Weirdo Toys

Archive for the ‘Cute’ Category

Kewpie Mario Bros.

Tuesday, March 18th, 2008

Question: What happens when a classic doll-turned-mascot of a Japanese mayonnaise company is combined with an equally iconic Japanese video game mascot? You get a weird, effeminate, childish mustachioed plumber.

Kewpie Mayonnaise --> Kewpie Doll + Mario = Kewpie Mario

I’m sure you recognize the iconic Kewpie Doll. You may not know it, but this character is actually a mascot of the ever-popular Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise. Freaky huh? And if you’ve encountered any Nintendo game (you know, the Wii of course) in the last 20+ years, you’ll recognize Mario as the mascot of the brand and a celebrity in a bunch of its games (Oh yeah… and there’s his second-rate brother Luigi who’s always left out of the spotlight).

Kewpie Mario Bros. – Stack Attack!
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I first discovered these guys over at the Kotaku video game blog where they featured Kewpie Nintendo characters. I’m not sure if these keychains are licensed by Nintendo or anything. They were sold in an unmarked bag and the figures themselves have no markings either. (You think Nintendo would allow their most iconic plumber brothers to wear hats without their initials?)

Mario Kewpie
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Luigi Kewpie
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What’s funny about these little guys is the fact that they look like little kewpie kids in disguise. The painted-on hair and moustaches topped off with a little piece of fabric glued onto their noses helping create the illusion of a fat plumber.

One last thing. These guys are TINY! I was expecting them to be 4″ tall or something. Nope. They’re just under 1.5″.

These fellas are in desperate need of a Super Mushroom (dipped in mayo of course).

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Posted in Cute, Import, Video Games, Weird | 8 Comments »

For the Love of Dunny

Wednesday, February 6th, 2008

Here we have the little Dunnys by Kidrobot. I’m sure you all have seen these small, designer bunny toys. They’re figures made of soft, smooth vinyl, and they’ve been around since 2004.

The various Dunny Series are wildly diverse, visually interesting and even somewhat entertaining. The toyline consists of blind-packed (you have no idea what you’re gonna get) toys designed by various guest artists such as Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Shepard Fairey and Frank Kozik just to name a few.

GINGERMAN (Chase) by Kronk
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SERIES 4 (Chase) by Shane Jessup
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SERIES 4 by Jon Burgerman
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2 FACE SERIES 2 by David Horvath
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SERIES 3 by Mishka
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SERIES 3 by Alex Pardee
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As with a lot of blind-packed toys, These toys are limited edition, so once they’re sold, they’re gone. I’m sure Kidrobot’s intent is to combine the addictive thrill of gambling with the obsessive compulsion of completing a “limited edition” collection. I feel sorry for the completists out there. Not only will it be costly obtaining the whole Dunny collection, but being stuck with all the extras you don’t want has to be annoying. I guess eBay could be your ticket out.

Hell, even I’ve picked up a handful of these at a time hoping to get some cool rare ones. Luckily for me, I haven’t been totally seduced by them. I have some good ones and bad ones, but here’s a look at some of my favorites that I’ve picked up over the past couple of years. According to Kid Robot’s Dunny Checklist a couple of these are chase figures. Wowee! They could be worth hundreds (of cents most likely).

Posted in Art, Cute, Designer Vinyl | 2 Comments »

Capt. Dingus Dog (as Laika)

Sunday, January 6th, 2008

This Blow Up Dolls mini-figure is a depiction of Capt. Dingus Dog as Laika (the Russian dog which was the first living creature from Earth to enter orbit). The astronaut concept is pretty clever, but it is its quirky, beautifully drawn, highly-stylized design that made me fall in love with it. It is visually reminiscent of the collection of prints created by The Little Friends of Printmaking (in fact that dog’s face was taken directly from one of their posters).

Captn. Dingus Dog (as Laika)
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So, I’m sure some of you already know about Jamungo’s Blow Up Dolls. These little toys have the classic, cartoony bomb for a head with a fuse and a matchstick (get it? Blow up Dolls?). They’re another in a long line of collectible designer vinyl toys.

I’ve always liked the 3D design of the Blow Up Dolls, but I was never compelled to buy them, because the 2D artwork provided by each figure’s designer never really impressed me. It wasn’t until I found out about the new Series 2 and its inclusion of one of my favorite poster design teams, The Little Friends of Printmaking, that I absolutely had to buy one.

As with most of the other “collectible” vinyl toys, the Blow Up Dolls are blind-boxed, so you really don’t know what you’re gonna get. This is a real challenge. Especially if you’re like me, and you only want a specific figure. Luckily, LFOPM made it easier for me. I bought this directly from their webstore.

The Little Friends of Printmaking are a husband-and-wife silkscreening team based in Milwaukee. They have been creating gorgeous poster art since 2003. Here’s a look at some of the posters they’ve done (notice the dog drawing they used for the Dingus Dog toy).

Friends of Printmaking Prints

Posted in Animals, Cute, Designer Vinyl | 1 Comment »

Time to Wind Down

Thursday, November 15th, 2007

Here’s a look at even more little toys I picked up at the Allentown Antique Toy Show. They’re old wind-up toys.

This first guy is just a goofy-looking sheriff with rifle-in-hand and an arrow through his head. I love the expression on his face. It’s the “Crap! Did that just go through my head?” look. He has no markings other than “Made in Japan,” so who knows where he comes from? He’s cute (even with his badly painted ammo belt and rifle that looks like a tommy gun).

Also, I think he’s a boozing sheriff. Just look at that red nose

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The next two are marked “©1967 Frankonia” (I haven’t found any reliable info about this company, but I have gathered that they produced various tin and wind-up toys). The keys and walking mechanisms still work for these two, but they are a bit slow. I’m guessing they’re from a series of Nursery Rhyme wind-up toys.

I picked them up, because they’re just really funny looking. I love the genuine expressions of sadness and concern on their faces. They’re not your typical children’s toys emotional states, that’s for sure.

This guy looks like he could be Little Boy Blue.

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Look at the truly sad expression on his face! Poor kid! They must’ve just woken him up (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out the original nursery rhyme for clues).

Little boy blue, come blow your horn
The sheep’s in the meadow, the cow’s in the corn
Where is that boy who looks after the sheep?
Under the haystack fast asleep
Will you wake him? Oh no, not I
For if I do he will surely cry

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The other is Humpty Dumpty (Wow! The second Humpty Dumpty toy on the blog!). I’m sure you all know his story. Looks like this is the “pre-fall” Humpty. He may even be on his way to a formal. Top Hat? Cane? Cumberbund? C’mon!

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He’s worried he can’t make it over that wall.

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If anyone has any info on Frankonia or any of these wind ups, feel free to share. Thanks!

Posted in Antique, Cute, Nursery Rhymes, Used & Abused, Western, Wind-Ups | 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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