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Phantasmic plastic: Ghost mini figures!

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The other day I decided to round up a bunch of different ghost mini figures I own to make a ghostly group shot. How many different toy lines can you identify in this photo?

Mono Minis of the Day: 7/5/16 to 7/20/16

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Here are the latest batches of Mono Minis of the Day--as posted daily on the Little Weirdos Instagram, Twitter and Flickr. The lineup in the photo is as follows, from left to right, top to bottom:

1. Chief Krusha from Mini Boglins
2. Giant Spider from Big Bucket of Monsters
3. Scorpio from Neclos Fortress
4. Kaiju from Canfull of Monsters
5. Turtleshell from Bad Eggz Bunch
6. Tri-Klops from Panrico Masters of the Universe premiums
7. Karate Sid from Weird Ball Collectums
8. Unidentified dinosaur figure
9. Unidentified robot figure
10. Monster from Ghost & Monster (Toxie / Toxic Crusaders knockoff)
11. Wrestler from Musclemania 
12. Caveman from Tim Mee Cavemen set 
13. Monster from Matutano Monstruos
14. Unidentified dinosaur figure
15. Archer from DFC fantasy playset
16. Charon from Monster in My Pocket

Skeleton paratrooper party favors

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Here are some awesome parachuting skeletons that I probably got sometime in the early '00s. They're a unique twist on the Imperial Poopatroopers that have been sold in one form or another for decades.

I can't remember exactly where I got them or how they were sold, other than I bought them new in a physical store. My best guess would be that they were released as party favors around Halloween -- possibly at Target. I don't think I've ever seen them show up anywhere else online.

The figures are about 1.5 inches tall and made of flexible soft plastic. There are six different sculpts that come in three different colors -- orange, green and purple -- each with a bit of painted detail.

The sculpts are really well done for being cheap toys, and you can tell whoever designed them had fun with it. For example, the helmeted skeleton has a tiny cigar sticking out of his mouth, and the skeleton holding the axe has a creepy-lookin' bone tail.

To add to the fun, the thin plastic parachutes attached to the figures aren't just plain white -- they have graphics printed on them depicting each of the 6 skeleton dudes as well as a big skull head in the middle. Rad.


These are definitely some of the coolest party favors I've seen. I just wish I had bought more of them!

Has anyone else come across these skeleton paratroopers before, or know anything more about them?

Giant Co. micro space aliens

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Some of the coolest space/sci-fi toys came out during the 1960s, and these little guys are a perfect example. They are tiny (under one inch tall) space aliens made by an old company called Giant, which produced different varieties of toy soliders, vehicles and other small plastic toys.

According to this very informative article on the Plastic Solider Review website, the Giant company started out as the Rosenberg Toy Company in the 1940s, and then changed to Giant in 1960. By the end of the 1970s, it became known as Arco. I'm not sure the exact year Giant produced these aliens, but I'd guess sometime in the mid-'60s.

The aliens came in six different sculpts and three different colors -- green, brown and pink/purple. They are made of hard plastic. I love their simple yet very fun designs; they have a lot of detail and personality for being so tiny. They came with little circular UFOs they could be placed inside.

Giant also produced a line of micro astronauts and spacecrafts called Space Knights, so kids could set up space landings for discovery of these little weirdos on different planets. You can see all of these different pieces on Plastic Soldier Review linked above.

Mono Minis of the Day: 7/21/16 to 8/5/16

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Here are the latest batches of Mono Minis of the Day--as posted daily on the Little Weirdos Instagram, Twitter and Flickr. The lineup in the photo is as follows, from left to right, top to bottom:

1. Neptul from Blackstar mini figures  
2. Inspector Bones from SLUG Zombies   
3. Red King from Ultraman 'Great Monster the 30' set  
4. #63 from MUSCLE
5. Michael Mutant from Garbage Pail Kids Minikins
6. Skeleton from skeleton warriors party favor set
7. Ninja from Toysmith Ninjas set
8. Baikins/Germ Gang capsule bootleg
9. Messenger Flare from Mini Boglins
10. Optimus Prime Transformers plastic figure
11.  Blizarerd from Neclos Fortress
12. Scream Roller Ghost from The Real Ghostbusters
13. Goblin from HeroQuest
14. Triceratops from Lakeshore dinosaur counters set
15. Wart Hog from Weird Ball Wrestlers
16. Gundam capsule/party favor bootleg 

The bone brigade: plastic skeleton warriors galore

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In the past I've posted about the excellent Polotoy skeleton warrior fantasy figures, but there's so many other toy solider-style skeletons out there that I figured it was time for another entry featuring some additional sets.

Why have there been so many different varieties of these bony baddies produced? Who knows, but I'm not complaining! A little little plastic reanimated skeleton holding a sword, shield, or axe never gets old.

The three sets featured below are all relatively recent releases.


Oriental Trading Co. Skeleton Warriors


First up we've got a set that has been sold (and at the time of writing this, is still being sold), in big bags by Oriental Trading Co. I love the sculpts on these guys, including how random a couple are -- like the one with wings and the one with what I think is a shell horn.

As shown on the Fantasy Toy Soldiers blog, these same sculpts were previously sold in different colors in different packaging as Skeleton Soldiers and Skull Knights.

These Oriental Trading versions are made of a pretty pliable plastic that feels nice but unfortunately leads to many of the figures getting bent while pressed together in their packaging. This can be fixed by putting them in boiling water for a few seconds immediately followed by a bath in ice cold water.


Pirates Playset red skeletons


I got these blood red beauties in a trade with Mason of the DI Treasures blog a while back, who found them at Family Dollar as part of a pirate playset tub (you can see his post on them here). Thanks again to Fantasy Toy Soliders, I learned that they seem to be bootlegs of earlier "Tomb Warrior" figures by Toy Major.

These are made of light, hard plastic. There's some fun sculpts here, including a skeleton with a hook hand and another with its mouth agape that looks to be either really happy or really angry.


Amscan Skeleton Warriors


Finally, here are some skeletons that I believe were just released for the first time last year (I could be wrong, but I had never seen them before that). I found them at Party City, where they were available around Halloween as party favors. They came in a bag of 16 with a header card that said "Skeleton Figurines" and included Amscan as the company name.

There's only four different sculpts, but they make up for it in nice detail and overall coolness. I especially like the skeleton that's holding a cleaver in one hand and another skeleton's head in the other!

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And there we have it -- just a few more of the skeleton warrior sets floating around out there in the world of weird and obscure toys. Which ones are your favorites? Have you seen any other cool skeleton warrior sets to report?

It came from the arcade: Zoids bootleg keshi

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If you grew up in the '90s and spent any time in your local arcade, you might remember these. They're tiny bootlegs of Japanese Zoids keshi that you could commonly find available behind prize counters in exchange for a few game tickets back in the day.

For anyone not up on their Zoids history, it's a franchise that began in the early 1980s featuring giant robots with various animal and dinosaur designs. Over the years it has spawned anime series, manga, video games and toys.

I remember trading a classmate something for a little green sabertooth Zoid on the playground in grade school and thinking it was totally awesome, despite the fact that it was missing a leg and that I had no idea what Zoids were, or that this little rubbery thing was supposed to be one. I also remember getting a couple more of these bootlegs back then, either at the arcade or from capsule machines (they might have been sold that way too). It would take a couple decades for me to finally find out the origins of these rubbery robo-animals and add a bunch more to my collection.

From a technical standpoint, these are not great toys. They are really cheaply-made, with lots of flashing and molding imperfections. But I'll be damned if they're not charming and lots of fun. I mean, look at that little gorilla Zoid. And that snail. And those dino-bots. So cool. Plus, if you're like me you get instant feelings of nostalgia just looking at them.

I'm guessing these bootlegs came in 12 sculpts, as shown above, although the original Japanese keshi probably had more. I'm not positive about either, though. Has anyone come across any others?

Mono Minis of the Day: 8/6/16 to 8/21/16

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Here are the latest batches of Mono Minis of the Day--as posted daily on the Little Weirdos Instagram, Twitter and Flickr. The lineup in the photo is as follows, from left to right, top to bottom:

1. Bigfoot from Monster in My Pocket ('Juguete Halloween' Peru version)
2. Ruff the Ref from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
3. Oni-On kaiju Ultraman capsule bootleg
4. Dino from Matutano Dinosaurs
5. Popy mini Kinnikuman keshi
6. Fossil Freak from OMFG
7. Koschei the Deathless from Oritet Russian fairy tale creatures set
8. Skeleton pirate from Pirates playset
9. Spy Prod from Mini Boglins
10. Monstrus from Cosmix
11. ET bootleg figure
12. Madballs knockoff pencil topper 
13. Gundam bootleg pencil topper
14. Maharaja from Neclos Fortress
15. Stegosaurus from Lakeshore dinosaur counters set
16. #88 from MUSCLE

Dino Toys with Candy Eggs (Topps, 1988)

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In the late 1980s, Topps released monochromatic mini figures in blind bags with along with packs of cheap, chalky candy. Nope, I'm not talking about Garbage Pail Kids Cheap Toys. I'm talking about the very obscure and seldom discussed Dino Toys with Candy Eggs!

Each pack came with a figure, checklist & candy eggs
These prehistoric plastic goodies came out in 1988, to be exact -- the same year Topps released the classic Dinosaurs Attack! trading card set. I guess they were on a dino kick that year.

Even though the Dino Toys are not nearly as popular as Topps' GPK toys that used the same "blind bag with candy" concept, they are really awesome in that old school, cheap toy sort of way. In fact, they're some of my favorite dinosaur mono minis.

Packs were sold individually and came 24 to a box, which you'd most likely find on the counter in candy, toy and hobby shops. The box features colorful artwork of a T-Rex chompin' on some candy eggs while a pterosaur tries to get in on the action. Each individual pack inside had the same artwork as the box and contained one random dino figure, a checklist showing all of the different dinosaurs available, and a pack of the eggs. From the looks of the candy, I'd imagine it tastes something like how Topps' Garbage Can-dy did, but I must admit I'm not brave enough to sample gobs of colored sugar that are coming up on 30 years old.


Now for the most important part -- the toys! There are 12 different dinosaur sculpts that could be collected. The figures range from about 1 to 2 inches tall and are made of a hard plastic reminiscent of retro plastic dinosaurs from the 1960s.

Each dinosaur came in three different colors: brown, gray and mint green. The green is by far my favorite, and the brown looks good too -- it's a nice chocolate brown that makes the details pop. The gray is a bit dull, but it does look nice when put together with the other two colors.

Here's a photo of the entire set with the checklist:


And here are some closer individual shots:

Brontosaurus, Anklyosaurus, Dimetrodon
Tyrannosaurus, Trachodon, Pterandodon
Plesiosaurus, Iguanodon, Stegosaurus
Allosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Triceratops

It's hard to pick favorites, but the Plesiosaurus is probably my top choice. I also love the sculpts that have a lot of really cool bumpy texture like the Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Anklyosaurus, and Dimetrodon. Topps did a great job of capturing the fun vibe of retro dinosaur toys from the likes of Marx, Tim Mee and MPC while adding a bit more fierceness to the sculpts.

I don't think these Topps Dinos have ever got their due among mini figure and dinosaur collectors (possibly because most don't know about them). I got only one of them when I was a kid (the green Trachodon) and don't even remember getting it, but looking at them brings such a feeling of nostalgia for the days when this kind of thing was common and could be had for under a buck.

What about you? Do you remember Topps Dino Toys with Candy Eggs from back in the day? What do you think of them?

Masters of the Universe MUSCLE: Series 2

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About a year after debuting the first series of Masters of the Universe MUSCLE ("MOTUSCLE") figures, Super7 unleashed Series 2 earlier this summer at San Diego Comic Con. The second set consists of 12 new sculpts, joining the 12 from Series 1 for a total of 24 different figures so far. The new batch includes some essential characters that were absent from the first series as well as a couple surprises. The lineup is:

    - Stratos                            - Fisto
    - Evil-Lyn                           - Battle Cat
    - Orko                               - Stinkor
    - Sorceress                       - Spikor
    - Kobra Khan                     - Castle Grayskull
    - He-Man (new sculpt)        - Skeletor (new sculpt)

    At the time of writing this, Series 2 has been released only in exclusive colors, including yellow and green from SDCC and lavender from Nerd Block (Series 1 has also been released in all 3 of these colors). A non-exclusive release in the standard MUSCLE flesh/pink color is expected as well, but so far no release date has been given. 

    The yellow and green SDCC sets came in long, flat boxes along with the 12 figures from Series 1, as a nod to the classic Kinnikuman MUSCLE 28-packs from the '80s. A very cool and nostalgic presentation!


    Sculpt-wise, it's obvious the Series 2 figures were designed by a different person than whoever sculpted Series 1. Overall, the style of the designs is much more cartoonish than Series 1, with larger heads, hands, etc. This is especially noticeable when you compare Series 2 He-Man and Skeletor with Series 1 He-Man and Skeletor, which have much more realistic detail. It results in a bit of an inconsistent feel when you look at the two series side-by-side, but overall it's not that big of a deal with the majority of the sculpts. Both series are very well done, even if stylistically different. You've got to love a Grayskull mini, and the fact that He-Man 2 was sculpted to be able to ride Battle Cat!

    A mix of Series 1 & Series 2 MOTUSCLE
    I'm really happy with the characters chosen for Series 2. We got some major characters that were missing from the first series, like Stratos and Evil-Lyn, and other significant yet more unique-looking figures like Orko, Battle Cat and Castle Grayskull. I was pleasantly surprised to also see some characters I didn't think would make it until later series (assuming there will be), like Sorceress and Kobra Khan. Some might be disappointed to see alternate versions of He-Man and Skeletor already, but I can understand why it's important to keep including the main good guy and main bad guy in different sets -- plus, Kinnikuman-based MUSCLEs did feature multiple versions of Kinnikuman and his nemesis Buffaloman.

    Series 2 debuted at the same time Super7 re-released Series 1 in multi-color 12-pack cans, which contain figures in blue, magenta, neon green, neon orange, and glow-in-the-dark white. Like the 24-pack boxes, the cans are also based on the old MUSCLE 10-pack cans for the '80s, and are awesome. I'm not sure whether the Series 2 figures will also be released this way.

    I can't think of much that could be cooler than MOTU-themed MUSCLE figures, and I really hope Super7 milks this line for all it's worth and releases many more series. There are certainly enough characters in the MOTU universe to sustain MOTUSCLE for quite a while.

    What about you? Have you picked up any of these new MUSCLE toys? What other denizens of Eternia would you like to see show up in future series?

    Mono Minis of the Day: 8/22/16 to 9/6/16

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    Here are the latest batches of Mono Minis of the Day--as posted daily on the Little Weirdos Instagram, Twitter and Flickr. The lineup in the photo is as follows, from left to right, top to bottom:

    1. Yet Eddie from Garbage Pail Kids Minikins
    2. Tehnolog skeleton soldier
    3. Lightning Ghost from The Real Ghostbusters
    4. Minotaur from Top Toupie Pull Spin Battle
    5. He-Man from Masters of the Universe MUSCLE
    6. Brachiosaurus from Jurassic Park candy/toy eggs
    7. Alien from Space War figure set
    8. Panzer World Galient bootleg stamper
    9. Toysmith Super Hero figure
    10. Dismembered Dennis from SLUG Zombies
    11. Bronto from Dinosaucers
    12. Herne the Hunter from Monster in My Pocket
    13. Knight from HG Toys Sword & Sorcery playset
    14. Dreama from Neclos Fortress
    15. Kung Fu Man capsule machine figure
    16. Messenger Stick from Mini Boglins

    Mono Minis of the Day: 9/7/16 to 9/22/16

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    Here are the latest batches of Mono Minis of the Day--as posted daily on the Little Weirdos Instagram, Twitter and Flickr. The lineup in the photo is as follows, from left to right, top to bottom:

    1. Popy mini Kinnikuman keshi
    2. Troll from Oritet cave trolls set
    3. Mer-Man from Panrico Masters of the Universe premiums
    4. Astronaut from Galaxy Laser Team
    5. Mummy from Big Bucket of Monsters
    6. Gladiator from Tehnolog Gladiators set
    7. Monster from Halloween Coffin Surprise (aka Cromy Club MIMP)
    8. Ecto-Plazm Ghost from The Real Ghostbusters
    9. '80s guitar girl from CUTIE
    10. Dinosaur from Dino Brites
    11. Wildkin from World of Warcraft board game
    12. Diener dinosaur eraser
    13. #112 from MUSCLE
    14. Monster from Matutano Monstruos
    15. Bog from Mini Boglins
    16. Kaiju from Canfull of Monsters

    Gorelords: new MUSCLE-style monster minis from Violence Toy

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    Gorelords is a new line of factory-produced mini figures from indie toy makers Violence Toy--a company that until now seems to have focused on larger, pricier vinyl figures.

    These things totally crept up on me. Until some very recent images posted on the Violence Toy Instagram account, there was no sign of their impending arrival. No Kickstarter campaign, no long buildup of production progress reports (at least that I'm aware). They just sort of dropped onto the scene all ready to invade our toy collections, and I'm sure glad they did because they're glorious hunks of plastic.

    According to to Violence Toy, Gorelords should be going up for online sale via their online shop sometime over the next few days (I read $12 per pack somewhere, though I'm not sure if that's final). Violence Toy kindly reached out to me on Instagram to ask if I'd be interested in checking some out a bit early, and once I saw the message it took me about half a second to respond with a huge "YES!".

    Before we get into a closeup look at all of these little weirdos, let's go over a few basics.
    • MATERIAL: Gorelords are made of a firm yet somewhat flexible plastic similar to that of MUSCLE. If you're familiar with other recent factory-produced indie mini figure lines like OMFG and Mystical Warriors of the Ring, you'll have a good idea of how they feel. 
    • SIZE: Most of the figures are around 2 inches tall, just a tiny bit bigger than MUSCLEs. With a few of them you can't even notice any size difference when compared to MUSCLE. They are very compatible with Monster in My Pocket as well.
    Comparison with MUSCLE and MIMP
    • COLORS: Gorelords come in 9 different monochromatic colors that match up with the classic MUSCLE colors: Flesh/pink, light blue, dark blue, purple, magenta, neon orange, red, salmon, and neon green. Over the 4 packages I received, I got at least one of every color except for red and salmon.  
    • PACKAGING/ASSORTMENTS: The figures come in sets of 3 in carded blister packs, with 4 different assortments for a total of 12 different sculpts. They are being made available in flesh-only or multicolor packs, which contain all 9 colors. The package artwork is excellent and adds a lot to the overall presentation, featuring full-color detailed art on the front and black-and-white drawings of all the characters on the back--very reminiscent of packaging for obscure '80s mini figure lines like Weird Ball Wrestlers and Musclemania. The package describes Gorelords as "Mutant Death Match Fighters" and declares that "The only way out is death!," which are cool touches because they provides just enough background for us to put our imaginations at work to think of storylines for these monsters.
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    Now that we've got those details covered, let's take a closer look at all of the Gorelords!

    SET ONE



    From left to right: TIME-GORE, THE SUFFER, MAGGOTGAGGER

    All these guys are awesome. Time-Gore and Maggotgagger give me a definite Weird Ball vibe, which is a great thing. The Suffer has a totally creepy psycho thing going on, and looks like he could do some major damage in whatever apocalyptic mutant war is at hand.


    SET TWO 

      
    From left to right: QUANTUM WOLF, MURDROID, ICHOR

    This is probably my favorite of the four sets. I mean, we've got a 2-headed satyr-cyclops, a highly-weaponized killer robot, and a manic cyborg werewolf. A pack of mini figures does not get any better than that, folks.


    SET THREE


    From left to right: DOC MARAUDER, ARTHUR, GUMONGOUS

    This is overall the least monstrous pack, with Doc Marauder and Arthur appearing human or at least humanoid. The former is very reminiscent of an '80s Musclemania figure by Select--I'd be shocked if that line wasn't the inspiration for the sculpt. But then we've got Gumongous, who is nowhere near human! This huge, 4-armed brute has a killer sculpt and is one of the definite highlights of the line.


    SET FOUR


    From left to right: PSYCOPS, SNOTPILE, TROLLBORG

    If you can't beat a mini figure pack consisting of a cyborg werewolf, 2-headed satyr-cyclops and murderous robot, a pack consisting of a cyclops cop, cyborg troll and a monster pile of mucus comes pretty damn close.

    And that's all of 'em! Are the Gorelords not fantastic? Thank you, Violence Toy, for bringing them into our lives (and toy collections). May you sell a ton and make many more of these little weirdo warmongers.

    Mono Minis of the Day: 9/23/16 to 10/8/16

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    Here are the latest batches of Mono Minis of the Day--as posted daily on the Little Weirdos Instagram, Twitter and Flickr. The lineup in the photo is as follows, from left to right, top to bottom:

    1. Tarantula from Neclos Fortress
    2. Evil-Lyn from Masters of the Universe MUSCLE
    3. Musclemania bootleg figure
    4. Magical King Granzort capsule machine bootleg
    5. Ghoul from Monster in My Pocket
    6. King Joe from Ultraman 'Great Monster the 30' set
    7. Space Warrior from Warriors of the Galaxy playset
    8. Gigantor from Cosmix (Kinnikuman/MUSCLE bootleg)
    9. Overlord from Blackstar mini figures
    10. Dinosaur from dinosaur counters set
    11. Zombie dog from Big Bucket of Zombies
    12. Spy Goggles mutant from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
    13. Caveman from Tim Mee Cavemen set
    14. Monster from Holy War Bakuryu keshi
    15. Boxer from Top Toupie Pull Spin Battle
    16. Mord from Mini Boglins

    Monster in My Pocket: Series 4 (Super Scary)

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    Super Scary pamphlet showing all 24 monsters
    In 1992, Matchbox released the 4th series of Monster in My Pocket, the "Super Scary" set. To most kids who collected MIMP back in the day, it would have seemed like the third series, since the actual Series 3 just had a partial, limited, low-key release in the U.S. as Big Boy kids meal premiums and in Canada as cereal premiums.

    The Super Scaries seemed to come out of nowhere. Unlike Series 2, which I had known about as a kid but never actually was able to find in my area, the first time I became aware of Series 4 is when I saw it in Toys R Us. Being such a huge MIMP fan I had to have them, but I immediately noticed they looked different from previous series.

    These monsters were a bit larger, had painted details and some of them glowed in the dark. Obviously Matchbox were trying new tricks in an attempt to keep MIMP marketable and make the line more exciting to kids. Unfortunately it didn't seem to work and the franchise sort of fizzled out after this, at least in the U.S. (in the U.K, where MIMP was always more popular, it continued for a few more offshoot series like Wrestlers, Aliens and Super Creepies).


    Series 4 is made up of 24 monsters, numbers 97 through 120 of the line. They range from 50 to 100 points. The series was sold in 6-packs (where only a couple monsters were visible) and 12-packs (where all the monsters were visible). Each pack contained a pamphlet providing details on each monster, as with Series 1 and 2. The pamphlet starts off with the text:

    Here they are - the wildest, scariest, most outrageous collection of real monsters ever assembled! And every single one of them is worth at least 50 points, with 6 rare glow-in-the-dark 100 pt. value monsters included, more than even the highest value monsters in either series 1 or 2. You know why? Because every one of these monsters is a big, bad, super scary dude. Put these guys in your pocket - and scare the pants off your friends!

    For its general release, most of the monsters came in 2 different color schemes, with the base rubber colors being neon green, neon yellow, neon red and neon purple, plus glow yellow and glow green for the 100-point monsters. Each figure had different colored painted details depending on its base rubber color.

    I always thought the Super Scary set contained some really cool sculpts, like the 100-pointers, Jenny Greenteeth and Creature From the Closet, to name a few, but I've found the random painted details to look kind of odd--even as a kid. Matchbox was trying to make them look cooler, but to me it sort of had the opposite effect.

    It wasn't until much later, as an adult, that I discovered some Super Scaries were actually made in unpainted versions. Ten of them, to be exact: Thunderdell, Yama, Astaroth, Lamia, Creature From the Closet, Jenny Greenteeth, Drude, Alu, Fachen, and Wurdulac. As far as I know, these versions were only available as premiums in the U.K. Here's the whole mono gang:


    And here's a comparison shot of some of the basic painted versions with their mono counterparts. Which ones do you prefer?


    Overall, Series 4 was a fun addition to the MIMP line, but to me it doesn't match the greatness of Series 1-3. It's too bad all 24 figures weren't made in monochromatic colors, and in a size that matched the first few series. If that had been the case, I think they'd be considered much more essential among MIMP collectors.

    What do you think? Are you a fan of the Super Scaries?

    Mono Minis of the Day: 10/9/16 to 10/24/16

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    Here are the latest batches of Mono Minis of the Day--as posted daily on the Little Weirdos Instagram, Twitter and Flickr. The lineup in the photo is as follows, from left to right, top to bottom:

    1. Leo the Lifeless from SLUG Zombies
    2. #158 from MUSCLE
    3. Brontosaurus from Hardees Dinosaur in My Pocket premiums 
    4. Pustulus from Cosmix
    5. Kaiju from Canfull of Monsters  
    6. Wrestler from Musclemania
    7. Demon from Big Bucket of Monsters
    8. Altair 2 ship from Diener Space Raiders
    9. Zoids bootleg figure
    10. Earl from Neclos Fortress
    11. D Jay from Garbage Pail Kids Minikins
    12. Spitball Louie from Weird Ball Collectums
    13. Yen from Mini Boglins
    14. Maggotgagger from Gorelords
    15. Gak creature from Gak Vac
    16. Bat monster from Halloween Coffin Surprise

    Musclemania: pre-MUSCLE weirdo wrestler minis (revisited)

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    When most collectors think of weird little wrestling mini figures from the '80s, they think of MUSCLE. But there's actually a similarly-themed toy line with a copyright year that predates the release of MUSCLE in the U.S. This set is called Musclemania, a rather obscure release that first came out in 1984 from a company called Select Merchandise, Inc.

    I've briefly posted about Musclemania in the past, but I've since completed my set, so figured it was time for a more detailed post.


    This is a really interesting line for many reasons:
    • MATERIAL:  The figures were released in multiple kinds of plastic/rubber. What I believe are the initial 12 sculpts (pictured at the top of this post), are most commonly found in a firm-yet-flexible soft plastic. I believe all or at least some of these sculpts, in addition to 12 other sculpts (pictured lower in this post), were also released in a super soft, stretchy rubber. To make things even more complicated, I have also seen figures in a harder plastic.
    • TIMELINE:  The timeline around when these different kinds of figures released is muddy. I believe that the initial 12 soft plastic figures came out in 1984, and that the stretchy versions--including the 12 new sculpts--were released around 1986.
    • PACKAGING:  Musclemania figures seem to have been sold in both 12-packs and 4-packs. Based on what I've seen online over the years, I believe 4-packs and 12-packs were released in 1986 and contained the 12 "new" sculpts plus the previous 12 sculpts in stretchy rubber. I remember getting some of the 4-packs as a kid at Toys R Us in the late '80s. In my research, I still have not found out how the earlier, 1984 soft plastic figures were released. To my knowledge there hasn't been a packaging photo for the earlier figures found online. 
    • SCULPTS:  Some of the figures look like they were sculpted to originally hold weapons, suggesting the theme might not have originally been wrestlers. Perhaps they were meant to be fantasy/space-themed toys, and then Select changed course to make them wrestlers to get in on a growing interest in wrestling among kids?
    • COLORS:  The firmer figures seem to have been released in red, light blue, yellow, green, and translucent green. I'm not sure exactly how the trans green factored into assortments, but figures in that color seem to be more uncommon than the others. The stretchy figures came in light flesh, green, blue, and red. 
    So all these years later there are still many unanswered questions with Musclemania. It's a bit of a mystery, which probably adds to its appeal.

    Here's a closer look at what I consider to be the 12 initial sculpts. My favorites are the stranger, more monstrous guys, like the fish dude and gator/lizard-like dude. Note that two of the green figures are standard green and one is the translucent green.


    And shown below are four of the 12 additional sculpts, in the stretchy rubber. These later sculpts have a distinct difference in design from the first 12. They were clearly designed to be more normal-looking wrestlers, eliminating the monster/space-like attributes that some of the first 12 figures have. This further supports the theory that the 12 first figures were originally planned to have a different theme, and that the 12 additional sculpts came later, after the wrestling theme had already been established and sold via the initial figures.


    A curiosity that popped up recently is a set of Korean Musclemania figures in bright, transparent colors. These are assumed to be bootlegs, but I don't think much is known about them aside from the fact that the seller who discovered them bought them in large bunches in a plain plastic bags. The clear colors are yellow, pink, purple, and blue, and green (green is not pictured here). Only the 12 later sculpts are included, but the material is very close to that of the 1984 figures--soft plastic, not squishy rubber. I am glad to have these 12 sculpts in this firmer material, because the official, stretchy versions can melt/degrade with time.


    And there we have it. There's quite a bit to talk about with Musclemania, considering its such an obscure line. For more coverage and photos, be sure to check out the great articles on University of MUSCLE and MinifiguresXD.

    What do you think of these guys? Do you remember seeing them back in the day, or do you collect them now? Do you know anything more about them than what I covered here?

      Mono Minis of the Day: 10/25/16 to 11/10/16

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      Here are the latest batches of Mono Minis of the Day--as posted daily on the Little Weirdos Instagram, Twitter and Flickr. The lineup in the photo is as follows, from left to right, top to bottom:

      1. Parasaurolophus from Topps Dino Toys
      2. Badan from Ultraman keshi  
      3. #105 from MUSCLE
      4. Bullseye from OMFG
      5. Ghost from Pelikan ghosts set from Germany
      6. Skull from Halloween pencil topper eraser set
      7. Zombie from HeroQuest
      8. Puffinge from Funny Fringes
      9. Rollerman from Popy mini Kinnikuman keshi
      10. Headbanger from Ghost & Monster (Toxic Crusaders knockoffs)
      11. Manticore from Monster in My Pocket
      12. Army guy from Invincible Army Men
      13. Gomora from Ultraman "Great Monster the 30" set 
      14. Naga from World of Warcraft board game
      15. Alien from Target Halloween pencil topper set
      16. Durd from Mini Boglins

      Confectionary Creeps: weirdo candy containers & wrappers

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      Remember when candy often came in all sorts of fun novelty containers and wrappers? The kind that you'd be more likely to buy to get the toy container than you would to eat the candy? I don't know about you, but I miss those days.

      In the '80s and '90s, Topps and Fleer probably released the most candies this way, but many other companies did too. A trip down the candy aisle sometimes also felt like a trip down the toy aisle.

      I saved a bunch of candy containers and wrappers from those days, which are featured below. For this post, I'm just including examples with a weirdo or monster theme.


      LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS CANDY (TOPPS, 1986)


      To coincide with the 1986 movie version of Little Shop of Horrors, Topps released a trading card/sticker set as well as these little buggers, which are filled with candy pellets. As a kid I was obsessed with this movie and always wanted an Audrey II toy, but was a bit too young to have seen these in the store when they came out. The design isn't too detailed, but these are still really cool, and I just love the fact that Audrey II candy containers exist.


      MR. BONES COFFINS (FLEER, 1970s-1990s)


      These fun little Mr. Bones candy-filled coffins were produced by Fleer for many years, starting in the late 1970s all the way up until the 1990s. The sweet tart-like candy that came inside were different bone-shaped pieces you could use to build a skeleton. I had a little rubber skeleton I used to store in my coffins once I finished the candy. These things should still be sold today!


      MADBALLS-LIKE CANDY CONTAINER (UKNOWN, LATE 1980s)


      I haven't been able to get an exact ID for this one, but I remember getting it at a candy store in the late '80s. The head popped into a clear body that was filled with tiny multicolor candy balls. It looks to at least be inspired by Madballs, if not an official Madballs item. My guess would be a knockoff to capitalize on Madballs' popularity at the time. There were likely other designs available. I have also seen photos of other similar clear figure containers with removable heads based on different themes, like Halloween characters and aliens.


      MONSTER CHEWS (CONFEX, LATE 1980s-EARLY 1990s)


      Not many people seem to remember these. They were Laffy Taffy-like fruit chews, nothing too special flavor-wise. What made them great were their wrappers, which featured different bizarro monsters. I remember going to a local pharmacy and buying these all the time for a penny each, trying to collect as many different monsters as I could. There were two different designs and sets of monsters, the first of which came out in the late '80s, and then a second batch from the early '90s. These designs shown here are from the later batch.


      CRAZY SPRAY CANS (FLEER, LATE 1980s)


      These were bubble gum containers featuring funny, irreverent artwork for made-up products. Sort of like Wacky Packages. There were 20 different designs.


      CHUPA CHUPS POP LOCKIT (1990s)


      Monster heads like this one were released as toy accessories to Chupa Chups suckers, sometime in the mid-late 1990s. The idea is that you'd store your partially eaten sucker inside of it to finish later. The concept was kind of gross if you ask me, but at least the little monster heads were cool.


      THE AMAZING SHRINKING HEAD MUTANT POPS (AU'SOME CANDIES, 1998)



      These probably take the cake for the creepiest candy-related toys ever. The release included six different plastic, freakish mutant-monsters that served as sticks to a candy sucker. The hard candy ball was around the creature's head, which I guess looked larger through the candy than it actually was. I got these when they came out in the late-'90s and saved one one in the package, but the candy started melting into a pile of goo so I recently set the figure free to join the other two opened upon buying them (of course, not before taking a photo of the packaged example). I think the figures came in silver in addition to the gold and bronze shown here. These are actually really awesome, and I'd definitely like to get a hold of the other three sculpts I don't have.


      And there you go--just a small sampling of some weirdo candy-related toys and wrappers from years gone by. Are there any other good examples you can think of?

      Mono Minis of the Day: 11/11/16 to 11/26/16

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      Here are the latest batches of Mono Minis of the Day--as posted daily on the Little Weirdos Instagram, Twitter and Flickr. The lineup in the photo is as follows, from left to right, top to bottom:

      1. WilyKat from Thundercats Panrico premiums 
      2. E.T. from E.T. bootleg set
      3. Orko from Masters of the Universe MUSCLE  
      4. Snatcher Ghost from The Real Ghostbusters 
      5. Diener robot eraser
      6. Woody the Wrecker from SLUG Zombies
      7. Dino from Matutano dinosaurs set
      8. Cyclops from Monster in My Pocket (Peru Juguete Halloween version)
      9. Yeti from Neclos Fortress
      10. Squirtle from Pokemon eraser set
      11. Drak from Mini Boglins
      12. Gundam party favor bootleg
      13. Hero from ToySmith Super Hero set
      14. #76 from MUSCLE
      15. Triceratops eraser
      16. Demon from DFC fantasy figures
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