There was a real shortage of Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise after the movie came and went back in 1993. Of course, by the time this Wind-Up Toy came out, the market in Japan decided to fill that void and the American market started to eat all of that up.
This Jack Skellington is a bit of a mystery as it's origin is totally unknown. It's marked "CHINA" on the bottom and was purchased in 1998, so it's assumed that's its year of origin.
The sculpt is a little off the character model, and it does feel cheap. The motors aren't exactly durable or long-lived, and a properly cared for specimen doesn't seem to work as of this brief article's authoring in 2003. Had the character's mouth been painted in, odds are this would have turned out a lot better, much like the vintage Star Wars Stormtrooper figure would have been made better the same way.
It's a neat curiosity, and the same company cranked out a few other characters like Spawn, Thing, and many a Star Wars cast member, but it's really not something that should be a must-have for Nightmare enthusiasts.
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Jack Skellington 3 inches Bootleg 1998 |