Archive for October, 2007

Zombie Puberty

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007

It’s that time of year again. What time is that you ask? Halloween of course. What better way to celebrate than with a thematic entry for such a spooky day.

You’ve seen one zombie, you’ve seen ‘em all, right? Wrong.

Look at this guy. He’s all f-ed up.

Naked,
Green,
Covered with juicy, candy-coated sores,
Oozing puss

… and he’s balding.

It’s tough being an awkward, teenage zombie – living (or is that un-living) in a state of a pimply puberty. Even his eye and navel are oozing. Poor kid.

(Click to enlarge)
Hideshi Hino - Zowruko Horror Zombie Toy by Planet Toys

He’ll never know the taste of a woman’s brain.

(Click to enlarge)
Hideshi Hino - Zowruko Horror Zombie Toy by Planet Toys

So, running a blog dedicated to “weirdo toys,” pretty much means I can virtually feature anything from my collection for this “special” Halloween edition. I finally decided to feature this little fella I bought a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I trashed his packaging, so I have no record of what he is (it’s before I knew I’d be doing this blog ;) ). I think a friend informed me that he’s part of a series of figures based on freaky zombie characters by some Japanese illustrator. At the moment, I have no info other than “Planet Toys Made in China”, but I’m working on it.

INFO UPDATE:

Thanks to some information from Jonathan at www.bogleech.com, I now know that this weird toy is a character from the mind of horror manga artist, Hideshi Hino. His name is Zowroku, and he belongs to a toyline that includes two other Hino characters, Hell Baby and Dokumushi (the “Bug Boy”).

Hideshi Hino - Hell Baby and Bug Boy Horror Comics

I also found some images of the toy packaging. I knew I shouldn’t have thrown it away.

Hideshi Hino - Zowruko Horror Zombie Toy by Planet Toys

A Mickey by any other name…

Monday, October 22nd, 2007

So, a Disney toy is making an appearance on the Weirdo Toys blog.

weird antique mickey mouse toy

Well, not exactly.

I recently discovered this primitive “Micky Mouse” in an article over at Boing-Boing, that discusses the controversial origins of that punk “Mickey Mouse” and his toys.

Allegedly, Performo-Toy Company were selling Micky Mouse toys before the Disney character ever existed. There are even implications that Walt himself stole the character and name, but once Disney became the powerhouse with the animated Mickey, they annihilated any possibility for Performo to hold claim to its being the original (Plus, Disney’s Mickey has an “e”… so c’mon. That’s totally different.). Performo were even given a court order to destroy all original Micky inventory and collateral that made any references to him.

Don’t worry Weirdo Micky. You have a home here.

P.S.
As practiced by most bloggers, I have not checked any facts. Pretty lazy, eh? Hey, this site is for entertainment only
;)

Axe’s Pitman Keychain

Monday, October 22nd, 2007

In 2004 Axe attempted to appeal to guys with an ad campaign featuring a cartoony armpit character named Pitman. The ads were based on the idea that Pitman is a hit with the ladies because he is so dry.

There’s nothing sexier than dry armpits, right ladies?
You mean there is?
A walking, headless armpit the size of your torso?
Even sexier.

The visuals in the ads are definitely bizarre, attention-grabbing, and even slightly disturbing. I’m not sure it makes for a good deodorant ad campaign…

Axe's Pitman Deodorant ad

Axe's Pitman Deodorant ad

Axe's Pitman Deodorant ad

Axe's Pitman Deodorant ad

… but it does make for a truly weird, little toy (a keychain anyway).

Pitman is a severed, hairy armpit with some 3-toed. cartoony feet. He actually looks like a walking pubic area. I’m sure it was intended that way… you know, with the semi-misogynistic tendencies the Axe ads communicate.

(Click to enlarge)
Axe's Pitman Keychain - weird hairy armpit toy

(Click to enlarge)
Axe's Pitman Keychain - weird hairy armpit toy

(Click to enlarge)
Axe's Pitman Keychain - weird hairy armpit toy

A buddy of mine gave me this little gem (thanks Joe!), but apparently the Pitman keychain came from Axe’s website. It’s a “limited edition” prize for players who’ve scored well in the Pit Madness game.

Gross Out Gang – Class of ’87

Friday, October 19th, 2007

While searching for the newly discovered Gross Out Gang, I came across a seller on eBay offering up this 1987 Skilcraft toy ad.

(Click to enlarge)
Skilcraft Toy Ad featuring the weird 80s toys, the Gross Out Gang

Needless to say, I bought it merely for the photo of the whole gang.

(Click to enlarge)
A full color photo of the entire Gross Out Gang printed in a 1987 skilcraft toy ad

Now that we know what the whole gang looks like, help me keep an eye out for them ;)

Gus Fink’s Boogily Heads

Monday, October 15th, 2007

Over the weekend, I made a road trip with some of my buddies to Bethesda, Maryland to partake in our annual adventure known as SPX. It’s the “Small Press Expo” and is typically filled with independent publishers, artists, writers, etc., but this year I came across something rather surprising. There was a guy selling toys. His name is Gus Fink and he’d achieved the honor of getting his artwork re-interpreted as a new toyline (created by Rocket USA) called “Boogily Heads.”

Described as an “art toy with booble action,” these little guys are replicas of original sculptures created by Gus Fink. They all look like unique, hand-painted sculptures. The quirky, weird, hand-made style of the bobble heads fits perfectly in the do-it-yourself spirit of SPX.

I fell in love with these little toys at first sight.

Here’s a look at Series 1:

Skygor
(Click to enlarge)
Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 1 - Skygor

Marshmello (limited edition version)
(Click to enlarge)
Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 1 - Marshmello

Milq
(Click to enlarge)
Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 1 - Milq

Oinks
(Click to enlarge)
Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 1 - Oinks height=

Pinko
(Click to enlarge)
Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 1 - Pinko

Derf
(Click to enlarge)
Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 1 - Derf

And here’s Series 2:

Skullgnome
(Click to enlarge)
Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 2 - Skullgnome

Cricker
(Click to enlarge)
Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 2 - Cricker

Kitix
(Click to enlarge)
Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 2 - Kitix

Cheezor
(Click to enlarge)
Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 2 - Cheezor

Squiggie
(Click to enlarge)
Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 2 - Squigie

Paperbag
(Click to enlarge)
Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 2 - Paperbag

They all come packaged with a little mini-comic/poster drawn by Fink too. The drawings didn’t make nearly as good an impression on me as the toys did. I think his future is more in toy making and less in comics or illustration.