Gobon

When I first met Matt Doughty a few years ago, Pheyden had not yet been launched and he was working hard at Beantown Toys, cutting his teeth at toy production, learning the ins and outs of manufacturing in China. He had a few figures getting ready for production of his own, including Pheyden, Exellis and Crayboth. But there was another. This figure at the time seemed radically different than the aesthetic he was currently pursuing. This figure was called Gobon.

Gobon (Sarvonic Gendrone Gobon if you want to be exact) is actually the creation of Matt’s wife, Michelle Doughty, who is also an excellent and talented artist in her own right. The character first appeared in issue 2 of Michelle’s comic, Sidrick.

This portly robot is a homage to many classic robots. The arms are a bit like Boss Borot or Robocon, as is the shape of the figure. The big belly and round eyes evoke memories of Tetsujin 28. And then there’s the head. There are two sets of eyes on the head. The proper front is your plain round childlike eyes. But the back has an evil glare, directly inspired by Maximillian from “The Black Hole”.

Gobon in his default state stands 3 inches tall and 3.5 inches wide and is constructed out of 13 parts. The plastic is a bit softer on this version than on other Glyos releases, and this version also has a slight clear coat on it, making Gobon nice and shiny.

The silver plastic used here has a swirl in it which adds a nice texture to the color of the figure.

Gobon’s big surprise is the second head hidden inside the body. Removing the top part of the body is really difficult – the fit is that tight. I ended up having to use a flat scrwewdriver to pry it off. Maybe I am doing it wrong? But be careful, the plastic is soft enough that if you are not careful you could dent or damage it.

Once released, you can see the angry cyclopean eye.

Putting the halves back together is equally challenging, but the trick is to rotate the pieces when turning.

With only one Gobon, you can make a bunch of different toys. Imagine if you had a bunch? Each Gobon connection point is fully compatible with any Glyos figure as well as any Beanbot. The combinations are endless.

This first batch of Gobon is limited to 100 pieces. In addition to the silver, Matt also had a run of 50 “rust” pieces run. This weathering looks custom, but it is actually done at the factory in china. I love it more than the regular version.

As of June 2009, Gobon is not for sale in the Onell Design store, but he has been showing up as bonuses in customers orders. Keep an eye on the store, and you never know what may pop up!