Otherground Dwella (Gray) (Ecko Unltd) (Citizen Urban Icon) Review

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Otherground Dwella (Gray) (Ecko Unltd) (Citizen Urban Icon) Review

Otherground Dwella (Gray) (Ecko Unltd)
Citizen Urban Icon (X-Concepts)I'm a guy who every now and then likes to pursue more niche stuff, be it a DVD of random animated shorts, or some unusual licensed SpongeBob merch like a toothbrush holder. When it comes to toys, I sometimes look into lines not everybody knows about, such as X-Concepts' Citizen Urban Icon line, featuring a variety of stylized characters wearing clothes by real brands. I heard of at least one of them before, the Eckō rhino “Thug,” and when I saw him in-person, I was in love. No, not in that way.

The figure comes in a tin container with a window on the front. The graphics are simple, but I feel it really fits the nature of this line. They made sure the container was protected enough to keep people from opening it in-store, covering it in plastic and using a "collector's seal" to keep the lid on tight. I didn't think there'd be twisties holding the figure onto the plastic tray inside, but I had little trouble getting them out.

This street-faring rhino has a design that reminds me a lot of urban vinyl. Heck, the head is actually vinyl. He gets a blocky head, with black where his eyes should be, giving him a menacing appearance. At 10" tall, the body has unusual proportions, with bulky forearms and shins contrasting with the slim upper arms and legs. He gets a sculpted chest with pecs as well. The hands are different sculpts, with a pointing right and gripping left, despite having nothing to hold.

Now for the main feature of these guys, the clothes. As mentioned above, the outfit was done by real clothing companies, with Eckō Unltd. providing the get-up for their rhino mascot. On the upper body, there's a gray sweatshirt bearing the Eckō logo, with a hood that flips over the head and adjustable drawstrings, and a black parka with working zipper. Over the legs are not just jeans with button snaps, but boxers underneath. There's soft vinyl sneakers on the feet, as well as socks. The clothes are all removable, most of them easy to get off aside from the sneakers. This is the gray version of the rhino, with the red/brown and green versions getting different clothes, but I don't have those versions so I won't bore you with what they have on.

For a figure made in the mid-2000s, the Thug has surprisingly great articulation. The neck, chest, and waist are ball-joints utilizing springs, similar to those little wooden mannequins. The chest/waist combo works great, but the neck is a little tougher to work with due to the head design. Other than that, he gets swivel/hinge shoulders, hips, and ankles, swivel biceps, wrists, thighs, and shins, and double-hinged elbows and knees. Needless to say, this is a figure that can achieve a ton of nice poses, and most of the joints are nice and tight. The knees are a bit loose, but all the hinges are held together by screws, so they can be fixed.

The rhino Thug is a very unique and well-made figure. I love the design and outfit, and there's plenty of great articulation. The lack of accessories is my only nitpick, but I should be able to find some stuff to use with him. I doubt we'll get anything like this again, even though it would be awesome (Mezco would nail something like this in their One:12 line), but at least most of these Icons are easily affordable, so there's that.

- 12/20/23