Figurines

Want to see your very own clay figurine on television? You've now got the chance to make it happen thanks to hotels.com.

You have seen their claymation commercials, right?  They prominently feature clay character Smart, the face of hotels.com. We've found a copy of one if you haven't seen it.

Well now you have the chance to design the clay figurine that will star in their Spring 2011 commercial. All you have to do is design your clay figure online, submit it to the competition and maybe you will be one of the eight weekly winners that receives $200 in hotels.com vouchers and has a shot at seeing their very own clay figurine become a star. Here's a short video with the details.

What are you waiting for? Create your clay avatar at http://www.clayyourself.com and share it with your friends. We did:

It was interesting to discover that the popular Licca doll at the center of a potential new tradition among Japanese high school students. The Tochigi Women's High School has dressed the dolls in their school uniforms and are selling them to celebrate the school's 110th anniversary. You can read more about it in the news story, School figurines dressed up in memories.

We couldn't find a photo of the school figurine, so you'll just have to look at a photo of a Licca-chan and imagine it in a Japanese high school uniform. (photo credit)

There's no shortage of japanese figurines dressed up in school uniforms already. Anime figures have been similarly attired for years (see photo below or this link). And you could already order a customized bobblehead doll dressed in an asian school outfit too.

In the United States, high school students buy and wear their class ring as a symbol of their school association, spirit, and pride. The tradition started in 1835 at the United States Military Academy at West Point. In the 1950s and 1960s, approximately 50-80 percent of students at a high school would buy their class ring. Now, the tradition has faded a bit. It is estimated that only 10 to 40 percent of high schoolers buy their commemorative class ring.

Is it possible that the tradition of purchasing a class ring will be replaced in the United States with buying a school figurine? I wouldn't count on it. But a school figurine or doll does seem like a more practical purchase for display later in life than a class ring. What do you think?

We've just finished a major update to the section about Hummel figurines. We've added 14 pages of information so there should be something new and helpful for all but the most experienced Hummel collectors. We hope you take a few minutes to look around and be sure to tell us what you think. If there is any information that we missed which would prove helpful to you, please let us know!

I'm not sure which is a larger story.  The fact that a Steve Jobs figurine listed on eBay closed at a price above $1000 recently.  Or the idea that Apple lawyers are using their vast legal might to prevent the production and sale of these figurines.  We'll have more details in a few days but we couldn't help posting a teaser and a photo now.

If you are a collector of movie figurines, then this auction may be up your alley.

Photo by MDH in Houston on Flickr.

Christie's auction house will sell the King Kong action figure which climbed the Empire State Building at the end of the classic 1933 film.  The 22 inch tall King Kong figurine is made of a metal skeleton but has lost the covering of rabbit's fur and other materials which it possessed during the movie.

Christie's expects the movie figurine to fetch around $240,000.  If you think that someone would be crazy for paying that much, you may want to consider what some other collectibles have sold for.  Time Magazine has put out a list of its Top 10 Crazy Celebrity Collectibles, and we think that this King Kong figurine is far and away a better purchase.  Our vote for the most ridiculous: two slices of french toast left unfinished by Justin Timberlake after a breakfast interview in New York in 2000.  Check it out.