ADAM Bomb

The GPK x Funko "really big" Mystery Minis have arrived.

Here is the mascot for the series... ADAM Bomb.

I put him next to a Cheap Toy and a Minikin for size comparison. 

These figures are quite nice. The body is hard plastic, and the head is hollow.  There is articulation at the shoulders and neck.  The bodies are standardized and can hold accessories.  Six of twelve come with accessories. Adam's explosion is a separate piece -- so he disassembles to fit in the box.  He is definitely bigger than all other mystery minis.  This figure is 5 inches tall (with the explosion).

 Here are some observations on the series:

1. One case of twelve blind-boxes equals one set of twelve figures.  There is none of that shortpacking and chase figure nonsense.

2. The box is designed to look like an old 1985 pink wax-pack; faux-folds and everything.  Nice touch.

3.  As I expected, the "GPK" logo is the only logo used.  It is on four panels. The "Garbage Pail Kids" logo is on zero.

4. The names are stylized in all caps.  We get DEAD TED instead of Dead TED (cards) or Dead Ted (Minikins).

5. TEEVEE STEEVIE is spelled like the cards instead of TV Stevie (Minikins).

6. CLARK CAN'T is here using his "b name" instead of Nat Nerd (Minikins).

7. The only characters here that were not also Minikins are ALI GATOR and GHASTLY ASHLEY.

8.  NASTY NICK does not have his doll.  Why not? Well, it's clearly a parody of Barbie that essentially would be a knock-off old-school Barbie if made as an accessory. I should be on the lookout for some tiny doll at thrift shops now.
 
9. These are made in Vietnam.  All other mystery minis have been made in China.  I guess this means no "factory rejects" will appear on eBay.
  
10.  Unlike other mystery minis, there is some informative text on the boxes:

The GPK figures in this collection are inspired by the original Garbage Pail Kids collectible sticker cards introduced by Topps in 1985.

Combining spectacular artwork and over-the-top satire, the original sticker series was an inspired collaboration between avant-garde cartoonists and humorists including Art Spiegelman, Mark Newgarden, John Pound, Tom Bunk, Jay Lynch and others. 

Topps and Funko invite you, our new generation of GPK fans, to continue to enjoy this pop-culture phenomenon. 

Shark Week 8

Day 8

Shark Week?  More like Shark Month!

This is Sawtooth Shark from the toyline Battle Beasts.

We all know Sawtooth loves battlin' those beasts (you know, for the fun of it) -- but did you also know he is an avid fisherman? 

We all gotta eat!

(And a fresh catch sure beats peanut butter and jellyfish.)

Uh oh, looks like the catch of the day is more than he was angling for!

It's Magma Bite from the toyline Number Busters!

Will Sawtooth be able to land the fabled fire-fish?

Sure hope the Shark is bigger than the Bite!

This blog has officially jumped the shark.

Shark Week 7

Day 7

This is Scabby Shark from Trash Pack Series 3.

In the regular series, he was found in greenish yellow, aqua blue, and orange.

In a special tin collection, he was among six Series 3 figures that got an additional three color variants. In this case: Yellow, purple, and red. 

Here are all six at once:

 

There is also a seventh color variant in the Rotten Zombies Series (not shown).

In this very limited series, he is gray with black eyes.

Shark Week 6

Day 6

These are the Skeleton Deckhands by Imaginext.  

They are available together in a 2-pack with several accessories. I like to think that these skeleton dudes use shark carcasses both to sneak up upon their pirate foes, as well as, just sort of a fashionable skin -- you know, to keep their bones from falling off and getting lost.

Blue Shark Dudes

Hammerhead Shark Dudes

Shark Week 5

Day 5

Today's shark-toy is Sharknado from the POP line by Funko.  

This figure was made for the 2013 movie Sharknado and its 2014 sequel Sharknado 2: The Second One.  Because it is a made-for-TV movie (Syfy Network), this figure appears in the Television POP Series (rather than the Movie Series).  It is TV figure #134.

The smaller figures flying from the shark-infested tornado (that is Sharknado) are from the Ocean Toob by Safari Ltd. 

Shark Week 4

Day 4

Today I will showcase Terrafin from Skylanders.

Terrafin is a land shark.  Apparently, if you give a shark arms, legs, and the ability to survive on land, all he will want to do is go around punching things. 

In the first year of Skylanders, he punched things with his fists.
In the second year, he found some brass knuckles to assist in punching things.
In the third year, he acquired some cool Wolverine gauntlets to slash things as he punched them. 

In the fourth year, there was no Terrafin, but we got this mini character called Terrabite.

Judging by his name, you might think that he likes to bite things.
Nope, he prefers punching too. 

Oh yeah, both Terrafin and Terrabite can swim underground.
Seriously, they swim under dirt like it is water!

Here is the Terrabite family of four.

Shark Week 3

Day 3

Today's featured toyline is SickBricks by SpinMaster.

This toyline includes the brick-built Sharkinator.

 

Sharkinator is a special re-build of three re-packaged and re-painted brick-build sets:

GreatBite Shark, Berserkerbot, and the Xenomax Alien.

Of course we also have Sharky Chumbucket, one of the mutants of Sick City.

Shark Week 2

Day 2

Today's featured figure is Clark Shark from GPK Minikins Series 2.

CLARK Shark first appeared in 1987 in the Garbage Pail Kids Trading Cards Series 9 as #354a.  His b-name is MANNY Eater.

Fishy Phyllis loves the attention of Clark Shark.
He is enticed by her siren song!

 

Clark Shark is also not hard to catch.  

As you can see, Russell Muscle caught six of him just today!

Shark Week 1

This is the start of Shark Week 2015.

  

Shark Week was created in 1988 by the Discovery Channel to promote the incredible awesomeness of sharks.

I'm going to try to add a picture each day of a shark-related toy.

Here is Jaw-Some and Hammered Head from Mutant Mania to get us started!

Jaw-Some is one of the "Brutal Beasts"

Hammered Head is one of the "Robo Mutants"

Inside Out

New Inside Out minifigures by Tomy.

Here is Bing Bong, Fear, Anger, Sadness, Joy, and Disgust:

 

My favorite figure/character is Anger.

So I got three!

Maybe it's Anger, Aggression, and Rage?

Either way, I'm working on my Anger Management!

Independece Day

Happy Independence Day to you!

Here are some patriotic figures that I love.

Lego Statue of Liberty

Blind-bag Series 6

with custom base

Playmobil Statue of Liberty

Blind-bag Series 3

MiniMates Statue of Liberty

Who you gonna call?

Minecraft Minis Series 3

Target and TRU got these this week.  

I have not seen the 3-packs yet.  

Here are the Series 3 (Netherrack) pack codes:
Look for this sequence: 1005M0BA3
Pay attention to this letter: 1005M0BA3

A -- Steve with diamond armor
B -- Squid
C -- Ghast
D -- Mooshroom
E -- Wither Skeleton
F -- Zombie in flames
G -- Blaze
H -- Alex
I -- Zombie in armor*
J -- Steve in cart*
K -- Cave Spider*
L -- Skeleton Horse*

*single-pack exclusives

3-pack eclusives:

Endermite
Black Sheep 
Slime Cube
Guardian 

Home's Boov

These figures are for the new DreamWorks Animation film Home.  In this movie, Earth is invaded by an alien race called the Boov.  The Boov change colors depending on their "mood."  Almost all of these 18 figures are depictions of the main character Oh (voiced by Jim Parsons) in his various emotional colors.  The three exceptions are a calico cat named Pig, a generic Baby Boov, and the leader/antagonist Captain Smek (voiced by Steve Martin). The film opens in theaters on March 27, 2015.

The 18 figures are made by Kid Designs, and are sold singly in blister packs. They range in size from 1.75 to 2 inches, depending on how extended their antennae are.  They are made of a medium-hard, semi-pliable plastic that is common to many figures. While they lack any articulation, the plastic and paint is top quality.  They cost $4 each.

The default "mood" of  a Boov corresponds to either purple or pink.  Here is what we learn about their emotional states based on the 15 colored Boov figures: 

Blue = Doubtful or Sad

Green = Naughty or Grumpy

Yellow = Shocked or Frightened

Orange = Excited or Silly

Red = Angry (only one figure)

Bright Pink = Bashful or Loving

Light Pink = Happy or Cool

Purple = Joyful or Fascinated

Fortunately, the expressions of my favorite figures corresponded with my favorite colors, so I probably can live without attaining the full set.  The full set is $72 after all.  I should also mention that they couldn't resist that seemingly obligatory toyline gimmick of labeling this "First Series" -- so, if these do well, we can expect even more figures in the future. 

Critter Sitters

Critter Sitters are these new figures by Ja-Ru. This is a company which has been making cheap (and very often derivative) toys since 1961.   According to their website, Ja-Ru is the leading supplier of "impulse toys" around the world.  They distribute in 35 countries.  Hopefully these Critter Sitters will make it to Ecuador and Peru -- where they must be absolutely hilarious. 

The name Critter Sitters could suggest just about anything.  Cute kitties and puppies?  Nope. Cute guinea pigs? Guess again. Maybe the 1980s toy series of anthropomorphized animals in cute T-shirts? No, not this time.

I mean, they are cute -- don't get me wrong.  But they're styled after freaking headhunters!  They're like shrunken heads, voodoo dolls, and Norfin Trolls all in one. Let's make a toyline that reflects cannibalism and ritualized violence.  Seriously -- let's do it.

The body of a Critter Sitter is made of hard, hollow plastic.  It is 1.5 inches tall (not including the hair).  They have strong magnets inside their bodies (down at their feet) allowing them to connect to a metal-embedded "contact disc." As the young girl on the package shows, you can put the contact disc under your shirt -- with the Critter Sitter on the outside -- and walk around with him on your shoulder.  It's the exact same gimmick as the recent toyline Shoulder Buddies.  Hey wait a second, didn't the Shoulder Buddies have that wild troll-hair too?  Yep.  I told you Ja-Ru toys are derivative.  Except, unlike Shoulder Buddies, the Critter Sitters are neon-colored zombie cannibals!

They come in four different colors.  From what I can tell, there are seven different sculpts.  My goal is to find each sculpt in green.  As you can see, I have three so far.  I also got one of each of the other sculpts (in each of the other colors), so you can see what they look like.  You can also see the simple-but-loud packaging, typical of Ja-Ru and other "impulse toy" companies.  If you come across the other four sculpts in green, please let me know.  They are currently at TRU and cost $2 each.  They may also be available at other fine retailers where cheap toys are sold. 

Minecraft Minifigures S2

A mere four months after releasing Series 1, Mattel returns with another set of sixteen Minecraft minifigures. Series 2 is called the Stone Series, whereas Series 1 was called the Grass Series.  Exactly as the first time: Four figures are exclusive to carded 3-packs, while another four figures are exclusive to blind-boxed single-packs.  The other eight figures are available in both package types.

Electrified Creeper, Wither, Zombie, Zombie Pigman

Bats, Chicken, Ocelot, Iron Armor Steve

Magma Cube, Silverfish, Villager, Fishing Steve
These are exclusive to the 3-packs.

Tamed Wolf, Steve with TNT, Zombie Horse, Saddled Pig
These are exclusive to the blind-box 1-packs.

I have to commend Mattel.  Sometimes I think they are the only toy company actually interested in making money -- at least in a way that does not completely exploit their fans.  

First, they got Series 2 out fast.  You have to strike while the iron is hot. Toy fads are fleeting.  A year or even six months is too long to wait on something like this, especially if you are trying to warrant the release of Series 2 based on the measured success of Series 1.  Get Series 2 out there ASAP.  Simply seeing a Series 2 immediately increases the desirability of Series 1.  

Second, they gave us a unique selection of characters.  Some are derivative or repaints, but that is the nature of the franchise.  Overall, the selection is interesting.  I am looking forward to Series 3.

Third, they made the set easy to acquire.  I do wish they would not double-up figures in package types.  However, most companies would have put all 16 in blind-boxes or some other convoluted system forcing fans to buy many duplicates.  There is, in fact, a way to get the whole set with

no duplicates.  Buy the four 3-packs, and then just buy the four blind-boxes coded for the exclusive figures.  I have included the box codes (look for the code stamped into the bottom of each box) for each figure.  This is also the way to get duplicates of only the figures you like for mob building.

Find this sequence and look only at the last letter:

3174MOBM = Chicken

3174MOBN = Ocelot

3174MOBO = Iron Armor Steve

3174MOBP = Zombie

3174MOBQ = Electrified Creeper

3174MOBR = Zombie Pigman

3174MOBS = Bats

3174MOBT = Wither

3174MOBU = Steve with TNT*

3174MOBV = Saddled Pig*

3174MOBW = Zombie Horse*

3174MOBX = Tamed Wolf*

*Exclusive to blind-box 1-packs.

There you have it.   Series 1 information is here.

Love Potion Pop Fizz

Pop Fizz is one of the most interesting Skylanders because he's nothing but an endorsement for the use of performance enhancing drugs.  All his power comes from the "magic potion" that he constantly drinks.  His "beast mode" is nothing but a tweaker frenzy.  Well, this Valentine's Day he mixed up a particularly potent batch and became Love Potion Pop Fizz.  VH-1 takes a behind-the-scenes look at the troubling past three years of this addict's life in "Skylanders: Downfall."

Fateful First Drink Pop Fizz (2012)

Full Endorsement Pop Fizz (2012)

Big Gulp Pop Fizz (2013)

Fizzy Frenzy Pop Fizz (2014)

Love Potion Pop Fizz (2015)