There’s only so much you can do with an action figure — or so I thought. Bend-Ems, from Sunny Days Entertainment, give new life to a classic craze.
Bend-Ems are bendable action figures that make posing super easy and fun. They come in multiple varieties from shows such as Ren and Stimpy, Battlestar Gallactica, Family Guy, and Voltron. I got to try out two from the Archie and Bob’s Burgers collections.
The Archie Comics line includes Archie, Veronica, Betty, and Jughead. While I am devastated that Jughead looks nothing like Cole Sprouse, the characters are based on the original comics and not the teen drama Riverdale. They offer a refreshing look back at what Archie used to be before he donned a black mask to fight crime. (Yes, he does that now. Yes, I watch the show religiously — let’s move on.)
The characters look like they jumped straight from a comic book with their carefully painted styles. Archie could stand up on his own easily, and his arms moved only slightly, not really able to leave his side. Generally, they’re around 6 inches tall.
With Bob’s Burgers Bend-Ems you can collect the entire Belcher family. They stick to their classic cartoon selves with a design perfectly matching the characters’ onscreen looks.
Gene was a little too top-heavy to stand up on his own, but his arms were able to stretch more than Archie’s. He couldn’t do a split, but he could definitely be posed to play a keyboard or dance to a song from his repertoire.
At just $9.99 each, these collectibles are a great price, but finding them can be tricky. Bob’s whole family sells out constantly on Amazon, and an initial search only found Betty from Archie’s group; however, if you take the time to find them, it will be worth all of the waiting.
Photos: Sunny Days Entertainment
