Are Taco Bell's Bellhedz "real" vinyl?

3:00 PM on 09.13.2009   |   Brian Szabelski

At the beginning of September, word leaked out about a new promotion from Taco Bell. The fast-food restaurant chain would be releasing a new series of blind-boxed figures in their Kids Meals called Bellhedz. Clearly modeled after and inspired by some of today's popular vinyl toys, the announcement of the Bellhedz release was met with deep hostility by a significant portion of the vinyl collecting community. Kidrobot almost immediately announced a "Death to False Vinyl" rally in New York City, right across the street from a Taco Bell promotion truck that was to be handing out Bellhedz figures and free tacos. The Bellhedz figures were never given out that day, but the point was made clear: vinyl purists would not take this situation sitting down quietly.

Still, the Bellhedz controversy has raised questions about "real" vinyl and "fake" vinyl. It's a very hard topic to answer in only a few words, so hit the jump for a couple hundred of them on just what this whole "real" vs. "fake" mess is all about.

It's hard to tell exactly what the uproar is over. In some aspects, it seems to be over the design of the Bellhedz, which is eerily similar to that of Kidrobot's Munny and Dunny figures. For others, it's that these figures weren't designed by a large group of different artists as the Dunny series figures are, but by one firm. A great deal more seem to be upset that these toys are mass marketed to children via Taco Bell's Kids Meals, fearing that this one vinyl figure set will trigger an explosion and that the vinyl scene will be flooded with plenty of knockoffs and those just wanting to own the "cool thing." Of course, I'd argue a bit that that's exactly what's going on right now, even before the Bellhedz promotion, but perhaps that topic is better left for another article.

The real question to be answered here is whether or not the Bellhedz are "real" or "pure" vinyl. Does it matter if they come from Kidrobot or Taco Bell? Does "real/pure" vinyl have to be made by an artist? And what exactly is "fake" vinyl? Well, that's more like three questions ... but you get the point.

"Fake" vinyl, in my mind, is subjective, and I'd rather use the words "fake" and "vinyl" in the same sentence if it's a knock-off or some other legitimate forgery. If I woke up tomorrow morning and there was news of  Starbucks or Wal-Mart customizing a Dunny and putting it up on eBay for charity, it's still a work of vinyl art, as commercialized as it might be. It might not be the same as a piece by Amanda Visell or Jesse Hernandez, but that really doesn't matter in the big scope of things. Otherwise, the thousands of people who customize vinyl art that aren't artists first and foremost are just making "fake" vinyl, aren't they? And any argument that the corporate aspect of Bellhedz makes them "fake" is a bit humorous, since Kidrobot itself is a company that aims first to make money. They just happen to do so via the vinyl toy industry.

Sure, some vinyl is more real and closer to the urban vinyl tradition than others and thus could be considered more "pure." I would gladly agree that there are different levels of quality with vinyl, and that Bellhedz fall into a much lower category than Kidrobot's wares. There's not really much argument there. But it shouldn't all hinge on if you like them or hate them, because let's face it, we all have vinyl pieces we adore and loathe. That doesn't make them any less real to the vinyl world, though.

So let's get away from the whole "real" vs. "fake" thing and call this what it really is: a debate over whether the vinyl scene is somehow being tainted by the presence of the Bellhedz and their like. In their Bellhedz write-up, Vinyl Pulse said, "It’s not Bellhedz per se, but what they represent and maybe usher in – mainstream blind-box minis done in the vinyl aesthetic in large numbers. It’s a potential threat as minis are one of the bright spots for the industry in terms of sales. Mass market vinyl mini-series might devalue existing product and work to erode the idea of vinyl as something special and different from toys as usual."

But really, do Bellhedz, being produced in a similar manner to many other blind-boxed toys, erode away at the idea of vinyl being something special just because they're available at Taco Bell? If I buy a blind-boxed Domo Qee at Target instead of at Lift Detroit or Schmancy in Seattle or Carol and John's Comic Shop in Cleveland, does it make it any less unique? Ultimately, the answer is no, because what makes it special to me is the joy I get out of displaying a unique piece of work on my shelf. I recognize the fact everyone might feel differently about it, but where I get my figures from doesn't matter as much to me as how much I like them.

As for the fear that Bellhedz will somehow spawn a million knock-offs; who's to say it won't happen? That's the way the business world works. It's been going on in the poseable figures market for some time and hasn't been an issue: Kaiyodo's Revoltech line launched in 2006 and was quickly followed by Max Factory and Good Smile's Figma line. Both have since been followed by other Japanese figure makers like Aoshima, and you won't hear a peep from Figma and Revoltech fans that the new guys are "polluting the purity of my Revoltechs/Figmas!" 

While there might be some debate over the quality of the Bellhedz figures, and while they may have copied a lot of the design from Munnys and Dunnys, they are vinyl figure through and through, and they're not going to bring about the end of the vinyl toy industry. In 6 months, we'll probably have even forgotten they exist because of some new custom Munny or an awesome new Labbit or Sharky or MADL. So sit back, grab a few tacos to chow down and relax. After seeing the reactions of some fellow vinyl collectors, relaxing might be a very good idea to consider.