Garbage Pail Kids MiniKins: Series 2

The second series of Topps' Garbage Pail Kids MiniKins mini figures is finally out!

This new set was initially supposed to be released in March as the follow up to last Fall's first series, but got delayed until June. I was beginning to get a little worried as June neared and there was still no official announcement from Topps about the line, but thankfully they finally began to trickle out in stores.

As with Series 1, the new set consists of 26 different sculpts that are made of a bouncy rubber and are available in both "base" painted versions and monochromatic, unpainted versions. The Series 1 monochromatic colors--red, blue, green, yellow, and super rare black--are back for Series 2, in addition to a new sixth color, "classic peach." Here's a shot of all 26 painted base figures as well as a set in mixed mono colors:

The peach color, which is no doubt a nod to the similar color used in classic '80s mini figure lines like MUSCLE and Garbage Pail Kids Cheap Toys, is only available in "hobby" boxes of MiniKins. That means that you can only get it in packs sold at comic shops, card shops, and places like that. It takes the place of the yellow-colored figures, which are only available in retail packs (for example, ones bought at Target). I think it looks great!

Peach & black figures

So far I've been lucky enough to score not only a few peaches, but also a few super rare blacks!

Also following suit with Series 1 is the way the figures are packaged. Once again, they are available in blind-bagged two-packs (each including one painted and one mono figure) as well as "jumbo" four-packs (containing one visible painted figure, one hidden painted figure, and two hidden mono figures). I can't help thinking these toys would attract more attention from kids and adult collectors alike if they were packaged more like Trash Pack multi-pack figures--where there are 5-to-12 figures per package, with a few being visible--but we may never know.

The new packs also still include little character stickers that correspond to each of the figures and include funny character bios on the backs.

Outer Space Chase, Weird Wendy & Many Lenny MiniKins with their character stickers

Sculpt and character selection-wise, I'd say Series 2 is an even more interesting group than Series 1, and I might even prefer it.

Graffiti Petey & Double Heather, as both Cheap Toys & MiniKins

Once again, there are a few characters who were also released as GPK Cheap Toys back in the day, including Double Heather, Graffiti Petey and Fishy Phyllis. I'm a fan of the Cheap Toys, but I personally think these characters look even better in their MiniKin sculpts (especially Petey and Heather).

We've also been treated to a bunch of other iconic GPK characters that hadn't yet officially been released in mini figure form, including Weird Wendy, Slobby Robby, Outer Space Chase, Karate Kyle, Grim Jim, Mad Mike, Oozy Suzy, and Michael Mutant.

Then, there's some more oddball/unexpected characters like Clark Shark, Yeti Eddie, Mushy Marsha and Pete Seat.

As with Series 1, the sculpts take some liberties with the characters as compared to their card artwork. For example, Mushy Marsha is upright in her ice cream cone instead of sideways and splattered. I think that's to be expected when dealing with figures that are just around one inch tall, though, and it doesn't really bother me.

Here's the back of a package showing all the character names:

Overall, I'm very pleased with the second series of MiniKins and wish the line would carry on to a Series 3 and beyond. These things are really fun and give me almost the same feeling I used to get opening up packs of Monster in My Pocket, MUSCLE and other lines as a kid. Unfortunately, from what I've read, the prospect of more figures beyond Series 2 doesn't look great. I'll keep holding out hope, though!

What about you? What do you think of the new batch of MiniKins?

MiniKins: 'New Kids in the Garbage Pail' (video)

To follow up my initial post on the new Garbage Pail Kids MiniKins mini figures, I wanted to share a video I created in my excitement over them (I really do think I have a slight MiniKins addition...or maybe not so slight). I thought it would be fun to make a little story around what happens when the old GPK Cheap Toys from the '80s encounter their new MiniKins counterparts. Here it is. Hope you enjoy!

MiniKins: New Garbage Pail Kids mini figures!

WHAT: They're here! Announced in the Spring of this year, MiniKins are the first official mini figures of characters from the popular Topps Garbage Pail Kids trading card line since the "Cheap Toys" of the 1980s (which were plastic monochromatic minis sold with "Crummy Candy"). Garbage Pail Kids fans and mini figure collectors had been asking for new GPK toys for years, so the announcement that MiniKins would be hitting the shelves later in 2013 was met with much excitement and anticipation.

Well, "later in 2013" finally arrived, and MiniKins began appearing in stores earlier this month. And they do not disappoint. I've got a few things to say about these toys, but first, let's round up the basic facts of the line:

Set of 26 Series One MiniKins (painted versions)

• There are 26 different figures in MiniKins Series One, each one representing a character from a GPK trading card. 
• Each figure comes in five main versions: a base painted version, as well as blue, red, green and yellow unpainted, monochromatic variants. Blue and red figures come 1:3 packs, green 1:4 packs, and yellow is the least common with 1:12 packs. Once the toys hit store shelves, people also began finding rare, unannounced monochromatic black variants of the figures. Special one-of-a-kind gold MiniKins have also been announced as prizes for upcoming fan contests surrounding the toys.
• MiniKins are made out of a squishy, soft rubber material (think just a bit softer that Monster in My Pocket figures, but not as soft as other modern minis like The Trash Pack or Squinkies).
• The figures are sold two ways: In blind two-packs ($2.99) as well as four-packs ($4.99)
  with one painted figure visible in the package and three figures hidden.
• Each figure is packaged with a sticker featuring GPK card artwork of the respective character on the front, and humorous character bios on the back.
• MiniKins are around 1", so a bit smaller than the old GPK Cheap Toys.

Adam Bomb & Leaky Lindsay MiniKins with their Cheap Toys counterparts

Now that we've got the basics covered, I've got to say...I'm pretty much addicted to these! I think Topps really got it right with MiniKins, for a number of reasons.