Kubrick (toy)

Kubricks are predominantly collected by adults; the packaging recommends the figures to collectors 13 years or older.

[citation needed] Nine is the number of bodyparts used in a standard Kubrick figure: head, torso, hips, two arms, two hands, and two legs; the English word brick is collector's jargon for LEGO elements, and refers to the similarity of Kubricks to Lego Minifigures.

Tatsuhiko Akashi, founder and president of MediCom, developed the basic Kubrick with a former employee of LEGO.

The first Kubrick figures were representations of characters from the manga and anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, released in 2000.

Many pieces are distributed as a part of a larger promotion, such as the wolverine figure released to commemorate the film X-Men 2: X-Men United (only available as a limited edition promotional only giveaway with advance ticket purchase for the cinema), or the Master Chief figure, offered as a not-for-sale promo exclusive in Japan for the Halo 2 video game.

These unlicensed reproductions are usually produced with low-quality plastic and are easily distinguished by their sloppy paint applications.

In response to the success of Kubricks, MediCom have also created an extensive collection of Be@rbricks, figures of a similar size, but that resemble an anthropomorphized bear with a pot belly, as well as B@wbricks, Kubrick-style dogs that stand on four legs.