COOL CAPSULES: Bare Bones Gargoyle

Another awesome addition to my vending machine toy collection, this Gargoyle came from a machine displaying a (rather childishly) illustrated front-piece declaring it to be ''Pirate Treasure.'' The booty on offer included a wide range of novelties, from fake moustaches to jewelry and pink-haired trolls - at least according to the toys attached to the card.

In reality the machine appeared to have been emptied of these treasures and instead restocked with a new range of toys, which I've since identified as being the Bare Bones line (there's also a wicked-cool glow-in-the-dark variant set!) Although I spotted a few ''gold'' rings in there - presumably left-over from the pirate booty toys - the majority of the capsules contained Bare Bones toys, such as the Gargoyle here.

The Gargoyle is cast from a quite rubbery plastic. I expected it to be more solid/brittle and so was surprised at how flexible it was. The sculpt is actually quite detailed, with various stone pockmarks covering the toy and some suitably fiendish claws gripping onto the (tomb)stone at his base.

Standing at almost 2 inches tall, the Gargoyle is hollow within. The interior appears to be cylindrical, so perhaps he's intended to be a pencil topper. I'm not sure. There's a nice black paint wash on the toy, which helps accentuate the (surprising) detail and really helps bring out the sculpt's look.

A stamp on the rear of the base reads ''A&A Global, China.'' There's also some form of embossed ''seal'' but my old-man eyesight isn't up to reading what it says.

This is a very cool toy and I'll certainly be looking to score a few more.