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My question is – Is this guy more of a Hulk toy or a Ninja Turtle toy?

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Green skin: Could be Hulk. Could be Turtle.

3-fingered hands: Looks like Ninja Turtles.

Elbow pads and wristbands: Looks like Turtle gear.

Two toes: Ninja turtle.

Knee pads: Turtle.

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Angry green humanoid: Hulk and Turtle i guess.

Constipated, human facial expression: Hulk

Holes in shoulders?: Neither.

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Blue jean cutoffs: Hulk.

Belt: Ninja Turtles

I’m not sure if that shed any light on the subject. All I know is this is a cheapy-as-hell Mexican toy. It’s flimsy, hollow plastic, and it looks to be made up of random, poorly made molds of TMNT arms and legs with Hulk torso and head. The badly painted-on pants give the toy a nice touch of crappiness, and the holes in his shoulders give the guy a little bit more mystery. Maybe those were places where a cape or parachute connected.

So, the new Incredible Hulk movie is coming out this summer, and this comedic monstrosity is what the unfortunate Mexican children get to play with when they ask for a new Hulk toy.

“Cowabunga! Hulk smash!”

Well, one such toy is the topic of my entry today. This toy was actually provided to me by my buddy, John (who has had this thing for a while now), and he was really hoping to find out what it is.

I was a bit hesitant to feature it at first, but luckily, upon seeing the toy, I thought it was pretty freaky too (and now it’s all mine John! Sucker!! ).

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At first glance I thought, “What the hell is this thing?”

An ostrich?

A giraffe?

The bastard offspring of an interspecies love affair?

So what do we have? At first, it looks like a simple bobbing bird toy – Yellow body, green tail and… red eyes and neck? Uh-oh. Could be something freaky.

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A dangly tongue? Um, yeah. Kinda weird.

Ears? On a bird? Definitely weird.

An Adam’s Apple? What the hell.

All that accompanied with the freaky looking, rubbed-off paint job definitely makes this thing qualified to be here.

There is a clue on its tail feathers luckily: “1966 Deluxe Reading Corp. 7003-0415 1B1″. Apparently Deluxe Reading Corporation has gone through some name changes over the years, and they’re best known for making dolls and stuff… and even Johnny Lightning cars.

After some annoying research and matching the toy’s serial number to a Deluxe Reading Corp. catalog i found online, I discovered this guy is actually a game piece of some old board game called Silly Safari.

Silly Safari game box photo courtesy of BoardGameGeek.com.

Silly Safari game pieces photo courtesy of BoardGameGeek.com.

It looks like the paint on the bird piece might’ve been a custom job.

Man, I’d love to get my hands on that alligator. Anybody wanna give him up?

Hi,
I’ve only recently found your site and what a great site it is. I was recently going through some old stuff of mine, and I came across these action figures. For the life of me, I can’t remember what they were called. I know it’s a long shot, but I was wondering if you or someone you know may have come across them before. The only thing I know about them is you can swap their limbs around and I think each one came with at least an extra arm you could swap over.

Thanks.
Steve

Thanks for dropping by the Weirdo Toys site. It’s always a pleasure to hear from the readers and fellow toy lovers.

I like the odd toys you sent in the pic. I’m not quite sure what they are, but they could be related to those old 80s toys that go by the name of ManTech (by Remco). They were just different characters with interchangeable accessories, body parts and stuff.
Anyone else out there have any more idea of what these things are?

And what do we have here? A filthy, dirty, naked… stuntman. (You remember this guy’s buddy don’t you?)

I never would’ve expected to find another one of these guys, but here he is. A guy with the same entirely flesh-toned body, decorative belt, boots and underwear.

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This guy’s generic-as-hell, poorly made and just plain awkward… which has got me thinking. What if there’s actually a toyline out there made to look like trash. I can picture it now – an assembly line of people brushing this dirt on the toys. I see the mold makers throwing out all the good ones, making sure the bad molds with flack are used for the final production run. And to top it off, they’ll leave no production markings, so you can’t trace where and when this toy came into existence. (maybe this will be the future production plan for a Weirdo Toys store).

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Where do these guys come from?

How do they get so dirty?

What the hell.

I’ve gotta wash my hands again!

INFO UPDATE:

I did some snooping around, and I may have some idea what these guys are. It’s possible they’re from a toyline called The Karate Defenders. They were made by Imperial Toy in 1986. They were outfitted with cloth outfits and various weapons such as kamas and katanas. This is the only photographic evidence i could gather.

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Karate Defenders photo courtesy of GORT at ToyTraderz.com. Thanks!

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I found this nasty, old, green monkey recently, and I was immediately disturbed.

I hate to admit it, but the first thing that came to mind is that classic story where the AIDS virus was started by a bite from the infamous African “green monkey” (and some tellings of the story actually involve sex with the green monkey). It’s goofy I know, but if I ever had to pick a green AIDS monkey out of a police line up, this would be it.

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And just how desperate are you as a scientist to get close to this thing (let alone sexually active)? There have got to be plenty of reasons to stay away from a green monkey:

1. He’s a monkey.

2. He’s green.

3. He’s pissed (probably because a scientist just made a pass at him).

4. He’s covered in blood (maybe the aftermath of the infamous bite?).

5. He’s got chunks of flesh missing, and it looks like his skull is coming through his face (maybe we’ve got it all wrong. It could be a zombie monkey… and he was actually approached by a witch doctor).

There are no markings on this nappy monkey toy, but there is a small sticker on its foot which reads, “Hand Painted - Artmark - Hong Kong.”

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Hand-painted? Are you kidding? So, arbitrary red splotches and white highlights on his face called for hand-painting? Well, at least it gave jobs to out-of-work artists (but most likely it’s the handywork of small asian children).

The monkey is just a hollow, plastic sculpt covered with flocking… giving him that fuzzy, nappy feel. It has a broken loop or hook or something on its head, which makes me think it is a window-hanger or something.

I sure as hell hope this thing isn’t a Christmas tree ornament.

Just like his counterpart, Lil’ Jesus is risen from the dead. There’s been an update to the WWLJD - What Would Lil’ Jesus Do? entry. Take a look-see at the toy’s missing scenery (which actually provides us with another clue).

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They’re awfully cute and quirky, but they’re nappy as hell. I’m not sure what these little angels are, but I’m pretty sure they weren’t intended to look like homeless children.

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I haven’t been able to gather any info about them, because all I got from their markings is “Made in Korea.” The guy I bought them from claimed they are “rare dolls from the 70s” (if that’s the case, why’d they cost a buck each?).

It looks to me that these cuties are from a series of dolls that depict a collection of facial/emotional expressions (and quite possibly various ethnicities) that range from crying, to smiling, to giving the evil eye. They’re so cute sitting there in their colored dresses (or onesy or whatever they’re supposed to be).

You think these girls are anything like the Seven Dwarves? If so, it looks like I’ve gathered, Bratty, Huffy, Pouty, Whiny and Ditzy. Who’s left in the collection? Sulky? Sneaky?

These may be considered what some doll collectors call “dirty babies” (which are essentially old, beat-up, dirty, nappy baby dolls). If anyone knows anything about these dolls, please help me out. I’m trying to run a blog here

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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Seriously though, the only clue I got from this guy was the markings on his inner thigh which read, “LJN Toys Ltd © 1986 Telepix LCI.”

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.

Capt. Bizarrly package photo courtesy of this Italian Tigersharks site.

Hi All!

Over the months I’ve shown you random weird toys I’ve gathered, and several of you have taken the time and effort to write to me directly and even share toy finds of your own.

Instead of just letting the messages and photos collect virtual dust in my inbox, i thought I’d start sharing them with all the Weirdo Toys readers.

It’s a little feature I’d like to call “Reader Mail.” (Pretty clever name huh?)

Here’s the first letter I’d like to share:

Hey Justin,

(Sung to the tune of Peter Cottontail)

Here comes easter bunnybot,
Yer hoping for candy he aint got,
Clink-clank-clink-clank, easter’s kinda gay
One of a million weirdo toys,
Who aint got crap for girls or boys,
Clink-clank-clink-clank, easter’s kinda gay.

hahahahaha!! I just wrote that especially for you.

Take care,
Chris

P.S. - I have no idea who this rabbit robot is, no markings at all and of course found at a garage sale.

Thanks for the goofy Easter song. A great theme song for a great robot bunny.

I like the robo-bunny, and I know exactly what it is! It’s a character that came with Dr. Bunsen from the Muppets Series 1 by (the now defunct) Palisades Toys (released in 2002 I think). Thanks for sharing!

I need to start going to Garage sales. I had no clue I could find old Muppets toys at them.

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Only he’s 2 feet shorter?! What the heck?

I picked up this little Jesus from the Dollar Tree a long time ago. He was one of a series of biblical figures (maybe I’ll feature the other ones some other day). All of them were squatty for some reason (that’s pretty much why I bought ‘em… cuz they were just so goofy looking).

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He’s returned with a mullet now too? C’mon!

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Each figure also came with a small plastic sheet with an illustration on it (kind of a cheapy version of a diorama).

I wish I still had the sheets, because Jesus’ “scene” depicted a few infamous scenarios. First, there was his tomb with a huge boulder rolled away. But what made it great was the fact that right outside the tomb there was a saw horse with a hand saw and wood… you know.. depicting the fact that he was a carpenter (good to know he had such a committed work ethic… getting right to work after rising from the dead). And lastly, there was a little basket full of loaves of bread and bundles of fish (in case he’s hungry after all that wood cutting). If I miraculously find Jesus’ little diorama sheet, I’ll post it here.

Anyway, I hope you all have a safe and happy Easter weekend. Enjoy your friends and family, and thanks for dropping by to read the blog before your obligatory church visit

Happy Easter!

INFO UPDATE :

Holy moley! I was going through some boxes recently and I stumbled upon that little plastic sheet scenery I had mentioned earlier. I thought I’d lost it.

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I see my memory of the scene was a bit inaccurate. Turns out I had mistaken the “loaves and fishes” story with the “water to wine” story… which actually makes the scene even funnier. It’s complete with pond, chalice and wine bottle. Now it looks like Jesus rose from the tomb, did a bit of woodworking and finished up by pouring himself a drink.

One thing I didn’t recall from the scene was the dark, looming shadow of the cross. Kinda creepy.

Lastly, there’s some legal info on the scenery sheet that can give us a bit of insight to where this toy is from. The legal copy reads: “Licensed by BuyProduct, Inc. Merrick, NY 11566 Made in China.” I wasn’t able to find anything new.

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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He’s pretty crummy. If they’d ripped off the molds from the source, he could look a little better, but that would’ve robbed him of his charm. I think it’s his absurdly swollen, plump muscles that make his appearance that much more comedic (not to mention his stumpy, blue arms and legs, silver torso with pink starburst designs and the goofy-looking horned helmet). Sure, this toy’s ugliness appealed to me, but I think it was the slightly higher thinking of the toy designer and manufacturer that delighted me even more. There are tons of generic He-Man ripoffs out there, but this little toy series featured ugly barbarian guys with spinning heads with a human face on one side and a monster face on the opposite side. Pretty cool for a Dollar Tree toy.

We’ve established this generic, dual-personality barbarian isn’t a He-Man figure or anything, but he does look like he could be the distant cousin of Man-E-Faces. (Remember Man-E-Faces? Who could forget him? He’s the guy with the spinning faces to reveal a man, a robot and a monster).

Man-E-Faces
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I think I’ll call this barbarian guy Cup-L-Faces. That seems appropriate. He can be one of those low-budget monsters that Skeletor makes (first Faker, now this).

Cup-L-Faces

I know you’re wondering “what makes him a bad guy?” Well, if the evil monster on the back of his head doesn’t convince you, there’s the tell-tale blood spatter on his cheek and lip. That’s hard core. No He-Man figure has that. That’s a sure sign he’s a killer.

He wants to kill. He loves to kill. He’s programmed to kill. He has “kill” written all over him (on his chest anyway)!

Deathbot is a fellow you can find (along with several other recurring characters) on Gama-Go.com – a site dedicated to the art and design of illustrator, Tim Biskup.

This wooden Deathbot toy is available through the Gama-Go site, and the toy was produced and also sold by Ningyoushi.com. It’s a pretty cool, simplistic wooden toy with limited poseability (his arms, legs and neck are made up of wooden rings threaded with metal wires).

Okay, Deathbot’s a killer. I get that, but what happens when you pin him against a virtually identical, heartless, robotic killer in a battle of the Deathbots? That’s right! There’s an even more “rare” wooden Deathbot, and this guy means business.

Deathbot (Suit Version) - limited to 400
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Who will be more “death-y?”
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Will it be the the primal, nude, intensely-colored, original red Deathbot we all know and love? Or will it be the subdued, cold, calculating and sophisticated black suit Deathbot?

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You be the judge.

Note: the toy’s arms, legs and neck come packaged super-stiff. They will not pose like the pics shown on the site. The only way I managed to loosen the pieces for added poseability is by unscrewing each appendage slightly, giving enough space between each wood ring to allow the metal wire to bend. Good luck.

Info Update:

During this photoshoot, i was posing my Deathbots (very delicately mind you) and the metal in their arms snapped. Both of them. It was very disheartening that they had immediately become expensive pieces of trash. I contacted Ningyoushi via their website and explained my troubles. Within a day, I received a message stating they’d happily repair my Deathbot toys. I was just asked to send the broken ones in for repair. Yippee! It is always great to interact with a company that stands behind their products and will put themselves in the shoes of the customers.

I’m a guy with two nearly-irreplaceable wooden toys, and I’ve been given the chance to get them repaired instead of spending even more money on buying new ones. Thanks Ningyoushi for understanding and not milking me for all I’m worth.

Info Update Again:

Good news! I received my Deathbots in the mail today. They’re back and as good as new. Maybe I should try not to pose them so much this time around. Thanks Ningyoushi for the quick repair service.

Wowzers!
There’s been an update to the Go-Go Gadget Toy entry. New photos! More info! What more do you want? Go over and check it out!

They’re pretty funny. Here’s a small sampling (be sure to read the article if you want to see them all).

Slave Leia as Christian Bale

Malakili as Denholm Elliot

It’d be great if these were intentional, but it looks like the sculptors need to find another day job.

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).

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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.

Well, ever wonder what that offspring would look like dressed as Little Red Riding Hood? (Really? You have?! That’s weird.)

Apparently someone else did too. This is the fruit of his labor.

I present to you, Little Red Riding Wolf…troll.

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So I found this thing at a toy show a while back. It was a show in Charlotte, NC at the Metrolina Expo. I usually don’t find too much good stuff out there, but this time around, I found some beauties. This little monster is the first of the batch.

The guy I bought it from claims it’s a Mexican “knock-off” from the 80s. It’s great, because it’s a combo. A freak toy combining Universal Studios’ Wolfman with the popularity of the Troll dolls by DAM.

I know it’s horrid. I know it’s ugly. I know it’s a waste of money, but its screwed-up proportions and the amalgamation of recognizable icons is what called to me. I mean, c’mon! At first glance it’s a Wolfman toy, but after careful observation one soon discovers it’s actually a Troll toy. It even has the mini troll body with the stubby toes and fingers and big frilly hair. But the topper is the red shawl with button and denim skirt. What the hell? The thing looks homemade!

INFO UPDATE:

After careful inspection (stripping the toy down) I discovered text on its back reading “Made in Hong Kong.”

INFO UPDATE AGAIN:

Also, thanks to jroyale, I now know these little guys are called Monster-niks, which look to be disproportioned monsters dressed as little girls. And as you can see by its packaging, these things are “adorable.”

Frankenstein Monster-niks package photo courtesy of toyfanatic.com.

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).

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I found this toy at a flea market a couple of years ago. It may not seem like much. I think its biggest appeal for me initially was its creepy, skeletal face on the fully-mechanical robot body. It almost seemed to be the decayed remains of ED-209 (you know… from Robocop).

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It wasn’t until I got him home and started checking him out that I discovered a little something extra. Apparently this thing could open up, and inside, I discovered a little a robo-skeletal evil-doer. HA!

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My gut reaction was that this is a Mighty Max toy. I never paid much attention to the Mighty Max toys or cartoons from years ago, but I knew they existed. If you don’t know what Mighty Max is, just imagine the “masculine” version of Polly Pocket (you know, those little makeup kits that opened up to reveal cute little scenes – houses and whatnot). Due to Polly’s success, the Mighty Max toyline was born. It was made up of monster heads, dinosaur-heads, aliens… you know, the cool boy stuff (If you want to know more about the toys or the cartoon, you can find info at the Mighty Max Portal).

The only info I found on the toy was “Bluebird (which is apparently the company that made the toy) ©94″ and a “MM” logo. Sure enough, one minute and one Google search later, I found that this is indeed a Mighty Max toy. This is Cybot, and he’s actually part of the “Action Masters” series which were more like action figures that opened up instead of little spaceships or monster heads or whatever. I also found out that this guy originally wore sunglasses and had “ammunition” for his guns… so I’m missing those.

Oh well. What do I expect for $1?