Abell Octovan's B.E.A.S.T. BarkinGun Reviewed

No, I’m not aiming a gun at you; this is Indonesian artist Abell Octovan’s BarkinGun (2010). More specifically, the B.E.A.S.T. Legacy version (2015) of the piece.

My Impressions of B.E.A.S.T. BarkinGun

This designer toy mingling of a gun’s profile with canine elements was first created and prototyped in early 2009, but it wasn’t released until the following year. That BarkinGun was different than this version, much smaller and without the spiked collar element.

This resin piece stands 7” long, 4.5” tall, and 2.5” wide, a major upscale from the original’s 5.5” long frame. The color application on this is very tight, mainly because each element — like the body, the feet, the trigger, et cetera — are all cast individually. If you look carefully at the collar, the spikes have minor feathering on them from the black paint, but it’s really a slight imperfection.

I really love how the pistol’s hammer doubles as the dog’s tail, and even the arguably juvenile humor of the trigger representing the phallus tickles my fancy. I don’t know if this color combination was a test cast or simply a one-off, but I can’t find reference to it ever being made available — but as it was a gift from Octovan to me, anything seems possible. An inversion of 2011’s Sinister edition of the original BarkinGun form, I really like how the hints of black pop against the red base.