Jazwares JUVI Vinyl Sonic Figures

Sonic the Hedgehog Urban Vinyl JUVI figures by Jazwares.
A JUVI figure is a Jazwares Urban VInyl figure. It's like a munny or a mighty muggs, a short, stylized version of the character, with mostly painted details and limited articulation. All figures are the same size, and each one has the same price. On the first wave 5 figures were released, counting the Metal Sonic which started as an exclusive.

Jazwares Release 1 * Sonic Gear Main Page

Here's one of the first shots of their Urban Vinyl Line (Like a Mighty Muggs) of Sonic figures. These simplistic figures have big heads and are rather large. These should be around $10.00 EVEN the Metal Sonic at 10.48. Don't get ripped off! Toys R Us is selling off the extras from Comic-Con. The figures are mostly smooth, with the details painted on. Photo discovered by JSHedgehog

These two extra shots give you another look at the Metal Sonic JUVI which is an exclusive to the San Diego Comic Con in 2009. This will also be sold at the website of Toys R Us only, and only during the ComicCon period of time--making it exclusive.

Look carefully at the shots above, and you'll see some variations. The differences are in the eyes, shiny-quality of the paint, and the engine intake graphic. While JUVI figures naturally have minimal detail, the engine hood and 3D center have been added and the spikes have an authentic look. When on sale, it retailed for $15.99. Photos provided by Litzky Public Relations

Here are the final pictures for the Metal Sonic JUVI. This one is the actual released one, as owned by a Sonic fan. As you can see, the paint ended up quite shiny and nice metallic, and the eyes do appear bright red and the engine front black, so it's more a combination of the two above and it works out well. (making the above shots prototype like, except for the sculpt)

These JUVI figures are more than just statues, they can be posed too, as you can see above. They'll twist at the waist and neck and the arms can move too. For a simplified version of Metal Sonic, this is really quite good. The glossy glittery paint is a wonderful touch, and the head sculpt comes across well despite having no nose (its just painted on) It would be easy for this to look goofy, but it doesn't. It seems like a proper 'chibi' version. There's even detail in the engine back. The box is nice as well, with plenty of clear plastic so the figure displays well inside. The back shows the other 4 figures you'll be able to collect in the store when they are released in JUVI form.

This shot shows the size of him, which should be the size for all further JUVI figures, which...is not that big. Actual stats will be coming soon. ##
The figures seem to have a good paint job over-all, though small overspray is possible on some. All in-home MS J. photos provided by Beloved Doll

Here are 2 factory photos for Shadow & Werehog JUVIs. With these shots of the actual figures, you can see how the theme continues with only the back of head, ear, and eye-ridge details being sculpted. Everything else is simply painted on to identical figures. The paint has good detail though, with the werehog colors being appropriate, and all shoe detailing appearing despite the small/round feet. The eye/pupil style was changed on the final figures, leading them to look even more cross-eyed than these. Neither figure here has the 'self shading' which the final figures got. (Meaning that while these are not stripy, the final ones are) Photos by Jazwares, discovered by MichaelB218

Here are the JUVIs in their actual boxes. As you can see, these boxes are the same design as the Comic Con Metal Sonic, but they lack the exclusive sticker (naturally) They're not the same as the mock-up boxes (at the top of this page) They are all equal in height, and the heads are the only thing that's really different for each one. Every box has a portrait art of the figure. Each one costs $9.99. Photo & info by Taaron.

UPC Codes for each Juvi -
Sonic Juvi is 6 81326 65051 5,
Shadow is 6 81326 65052 2
Knuckles is 6 81326 65053 9
Werehog is 6 81326 65054 6
(all codes supplied by Taaron)
Metal Sonic is 6 81326 65055 3
Last code by BelovedDoll

Strangely, the Metal Sonic of the JUVI line turned out to be their best figure.
It was the only one that did not use 'self shading' had the facial features on the actual FRONT of the face, and was not directly cross-eyed looking. Self shading means that a set of highlights is painted on over the natural paint of the figure. As you'll see, this makes certain figures appear odd and stripy. It's especially noticible on the gloves as their fingers are dark gray, while the hands are white. Since actual shading changes as you move an object, it gives the appearance of oddly colored gloves and striped skin.

Of all the Juvis, Knuckles is the most mutant. The 'front' shot of him is not from an 'above' perspective...the front of his face is actually...on the bottom of his head. He's depicted as looking almost STREIGHT down, making the figure tough to display. The face looks very 'pulled upon' or stretched-under actually becoming abstract if viewed from the top or direct front. His spikes limit his arm movenet, and his 'self shading' makes him stripy.

The Sonic Juvi is especially stripy in appearance. Each spike is topped with a strip of dark blue. His eyes are especially 'tall' and the pupils especially small and beady. He is grinning here, (but you have to look underneath him to see it--notice the last photo is taken from under the figure slightly) and you can see his teeth. This makes for a decent expression, if you're looking up at it. All the detail is present, like shoe plates/buckles for Sonic & Knuckles, but do watch out for his dark gray fingers.

Shadow has minimal self-shading due to the already present stripes on his spikes. (though his gloves do have it) The pupils here are also really small. He has his usual small frown, and lines for texture are drawn into the white chest patch. His spikes are well sculpted and they didn't neglect his tail. (Its just hard to see)

The Werehog is likely their 2nd best Juvi behind Metal Sonic in terms of it looking like the character. The eyes may be extremely tall, but the pupils here are more appropriate/not so cross eyed, and it has minimal self-shading so he doesn't look stripy. The mouth (with teeth!) is moved to the middle which is accurate. The belly-dot ended up much higher than in the factory photo above. He has the spike details of his shoes all drawn in, as well as the extra arm fur.

All turn-arounds in this section provided by Beloved Doll

The Bottom Line:
This is a VERY stylized line of figures. At $9.99 each you must be 'ok' with that in order to collect. Their pose-ability is low as is natural for a stylized vinyl line like this so they're mostly for display. (neck, shoulders, hips are only articulated) The self-shading detracts from the look wherever it is used, especially once the figures are in-hand where it really stands out.

The factory photos are misleading on the faces. If the final product had used that more "foreward" face style instead of having every figure look directly at the ground, they wouldn't have come across so oddly. The Metal Sonic didn't do it, so why should all the rest? The difference really is quite dramatic.

The boxes are all simple and effective, being clear on most of the sides, so if you want to keep them MIB for display, you can still see almost all of the figure immideatly. But, the boxes did sacrifice a bit of strength for the visibility factor, so do watch stores for damaged boxes. All boxes are identical except the name.

If you're going to get a JUVI...
Go for the Metal Sonic one or the Werehog if you don't want all of them. Those two are the most like the character and have the least 'gimmicry' going on with them.

Apparently, they're re releasing these figures with the faces fixed! Look at this Sonic here, and you'll see he's more like their initial shots with the face on the front of the head (where it belongs!) rather than on the bottom. The first 2 you'll spot are Sonic & the Werehog, so Shadow & Knuckles will be sure to follow. If you didn't collect any of these before due to their really odd looks, this improvement may change your mind, so keep an eye out at Toys R Us. Photo by Sonictoast

Here's a real side-by-side shot of the Werehogs. You can see the fixed-face one is a marked improvement and will be simple to spot in stores. All figures should be arriving with this improvement. Photo by Sonictoast

Here's a size comparison for the JUVIs and the 3.5 inch Jazwares line. All of the Juvis are the same size, even the 'fixed' ones seen above. Photo by RaeLogan