Weirdo Toys

Archive for the ‘Monsters’ Category

Share the Jiggle

Monday, March 28th, 2011

You know what’s great about authoring a toy blog? Finding and connecting with fellow toy nuts like yourselves.

Know what makes it even better? When we toy nuts share with each other. I’m not even talking about sharing thoughts, photos, etc. That’s truly great, but I mean literally just giving each other toys. (Maybe I mean gifting vs. sharing?)

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Just recently I got this cool little jiggler monster in the mail from a mystery person. I racked my brain trying to figure out how the hell it ended up in my mailbox. Did I order this and forget? I had no clue what was going on. What made this random gift so strange, is the fact that I’d literally been eyeballing the same toy on eBay for a while but had been passing it over cuz it was just too pricey. Pretty coincidental, huh?

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Turns out it was sent by a member of a toy discussion board I frequent. (Thanks “lastactionhero.” You’re the best.)

I know you may not wanna hear about me and my surprise packages, but moments like this inspire me. (This isn’t even the first time this has happened. I’m just featuring this guy cuz he’s sitting here on my desk.) These acts of generosity remind me that simply taking a moment in your collecting and being on the lookout for the other guy, really helps spread the joy of collecting and reinforces the collecting community. I love this mentality and camaraderie when compared to the opposite approach of scalpers buying everything up and screwing us over in the secondary market.

After receiving this little bugger, I decided to give away toys to some random Twitter followers. It wasn’t much, but I was able to pass on some goofy toys to total strangers and quite possibly create some new toy friends. (I wish I could do more for you guys, but unfortunately, I don’t have sponsors or budgets to run this blog. I have to share from my own stash.)

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Okay. Enough with the mushy stuff. Back to the toy.

I don’t know what it is.

I just know it’s older than me and it jiggles.

He looks to be some kind of dinosaur-monkey-alien thing.

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He’s hollow, rubbery, and it’s marked “Gigantor.” (Ha! He’s only 3.5″ tall… and I’m pretty sure he’s unrelated to the Japanese Gigantor series). It was produced by Steven Manufacturing in 1975.

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I can’t find much info on him. I’ve only found a few more examples of bizarre creatures that this “Steven Mfg / Gigantor” line consists of.

They look to be combos of dinosaurs and other animals. I found ‘em on the Plastcauria blog. They are just weird.

Any ideas?

Tags: Gigantor, Jiggler
Posted in Alien, Bizarre, Monsters, Unsolved Mystery | 8 Comments »

Wookiee Sucks Ball

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

A month or so back, I was poking around a toy show, and as usual, I didn’t find much that interested me. (That kind of thing happens when your tastes become more and more obscure I guess… dang it)

In sad situations like that, I eventually get to the point where I’m thinking, “I paid to get into the show… I’m leaving with SOMETHING.” This actually forces me to backtrack and look over every square inch of these dealer’s tables. And that is when you’ll find some little thing you’ve previously overlooked (and be you’ll be forced into more awkward toy conversations).

And what I initially overlooked is this little gem.

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What the hell is it?

I dunno.

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He’s 5.5″ tall with no markings whatsoever. The dealer I bought it from didn’t know a thing about it. He assumed it was from an old G.I.Joe toyline, but I’m fairly certain it’s not. I was actually hoping it was some strange Star Wars bootleg, because it looks like a wookiee choking on a jawbreaker or eating a ping-pong ball or something.

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The distressed, yellow paint job, agonized facial expression and ball in the creature’s mouth – sure, he looks weird, but in my heart I knew this figure had a simple, sane origin. It’s probably from some vintage safari-themed toyline.

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Well, with a little bit of digging (AKA asking some buddies on a toy discussion board), I discovered that this is actually a yeti figure from a vintage Evel Knievel playset by Ideal Toy Company – “Escape from Skull Canyon.”

Evel Knievel playset photos courtesy of ToyNerd.com.

Apparently one of Evel’s death-defying stunts was driving through a canyon occupied by an angry Yeti who drops boulders on him.

This guy reminds me a lot of the green monkey I featured here a couple years ago.

They’re both equally weathered, and the yeti looks just as angry. (Do these emotions stem from years of the toy’s having been neglected?)

So, now that we now know what this toy is, I’m still left with some unanswered questions. Why is my yeti figure yellow? And…

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Why the hell does he have a ball in his mouth?

Tags: Bigfoot, Star Wars, Wookiee, Yeti
Posted in Animals, Monsters, Used & Abused | 24 Comments »

Happy Smurfoween!

Friday, October 29th, 2010

Typically when I hear the word “Smurf” as it relates to the word “Halloween,” I imagine something disturbing like this:

Smurf Halloween Costumes
Smurf costume photo courtesy of Unreality Magazine.

But now, thanks to Schleich, I can now picture this:

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Ya know, I never thought I’d see the day when I’d put Smurf PVC figures on my site, but when I discovered these guys a few years ago, I knew their presence here was inevitable.

These aren’t just any smurfs, they’re the outcasts of Smurf Village. When you cross those cute, little, blue guys with classic horror icons, you get an awesome amalgamation of cute and creepy.

Here we have seven Halloween-inspired smurfs depicted as a vampire, mummy, werewolf, jack-o-lantern, grim reaper, Frankenstein’s monster and a ghost. (There’s actually a Smurfette Witch in the collection as well. I don’t like her, so I didn’t get her… so sue me.)

These figures are usually referred to by their serial numbers, so I’ve taken on the task of naming them.

Count Smurfula
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“Bleh! I vant to smurf your blood.”

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First up is Count Smurfula. He’s an awesome interpretation of the formal, vampire look. The cape, bow, belt and cuffs are all a great way to accessorize a topless smurf’s outfit… and those fangs look pretty fierce too.

Mummy Smurf
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“Wrap it up. I’ll smurf it.”

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Next is Mummy Smurf. He doesn’t look to old or dried out, but I love his creepy, blood-red eye. I also like how the bandages are unraveling to emulate to the topless smurf design. Looks like they’ve even wrapped his hat.

Weresmurf
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“Holy smurf! It’s a full moon tonight.”

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Here we have Weresmurf. What’s cool about this guy is the fact that he’s a furry smurf. That’s pretty rare. He has claws. I didn’t even know smurfs had fingernails. Oh yeah, and he has a belt. That’s bizarre in Smurf world.

Smurf-O-Lantern
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Next is Smurf-O-Lantern. This guy looks to be a regular ol’ smurf with a jack-o-lantern plopped on his head. His hat and body are generic. It’s his monstrous pumpkin head that makes him so great. Wonder if that’s Jokey Smurf under there.

Grim Smurfer
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(Don’t Smurf) The Reaper

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This next guy is a bit weird. He’s the Grim Smurfer – complete with scythe. He actually looks like a smurf wearing a Halloween costume. It’s due to the fact that his body is simply a suit with bones painted on it. A skeleton body smurf would’ve be amazing though. He would’ve looked like an Underworld Warrior.

Frankensmurf
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He’s one scarred-up mother-smurfer.

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This guys’ great. It’s Frankensmurf. He’s really unique in that he’s got a big block head, bolts, colored pants and a vest (A VEST! his upper torso is actually covered. Wild!) Oh yeah, and check out those platform shoes.

Poltersmurf
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“I ain’t afraid of no smurf!” (poltersmurf that is)

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This last guy is kind of scary. I’ll call him Poltersmurf. Sure, he’s a simple smurf with a sheet over him, but look how pissed he is. The rest of these guys look mischevious but fun. This guy looks like he really wants to hurt you. Luckily, he’s being held back by a ball and chain. (Strange. Seems like a ghost wouldn’t be held back by that kind of thing.)

What I love about these guys is how outwardly monstrous and unique their designs are while straying true to the Smurf design. They aren’t just mild variations of the generic smurf (Ya know… a smurf holding a jack-o-lantern or some crap like that). These are nice, uniquely sculpted monstrous incarnations of everyone’s favorite little blue guys. Now you have no reason to not have Smurf toys on your desk.

(Unfortunately, these Halloween Smurf designs were retired in December of 2008, but I think you can still find them fairly easily online if you want them.)

Happy Halloween folks, and happy haunting!

Tags: 80s cartoons, halloween, PVC figurine, smurfs
Posted in Cartoons, Comics, Cute, Monsters | 19 Comments »

Creepy Freaks by WizKids

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but my dad has a healthy interest in my toy hobby, and yet again, he’s uncovered a gem for us all.

Sometime last year, he surprised me with an entire case of “Creepy Freaks” by WizKids (I think it was my birthday or something. I don’t recall.)

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Apparently, he got the toys fairly cheap off eBay.

I’d never heard of them, but the name alone intrigued me. I had no idea what to expect once I opened the box.

Creepy Freaks

So this is what I found – Twenty four blind-boxed booster packs for “the Gross Out 3D Trading Game.” (I think I kind of recognize this packaging, but I’m not quite sure. Maybe I passed by them in a Toys R Us or something.)

I opened up my first box (after painfully cutting through a thick plastic clamshell) and found two miniature figurines inside. Not bad, but actually these weren’t toys as much as they were game pieces for a kids game.

Crap.

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They appeared to work like HeroClix or something at first glance. I don’t have any rules for the game (and honestly don’t care to look it up. Ha!), but it looks like each character has various powers and strengths which are used when you twist the character around on his/her square base.

Along with the Creepy Freaks game pieces come circular portrait stickers and character illustration stickers with a comic strip on the back.

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This is really starting to feel like a poorly executed modern Garbage Pail Kids.

Now, lets’ get to what’s important here: the weird character game pieces. After opening all 24 boxes, I had 48 Creepy Freaks in my possession. It seems like each character has an alternate name and paint job. Meet Sour Milk and Curdles.

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Again, it kind of reminds me of Garbage Pail Kids with the the alternative naming and all. I like it.

Secondly. I didn’t want a bunch of game pieces lying around. I seriously hoped I could break the figures off their game bases.

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As luck would have it, it is possible. I started breaking the game bases off every figure with brute force until my thumbs couldn’t take it anymore. A couple pairs of pliers did the trick just fine… and it didn’t involve nearly as much pain.

Okay… enough with all the BS. Let’s got to the most important part – the characters!

What I’m showing you here are some of my favorites from the collection I have. I’m not showing them all because I don’t like them all… and I honestly didn’t feel like shooting a hundred photos. Ha!

Sour Milk
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This guy is awesome. Probably my favorite of the bunch. I love the simple, maniacal milk carton w/ the little kid trapped inside trying to escape. Such a great spoof of the old missing children ads on milk cartons. Are those missing kids ads around anymore? Are milk cartons?

Drippy the Pusman
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This guy’s pretty nasty. He’s obviously a spoof of Frosty the Snowman… only he’s oozing with puss. Nasty, nasty stuff.

Skelehomie
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Skelehomie surprised me a little bit. Having anything with the word “homie” seems risky in this era of über-sensitivity and politically correct toys. And to top it off, the guy’s sipping on a brewski. I like it.

Anklebiter
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Ankebiter’s cute. He’s just a little demon or vampire baby. “Hell-on-wheels” so to speak.

Monster Under the Bed
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This guys is an icon. Every kid knows the monster under the bed. Well, now we’re finally getting a good look at him. Too bad there’s no little kid in the bed peeing himself.

Bo Oger
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This guys kind a fun and funky. Just a cyclops ogre with a major runny nose. I don’t even mind the “Bo Oger/booger” pun. Good fun.

Vampappy
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Ha! This is an awesome, awesome character design. The old’ grandpa vampire with vampire dentures. He’s rolling along in his wheel chair. It actually looks like he could be Anklebiter years from now… but vampires don’t age, right? I guess this guy was bitten at the old folks home.

Jar Head
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Jar head’s kinda cool. A bit unexpected. He’s reminiscent of the cliche, disembodied brain of a super-genius in a jar. Why don’t we ever see disembodied dumbass brains in jars… unless you count “Abby Normal.”

Socket
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This guy is awesome enough as a skeleton super hero, but the fact that he’s using a slingshot to launch his own skull at someone… that’s pretty cool.

T.E.D.D.Y.
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He is the ultimate franken-bear. Looks like a teddy bear brought to life by scrounging together some parts of long-deceased stuffed animals. Such a great, creepy twist on such a staple of childhood cuteness and innocence.

Sox
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Man. I’ve never seen an undead zombie cat. He looks great. and I can’t get over the awesome gag of his rising from a litter box grave So puurfect (couldn’t resist).

John
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Hey, the name says it all. He’s a john. Question is, “Sit or squat… or run for your life?” I’ll let you answer that one.

Overall, I love the character designs. They are actually a lot of fun and pretty clever. I’m happy to add these cool, weird figurines to my collection.

Saddest part is the Creepy Freaks are gone. These suckers came out in 2003. I probably saw them at some point, but paid no attention to them at the time. I guess kids did the same. I think the naming, packaging, etc. may have had something to do with that.

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The logo for one is pretty lame – a nondescript sans-serif type face with a devilish smiley face. It’s pretty tame and generic for a game that’s based around cool, gross creatures. Take that logo, and put it over a dark box with texture all over. and what do ya get? An indiscernible mess.

Creepy Freaks

No way you could read that package on the shelves. plus, there’ so much texture and shadows and glows and stuff, you can’t ever tell what you’re looking at.

I think the figurines are great, but the awkward, comic-book style illustrations and unfunny comic strips seems to just throw too much in the mix. Maybe it wasn’t “too much,” but when it’s not all presented well, it just comes across as an incohesive mess.

Am i being too critical? Ha!

One last thing. I wonder if the cartoony, gross character trend is reserved for a generation of 80s kids. Do kids nowadays like this stuff? If so, I have hope

Tags: creepyfreaks, garbage pail kids, gpk, HeroClix, Monsters, weirdotoys
Posted in Creepy, Games, Gross, Monsters, Weird | 12 Comments »

Ring Around the Weirdo

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Do you have any semi-lame toys lying around? Like these guys – the Bubbly Chubbies.

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The only reason I keep them around is because they are recalled Teletubbies knockoffs. Wouldn’t it be great if you could easily transform such cutesy-ass characters into something mildly disturbing?

You know, something like this?

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Well, apparently you, can. All you need are some cheap-ass monster face rings.

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These rings look like something you could find in those cheapy, import toy catalogs… like Oriental Trading Company.

I bought these rings on eBay, and once I’d received them, I realized I can instantly transform my “normal” toys into “weirdo” toys with the most minimal of effort. This transformation took very little time and money… About 5 seconds and 5 bucks. I just grabbed a ring. popped it over a toy’s head and voila! Instant weirdo.

I really love the look of the new and improved Bubbly Chubbies. Now they look more like “Grubbly Chubbies.”
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This Chubby is now a wonky-eyed viking guy with high blood pressure and a pink, marshmallow body.

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And we have a your standard screaming skull Chubby…

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and we top it off with the always classic gore gag… the dangling eyeball Chubby.

After seeing how great these guys turned out, I figured I’d try the remaining rings on some other figures I had lying around.

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This vintage Kermit figure becomes a naked, bug-eyed screamer.

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The blue guy from “Voltron,” King Zarkon, becomes Satan in his formal wear.

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And the green, alien guy from “Battlestar Galactica,” Ovion, becomes some weird raving, alien lunatic.

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With that last one though, I have to admit – Ovion looks cooler and weirder without the ring/mask.

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So, that’s about it. I just thought I’d share what originated as a cheapy, weird ring impulse buy actually ended up making some mildly interesting characters for my toy shelves at work.

You guys have any quick ring-faced figures you wanna share? I’d love to see ‘em.

• Buy an Ovion figure on eBay!