Drawn To Picture Books: Sucked In

Have you ever noticed those sponsored ads that randomly pop up on your social media feeds? They just happen to be a product that was exactly of your interest and for a great price too (of course), so you just have to click on it, right? No?... Just me?

Photo of the product from Google

Well I have, it was and yes...I did. The product was a Body Kun, articulated sketch model...translated: a glorified, overpriced, cheaply made naked action figure. I had seen these things on and off over the years, but never really had given it too much thought until a few months ago. I was working on a project (another one I can't share yet) that had a lot of humans in it. I couldn't find the poses in the povs I needed and my only available models were either canine, feline or humans that were always too busy to pose for me.

After endless hours of less than fruitful Google searching, I succumbed to the pressure of one of the pop-ups from "The Best Deals" (of course it would be named that) and clicked on the ad. I almost choked on the price, despite the "One time only, 50% off sale!!" (said in your best, loudly exaggerated, tv-salesman voice ). But, it truly seemed to be the answer to my situation and it came with really cool, extra miniature body parts and accessories to draw, so I bit the bullet, ignored the soft voice in my ear whispering "suckerrrr" and pressed "place order".

Tiny accessories - yes, that's a dime!

Ok...so after a couple of weeks, my brain had somehow justified the purchase of not one but two (a male and female version) and I was actually excited by the time my shipment arrived. I set up my sketching supplies and opened the box and there they were!! They were a lot tinier than they appeared on my screen, but no biggie. I was going to set them up and photograph them so, I'd be able to enlarge it later.

I opened up the package with the woman first. She was in pieces...teeny, tiny, little pieces that didn't want to go back together no matter how many hours I tried. No problem, I'm adaptable, if anything... I would use the guy for both, for now. Fortunately that one was intact...till I tried to gently pose it, at which point I snapped the little dude in half. This one went back together easier than the female, until I tried to pose him again. After a few more times of performing micro surgery to put him back together (not to mention that the voice in my ear was now repeatedly screaming the word sucker) , I decided to email for a full refund.

Fortunately, their customer service was pretty good and they got back to me right away. They were also excellent salespeople too, ugh. Shortly after, I received two, free of charge, brand new, male and female action figurines in the mail, that were actually intact...even after I touched them! I immediately set up my photo shoots and was able to draw the poses I was after. Yay, a happy ending...sort of.

Photo Shoot Set Up

So, the bottom line review on this product...

I think the initial idea was a good one, because there is a true need for an articulated figure of this nature, but the product itself is really poor quality! For what it's worth, I give it a 1.5 to 2 out of 5 stars for quality and pricing, and a 4.5 for usefulness.

They are very cheaply made and questionably priced ( I've noticed that whatever the sale, they are always the same cost in the end, hmmm...). But, if you can get past fumbling with a defective stand and figurine, tiny parts that you need tweezers and a magnifying glass to see, pick up and put together, and the fact that the figurines are still a tad on the fragile side (understatement!), they actually are super handy for getting that exact pose, in the exact point of view that you're looking for!