Share the Jiggle

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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Jiggler

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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Jiggler
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Jiggler

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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Jiggler

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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Jiggler

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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Jiggler

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?


You’re such a brat… and your dog’s ugly.

March 8th, 2011

Brat Doll and Troll Elephant

Awww… isn’t that cute? It’s a little girl with her fuzzy puppy.

“Hey! Little girl – can I pet your dog?”

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Brat Doll and Troll Elephant

GAAHHHHH!!!

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Troll Elephant

Kill it! Kill it!!

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Troll Elephant

What the hell is that thing?

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Troll Elephant

Um.. hmm. Is that a hairless dog?

No.

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Troll Elephant

Um… is that an elephant with a human head?

Uh… kind of… I dunno.

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Brat Doll

Hey… Wait.

No.

What’re you doing?

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Brat Doll and Troll Elephant

NOOOOO!!!!!

This can’t be happening!

HAHAHA!!

Sorry folks. A little gross I know?

Seriously though. What the hell is up with these toys?

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Brat Doll and Troll Elephant Brat Doll and Troll Elephant

I don’t have many strange “dolls” in my collection, but for obvious reasons I HAD to have these two. I mean, c’mon! A creepy, little red-headed stepchild along with some kind of crossbreed, humanoid elephant. What’s not to like?

My question is, how can these have been produced with children in mind? Seems like the makings of a nightmare if you ask me.

These toys aren’t related at all, as far as toy series, toy company or anything goes… but in some strange way, they seem to be made for each other.
When I picked these up last year, I had no clue what they were, but luckily with a bit of online research, I can now tell you what’s up with these guys.

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Troll Elephant

Let’s start with the freaky-ass, humanoid elephant creature.

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Troll Elephant

He has a gray, elephant’s body, a human face, with real hair and an elephant’s trunk. Strange.

Troll Animals

Well, as some might have guessed, this toy is actually a troll doll by Dam. They actually released a now-rare collection of troll animals in the 1960s.

If trolls weren’t creepy enough, they have now been unnaturally paired with various animals to give us instant oddities. Some of them are actually kind of cute, but luckily for us, mine’s freaky. (I think it may be a bootleg or something, because mine is so small compared to the original, larger-sized troll animals. It also has a marking “Made in Japan” on its belly.)

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Brat Doll

And next we have the scary, little girl who looks like the Joker.

Happy Herman

She actually reminds me of the old Happy Herman doll I posted about a few years back – kind of an Alfred E. Neuman ripoff. She’s a creepy, rubber doll with red, rooted hair, freckles, and a mysterious open mouth with sloppy lipstick applied.

Since I first got her, I always had the sense that she’s made to squeak or blow a balloon or something. Turns out, I was right.

Brat Doll

Apparently, these dolls had a small balloon tongue which would inflate when you squeezed the doll’s torso.

She’s actually from an old series of dolls released in the 1960s simply called “Brat Doll.” (I’ve actually gathered a few pics from old Etsy sales.)

Brat Doll

Brat Doll

The tag around her neck reads:

Brat Doll – Squeeze me and I stick out my tongue.

Pat. #104994

I’m just a little brat

Enco, Inc. N.Y.C., Sole Importers, Parkersmith Corp N.Y.C.

Brat Doll

Looks like there were variations of the Brat Doll – sometimes sold as a girl or a boy depending on the haircut and clothing. Good to see hobo children toys were all the rage in the 60s. Could this be original form of “Bratz?”

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Troll Elephant and Brat Doll

Now wasn’t that educational? As always, you’ve now discovered a toy you’ve never seen and will never want to see again ;)

I guess it’s time to ride off into the sunset.

“Hi-yo Weirdo! Away!!”


Willy-Nilly #2

February 4th, 2011

Thanks to @TriclopsApeman & @TriclopsRobot for giving us one of the grossest Dunnys yet!

Franken Toys by Rachel Peters

February 2nd, 2011

Now that I’m a dad, I know I need to be on the lookout for cool toys for my son. Thing is, at such a young age, he can’t play with bootleg He-man figures and stuff like that. I don’t see that much baby “weirdo” stuff out there.

That is until I found these.

Let me introduce you to Franken Toys – an Etsy shop full of repurposed toys designed by artist (and mad scientist), Rachel Peters.

To quote the site:

Franken Toys are a growing collection of rescued toys which have been dismembered only to be re-membered as a new piece of art. Every repurposed toy has been hand sewn and many have been intricately embroidered.
Adopt your favorite Franken Toy today. Each Franken is one of a kind.

I really love these. This is a twist on customized toys I haven’t seen yet. Such a simple and refreshing contrast to the designer vinyl scene. It’s genius I tell you.

What appeals to me so much is the fact that these aren’t not just random, strange creatures… these are freaky mash-ups of characters we all know and love. This makes them that much more striking… and charming.

Who wants a Kermit doll if you could have a freaky, double-reverse-head Kermit with removable body parts?

What better way to “spruce up” some old, forgotten dolls than by dismembering them and reattaching their body parts – creating half-breeds only seen in your children’s nightmares?

When you drop by her store, be sure not to miss the other weirdos Rachel has already sold.

Now a stop at any Goodwill in America could get you some great fodder for the next Franken Toy. I wonder if Rachel takes requests.

Willy-Nilly #1

January 26th, 2011

He’s real! And he has hellacious dingleberries!