Grover is a favorite in the Nerd household. Both of us fondly
remember the literature classic "The
Monster at the End of This Book". If you haven't read it,
buy it for a little person and read it to them (Click
here). But you have to do the voice when you do.
The Egg with Grover was marked "Super Grover." Now, the title
and the picture were at odds with one another. I was very happy
to find a Super Grover wrapped in bubble wrap inside the egg.
The Grover is a small unarticulated figure similar to the PVC
figure produced by Palisades. I don't have any of those for
comparison. But the figures inside are about the scale you would
imagine for a capsule style toy.
Since
they were mass produced for a holiday, the paint work is
slightly less than perfect, but better than a number of other
figures I've paid more for. Of course since they are in an egg,
it's hard to pick and choose a figure for its' paint.
Under the paint is what really surprised me. Turns out they
are really well sculpted for their size and price range. The fur
on Grover is really well done for his scale. For an Easter
Basket filler I was really impressed.
I had initially only bought the Grover egg. Even at 99 cents,
I didn't know what was in the egg. When she saw him, Mrs. Nerd
immediately claimed him to take the place on her desk
between Shaun the Sheep and Domo.
Since
I was very pleased with Grover, I went back the next day and got
the other Sesame characters they had available, Ernie and Elmo.
Somebody had snagged the last Cookie Monster in the intervening
time. They had eggs with some of the more modern kid's shows, as
well. Since I had no idea who they were, I passed on them. I
also snagged another Grover for my Muppet shelf.
Ernie is sculpted raising up a pair of sunglasses and giving a
thumbs up. Not the pose I would have guessed, but more dynamic
than just standing there.
There are a number of stripes on his shirt. Again, while the paint
work is not the cleanest, it certainly isn't bad at this scale and
price range. I would have expected him to be in solid color shirt,
so the stripes were a nice touch.
Lastly
is Elmo. I've warmed up to Elmo over the years. As most of my
favorite Muppets are more sophisticated, I can appreciate the
child-like wonder that Elmo brings to the game. He'll never be at
the very top of my list (Fozzie, BTW), but does have a place on
it.
The little red dude is sculpted holding a ball and waving. I've
seen some really poorly sculpted Elmo faces in the toy lanes over
the years, and I can say this isn't one of them. They really did a
good job at capturing his likeness. Again, the fur sculpt at this
size is very good.
The only thing that really detracts from his appearance, is the
paint on the ball is smeared up on his arm. Again, though, I have
to say, I'm impressed the ball has a design on it, instead of
being a solid color.