Sonic Pins Keychains 4 * Sonic Pins Keychains 6 * Sonic Pins Keychains 7 *
It is an all-metal, texture-only pin of the game's logo. It has the familiar 'wing' background for the words. A patina has been added to the steel-tone / silvertone metal to help highlight the lettering, since it is texutre only.
Is it modern? Modern...ish? This is a Sonic X-Treme pin, for the game that never came out. It would have been right before Sonic Adventure 1, had it appeared. It got pretty close to happening too, with magazine articles actual 'demo' like footage and other things. It's a subject you can certainly read up on. It even got to the point of a little tad of merchandise here and there...
This has to be a super rare pin, just because the game never happened. Also, for it to take all the way until 2019 to show up also says something about its rarity. This is an interesting item to see! Discovered by TheTumblex
For 2019's SDCC, Sega Shop Online & IDW Comics had these two pins produced of the comics-only characters Whisper & Tangle. These are metal & enamel pins, and they show each character in a cheering or victory type pose. The detail is good, and it's easy to tell what they're up to, even with the long/spiral tail & detailed shoes. The pin art seems wisely chosen & worked with the enamel.
Naturally, they're quite a limited run, so each one is 15 dollars in the Sega Shop online. They were likely also at the booth for sale as well.
And, they're ready to use it to good effect here with this charms keychain. It is classic sytle, but uses primarily neoclassic stock art for the all metal and enamel charms. There are 4 charms on the chain so you get finger waving Sonic, waving Tails, flying Knuckles, and fist-shaking Eggman. There's a spring clip for your key, and the traditional closed loop ring. None of the charms are too big, so they'll still fit into pockets/bags etc (note their size as compared to the standard/normal ring shape--they're certainly not huge)
The tag is that simple 'ready to run Sonic' with the checkered tan/blue background that lots of classic style things get. It's reasonably priced as well, which is always a nice touch. It could be in Hot Topic, Specners Gifts, or (possibly) Game Stop but it is certain to be at Amazon, starting in winter 2020.
*Metal & enamel reminder: this is one of the best materials for keychains that can get a lot of wear. Enamel doesn't really go bad over time unless it has a thick clear glaze over it (those tend to yellow) so choosing a metal item is good.. You can use this link to get it there at Amazon directly via Gear Affiliate link SEGA Sonic The Hedgehog Metal Key Ring Chain Keyring Keychain
Annnd...it's not particularly cute. Sometimes the little Funko Pops are cute, like little funny Marvel characters or other video games where the people/whatevers aren't styleized . The problem with Sonic/and friends however, is that they are already very stylized and abstract to a degree, so doing that 'but more so' results in something super odd that you see here.
Sonic, fairly unique among cartoons has a single eye--which does not lend itself well to their 'blank soul-less dots on an expressionless face' gimmick. The single eye is a technicality but there's nothing doing for changing it.
The small body and actual spikes layout here is actually decent though. He's got a ring in one hand and finger-waving for his other hand which adds a little bit of dynamic/something new. You can see how nicely the head is structured around the spikes also. (Just too bad about the pop face)
The keychain itself looks to be a little large for actual utility. The ring is probably a standard size, meaning his head is a real whopper, and with spikes, it would make carrying it bulky/difficult.
The 2nd keychain is that 'flat rubber pvc' that was popular in SA2 times...for good reason! It captures detail really well, is somewhat 'relief-like' in it's nicely textured look & is durable without being cumbersome or gigantic. So, this 'running profile' classic Sonic looks good here on the black background. This has a simple ring attatchment to the ring top. It's interesting to see them proving they can make 2 different keychain materials right away & do a very solid job of it. Hopefully the year sees more from them. But where can you buy these?
These are classic style metal and enamel pins. There's finger waving Sonic and neoclassic Japan type waving Tails. The Tails is based on an old/classic Japanese art of him (note eye and mouth shape) but it is likely to be neoclassic. The 'background' metal for the pins and their line art is silver tone. (Looks black in the photo though due to shine) Notice the nice attention to detail like Tails' mouth being pink, his blue shoe bands, and gray glove cuffs. When pin makers are minding every color they use, it's nice to see them making sure that every proper color was included, instead of cutting corners on the pins. Good move!
This is a cute and quality pair of pins that would be very nice to collect or add to a bag or lanyard. But, where are they sold?
This is a dual-country release item, with SK Japan making these for sale in both Japan and the USA in winter 2020. The keychain is literally a nicely built and complete tiny shoe. It's meant to look probably a little like a Converse, with canvas upper, white rubber across the toe, metal grommet lace-holes, and white rubber soles. It has (likely regular size) white laces all done up in a bow. The keychain part goes through a metal ring at the back of the shoe.
The Sonic design is wrap-around, with modern Sonic on the heel & mostly one side, while his spikes are on the other. The light blue canvas has 2 white stars, while the white rubber sole has 3 blue stars.
It's a cute design for a tiny shoe, with good detail (matching stars) real stitching and real metal for durability. It is costly, however, as it is about 22 dollars if you can find it for sale.
Bio World makes a thick metal and enamel sturdy keychain in winter 2020. You can see that this is thicker than normal, and probably a bit heavy. The ring for attaching it seems thicker too. It's all silver-tone metal with a colored enamel (inset) Sonic classic face. The metal is shaped like the face, which is pretty plain and simple full color line art. (photo appears to be washing out over the lower peach color face part)
It's simple, it's classic, and it looks like something that would wear well/be around for basically ever because metal doesn't really go bad. Probably a solid buy if you didn't have something like it already. But, where are they selling it?
These metal & enamel pins are by "Just Funky", who apparently has a modern license. They put it to good use right away, by choosing a nice pose for each character that isn't over-used. You can get thumbs up but faced mostly away Sonic and fist-out Knuckles. The lines are crisp, the enamel colors are bright, and the pin cards are nicely checkered in 2 blues with the modern logo in color.
Good stuff! (If they're reasonably priced)
These would go into the SonicGear Personal collection if they can be found somewhere. Write in for credit if you see these for sale...
Back Pack Hangers are usually larger keychains or keychain-type items that are too big for their intended purpose. So, hanging them on a backpack where they wouldn't fit into a purse or pocket like a proper keychain is the solution. Here, you can see the retail display dispenser stand for this latest round of them in 2020. They are (sadly) blind packed and there are 11 different ones to try and collect.
The back of the package shows you the characters you can get, with of course a couple of different ones for Sonic. They're all classic designs (so, not that many characters to make anyway) and the items are actual 3D little figures with plastic wing ring shaped clip tops. But, do be warned that BPH like these need to be sturdier than normal items because they are on the outside the whole time---yet they've chosen plastic lead loops for the tops so that's not a great idea. These are made by JUSTToys Photo by Taaron
These may be around over 5 dollars each IF you can find them which is...not fabulous for a blind bag collection that also has 11 things. Hopefully the bags are squeeze-able in person to let people try to choose which they get.
You may be able to find these small pin buttons there if you go in 2020. These are highly likely to be IDW Sonic comic art used for the pins. There's Knuckles in the foreground for one pin, and a leaping Sonic/flying Tails for the other. The art looks good in pin format. Photo & owned by Taaron
It is from a "Loot Crate" box...but which one was it on? Loot Crate is one of those trendy 'mystery box' subscriptions where you get a variety of items each month, but no control over what's in there other than the theme. It's supposed to work like a surprise, but it kind of doesn't always...because you can end up with stuff you don't want and buying things 'sight unseen' is a tad iffy.
The pin itself is nice though. Enamel doesn't go bad, and the line art used is solid/a good look for it.