elebrated artist, designer, and former animator at Disney, Brian Donnelly, known in the art community with his signature ‘KAWS’, become famous for his first toy: Companion. Released in 1999, the 8-inch figure was a model of cartoon character ‘Mickey Mouse’ with bones sticking out of its head, and crossed or X-ed out eyes and markings on its gloves and shoes.
Since then, KAWS Companions have remained extremely valued toy collectables, thanks to their ‘limited’ labels, their resale prices can be several times their initial purchase prices.
One popular variation of the KAWS Companion is the KAWS Dissected Companion; a Companion with one half flayed to reveal bone, muscle, and organ. The Dissected Companion reminds us with humor, the briefness of life and all the ‘good’ that comes with it.
Authentic Dissected Companions today carry price tags from around $1,500 to as high as $8 000 and even higher, not exactly budget-friendly for the average collector.
Enter replicas.
Thanks to cult-like fan bases and excellent cloning technology, you can get a real Dissected Companion at a fraction of the price. However, are any replicas really worth the money? Seems so.
The DHGate KAWS Dissected Companion Replica
The DHGate Dissected Companion Replica scores well in terms of its resemblance to the authentic KAWS Dissected Companions. And for its $75 price tag, it is far more affordable.
What we Liked About it
The best thing about the DHGate Dissected replica is its detailed design. It clones the traditional Dissected Companion very well to an accurate degree.
On one side, it comes with half bones sticking out the head, a grey body, a white glove, mock-bronze shorts and shoes, and the signature X-markings on the eye and gloves. On the other side, the Companion is flayed to reveal its anatomy – muscles, organs, and bone. It also wears bronze shoes and a white glove on its flayed side to give it balance.
Each organ on the Dissected Companion replica’s flayed side comes in vibrant colors and give the spooky feel of innards. The replica also comes with a ‘KAWS Companion’ label on the bottom of the shoe.
Flaws
The DHGate Dissected Companion, however, comes with some flaws. Like with many replica Companions, the mechanics of its limbs and its overall balance are not as great as that on the authentic Dissected Companions.
On one side the limbs move well, while on the other, they are a little rigid. Standing the replica on its feet also reveals a slight tilt to one side. In addition, the ‘KAWS Companion’ label on the bottom of the shoe is misleading. As the replica isn’t actually made by KAWS, it is a fake.
However, for its price tag, we still think the DHGate Dissected Companion replica is worth it. It makes for an excellent addition to any desk space or a gift to anyone who fancies everything KAWS. You can get a different color of the same replica here!
