the template used by Hasbro and Mattel for figures of this kind. Packaging doesn't hold much weight for me, but anyone who picks one of these up to leave in the box should be happy enough.
Let's jump right to the figure itself. In case it's not clear from the photos, this sculpt and paint are fantastic. While this isn't a direct translation of any single version or painting of Santa (at least as far as I know), it's reminiscent of the Haddon Sundblom Coke ads. I'd be shocked if this weren't a source of inspiration for this figure. I've seen some complaints about the decision to give Santa's hair and beard a yellow tinge - it doesn't bother me, and it's in keeping with the color scheme in several of Sundblom's paintings. But if you really want one with whiter hair, they're re-releasing these with that change.
Regardless, this is the straightforward, classic version of Santa Claus, as depicted in American media throughout most of the 20th century. It's not quite the version I'd most like - that would have a longer coat, black gloves, and a slightly serious expression - but this is a close second.
Up close I can find a few spots where the paint isn't perfect. The most notable issue is around the mouth, which can appear like a scowl when viewed from below due to the painting on the underside of the beard. It's a trivial detail, though: overall, this is a great looking figure.
Just as importantly, the figure's balance is fantastic, particularly considering its heft. This is a large, bulky figure, and yet I had no trouble getting it to stand. Hell, even this wasn't hard:
This is a versatile figure that looks great in a variety of positions. The only note I have is that the neck is a simple ball joint. While he can look around, he can't really look up much, though you can get a little range thanks to a joint hidden by his belt.
This comes with a number of accessories, including two heads, a removable hat, a gift box with a removable lid, a milk glass with removable milk, a plate, two cookies, a list, three alternate hands, and a base for Santa to stand on.
The base is bit underwhelming - the words "Naughty or Nice" are sculpted in, but the lack of paint makes it bland and uninteresting. That said, he really doesn't need the base to stand, so it certainly doesn't hurt the figure. All things considered, I'm extremely happy with the variety, range, and quality of extras this comes with.

I mentioned at the beginning that I was a bit wary of the sticker price when preordering. But as soon as I had this in hand, it was clear this was well worth the $37 it cost, even without taking the small production run into consideration. This is an extremely nice action figure, and - assuming you're able to order one when you're reading this - I'd absolutely recommend doing so. As of right now, this line seems to be exclusive to Big Bad Toy Store, so that's your best bet for ordering future waves or grabbing extras in stock.
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