Bad Taste Bears – Cole

It has been about nearly 6 years since the last Bad Taste Bears figurine was released. So you would be forgiven to think no more would be released. Yet Cole has become the latest Xmas bear to be bestowed upon us.

BTB Background

After the original manufacturers, OddCo^* went into administration, many had hopes that the Bad Taste Bears would live on.

It got a second life through Nemesis Now, but it just didn’t feel like they cared for the brand. It just wasn’t meant to be.

This didn’t mean the end of BTBs. It just meant that they were going independent. Which also means things take a lot longer.

For the last year or so, we have been seeing the development of another bear on the website and Facebook.

Then come December…bam…a totally different bear was being announced!

^{* Piranha Studios was the original manufacturer but went into administration in 2008. OddCo, is Piranha Studios take 2. Same people, different name!}

Xmas Bears

Xmas BTBs are the only bears that I usually put out on display each year.

I alternate between the Nativity Scene, 12 days or all the annual Xmas releases.

The last annual Xmas bear was Pingo which was released in 2014, so it feels like it’s about time for a new one, don’t you think?

Cole

It has been confirmed that Cole is based on an idea by a collector. It is a simple concept of too much explosion in the cracker.

It has the humour and wit that we expect to see from these collectables.

Xmas arrived late

Cole was announced as a pre-order a week before Xmas.

The stock hadn’t been received yet, but the plan was to get them delivered as soon as they were received. However, I always expected this to be after Xmas.

But it didn’t really matter to me. I know next year Cole will be on display with the other Xmas bears.

Quality

As soon as the bear was received, I noticed that it was a new manufacturer that was being the production, Eight Six Collectables.

I have no idea who the company are, or what part they will play with the brand going forward. However, having someone to assist with the production could be a good thing, I think.

Although, when I noticed the packaging, I noticed a very pixelated logo on the back. But it is just packaging, right?

The bear itself, if I am honest, didn’t have the best paint job.

Don’t get me wrong, the sculpt of the bear was good, and I can see all the detail that went into it. It’s just some of those finishing touches were noticeably not to the standard of previous bears.

The pictures used on the website were similar, so I kind of pre-empted that, so I wasn’t that disappointed. In fact, I would go as far to say that I think the one delivered is a better paint job!

I am putting the small paint errors down too:

1. A fast turnaround – I am not sure what the actual turnaround was from sculpt to production, but it does feel like deadlines were being pushed and this could explain last-minute release
2. New manufacturers – Eight Six Collectables are a little unknown from what I can see, and maybe they’re just finding their contacts etc. Teething problems happen, and that’s okay

However, I am not going to hold full judgment on BTB or 86C just yet. I am interested to see what else they have planned for the future.