With no shortage of boring toys filling up capsule machines these days, it's genuinely exciting when the vending toy gods occasionally decide to offer up some truly special bits of plastic. The latest example of vending greatness comes in the form of tiny figures called Bit Figs, and in this case the toy gods responsible are Onell Design, who brought them to plastic life -- and into capsule machines through a collaboration with SSM Vending.The concept behind Bit Figs is old school-styled pixel art made into 3-D mini figures. Each figure is about three quarters of an inch tall and compatible with Onell's Glyos System, with two different sets available so far -- Ninjas and Animals. In addition to trying to hunt them down in capsule machines, you can order them online here.
Here's how Onell's Marc Beaudette described the inspiration behind the line:
"...There were 2 things that dominated playtime as we approached the '90s - Nintendo and TMNT. If we weren't crashing our mutant action figures into each other, we were smashing buttons trying to survive even 10 minutes of Ninja Gaiden. Throw in a handful of Lego sets and Monster in My Pocket mini figs and you pretty much have our childhood in plastic...These innocent memories are what fueled the concept behind Bit Figs."
The creators' passion definitely comes through in the figures. They're tons of fun.
Let's take a closer look at the sets currently available:
NINJAS
There are five different sculpts that make up the Ninjas set, and they each come in five basic monochromatic colors -- red, black, orange, off-white and brown. You can also find less common variants with minor painted details randomly included in assortments. There's been additional limited monochromatic colors produced as well, including "Pheyden" light blue and clear green.
These guys even have individual names. Looking at the photo to the right, the figures in each row from left to right are: Oni, Tana, Ku, Iken and Urai.
My personal favorites are the skeleton-like Ku and and Oni. Ku, especially, is the kind of figure that would be fun to build an army of in a bunch of different colors.
ANIMALS
Next we have a set of five Bit Animals, which are also really well designed and pretty irresistible. They are Bit Pup (dog), Bit Kit (cat), Bit Bun (rabbit), Bit Pig and Bit Duck.There are five colors -- light brown, gray, white, pink and yellow -- but unlike the Ninjas, in the basic assortment each animal is only available in one of the colors (for example, all pigs are pink). That said, there are painted variants as well as the limited Pheyden blue and clear green colors.
These designs have a really appealing simplicity about them, while at the same time somehow being packed with personality.
BIT PHEYDEN
Onell has also given its Pheyden character the Bit Figs treatment. Bit Pheyden is available online as a set that includes a "Mega" 3 inch tall version with articulated arms in addition to the tiny version matching the other Bit Figs. Mega Pheyden's arms are removable and can be replaced with other parts from Onell's Glyos system.
The standard Pheyden sets come in light blue, either monochromatic or with painted details. Onell has also produced a couple limited colors, including clear green and metallic gold.
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| Size comparison with MUSCLE and Monster in My Pocket |
And there you have it...the current offerings from this awesome new line!
I am a big fan of Bit Figs and am excited to see where this line goes next. I, for one, would absolutely love to see a monster-themed set.
What about you? Have you picked up any Bit Figs yet?