Funko My Little Pony Shining Armor, Princess Cadance and Spike Vinyls (with Build-a-Bear Shining Armor)

Last month, I placed an order with Hot Topic for their newly released Shining Armor and Princess Cadance Funko Vinyls. On Monday, my order came in! :D

Here they are in their boxes. As you know from my last post, the My Little Pony Funko Vinyl figures are some of my favorites, and "A Canterlot Wedding" is my all-time favorite MLP episode. So adding these two to my collection was something I definitely wanted to do. Things have been rather tight financially for a while, but I was able to get these guys as my big splurge last month. :)

Let's take a look at Shining Armor first. :)

Shining Armor in his box. 

Some box details: 

The top of the box.

Side view

Back view

The other side.

The bottom of the box.

This time around, Funko lined the back of the box with a thin piece of decorative red cardboard. It really makes the figure stand out in the box.

Here he is in his clear plastic packaging.

And here he is, finally free! :)

Here he is from all sides:

A closer look at his face...

...from both sides. 

Here are some details from his jacket (as you can see, there are several minor paint flaws).

The cuffs of his jacket.

His cutie mark is painted nicely and is on both sides.

His hoof markings.

After I opened my Shining Armor, I noticed he had quite a few dirty smudge marks on his white paint. They were hard to capture on camera, but I did my best:

Thankfully, most of these came off with the help of a Lysol wipe.

He also had some paint flaws on his tail...

...and this odd, shadowy mark on one sleeve of his jacket. It almost looks like they were spray painting something else with a straight edge on top of him or something. This did not come off.

Now we'll take a look at Princess Cadance:

Here she is in her box. And can I just say "hooray" for a Princess Cadance that is not hot pink? Thank you, Funko, for getting her color right! (Hasbro, it would be so wonderful if you could change your color palette for this character. Please?)

Box details:

Top of the box

Side view

The back

Other side view

The bottom

Cadance had the same red cardboard in the back of her box, too.

Cadance in her clear packaging...

...and free at last. ;)

Here she is from the other angles:

I think they did a great job with her face. :)

Her crown is perched just above her horn.

You can see some of her eye under her long mane.

I love the subtle lavender shading on her wings.

Cadance's cutie mark.

Her golden shoes.

Her hoof markings. Her hoof number is on a back hoof instead of her front.

Cadance has the most flaws out of any of my Funko Vinyls.

I have to say, I was pretty disappointed when I saw her front. Not only is there a bit of a gap between her necklace and her neck, but she has some pretty noticeable yellow paint markings on her chest and leg. They look a lot lighter in the picture. I was not able to get these off with light cleaning. I'm hoping I'll be able to scrape them off or remove them without damaging her pink coloring underneath. 

She also has an odd mold mark where the tail was put together.

Flaws and all, though, overall I'm very happy with these two. They look nice together and are a fun reminder of my favorite MLP episode.

They have to stand this way if you want Shining Armor to look at Cadance.

Here they are with my other Shining Armor and Cadance figures. I guess I should have waited just a bit to sell my brushable Princess Cadance so I could have included her in this picture. I just really didn't care for her hot pink body color and bright yellow hair. Funko's subtle coloring is much more faithful to the character.

I did keep my little one, though, because I love these little guys. Eventually, I'd like to try painting a custom blind bag Cadance with the proper colors. :)

I thought I'd also share some pics of Shining Armor with Twilight, since he's her BBBFF (Big Brother Best Friend Forever). ;) 

Unfortunately, just like with Princess Celestia, the scale really doesn't work here. Shining Armor should be taller and have a bigger head and bigger proportions to make him look right with Twilight.

The best way I can show this is by adding Big McIntosh to the photo. In the show, Shining Armor is just about the size of Big Mac in relation to Twilight. See how Big Mac's head is bigger and rounder to match the scale of Twilight's? He's also taller and thicker.

I do love my new Shining Armor, but he would be even more amazing if he were the same size and proportions as Big McIntosh.

And now, it's once again time for Hannah's random rabbit trail. ;) Doing this post reminded me that I'd never shared pics of my Build-A-Bear Shining Armor that I ordered in April. I thought this might be a good time to insert a quick review within the review. ;)

Here he is with my other Shining Armor figures.

I have to say, I was not 100% thrilled with this guy. I mean, he's cute and all, but I had two major disappointments. 

First, this jacket is really goofy-looking...and you have to get it if you get Shining Armor. He's only available online (not in the Build-A-Bear stores), and the jacket comes with him. As you can see from this picture, the jacket is way too low on his neck.

Also, it covers his entire body instead of only part of it. I understand that it may have been difficult for Build-A-Bear to design a jacket that would stay on correctly and look more like the show, but...

...all you have to do is see my Funko Vinyl figure next to him and see how much better the jacket could have looked.

I wish they could have figured out a way to make it look more like this.

The other issue I have is that my Shining Armor is a lot floppier than I would like him to be. This was the first time I ordered a Build-A-Bear animal online (which, again, is the only way you can get Shining Armor). I'm used to going to the store to build an animal, where you can test them and make sure they're as soft or as firm as you like. I even requested a firmly stuffed animal online. I'd hate to see what he would have been like if I didn't. He can still stand an everything, but my Fluttershy is stuffed much better. It's a fairly minor issue, but when you spend that much on something, it's disappointing when it doesn't turn out quite like you'd expected.

Shining Armor from the other angles: 

He has a sweet face, but he does look a little girly to me...

...especially from the side. Again, I'm sure it's difficult to pull off a masculine stuffed pony. ;) I looked back at the online stock photo because I remember loving how he looked in that. I wonder if they'd kept the shorter bangs from the stock photo if that would have helped? I'm not sure. I think his mane could be a little shorter, too.

Shining Armor's cutie mark (it's only on one side, as with all of the Build-A-Bear MLPs).

Anyway, that's a quick(ish) look at my Build-A-Bear Shining Armor. Not my most favorite BAB purchase ever, but cute enough to keep. I just don't plan on using his jacket. ;)

Okay, let's move on to the third item of the official review: Funko Vinyl Spike. :) This was my impulse buy. I had no intention of getting a Funko Spike, but when I went into Hot Topic to pick up Shining Armor and Cadance, he was sitting there on the shelf, looking adorable. So he came home with me. :} He was my splurge purchase for this month...along with some mini pins from the upcoming Pixar movie "Inside Out" and several bottles of Country Apple lotion from Bath and Body Works' semi-annual sale. (Only $3.50 each and a re-release of my old scent from high school and college!) :} Ahem.

So, here's cute little Spike in his box. While it has the same coloring as the bigger Funko vinyl boxes, it's made of the same thin cardboard as the Funko Pop boxes.

Box details:

The box from other angles:

Spike in his clear plastic...

...and free of it. Isn't he just adorable? :D Those of you who collect My Little Pony know that there are very few releases of Spike in other merchandise, so it's a fun treat to have him in a vinyl.

Here he is from other angles:

(I think he looks the cutest from the side view.)

As I was taking pictures, I realized that Spike's head could turn. This was a pleasant surprise: 

Spike is a great size for Twilight...perhaps just a touch tall, but not bad.

He's waaayy too big for Princess Celestia. ;)

Twilight and Spike :)

He can even ride on her back like he does in the show. :)

My only other Spike is this little one from Hasbro. It's fun to have both in my collection. :)

So, as always, it's time for a rating. I don't think I'll go into as much detail on the rating this time, especially since I just did a review of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, so many of the ratings will be similar. However, after that last post, I decided to add another category for collectibles that would cover my issues with scale (called "proportions" here to keep with the "p" theme) ;) I figured that way I wouldn't be docking them for scale in the portrayal category. If I have time, I might try to go back and revise the ratings from Luna and Celestia's post, too. 

SHINING ARMOR:

Pleasing Qualities: 5 out of 5

  Shining Armor is well sculpted and looks just like his character. I love all of the details Funko included, such as his jacket. :) I'm very happy to have him in my collection.

Posability: N/A (These figures aren't marketed for their posability.)

Playability: N/A 

   These figures are marketed as collectibles, not playthings. I personally would probably not give this to anyone younger than a careful six or seven-year-old, just so they wouldn't break them.

Price: 5 out of 5 

   Shining Armor is priced at $18.50 regularly, which is pretty reasonable for a collectible. 

Portrayal (i.e. Character Depiction): 5 out of 5

   I kind of covered some of this in "pleasing qualities", but I think they definitely captured his character well. :)

Proportions (i.e. Scale...how does his scale compare to the other characters?): 4.5 out of 5

   I'm docking half a point here just because I wish he worked scale-wise better with Twilight. It would have been a perfect score if they had made him the same size and scale as Big Mac. However, it's not as glaring of a difference as it is between Twilight and Princess Celestia. Also, I'm happy that he works well scale-wise with Cadance, which I suppose is the most important thing. ;)

Would I recommend him?

   I would definitely recommend him, especially to any fans of Shining Armor or "A Canterlot Wedding". There have only been a few Shining Armor ponies released, so it's fun to have another one available.

PRINCESS CADANCE:

Pleasing Qualities: 4.5 out of 5

   Princess Cadance is beautiful and well sculpted. Her coloring is perfect and she looks great with Shining Armor. I'm docking half a point on my particular Cadance because of her yellow paint flaws and gap in the front. 

Posability: N/A (see above)

Playability: N/A (see above)

Price: 5 out of 5 

   See above for the reason. ;) 

Portrayal: 5 out of 5

   Cadance looks just like she should. Funko did a great job with this, especially with her coloring. :)

Proportions: 4.5 out of 5

   Again, Cadance works really well with Shining Armor. She probably should be just a bit taller to work best with Twilight and the other shorter ponies, so I'm docking half a point.

Would I recommend her?

   Yes, especially (as I said with Shining Armor) to anyone who loves "A Canterlot Wedding". I'm so thrilled to have her and Shining Armor in my collection. :)

SPIKE:

Pleasing Qualities: 5 out of 5

   Spike is cute, looks just like his character on the TV show, and would make a fun starter piece for a younger collector. He makes me smile just looking at him. ;)

Posability: 5 out of 5

   Even though these figures are not known for posability, I'm going ahead and giving Spike a perfect score because the fact that he can turn his head was such a pleasant surprise. :) 

Playability: 5 out of 5

   Unlike many of the other Funko vinyls, Spike has no pointy unicorn horns or easily breakable parts. He would be good for collectors three and up. He's also a great size for play. :)

Price: 4.5 out of 5

   Spike is priced at $12.95 (although he's currently on sale for $10 at the Hot Topic website...keep reading for the direct link), which I feel is a pretty reasonable price for a nicely-made collectible. Ten dollars as the regular price would be even better. ;)

Portrayal: 5 out of 5

   I think Spike captures his TV show character just right. Well done, Funko. :)

Proportions: 5 out of 5

   Scale-wise, Spike is just about right for the Twilight Sparkle Funko vinyl figure, which is the most important character for him to match. ;) 

Would I recommend him?

   Yes! Spike is adorable, great for all ages (although I think following the three and up recommendation would probably be wise), and a fun addition to any MLP collection. :) 

At the time of this posting, all three of these figures can still be purchased on the Hot Topic website. I feel like I should add a qualifier here. I've mentioned it on the blog before. I can't fully recommend everything about Hot Topic in good conscience, especially for kiddos. Many of their products and much of the music they play in the store are not things I can recommend or enjoy. However, they have a great, unique selection of My Little Pony, Doctor Who, and Disney items that can't be found anywhere else. I also have to say that every single employee I've encountered in our local store is wonderful. That place has some of the best customer service ever. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up. :)

You can buy Shining Armor HERE.

You can buy Princess Cadance HERE.

You can buy Spike HERE.

You can buy Build-A-Bear Shining Armor HERE. 

Just a warning about ordering Funko Vinyls online. Sometimes they do have major paint flaws (like my Princess Cadance), so be aware that you may run into this issue when ordering something sight unseen. 

Here are all of my MLP Funko Vinyls so far (aside from Dr. Whooves, who I completely forgot for this photo). ;) 

My original intent was to collect all of the mane six in Funko Vinyls, but I'm not sure if I will. These do take up a pretty good amount of room, so I may just focus on my favorites. Also, the earlier Funko Vinyls didn't have cutie marks on both sides and had more paint issues. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were all earlier releases. I have Fluttershy because...she's Fluttershy and she's awesome, but I wasn't as impressed with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie.

I did just read on All About MLP Merch that prototypes have been found of the Cutie Mark Crusaders! :D I don't think I'll get all of them, but I would like to get an Apple Bloom to go with my Big Mac and Applejack. Hopefully they'll release a Granny Smith eventually, too. :) I really love the episodes with the Apple family, too. :) ("Apples to the Core" is probably one of my very favorite MLP songs.)

Which is my very favorite Funko Vinyl I have so far? I'd have to say...

This guy. Luna takes a close second, and many of my other vinyls are great, too. But, aside from the fact that he's one of my very favorite characters from the show, I think Big Mac is probably the one that Funko captured the best, including his scale in relation to the other ponies. If I had to get rid of all of my Funko vinyls except one, this is the one I would keep. :) (You can see his review HERE.)

How about you guys? Do any of you collect these? Which one is your favorite?