Impressive likeness but unlikely to ever ship

A new action figure doll of Steve Jobs has been produced by a toy company called "inicons" and features an impressively realistic cast of the late Apple co-founder's face, particularly the eyes, but is unlikely to ever actually ship due to being unauthorized. Pre-orders are being taken for the $100 set, which comes in a box that mimics Jobs' official biography (further decreasing its chances of ever actually going into production). The model is built to one-sixth scale.

The doll features Jobs' iconic Apple "uniform" of a black mock turtleneck and blue jeans, and features Jobs as he looked in 2009 when the portrait that would ultimately be used as the cover of the biography by Walter Isaacson was taken. Jobs would later revert to the more gaunt look that had been seen when he was ill in the mid-2000s until he died in early October.

The kit is said to include two pairs of glasses and three pairs of hands in different poses. The figure is highly articulated and also includes the outfit (including black socks and sneakers) a chair, two apples ("one with a bite") and a "One More Thing" Apple-style backdrop.

The site promises buyers that refunds will be issued if the company "sells out" of the figures, but does not explicitly promise that money will be returned if the company is blocked from producing the product in the first place. Given its unauthorized nature and long lead time (inicons says it will not be shipping until late February), the possibility of it actually coming to market is very low. Nonetheless, the company website appears to be struggling under heavy traffic.

A previous company's attempt at a statuette of Jobs was shut down by Apple and the few that actually shipped to buyers are considered highly collectible but are rarely offered publicly since Apple's legal team tend to have auctions pulled or otherwise put a stop to the sale.

An actual (full-size) statue of Jobs erected in Hungary as a tribute by Mac and Windows developer Graphisoft has met with no objection from either Apple or the Jobs estate.

by MacNN Staff