Weirdo Toys

Archive for the ‘Alien’ Category

Captain Bizarrly

Sunday, March 30th, 2008

Well, last weekend I took a trip to the Anderson Jockey Lot, and surprisingly, I actually found a handful of things. I’ll share them all with you over the next few weeks, but let me start things off with this freak.

I don’t know what I’ve found here. This guy looks like he’s the alien leader of the town parade… but he’s awfully mean and gross-looking for such a fun, celebratory event. Look at his vibrant, ugly-as-hell military garb made of up of gaudy, primary colors. Maybe he’s not mean at all. He’s actually just pissed that he has to wear that goofy outfit.

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The fun doesn’t just stop with his festive outfit, this guy’s actually equipped with “crowd-pleasing action.” Just push the ridge on his back, and he twists, raises his hand (which could easily hold a baton) and cheers to the neighborhood kids letting them know they’re gonna get some candy.

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I searched for LJN toys, but all I found was webpage after webpage of Thundercats toys listings. I found no sign of him. Then I started thinking back to my childhood… to the other toylines or cartoons somewhat related to Thundercats. I remember there being a couple of other cartoon shows very, very similar to Thundercats’ themed-heroes approach. They were shows I always viewed as some kind of a trilogy or something – Thundercats (land), Silverhawks (air) and Tigersharks (sea).

Eureka! After a quick search for Tigersharks toys, I eventually stumbled upon a photo and the name of our ugly friend. He’s actually a character named Captain Bizarrly – an evil pirate who battled the Tigersharks.

It would’ve been funnier if he was simply the reluctant leader of the neighborhood parade.

Tigersharks Action Figure - Captain Bizarrly
Capt. Bizarrly package photo courtesy of this Italian Tigersharks site.

Posted in Alien, Cartoons, Ugly | 7 Comments »

Wolfgang Amadeus Griller

Sunday, January 27th, 2008

So… I got this weird figure in my Christmas stocking years and years ago (thanks Dad!).

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The guy looks to be a monster greaser or something, but he’s not quite the Hell’s Angels motorcycle-riding stereotype. Take a good look at his pompadour hairstyle, orange leather jumpsuit, blue gloves, blue elf boots and his plump, heart-shaped torso all lined with metal brackets or fencing or something.

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Sure, it’s an odd outfit, but then you see who’s wearing it – a pale, vampire-looking guy with blue gums, no eyes and a face wrapped in the same metal riveted brackets.

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Okay, he’s a freaky greaser type, but there’s another level of thought in the toy’s design here. It appears “sound” is a major theme in this character’s concept. His outfit contains speakers and horns on his arms, waist and chest. To amplify his sound theme (no pun intended), there’s a button on his back you press to animate his arms and release a cute, little squeak sound (kinda like a dog’s chew toy).

I wasn’t quite sure what this figure was. The only markings I found on the guy were “Made in China” and “©97 Bandai” which led me to believe it was either a BeetleBorgs or Power Rangers toy.

I am not (and never have been) a fan of the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, but according to this site (thanks for the link Brian), this guy is in fact a monster on the show. He’s known as Wolfgang Amadeus Griller. It seems that he appeared in an episode called Cars Attacks in 1997. He’s a musical monster who uses his conductor’s wand to throw cars around and the like… probably causing chaos for the overly-animated Power Rangers.

I really love the surprisingly quirky, freaky and fun design of this figure, and knowing the Power Rangers’ monsters were this bizarre, I really need to be on the lookout for other weirdo monster toys from the toyline. I can always have faith in Japanese to create cool creatures. If you all know of any other MMPR toys worth checking out, please let me know.

Posted in Alien, Bizarre, Monsters, Musical, TV and Movies | 6 Comments »

Outer Terrestrial Creatures by Marty Toy

Sunday, November 11th, 2007

Here’s a look at some more toys I picked up at the Allentown Antique Toy Show last weekend.

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… and whadaya know! They’re still in the box! I usually don’t care about that sort of thing, but it’s good to get a look at this one just to see the cheesy 80s space graphics on it (and Outer Terrestrial Creatures has to be the least-catchy name for children’s alien toys I’ve ever heard).

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It also gives me a bit of insight on the toys’ “selling point.” The box reads “Bend Us for Somersault Action.” I tried it, and it left a lot to be desired. “Somersault Action” basically means, “Tap us on the head hard enough and we’ll flip over and fall on our backs (like any other toy you push hard enough).”

The box also shows me the other 3 aliens I have left to find for my collection. Strange thing is, the ones I have are different colors than the ones featured on the box. I’m not sure if there were changes from prototype to production or if there are actually color variations of each character.

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