A lot of novelty toys strike me as a waste of money, but then there are the odd ones that I just see and absolutely have to get. Suck UK's Splat Stan Coaster is one of those things. It's a wonderfully simply and very amusing concept, namely a little plasticine-looking (but actually moulded plastic) figure lying flar out on his back, with the right had side of his body being completely flattened in just the right shape to place down a mug of coffee, as if it was you that murdered the poor little fellow in the first place by hammering him with a coffee-cup before he had time to make his escape.

It's a morbid but endearing little idea, that will appeal to anyone that has ever got momentarily irritated with Morph's indecipherable twitterings and felt a sudden urge to reach into the tv set and flatten him with a well-aimed fist. Whereas some of Suck UK's plastic figure range (eg their similarly flattened bookmark figure) come in garish colours, this one is a much less offensive (yet still very vibrant) orange colour, and is very well shaped, conveying the atmosphere of a plasticine crime-scene extremely well ("move along, move along, nothing to see here...").

It's pretty much guaranteed to raise a smile the first time anyone sees it, and as such makes for a great little present for anyone whose sense of humour leans towards the darker side, and whilst it is very expensive for a single coaster at over £6 plus postage, it is amusing enough to justify this price tag at the end of the day.

Alas, poor Morph, I knew him well........