Unidentified: Kaiju pencil topper erasers

What: Here are some kaiju pencil topper erasers I've had since I was a little kid. I've got four different sculpts and six different colors. They're made of an eraser material and have holes underneath so you can pop them on top of your favorite writing utensil. I'm assuming they're bootlegs of some Japanese line of Godzilla keshi or something like that (could the dark blue guy be Godzilla himself? I'm not sure).

When: I got these sometime in the late-'80s, early '90s.

Where: I think they were sold in sets of two or three at Walgreens, but I could be mistaken. It was a long time ago.

Who: N/A

S.L.U.G. Zombies: Series 2

Grim Trekker, Cleopatra Commin'atcha, Maximus Cadaverous

Andrew Agony, Macho Mangler, Jump-Shot Rot

Dr. Outbreak, Teddy Terror, Mash-Up Mike, Stu B' You

Flesh-colored human figures: Gator Jones, Captain Payback

A few months ago I posted about the first series of S.L.U.G. Zombies, a new line of zombie-themed mini figures from JAKKS Pacific. Now I'm revisiting the line here because another outbreak of zombies has hit. Series 2 has arrived!

As with series 1, each figure in the new set is a zombie version of a certain character or type of person. For example, this time there's a basketball player, a tennis player, a chef (complete with a severed foot sticking out of his soup pot), and even not-so-subtle zombie takes on famous people like Mr. T and Macho Man. My personal favorite, though, is a zombiefied Cleopatra breaking out of her sarcophagus--it's a really rad looking figure, and a perfect companion to the series one "King Guts" pharaoh-zombie!

One important thing to note about series 2 is the introduction of flesh-colored human characters included to fight the zombies. While the zombies will always be cooler just for the fact that they're zombies, the human figures are really pretty great and add more fun and variety to the line.

To my knowledge, the 16 new figures haven't been spotted in physical stores yet, but pre-orders through the Entertainment Earth website have begun shipping (that's how I got mine). That is the one frustrating thing about this line so far: the fact that it's simply not available enough; the first series was found only at select Toys R Us and Walgreens stores, and while JAKKS has indicated that Target and K Mart would be carrying them, I have seen no reports of anyone actually finding them there yet. I really hope these toys see widespread distribution in stores soon because it would be a shame to see something so cool just fizzle out and die. Keep 'em coming, JAKKS, and get 'em in the stores!

The following figures are included in the series 2 twelve-pack:
Mash-Up Mike (Mr. T), Stu B. You (chef), Andrew Agony (tennis player), Cleopatra Commin'atcha, Dr. Outbreak (scientist), Jump-Shot Rot (basketball player), Macho Mangler (Macho Man/wrestler), Maximus Cadaverous (Roman gladiator), Teddy Terror (some sort of old fashioned hobo, or maybe Curly from The Three Stooges), Grim Trekker (explorer), and the two humans, Gator Jones and Captain Payback.

The following figures, not pictured above, are exclusive to the series 2 three-packs:
Mr. Jangles (chimp), Flesh-Eatin' Phil (zombie in a mailbox), Blazin' Basel (human), Buck Wilde (human).

Check out more SLUG Zombies pics in my Flickr set.

Diener Space Raiders: A bunch of BRAK

A BRAK rainbow

One of the earliest mini figure memories I have is getting the guy pictured above, named BRAK (as written on his stomach), in a kid's meal at one of those cafes that used to be in K Marts in the late '80s. I'm aware that he and the other figures in his set of erasers--Space Raiders, made by by Diener--are known for being offered in McDonald's Happy Meals, but apparently K Mart joined the Space Raiders party somewhere down the line.

I've always had a soft spot for BRAK. Maybe it's nostalgia, since he was one of my first figures. Or maybe it's just because he's a freakin' cool-looking robot-alien with a gigantic cranium! Probably both.

My original figure was green, and didn't survive the years (for some reason when I was a little kid I often had a hard time distinguishing between toys and candy...), but years later I was able to replace him--not just in green, but in a variety of colors. Behold the BRAK rainbow!

For pics and info on all of the Space Raiders, check out this blog post. For more Diener goodness, check out my Diener photo set on Flickr and my previous posts on Diener Space Creatures and Diener Mythological Creatures.

Frog warriors...more of them!

Larger & smaller versions of the same frog warrior

Larger & smaller versions of the same frog warrior

They're baaaaack! Say hello again to some greatest/most atrocious cheapo mini figures ever...rubber frog warriors!

One of the first posts I made on this site showed the two frog warriors that I've had for years and years. They were quite lonely, at one point having more frog warrior buddies but losing them somewhere along the way. But they're happier now because thanks to a fellow collector kindly sending some along with some other figures I bought, they're now a much healthier group of six.

Not only do I now have two more sculpts different from the ones I've always had, I now have two of the sculpts in larger sizes. I never knew these existed in larger sizes, but there you go.

Man, these things look so sad and awful, which of course means I love them. Their paint applications are garish and sloppy; take a look at the larger-sized figure in the bottom photo--it looks like it's either been experimenting with lipstick in the dark or is bleeding from the sides of its mouth. And while I believe they're based on Bullywug characters from Dungeons & Dragons, which are supposed to be nasty creatures, a couple of these guys were sculpted to look goofily happy and oddly cute (which, considering the fact that they're wielding knives and axes, makes absolutely no sense).

I'll always have a soft spot for these little weirdos. I know there's at least two more sculpts that I don't yet have, so hopefully soon I'll be able to complete the set.

H.A.C.K.: OtherWorld Aliens

Cysquatch, Mas Mano, Mag Malicious

Mas Mano comparison with MUSCLE Sunigator Shotai figure

Mag Malicious comparison with MUSCLE Iwao figure

Cysquatch comparison with MUSCLE Ukon figure

A mini boombox came packaged with the figures...allowing for Mag to rock it '80s street style

What: H.A.C.K. (Handmade American Custom Keshi), a set of three small rubber monster figures created by David Lee and his custom toy effort Amerikaiju. I typically don't buy a lot of custom/independently-created toys, but when I got a look at these little freaks I knew I needed to have them!

These figures embody just about everything I love most in a mini figure: they have fun, eye-catching sculpts, they're monochromatic and they're made of a nice soft rubber material (not dangerously soft like an eraser, but a sturdy soft urethane rubber).

The three creatures are Mag Malicious (a volcano/rock monster), Mas Mano (a mutant hand with legs) and Cysquatch (a furry Sasquatch-like beast). The package they come in includes a brief backstory of the characters, telling us they're aliens here from "the nether regions of space" to take over Earth. The graphics included give the whole package a definite '80s, "Space Invaders"-type feel.

Even though these are mini figures, they have some heft and presence about them as you can tell from the comparison photos with M.U.S.C.L.E. figures above. They come in an "'80s pink" color that is reminiscent of the color of original M.U.S.C.L.E.s, but noticeably lighter when you compare the two. They randomly come packaged with a mini gray rubber boombox, which adds another fun, '80s-inspired touch; Mag Malicious and Mas Mano can even hold it and rock out like it's 1984 while they're plotting world domination.

The key word with these figures is FUN. They've got loads of it, and would be a good reminder to anyone who ever collected this kind of thing why they got into it in the first place. If I were to nitpick anything about them, it would be that my Mag does not stand completely flat and tips backward a bit (I'm not sure if this is the case with all of them or just mine), and there are some parts on Cysquatch (particularly his face) that could appear a bit more polished. But those are minor things, and I'd recommend these to any mini figure/monster toy collector in a second. My personal favorite is Mag--he's got really nice detail, a dynamic pose and overall just looks pretty fierce!

If you'd like to nab a set of these guys for yourself, you can do so here for 25 bucks.

For even more photos, check out my H.A.C.K. Flickr set.

When: 2012

Where: Sold online. Here.

Who: Created and sold by Amerikaiju/David Lee.

Necro's Fortress, continued

Ever since I first posted about Necro's (Neclos) Fortress figures, I have officially caught the Necro's collecting bug and have been trying to track down as many more as I can (not an easy task, for reasons I mention in the last post). I only have about 300 more to go...uhhh, wish me luck? Anyway, here are photos of a few of my favorites from the latest batch I've gotten. I just can't get enough of these guys--I love everything about them: the soft plastic material, the consistently fun and cool sculpts, the fact that they change colors in warm water, and so on. Now, who has some that they'd like to send me?...Come on, charity is fun! :-P

For more Necro's photos, check out the set I created on Flickr. I will add to it as I continue to get more figures, and hopefully it can serve as a useful resource for fellow collectors.

DFC fantasy playset figures: Nagas, ogres, lava men & more!

Nagas with and without a face--creepy both ways!

Ogre figures: The perfect touch to any baby shower

Wizards in a few different colors

Light red and dark red lava men

I think these are giants. Or vikings. Or maybe giant vikings.

As I blogged about before, a company called DFC (Dimensions for Children) released a number of fantasy-themed playsets in the early 1980s, with names such as "Dragonriders of the Styx," "Fires of Shandarr" and "The Forest of Doom." Each playset came with an assortment of monster and knight mini figures so kids could pass the time staging epic battles on their living room floors (because, you know, the internet didn't exist yet).

In my time collecting many of these figures, one of the most interesting things I've noticed is the color and sculpt variations of the different characters. Whether the original playset figures or bootlegs released later, these figures came in a lot of different, and often very random, colors. Take, for example, the two ogres pictured above. Apparently someone thought it would make sense to release them in baby pink and baby blue, as if they were party favors for a baby shower or something. Of course it makes no sense, but I do love that it happened!

Another interesting variation is with the naga sculpt (first picture above). Aside from the color differences, certain releases of this figure had no face. Why? Your guess is as good as mine.

DFC figures are often pretty cheap-looking, but in my opinion they are appealing and collectible in large part due to these unique variations. Hopefully I'll continue to add more DFC oddities to my collection.