“The Judge.” A figure based on a particularly terrifying character from the 1982 film, ‘The Wall.’
In 2003, Stevenson Entertainment Group put out the first of two collectible figure sets based on some of the more memorable animated characters from Alan Parker’s film adaptation of Pink Floyd’s 1979 double album, The Wall. If this is news to you, as it was to me, I’ll give you a minute to process this revelation before we get on to learning a little bit about the original concepts for the animations before you get to peep the rest of these incredible figures based on them.
Parker enlisted the formidable talents of English illustrator Gerald Scarfe to create the animated scenes in The Wall. The band had been working with Scarfe since the early 70s after the’d seen his film, Long Drawn-Out Trip on television. They reached out to Scarfe in the hope that he would create illustrations for the band, which he did. According to an article published on the Illustration Chronicles website last year, Scarfe admitted that when Floyd first came calling, he didn’t actually consider himself to be a fan of the band. Reluctantly, the artist would attend a performance by Pink Floyd at Finsbury Park while they were out supporting Dark Side of the Moon. Scarfe’s opinion of the band changed instantly, and it would be the beginning of a very successful working relationship for everyone involved. After creating images for various Floyd-related materials such as stage animations and tour books, Scarfe and Floyd would get to work designing the unique, unforgettable illustrated visuals for The Wall that would also be used during the band’s live performances.
When it came to the movie, Parker has admitted that despite its critical acclaim, it was one of the most “miserable” experiences of his professional career. The working relationship between Parker, Roger Waters and Scarfe was strained at best. To make matters worse, the members of Floyd were also on the outs with each other, quarreling about money and other contentious issues. Many great things are often born from the volatile combination of strife and passion, and The Wall is a good example of this age-old scenario.
When it comes to the figures themselves, they are somewhat difficult to obtain these days as you might imagine, though not impossible. Occasionally single packaged figures become available, as well as the six-figure box-sets that will run you anywhere from $100 for one figure to around 400 bucks for a complete Series One or Series Two box-set. I’ve posted images of each figure below as well as links to where you can hopefully still pick ‘em up.
“The Prosecutor.” Get him here.
“Mutant Human” figure.
“Mother cradling Pink.” Get her here.
More after the jump…
