The Trash Pack

Dripzy, Dung Bug, Alley-Gator, Yucko Taco, Grubby

Yucko Taco, Alley-Gator

Dripzy, Dung Bug

Dung Bug

Group of orange trash cans

Comparison of a Topps Garbage Can-dy plastic can with a Trash Pack plastic can

What: What: A line of soft, squishy rubber creatures that come packaged with small plastic trash cans. I had seen these in the store for the longest time and kept passing them by, thinking they were basically less-cute Squinkies. Well, they are basically less-cute Squinkies. But I finally realized something upon closer inspection: they're pretty awesome! The line consists of a wide variety of garbage/gross-themed characters ("Trashies") separated into six groups: The Grubz (food-themed), Bin-Fections (germ-themed), Bin-Sects (bug-themed), Bin Critters (animal-themed), Hard Rubbish (household object-themed) and Bin Monsters (monster-themed, obviously). The amount of different characters combined with the fact that figures range from "common" to "ultra rare" (in addition to exclusive and limited edition figures) make the Trash Pack extremely collectible. I'll definitely be picking up some more of these. To find out more, check out the Trash Pack official site or Facebook page.

When: 2011-current

Where: Australia, U.S. (currently sold at Toys R Us, Walgreens, K-Mart)

Who: From Moose Toys, a company based out of Australia.

The Gorgons (Monster in My Pocket, Diener, Necro's Fortress)

I always find it interesting to see how the same character is interpreted by different people. Considering the fact that multiple mini figure lines are based on well-known mythological creatures they often share the same characters, which allows for some good comparison. Medusa has always been one of my favorite monsters, so I thought it would be cool to get a shot of different interpretations of her from three mini figure lines: Monster in My Pocket, Diener mythological monsters and Necro's Fortress. They're all technically Medusa figures, but in the photo you could also think of them as the three Gorgon sisters from Greek mythology: Medusa, Stheno and Euryale. Which figure do you like best?

N.I.N.J.A. Mites

What: "Nasty Indestructible Ninjas Jumping About." I'm not sure if this line of little plastic ninjas really needed an acronym, but they gave it one anyway. N.I.N.J.A. Mites, the ninja-centric answer to M.U.S.C.L.E., consists of 48 unique sculpts in three different colors: black, red and yellow. They are made of a hard, light plastic (although one of the black figures I have is interestingly made of a somewhat softer plastic, and it doesn't appear to be a bootleg) and are mostly mono-color except for small painted glow-in-the-dark details on each. I am a bit torn about this line because some of the sculpts are quite cool while others are a bit bland. For example, I find the red dragon pictured above to be an incredibly appealing mini figure. There are other characters in the line that have a monster/humanoid element, and in my opinion, they are much more exciting than the basic human ones (although I suppose those are necessary in a set of ninja toys). I don't have many of these yet, but will be on the lookout for some of the cooler ones for sure. For more on N.I.N.J.A. Mites, check out MinifiguresXD's informative post.

When: 1986

Where: In addition to the USA, I have heard of these being popular in Europe so I am assuming they were sold there in some capacity.

Who: Panosh, the company also known for producing Dino Mites.

Galaxy Laser Team: 2012 reissue

What: When I first wrote about Galaxy Laser Team plastic space figures here just a couple months ago, I had no idea that versions of the toys were going to be available to buy new right now in 2012. But it's true--an online retailer, VictoryBuy, has worked with the current owners of Tim Mee Toys to manufacture a small production of the figures using the original molds. So Galaxy Laser Team figures are officially back on the market! All the original figures are there, including the gun-wielding space hero, Darth Vader-esque villain, the little robot, the space woman with her trusty console, the Chewbacca-like guy, the two astronauts, and of course, the infamous turtle-crab alien. Also included are two starships. As with previous editions, this new set includes black figures, but this time instead of white, green and pink, the other color included is light gray. This gives the set a very cool, retro sci-fi feel. The bag comes packaged as a set of 48 figures and 2 ships with a header card featuring some very cool artwork of the various characters. I'd recommend picking up a set whether or not you already have some of the older versions. It's very cool to see these available again!

When: 2012

Where: Sold on Amazon.com. Get them here.

Who: Manufactured by Tim Mee and sold by VictoryBuy.

Kamen Rider Super Deformed vending machine bootlegs

What: Here are some funny little vending machine bootlegs of super deformed (SD) Kamen Rider figures. They are made of a firm but flexible plastic and each one is a different shade of green, from almost a sea green to a forest green. I am not very familiar with Kamen Rider, but thanks to this thread on LittleRubberGuys.com the characters have been identified as (from left to right in the photo) Riderman, Skyrider, Tackle and Amazon. My personal favorite is Amazon!

When: I got these in the early-mid 1990s.

Where: U.S., sold in toy vending machines.

Who: N/A

Ultimate Muscle

Comparison with Mattel M.U.S.C.L.E. figure

What: In the early '00s, Bandai brought M.U.S.C.L.E./Kinnikuman back to the North American market in the form of Ultimate Muscle. The line consisted of newly-sculpted Kinnikuman characters as a tie-in with the manga/anime series Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy, with figures released in a variety of colors including red, yellow, blue, gold, silver and translucent blue and red (some painted figures were also released). One thing that stands out about these is that certain figures were sculpted so that you could pose them as if they were actually wrestling. At the time these figures came out I was not collecting many toys, but I remember coming across them at the store and not being able to resist picking some up. Even so, I could never get too heavily into this line for some reason. But being the mini figure hoarder that I am, I am glad I have at least a few in my collection!

When: 2002-2003

Where: U.S., Canada

Who: Released by Bandai

Monster in My Pocket: Super Scary painted vs. unpainted

Thunderdell, Jenny Greenteeth, Creature from the Closet

Click here for my original post on Monster in My Pocket.

I remember when I first discovered Monster in My Pocket series 4 ("Super Scary") in the store as a kid. I had been obsessed with collecting series 1, really disappointed that I could never find series 2 and completely surprised when I stumbled upon a sudden 4th series (at that time I had no way of knowing that there was even a 3rd series of monsters, which was partially released as premiums and partially unreleased). After the initial excitement of finding a new series passed, I remember feeling a bit underwhelmed by these new monsters. Even at that young age, I didn't like the fact that they added paint to the figures and made them a bit larger than previous series. I wanted them to fit in with my series 1 monsters. It seems Matchbox was trying to better appeal to kids by making the new figures flashier, but it had the opposite effect on me. Being the lover of mono-color mini figures that I am, I still feel that the paint apps are completely unnecessary. Interestingly, certain Super Scary sculpts were released in the U.K. unpainted; I recently acquired some of these for the first time and I think they are so much more attractive than the painted versions! What do you think?

Unidentified: Dragon Ball Z plastic figure (Yolanda)

What: Here's a nice little mono-color Dragon Ball Z figure made by a Spanish toy company called Yolanda. He's about 2", neon green and made of a light, hard, almost waxy plastic. I don't really know much about Dragon Ball Z, but through the wonders of Wikipedia I see that this character is named Master Roshi. I like the fact that he has a turtle shell on his back. Also, I'm sure he's supposed to be doing some sort of DBZ fighting move, but I can't help but think "talk to the hand." Anyway, I am filing this under "unidentified" because although I know it's a Dragon Ball Z figure from Yolanda, I don't have any information as to the specific line it is part of or how it was released. Does anyone have additional info to offer up?

For more DBZ, check out my previous post on some translucent vending machine figures.

For more on Yolanda figures, once again I will direct you to some posts on the MinifiguresXD blog: Yolanda Toxic Crusaders, Yolanda pirate figure

When: N/A

Where: Spain

Who: Released by Yolanda (the figure is marked as such on its back)

Suckers!

Sucker Shooter

A group shot from the back of Suckers! packaging

What: I'm always amazed how it's possible to find information online about even the most obscure toy lines, so I'm a bit surprised that there is so little out there on the toys pictured above, called Suckers! The line consisted of rubber monsters and other zany characters sculpted as cylindrical figures with a suction cup on the top of each, as well as a plastic "Sucker Shooter" gun. The idea was that you were supposed to place the 2"-3" figures into the Sucker Shooter and blow into the end of it, shooting out the creatures to stick onto a hard surface. While the construction of the gun does send the figures out with surprising force, I don't recall ever being very successful in getting them to stick--which could help explain why these toys didn't really take off! The figures were sold in various multi-packs and the Sucker Shooter was sold separately along with a couple of starter figures ("Screwie Louie" and "Birdy Billy"). My personal favorite sculp is "Chester Chicken Leg," a truly foul piece of fowl (apologies...). All in all, a fun and unique (albeit short-lived) line of toys. Does anyone else remember these?

When: All of the figures I have are marked 1987.

Where: U.S. (at least). I distinctly remember getting these from Toys R Us as a child. I'm not sure where else they were available.

Who: The bases of the figures are marked with LJN, a defunct company that produced many 1980s lines such as Wrestling Superstars, official E.T. toys, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons action figures and a variety of video games. They are also marked with "Kiscom," a name I'm not familiar with.