KYB #4: Rocky Balboa

Know Your Brick #4: Rocky Balboa

I am not even going to try to introduce Rocky to you all because he is already too famous. A great story about an underdog fighting his way to the world championship. You can read all about Rocky Balboa on the Wikipedia.

It is a shame that I do not know which sequel this Kubrick figure was released for, but it does say "© 1976-2003 MGM Studio" on the back. Rocky V was released in 1990 and Rocky Balboa (VI) is a 2006 film, so I am really scratching my head.

So, what makes this figure special?

The answer is in the picture below. If you remove the hair, you will see the hidden smashed face. I didn't know it until someone pointed it out to me on the Kubricknation Forum. The same heavily smashed face is also available for the other character in the same box set, Apollo Creed.


Hope this post makes someone goes "OH!".

From: Rocky Box Set II 2003 (Rocky, Apollo and Mickey - the trainer)Variation: Rocky Box Set I 2003 (Rocky, Apollo and Adrian - Rocky's wife)
Note: The Italian Restaurant you see in the last film, is also called "Adrian".

(not sure if this is the championship belt)

(look who's sponsoring the gear?)

(normal face)

KYB #3: Monkey Magic

Know Your Brick: Son Goku - Saiyuki (孫悟空 - 西遊記)

The Story
Son Goku, the Monkey God, is a fictional character from the epic Chinese classical novel - Journey to the West (Saiyuki). The story is about the adventure of a Buddhist monk (Tripitaka) and his 3 disciples (Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy) on their pilgrimage to India in order to obtain the Buddhist religious texts. Son Goku was the most powerful disciple among the 3, he has 72 transformations and was able to clone himself just by using his hair - monkey magic!

(The cloud and the staff, no head band yet though)

His Gears

Son Goku has a "somersault-cloud" (觔斗雲), a typical cloud-somersault travels over 10,8000 li (about 54,000 KM). He uses a golden staff called "as-you-wish" (如意金箍棒). He could change the size of the staff according to his will, even to the size of a needle and keep it inside his ear, very handy eh? The mischievous monkey also wears a magical golden headband (緊箍児/金剛圏), so that his master can control him if he is causing trouble. I think YouTube video is probably the best way to explain how the headband works (from the Japanese TV series - Monkey!)

The Figure
This Kubrick figure features the legendary Monkey God Son Goku in a warrior costume, together with staff and headband. Costume design is based on the character played by 香取慎吾 (SMAP) in the 2007 Saiyuki movie.

From: Monkey Magic 孫悟空 Kubrick and 西遊記 Bearbrick Box Set 2007

(Headband)

(Costume)

(Staff)