You see, I never really knew about the New Adventures of He-Man cartoon as a kid. I never watched the show or knew the characters or anything like that. I was already out of my Masters of the Universe toy phase, but that didn’t mean I still didn’t like looking around the toy store. My first (and last) exposure to “New Adventures” was on the shelves in a toy store. I still have a vague memory of strolling through the toy aisles of said store and seeing, hanging from the pegs in bold, gold type,”He-Man.” But once I saw what the He-Man figures were, I was a bit surprised, confused and disappointed. The characters were all new, they were a smaller scale, and they were not as freakishly muscular as I’d come to expect. It made no sense. It was traumatic I tell you.
Seriously. This new bastardized He-Man sucked. It seems that there was so much of a distaste for scrawny He-Man, that Mattel eventually released a couple more versions of him which you may notice grew more and more muscular.
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He-Man figure photos courtesy of He-Man.org.
Ha! He still looks pretty crappy but at least he’s transforming to the steroid-ridden He-Man. That’s the way we like him.
Well, I’m well beyond the whole purpose of this post. I’ll just say the new He-Man sucked. but it’s been a long time since those days, and looking at the line now with my weirdo-collector eyes, I can actually see the value in some of the “He-Man” toy designs – mainly the villains and especially this villain, Optikk (clever name huh?).
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You are looking at one of the freakiest He-Man villains ever created. His head is a giant, pulsing eyeball for cryin’ out loud, and it’s staring through your soul!
Optikk’s been getting a lot of attention lately, because he’s being re-made and released by Mattel in the Masters of the Universe Classics(MOTUC) line.
This is a testament to the fan-following this guy has garnered over the years. He looks pretty cool, but I figured I’d show you the original.
We’re going back to 1990.
Let’s start with the packaging.
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Ah. Good, old fashioned paintings of characters. I’ll always, always enjoy that. Thanks Mattel, for supporting some illustrators. (but I have noticed you’re re-using the same vintage art for the MOTUC lines. Just hire a guy to do new stuff, so it can be consistent.)
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Well, to start things off, I’ll just say, “Ugh.” Look at that freaky eyeball just staring at you. Creepy, huh?
According to his bio Optikk’s a “Bad-tempered goon squad cyborg from the foggy polar region of evil planet Denebria. Has a spyball eyeball that lets him see through almost anything.”
Ok. So he has the huge eyeball to see through the fog. I get it. His “people” have evolved to this point I guess. Giant eyeball heads.
Secondly, as you may have noticed on the package, Optikk has “Masters Action,” and his action happens to be a “quick-draw” move.
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It’s cool and all that he draws a gun on you, but it’s really, really lame that his arm is in a permanent, “I’m gonna bust a cap in yo ass” position. To “activate” his quick-draw action, you simply hold his arm down and let go when it’s time for him to shoot. You’re screwed if you ever lose the gun. You’ll be stuck with a guy who just kind of holds his arm out there.
But he has another action that makes up for the lame, rigor mortis arm.
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Just spin the dial on his back…
and his eyeball moves!!
In case you can’t figure it out, Mattel has provided some step-by-step instructions.
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Optikk’s fairly poseable too. He has various ball joints and hinges and such. Pretty fancy compared to the old MOTU figures.
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When all is said and done though, the guy is pretty neat. He looks like a steam-punk astronaut or robot or something… with an eyeball for a head. It really seems like a poor armor design to keep your most vulnerable body part completely open to attacks. Maybe Mattel should’ve made a dorky helmet for his eye or a battle-armor contact lens.
Well, Optikk, thanks for justifying the existence of the He-Man toyline. Best of luck with your MOTUC release.
You see these generic-looking super heroes? (The ones that look a lot like Playmobil?) They may look like true knock-offs or bootlegs of your favorite comic characters, but they are in fact a legit toyline from a legit Spanish toy company, Airgam.
“What the hell is Airgam” you may be asking? well, Airgam is a toy company that was established in 1976 and is best known for its miniature figures called Airgam Boys.
The Airgam Boys had various series which included themes such as Space, Romans, Cowboys, Sports, etc. One such category called “Airgam Comics: Super Stars” was released in 1985… which leads us to these guys – The Super Fantastics and Super Diabolics.
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They’re a bunch of guys wearing capes, boots, gloves and what looks to be diapers on the outside of their pants. Not only that, but most of them are carrying guns. Even the good guys. I guess there’s a higher price to pay for crime in Spain – a bullet to the gut.
Looks like the series more or less uses all the same body parts and accessories. They just get different coloration, paint apps and stickers.
Let’s take a closer look at the figures shall we. We’ll start out with the Super Fantastics.
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First of all, what’s up with that name? Ha! Sounds a lot like a bad English translation doesn’t it? It makes them that much more charming I guess. And this type treatment is so funky. Looks like some kind of street graffiti.
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This is a rough bunch of super heroes. You’d think they were over sized, floating heads, arms and torsos hanging out with miniature, heavily-armed little people. It’s a pretty nasty-looking illustration – a weird mishmash up of all the characters piled on top of each other. The characters’ scale is all off, and the characters which appear to be in the background are overlapping characters in the foreground. It loses all sense of this thing being a “montage.”
Super Fantastics
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The Fantastics characters I have to show you today are Stars Man, Bird Man, Red Masker and Captain Laser.
Stars Man
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Stars Man, is pretty much a Captain America ripoff if you ask me. Although, since he’s just a “stars” man, I guess his allegiance is the stars themselves and not necessarily to the United States. He could represent any country that really likes stars… or Astronomy.
Bird Man
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Bird Man seems to be the Batman ripoff. He’s got the big, bat ears… only thing is, he’s bird man. Birds don’t Have big ears like that. Not sure why they did that. They should’ve given him a beak or something.
Red Masker
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Ha! Now we have Red-Masker… which is probably the funniest name in the bunch. If you can’t come up with a good ripoff name for a Spider Man character then you shouldn’t be naming toys. Ha. Why “Red-Masker?” Couldn’t they have done something like “Arachna-Kid” or “Webbed-Wonder?” How’d they come up with the “Red Masker?” I can picture it now:
“Hey Berto… we need a name for this Spider Man-looking guy.”
“Is he wearing a mask?”
“Yeah.”
“What color is it?”
“Red.”
“Why don’t we just call him ‘Red-Mask?’”
“I dunno. Seems too lifeless. It’s not action-oriented enough. No real ‘kick’ to it.”
“Well, how about ‘Red Masker?’ You know, he masks people and stuff.”
“Man. Why didn’t I think of that? The kids are gonna love it!”
(Damn. I went off on a tangent there. Sorry.)
Captain Laser
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Here’s Captain Laser. This guy was obviously inspired by Cyclops from X-Men, but his sci-fi logo style and the word “captain” in his name makes me feel like he’s more of a Buck Rogers, sci-fi, leader kind of guy. Plus, I love how happy he looks. He’s probably the wise-cracking smart ass of the group.
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Oh yeah, and look at this. He may be cracking a smile now, but if you cross him, he’ll laser-blast your ass. What did the innocent people in that sky rise do to deserve the laser-beamed wrath of Captain Laser? Maybe some Super Diabolics were hiding in there.
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Next, we have the Super Diabolics. I’m actually a bit intrigued that these toylines have separate names… unless “Airgam Comics: Super Stars” is considered the toyline’s name. I dunno. Anyway, the same weird English translation thing goes for this toy title too. Love it. The style here is more reminiscent of skateboard graphics or tattoo art or something. So pointy and flamey.
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And look at these guys. They seem a bit more unique/diverse and not so ripped-off (at first glance anyway). This montage suffers from the same weird perception of space between the characters. I like their dark and mysterious setting – surrounded by creepy castles, sharp mountain ranges and monster bats.
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The Diabolics I have to show you today are Dr. Diabolic, Python, Piranha and Spector.
Dr. Diabolic
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First we Have Dr. Diabolic… which basically means this guy is the leader. If you’re team is called the “Super Diabolics,” and you are doctor of Diabolics, then you are definitely the bad-ass leading the bunch. His mask only covers a part of his face for some reason, and it looks like he’s even lost an eye in battle. He kind of reminds me of Mr. Sinister from the X-men.
Python
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Up next we have Python. Which looks like a weird 70s Dracula. I love the little ’stache and stained vampire fangs. If he’s not a weird reptilian vampire, I’d say he’s a retro version of G.I. Joe’s Serpentor.
Piranha
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Here we have Piranha. I think he’s the misunderstood weirdo of the bunch. I’m sure he speaks or acts in some way that any passerby would think he’s “special needs.” He looks pretty cool. Looks like a cross between an alien and a fish man. Good to see he has a trident instead of the guns everyone else seems to love so much.
Spector
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Oh. And my favorite of the bunch – Spector. He’s definitely the scary, mysterious loner who answers to no one. Question: What’s more bad ass than a guy with a skull for a head? How about a guy with a skull head wearing a futuristic leather space suit. What’s cooler than a skull-headed guy wearing a futuristic leather jumpsuit? How about a skull-headed guy wearing a leather jumpsuit toting around a big blaster. This guy has to be an undead space biker. He could’ve been inspired by Ghost Rider.
That’s all the characters for now, but we’re not done yet.
Not only were these little guys cool, but they had huge freaking playsets.
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Here are a couple of playsets that were featured on the back of the packaging. Looks like a city playset with a giant spider web, and a big glowing bad guy along with the castle playset. The castle is kind of wonky and more fantasy-inspired than these comic characters. Just look at these things. Sure they’re just cardboard cutouts, but they seem like they could’ve been pretty fun.
Playsets not cool enough for you? Well, in these pics you can see a lot of these guys had alternative figure versions which came with their own personally-branded vehicles. Looks like they had various airplanes, motorcycles and hovercrafts.
Red Maskermobile
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I happened to get my hands on this Red Masker-mobile. And boy is it a thing of beauty. Looks like a weird jetski-speedboat-hovercraft or something. Not sure if he flies this thing or sails it.
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Also, notice the Red Masker that came with this vehicle is different than the regular one. This time his eyes are exposed, his costume’s original web patterning has devolved to a generic criss-cross design, and now, he has his name written across his chest (so you won’t confuse him with Spider-Man).
Panther Man and Bad Tiger
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You may’ve noticed a couple of characters from the toy packaging that didn’t get their time in the limelight. I don’t have these figures, but I figured they needed a little mention.
Here we have the Super Fantastics’ Panther Man. He’s basically a Wolverine ripoff. They tried to throw us off a bit w/ that bow, but we know Wolverine when we see him.
And then we have the Super Diabolics’ Bad Tiger. He actually looks pretty nice. Reminds me of a character you’d see in an old Nintendo Pro Wrestling game or something.
Note that they both have an animal theme and the same color scheme. Oddly coincidental.
If you happen to have these figures or know where I can find ‘em, please get in touch with me
And lastly, I wanted to share this vintage Spanish toy commercial for the Airgam Comics: Super Stars. You know they had to be legit if they had their own toy commercial. Enjoy.
Oh man. All I can say is I love these little guys. I’m so glad I discovered them. I never knew anything about them growing up (being the little American kid I was in the 80s). Thank goodness for the internet and my buddy, John, who hooked me up with a lot of these figures. Thanks John!
So, I’ve got a little something for you today I’m willing to bet you’ve never seen or heard of (well, that can be said about a lot of my posts, but this is different).
Today, I am proud to introduce you to Creepy Bods!
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Months ago, I was lucky enough to get my hands on all four Creepy Bods figures. What makes Creepy Bods so special, you ask (oh wait, you didn’t ask that)? Well, for one, they’re unbelievably, ridiculously impossible to find and are greatly sought after, but more importantly, they are a refreshing innovation in the world of Madball knockoffs.
You see, back in the 80s when the world was introduced to Madballs, kids went nuts. These gross little balls were charming, unique and just fun to play with. Of course, as I mentioned in a previous blog entry, there were Madball wannabes – folks that tried to cash in on the success of Madballs. The ripoff Madballs (or “Sadballs” as I like to refer to them) were usually uninspired derivatives of existing Madball designs, and they were almost always poorly produced. In an attempt to stand out in the pack in a world of knockoffs, Roundhill Industries came along and created Creepy Bods. They are (to quote the package) “headless bodies to display your Madballs™, Weird Balls™, Foul Balls™ and any other Ball Heads!” (Not only were they appealing to the Madballs market, but they even included shout-outs to the ripoff balls. Nice.) You see, instead of falling in line with all the other copy cats, these guys created something pretty darn neat. Madballs now had gross, little bodies to use as display stands in your collection. You can mix and match the balls in your collection to suit the appropriate body style. Pretty cool idea, huh?
Creepy Bods Packaging
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Other than the concept of bodies for your Madballs, the Creepy Bods were pretty unoriginal. As you can clearly see, the Creepy Bods packaging emulates the Madball package.
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It’s the exact same size and similar color scheme. The over all execution is pretty poor though. They ripped off the logo and the yellow swooshy thing, they included mini drawings of the characters and even put a generic Madball on the package to emulate the hole and the ball’s placement in the Madballs package design.
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I’m sure it was all intentional and probably a necessity. They wanted to have kids immediately make the connection that these bodies are for Madballs, but c’mon! At least make it look good!
I wanted to mention a couple of other things. On the bottom of the package, there’s a statement that reads “Manufactured exclusively for the Bauhinia Ltd. Hong Kong.” What does that mean exactly?
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And, the back of the package is pretty lame. Nothing says “knock-off” like a blank, brown card back (well, if you don’t count the UPC code).
Enough about the packaging. Let’s look at the characters.
Creepy Bods’ Bodies
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First, we have Mr. Mummy.
Mr. Mummy
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He’s a gory, little mummy with a severed foot. Good thing he has a cane. Is anyone else wondering why the hell he has two left feet? As you’d might expect, Dust Brain is a natural choice for this creepy body.
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Next we have Stitch. He seems to be a blue-skinned guy w/ severed body parts all re-stitched together (ya know, like Frankenstein).
Stitch
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It’s a bit hard to figure out what’s going on with his pose, but I’m guessing he’s in the act of sowing himself together. His severed, left pinky-toe kinda freaks me out. The AARGH Madball seemed to be a good choice for this Creepy Bod. He’s blue and covered in stitches just like Stitch.
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Also notice – it looks like a knock-off of AARGH is what was featured on the Creepy Bods packaging.
And here we have Dr. Guts.
Dr. Guts
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If he’s a doctor, it looks like he’s just performed surgery on himself. Either that or he’s been drawn and quartered? And shouldn’t he have used a scalpel for his surgery? Looks like he used a hunting knife. He’s just standing there, tearing open his torso, and all of his guts are pouring out. This is some pretty gory stuff for a kids toy, but I guess the Madballs were too. That’s why I chose Slobulus for the head on this one. Not only is his skin green, but his eyeball’s hanging out and everything.
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I’m intrigued by the inclusion of the wrist watch. Is that supposed to be a clue to his status as a doctor or something? Pretty funny.
Lastly, we have Ooze.
Ooze
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Ooze looks to be a violet, lizard creature covered in slime. Oozing out of the slime are a few eyeballs and random bones. Pretty goofy.
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In the actual toy though, the slime looks more like a green robe or cloak or something. Horn Head seemed to fit this figure nicely, what with the violet color scheme and claws and everything.
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Well, there you have it. Those are the Creepy Bods. They’re not much to look at on their own, but once you’ve topped ‘em off with a Madball, they really come to life. They really are a great addition to any Madball collection. I guess I could’ve photographed the bodies with various heads, but you can probably use your imagination. (They look like bobble heads don’t they?)
The only real complaint I have about the Creepy Bods is their sub-par production quality. The sculpting is sloppy and the paint applications leave much to be desired. I know they’re cheap knock-off toys, so it’s expected. But wouldn’t it be great if AmToy took this idea and ran with it? They could release well-made bodies for those Anniversary Madballs they’ve recently released.
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I wonder if Creepy Bods led to AmToy’s idea for Head-Popping Madballs? If so, I’m sure they’d never admit it
That’s what immediately came to mind when I first saw this Mickey Mouse Transformer (and I also thought if Minnie Mouse and Optimus Prime had a child, it would look something like this).
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This toy is such a cool combo of cute, fun, iconic Mickey Mouse and the cool, high-tech, mechanical-giants Transformers.
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And it’s Japanese. Yep. It seems like the Japanese have come up with another cool thing that we folks in the U.S. can’t enjoy without importing it (a costly import I might add). I could easily see this thing for sale at Disney shops or whatever (do those stores still exist?). I wonder what they’d call him. Optimus Mouse? Mickey Prime? There’s no name on the package (at least not written in English), so I think we should call him “Mechy Mouse” (thanks for the great pun, Mike).
Here’s a look at Mechy Mouse in his robot form. You can see the robot has elements from Mickey Mouse’s design – the shorts with the big buttons, the white gloves, and the plump cartoony shoes.
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Takara has managed to stay true to the original Mickey design elements while still giving it a robotic twist. The only real addition are the wings, which really make this robot that much cooler.
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He’s pretty detailed, but his transformation isn’t really that complex (that’s not a bad thing).
Now let’s see his truck form.
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The truck form actually seems a little more cartoony in style than the robot. I’m not complaining. It actually looks like a cartoony truck you’d see in an animated Mickey Mouse short (you know, if he were just hired to drive a big rig cross-country).
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One of the coolest and most charming parts of this toy is the miniature Mickey Mouse that directs the robot and drives the truck. I love how he’s just riding on the head commanding the impending doom of Donald or Goofy or someone (probably Minnie).
What’s great is Mickey’s change in costume. When he’s riding the robot, he’s in a full space gear, helmet and everything, but when he’s driving the truck, he’s actually wearing a trucker’s hat. Ha! So great. (I don’t know why that amuses me so much.)
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Also, note that he’s driving on the right side of the truck. That ain’t no American truck.
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The toy is pretty detailed and has a great paint job. It’s not super-articulated or super-poseable, but he still looks nice, is well-built and has tiny surprises like the miniature Mickeys and other details like the poseable robo-visor.
I was even surprised by the inclusion of the mouse-themed Autobots logo.
Oh yeah I forgot to mention some stuff. This toy was released by Takara Tomy in collaboration with Disney in March 2009. It was actually the second of its kind. The toy you’ve just seen is the Monochrome Edition. (I think the toys were related to the 25th Anniversary of Transformers. There’s a little “25 Years” icon on the box.)
The original version of the Mechy Mouse toy which was released a few months prior to the monochrome one. Instead of the gray, black and gold color scheme, it actually has a full-color paint job reminiscent of Optimus Prime’s red, blue and gray color scheme. I think it looks pretty nice, but I still favor the monochrome version. It just seems a bit more “classic,” “darker” or “badass” or something.
I wonder if the two versions are supposed to reflect vintage Mickey vs. modern Mickey. Makes sense.
I know this toy can be seen as a “sell-out” kind of thing for Disney or Takara. I think there’s a big divide by fans out there that don’t want their chocolate Disney to get mixed with their peanut butter Transformers.
Some fans are even knit-picking the fact that if this was a “true” Transformer, it wouldn’t have to be controlled by Mickey. Therefore it’s just a lifeless machine, so it’s not supposed to be Optimus Prime. Gimme a freakin’ break. It’s a damned toy (and a fun one at that). You might as well say something like, “I sure as hell hope his truck doesn’t have a manual transmission, because Optimus is an automatic.” Who cares??
I honestly think it was this unexpected pairing that made me pick the toy in the first place. I don’t give two craps about Mickey by himself (or do I?), but when he’s a 30-foot-tall robot that transforms into a semi-truck, you have to admit, it’s cool and fun.
The toy may seem a bit costly (retail price is $50 or so) for a casual fan of Transformers or Disney stuff. I’m a very casual fan, but this Mickey/Transformers combo toy really just pulled at my weirdo heartstrings.
Ever find yourself buying a toy simply for the horrendous (or hilarious) packaging? It’s rare that I do that, but in this case, that’s just what happened.
That’s where this story begins.
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I discovered this MONSTER toyline last year, and not only did I love its generic, non-committed name, but I immediately fell in love with its packaging. The front of the card features a very weird illustration collecting some “classic” monsters, but the thing is, they’re all a bit out of character and just odd-looking (well, more odd-looking than usual). It really looks like they’re all breaking out of a prison or mental ward or something. There’s barbed-wire-covered brick walls they’re all bursting out of (actually, with the city skyline in the background, it looks more like they’re bursting into the prison). And not only that, they’re carrying knives and straight razors and stuff. These monsters don’t mess around. You thought they were dangerous before? Now they’re armed! If you cross paths, you are definitely screwed.
The look of this piece really reminds me of those funky hand-painted, amateur Hollywood movie posters.
Chuck Norris poster image courtesy of “GroGraphics.com“. Thanks!
The characters look familiar but they aren’t quite right. (I need to do a Weirdo Posters blog next )
So, let’s take a closer look shall we? (Lemme warn you, I’m gonna be over-analyzing the hell out of this package. I’m not sure why. I just have to.)
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So here’s the headliner. Lets call him “Toximodo.” He looks like a cross between the Toxic Avenger and Quasimodo.
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Looks like old Toximodo here got top billing in the monster lineup. Not sure why. I’m guessing he’s supposed to look like Quasimodo (or the Hunchback of Notre Dame or whatever you wanna call him). Is a deformed hunchback not scary enough? These guys really wanted to take him up a notch by adding boils, warts, cysts or whatever those are supposed to be.
Yech! He’s covered in oozing, bubbly flesh mounds.
Even his hump is bumpy.
Gross. Really, really nasty.
He’s even bleeding.
And of course, the haircut. Gotta love the haircut.
Oh. One last thing. What the hell’s up with that thumb? Has it been severed?
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Next is a severed green hand nailed to the wall. Wait. Scratch that. It’s been screwed to the wall (Phillips head), and it’s oozing orange blood/slime. Looks like it might’ve belonged to the Frankenstein Monster, but he’s got all his appendages. I guess it’s from some unlucky passerby.
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Next we have the Mummy. He’s looking a bit maniacal. He’s got a bloody straight razor, and he’s definitely eyeballing the green hand. Must be admiring his handy work (seriously no pun intended).
Again, to take up the gross factor, they’ve given this guy an exposed brain. Awesome. I thought Mummies had their brains pulled through their noses before they were prepped for “mummification.” Maybe this is just a mental patient.
Something else that’s weird is the additional bandaged mummy hand bursting through the wall. It’s a right hand, but we can see the mummy’s right hand is delicately holding a razor. Oh well. Why worry about details like that?
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Next we have the Frankenstein Monster. He’s got a big knife/ice pick looking thing. It’s already bloody, which means he’s already stabbed somebody (or cut himself). Careful. he’s reaching for you. Also, it looks like he’s been crying blood. You know he’s evil if that’s the case.
Wonder what that yellow block thing is (more on that later).
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Wow! It’s Freddy’s glove poking through a hole in the wall. Looks like he’s playing with someone’s heart… a heart with intestines attached to it. I love how it’s delicately balancing on the blades. Serrated blades no less. This character inconsistency goes well with his candy-cane-colored sweater.
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And lastly we have this simple message scrawled in orange blood/slime, “HELP.” Ha!! My sentiments exactly.
As I mentioned previously, I discovered the MONSTER toy series last year sometime. I actually stumbled upon the Mummy figure from this toyline first. I wasn’t in love with the Mummy figure as much as I was his packaging. In fact, I was gonna do a blog entry focusing strictly on his package (wait… lemme rephrase that).
But one look at the back of the card made me realize I HAD to find the hunchback figure. He was so gloriously disfigured, melting and angry.
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Well, luckily for you (and especially me), I found him. Now lets’ take a look at him.
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Ah. A thing of beauty isn’t it? A brightly-colored, holey-shoed, acne-ridden hunchback. Even the skin tone of his head and body don’t match. Don’t think that was an accident. These guys knew what they were doing when they made him (I’m gonna have to use that trick when I start making my own toys.)
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One of the things I immediately noticed is how different this character looks than the one featured on the package. On the back of the card, he has a pained, evil grimace. This guy looks like a chubby monk with acne and a bad overbite. His hair even looks like a headband. Not nearly the horror we grew to love from the front of the package.
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But, to make up for it, His bubbly, exposed skin is fantastic. Really, really gross.
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Look at that hump! It looks like a bowl of baked beans or something. That is truly nasty. I love how his hump burst through his shirt. That’s one strong hump ya got there.
Now, let’s check out the back of the card.
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I’m gonna show you details of the characters pictured here, but notice how none of them are listed by name at all. We’ll just have to guess at who they’re supposed to be. I’ll try not to go into as much detail as I did with the front of the toy card.
Mummy
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Seems like a standard Mummy figure. I have this figure, and his brain is not exposed. Bummer. Also, take note – most of the toys you’ll see here will have this same dance pose.
Quasimodo (or Toximodo)
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You just saw this guy. He’s the best. Well, he could be second to…
Freddy
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Yep. It’s Freddy. But this looks more like your friendly, retired, neighborhood Freddy. You might even leave a fruitcake at his doorstep for Christmas. He’s got the candy cane stripes and blue jeans, so you know it’s gotta be casual Freddy.
Wolf Man
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Wow. Looks like your typical Wolfman toy. He’s just doing an awkward dance, that’s all.
Frankenstein’s Monster
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Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m not calling him Frankenstein. I don’t know why I’m being so literal. Just trying to respect the legend I guess. His pose reminds me of the Franken- Wiggler I featured a while back.
Dracula (or the Joker)
(Click to enlarge)
Wow. Is this guy a circus ring leader or what? I’ve never seen Dracula wearing such vibrant, goofy clothing. Or should I say, I’ve never seen the Joker with such big fangs?
(Click to enlarge)
One other detail I wanted to show you was this very goofy warning on the package.
“Not suitable for children under 48 months. Please keep this packaging for future reference.”
What? Keep the package as reference for the age limit? As a reference to which characters to collect? I dunno. It just struck me as funny.
Oh yeah, and there’s one more thing to mention. Remember those odd yellow blocks on the front and back of the card I mentioned earlier? Well, apparently those were areas which used to have the name of the company that produced these toys originally Sungold Mfg. Co., Ltd. (Thanks to the fine folks at Clam’s Toy Box for shedding some light on that for me and providing me with the crappy, low-res proof that the Sungold card once existed.)
As far as who made these and when they were released? That’s still a mystery I think. There are no markings on the packaging or on the figures themselves. Any info and other insights are definitely welcome. Thanks.
