The International Toy Fair may be coming to a close, but NECA is certainly going out with a bang. After unveiling several awesome action figures for characters from movies like Halloween and The Goonies, the company has officially revealed an action figure set inspired by The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross. Just as he appeared on the program, the smiling Ross figure looks ready to paint some happy little trees on your shelf at home. Because of NECA's attention to detail, the figure looks identical to the real person, and any major fan of Ross and his TV series is going to find this amazing.
This will be a cloth action figure, with Bob Ross coming in modeled after his Joy of Painting wardrobe. He stands at 8" tall and is fully articulated, able to be posed however you would like. It's not quite as beautiful as an actual Ross painting, but this action figure created with his likeness certainly comes very close. He has many necessary accessories as well, coming with a large easel display, paint palette, two brushes, and a palette knife. Like most other NECA action figure releases, Ross will be coming in window box packaging, for collectors who want to keep him on display while leaving the box sealed.
Known for being a wholesome and wonderfully remarkable person, Ross's gentle nature started with his childhood. As a young boy, Ross had taken to caring for injured animals, one of which was a squirrel named Peapod which later appeared on his TV show. Ross had dropped out of high school in 9th grade after losing a part of his index finger in a woodworking accident. Fortunately, the loss never affected the artist's ability to hold a palette, as he would come to discover when he took up painting as an adult.
Before becoming a television star, Ross had worked in the United States Air Force as a master sergeant. Feeling that the job required him to be too mean, Ross vowed to never raise his voice at anyone again following his military career. In 1983, he had started the PBS television program The Joy of Painting, which focused on him narrating his artwork with his trademark soothing voice. The series ran for over a decade, concluding its run in 1994, but is still fondly remembered by those who remember watching it. Reruns continue to air on television to this day, and as the NECA action figure reveal proves, there are still lots of fans of the legendary painter. Sadly, Ross passed away in 1995 due to complications from lymphoma, which took fans by surprise as he had kept his diagnosis secret from the public.
The Bob Ross toy is listed by NECA to ship in Q2 2019. Of course, he is just one of many amazing releases to be coming from Neca this year, given all of the other awesome reveals we've seen coming out of Toy Fair alone. You can see more of the figure and read more information at NECA Online.
