Articles by Tim Hamon

Bearbrick launched on 27 May 2001, given away free to visitors at World Character Convention 12 in Tokyo. In the two decades since, Medicom Toy has turned a deliberately blank bear silhouette into one of the most collected objects in contemporary design.

This is how that happened — the origin in Medicom’s earlier Kubrick line, the collaboration model that made the figure a canvas rather than a character, and where the line sits today.

When was the first Bearbrick released?

On 27 May 2001, as a giveaway at World Character Convention 12 in Tokyo. It was not sold at retail, which is part of why original first-model figures are now difficult to find.

The launch date and venue are documented in the Bearbrick reference entry. Medicom Toy Incorporated, based in Tokyo, has produced the line continuously since.

Where did the Bearbrick design come from?

From Kubrick, Medicom’s earlier line of blocky, LEGO-influenced human figures. Bearbrick kept the same design language and articulation but replaced the human head with a bear head — and the name is simply “bear” plus “brick”.

The decision that mattered was leaving the surface blank. A figure with its own face and costume is a character; a figure with a neutral silhouette is a canvas. That choice is why the same object can carry a Warhol painting one season and a comic-book character the next, and why the line outgrew the one it came from.

What made Bearbrick successful?

The collaboration model. Rather than inventing characters, Medicom licensed the form out to artists, fashion houses and entertainment brands, so each release brought a new audience to the same object.

That compounding is the whole story. A collector who arrived for BAPE discovers the Warhol editions; someone who bought a Spider-Man figure finds Sorayama. Because the shape never changes, those unrelated purchases still read as one collection on a shelf.

How does the series system work?

Medicom releases numbered series roughly twice a year, sold in blind boxes, with a fixed set of themed categories that recur from series to series.

The recurring themes include Basic, Jellybean, Pattern, Flag, Horror, SF, Cute, Animal, Artist and Hero. Each appears at a different frequency within a case, creating the rarity ladder — Basic figures are common, and the second Artist figure is the scarcest. All editions are limited and re-releases are rare, as Artoyz sets out in its overview of the series system. Series figures are almost always 100%; the larger sizes are standalone releases.

What are anniversary and chrome editions?

Milestone releases where Medicom revisits its own history, usually in a finish that was not available originally. The 20th Anniversary 1st Model Chrome 1000% is the clearest example — the original silhouette, reissued in mirror chrome two decades later.

These matter to collectors because they are self-referential: the value is in the reference to the 2001 original, not in a licensed character. Chrome plating also carries a production constraint that keeps runs short, which is covered in the guide to chrome and metallic finishes.

How has the size range changed?

The 100% at 7cm has been the reference point throughout. What expanded was the range around it — up to the 70cm 1000% and down to 50% keychains.

The percentage has always been a multiplier of that original 7cm figure rather than a description of size, which is the single most persistent source of confusion for new buyers. The size guide sets out every size with real measurements.

Where does Bearbrick stand today?

Thousands of releases deep, with an established secondary market and auction-house presence. The highest recorded sale is the Chanel 1000% at $30,000 through Christie’s in 2019.

The line now spans genuine art collaborations, streetwear, and licensed entertainment, and the collector base splits along those lines rather than behaving as one market. What has not changed in twenty-four years is the object itself: nine parts, eight points of articulation, and a blank surface waiting for artwork.

Frequently asked questions

When was Bearbrick created?

The first Bearbrick was released on 27 May 2001 as a free giveaway at World Character Convention 12 in Tokyo, produced by Medicom Toy.

Who invented Bearbrick?

Medicom Toy Incorporated, a Japanese collectibles company based in Tokyo. The design evolved from the company’s earlier Kubrick figure line.

What was the first Bearbrick?

The original 2001 first-model figure, distributed free at World Character Convention 12 rather than sold at retail. Medicom has since revisited it in anniversary editions.

Why is it called Bearbrick?

It combines “bear” with “brick”, reflecting both the bear head and the blocky, brick-like construction inherited from Medicom’s Kubrick line.

How many Bearbricks have been made?

Medicom has produced thousands of distinct releases since 2001 across numbered series, collaborations and standalone editions. There is no official total, and editions are rarely reissued.

Start collecting

We are an authorised Medicom dealer and ship from our UK warehouse, typically arriving in 2–7 business days, with 30-day returns. Browse the full Bearbrick range, or by size: 100% · 400% · 1000%.

New here? Start with what a Bearbrick is, then the size guide.

A Bearbrick — styled BE@RBRICK — is a collectible bear-shaped figure designed and produced by the Japanese company Medicom Toy. Every one shares the same silhouette and the same nine-part body; what changes is the artwork applied to the surface, which is why the same figure can be a Warhol painting, a Star Wars character or a BAPE camo pattern.

It launched on 27 May 2001 as a free giveaway at World Character Convention 12 in Tokyo, and has since become one of the defining objects of the designer-toy movement. This guide covers what it is, how the sizes and series work, and why people collect them.

What exactly is a Bearbrick?

It is a vinyl figure in a fixed bear form, produced in limited runs, that functions as a canvas for artists and brands. Medicom describes its output as collectible art rather than conventional toys, and the figures are bought to display rather than to play with.

The form itself never changes. Every standard Bearbrick is built from nine parts with eight points of articulation — a swivel head, swivel waist, ball-jointed arms, swivel wrists and ball-jointed legs — a construction documented in the Bearbrick reference entry and unchanged since launch. That consistency is the point: because the shape is constant, the artwork is the entire variable, and a shelf of fifty figures reads as one collection rather than fifty unrelated objects.

Who makes Bearbrick, and when did it start?

Medicom Toy Incorporated, based in Tokyo, has produced Bearbrick since 2001. The first figure was given away free to visitors at World Character Convention 12 on 27 May that year.

The design descends from Medicom’s earlier Kubrick line — blocky, LEGO-influenced human figures — and the name is a compound of “bear” and “brick”. The bear head replaced the Kubrick’s human head, and the result outgrew its parent line to become Medicom’s flagship product.

What does the percentage in a Bearbrick name mean?

The percentage is a size multiplier, not a description. A 100% Bearbrick is 7cm tall, and every other size is that 7cm scaled by the stated percentage — so a 400% is 28cm and a 1000% is 70cm.

This trips up more first-time buyers than anything else about these figures, because “100%” reads like “full size” when it is in fact the smallest size commonly sold. The regular production sizes are 50% (4cm), 70% (5cm), 100% (7cm), 200% (14.5cm), 400% (28cm) and 1000% (70cm). We cover the practical implications in the Bearbrick size guide.

How does the Bearbrick series system work?

Medicom releases numbered series roughly twice a year, and each series contains a fixed set of themed categories that recur from one series to the next. Figures are sold in blind boxes, so buyers do not know which design they have until they open it.

The recurring themes include Basic, Jellybean, Pattern, Flag, Horror, SF (science fiction), Cute, Animal, Artist and Hero. Each appears at a different frequency within a case, which is what creates the rarity structure: Basic figures are the most common, and the second Artist figure is the scarcest and consequently the most valuable to complete a set. All editions are limited and re-releases are rare, as Artoyz notes in its overview of the series system.

Series figures are almost always 100%. The larger 400% and 1000% figures are typically standalone releases or collaborations rather than part of a numbered series.

Why do people collect Bearbricks?

Because the fixed form turns a shelf into a curated set, and because the collaborations put work by artists like Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat into an object costing a few hundred dollars rather than a few hundred thousand.

There are three distinct motivations, and they rarely overlap cleanly:

• Art collectors buy specific artist editions — the Warhol, Haring and Basquiat figures — as accessible entry points to work they could not otherwise own.
• Streetwear and fashion collectors follow the brand collaborations: BAPE, Fragment, CLOT, Readymade and Comme des Garçons.
• Character and franchise collectors buy the pop-culture releases — Star Wars, The Simpsons, Spider-Man and Batman — as display pieces tied to something they already care about.

A fourth group buys on expected appreciation. That works out for some releases and not others, and it deserves a clear-eyed treatment rather than a sales pitch.

Are Bearbricks a good investment?

Some appreciate substantially and most do not. Retired 1000% figures from small production runs have resold for many multiples of retail, but that outcome is concentrated in a small number of releases and is not the typical result.

What drives appreciation is edition size and the strength of the collaboration, not size or age on its own. A common 400% from a large run is unlikely to move much. A 1000% from a limited artist collaboration that sold out at retail is where the documented resale figures come from — the highest recorded sales run well into five figures, which we cover in the guide to the most expensive Bearbricks ever sold.

Buy figures you want to own. If one appreciates, treat that as a bonus rather than the plan.

How much does a Bearbrick cost?

Retail pricing scales with size: 100% figures typically sell in the tens of dollars, 400% figures in the low hundreds, and 1000% figures from several hundred dollars upward.

Secondary-market pricing is a different matter entirely and depends on whether a release is still available. Once a figure is retired, price is set by what collectors will pay, and for sought-after collaborations that can be many times the original retail.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Bearbrick?

A Bearbrick is a collectible bear-shaped vinyl figure made by Medicom Toy in Japan. It comes in fixed sizes from 4cm to 70cm and serves as a canvas for artist and brand collaborations.

Why is Bearbrick written as BE@RBRICK?

BE@RBRICK is Medicom’s official stylisation of the name, with the “a” replaced by an at-sign. Both spellings refer to the same product, and Medicom uses the stylised form on packaging and official releases.

When was the first Bearbrick released?

The first Bearbrick was released on 27 May 2001, given away free to visitors at World Character Convention 12 in Tokyo.

How many parts does a Bearbrick have?

Nine parts, with eight points of articulation: swivel head, swivel waist, ball-jointed arms, swivel wrists and ball-jointed legs.

Are Bearbricks toys or art?

They are produced and sold as collectible art objects rather than as children’s toys. They are not designed for play, and small figures and detachable parts make them unsuitable for young children.

What is the difference between Bearbrick and Kubrick?

Kubrick is Medicom’s earlier blocky human-figure line. Bearbrick uses the same design language with a bear head, and has since become considerably more popular than the line it came from.

Starting a collection

The 400% is where most collectors begin — 28cm, shelf-friendly, and the size with the widest range of designs available. From there, collections tend to grow either by artist, by brand, or by size.

We are an authorised Medicom dealer and ship from our UK warehouse, typically arriving in 2–7 business days, with 30-day returns. Browse the full Bearbrick range, or go straight to 400% and 1000% figures.

Next: how the sizes compare in practice, and how to tell a genuine figure from a replica.