Sunday, August 18, 2013

Li'l Bendable Gremlin Creatures (a.k.a. Outer Terrestrial Creatures, The Ugg Family & Fuzzy Wuzzies)

Mooky, Uggy & Blobby
Ooggy, Okky & Tiggy

WHAT: Another 1980s obscurity that truly falls under the category of "Little Weirdos." In the first half of the decade, Marty Toy released this set of six bendable monsters just under 3" tall that are "ugly but lovable" (it says so on the package!). For some reason, they were released under a few different names:
  • Li'l Bendable Gremlin Creatures
  • Outer Terrestrial Creatures
  • The Ugg Family
  • Fuzzy Wuzzies
Here's a scan of the package I have under the "Gremlin Creatures" name, showing the six different characters on the back of the card:


You can see from the photos on the package that each of the characters has distinct traits that makes it stand out from its alien brothers. Here's a rundown of the motley crew:

  • Oogy: This guy appears to be birdlike, probably based on an owl.
  • Tiggy: A tiger combined with an alien, which seems extra random, but I guess it made sense in someone's mind.
  • Blobby: This weirdo is my clear favorite and the most monstrous of the bunch. He's basically a melting pile of bizarre with two extra eyes sticking out of the sides of his head. I don't know why, but I always think of him as a creature that could have been in the NES game Rygar.
  • Mooky: I think Mooky is supposed to be a monkey creature. He also appears to be wearing glasses. Why, I couldn't tell you.
  • Uggy: A furry dude with his tongue sticking out. He looks like a mischievous little bastard.
  • Okky: He's got a squid/octopus thing going on. He and Blobby are probably the two from the set that stand out the most among the rest. The others have bulbous, round heads while Okky's is oddly-shaped with appendages sticking out of it.

Besides being bendable, these were marketed with the gimmick of being able to flip over when you stand them up and push them forward on their heads. It's kind of hard to believe this feature would seal the deal in making a kid want to take one home from the toy store, but it's uhhh...kind of fun, I guess. Basically, because of how they're constructed they roll over when you stick their arms out and push on them. I made a little video of this super high-tech feature in action (I can just hear your "oohs" and aaahs"):


Another thing to note about this line is that each of the six creatures was available in different colors. I'm not sure exactly how many colors each came in, but you can see some examples over at fellow "weirdo" blog Weirdo Toys, which ran a couple of posts on these figures (see here and here). You can also check out a post on them over at Bogleech.


WHEN: From what I can tell, these toys first appeared in 1983. From there, I believe they were sold throughout the early/mid-'80s under the various names.


WHERE: The Li'l Gremlin Creatures were available in the U.S., at least. If anyone from outside the U.S. remembers seeing them, be sure to leave a comment and let us know.


WHO: They were from Marty Toy, a company you might also remember as being the makers of the Warriors of the Galaxy space/fantasy playset.

4 comments:

  1. Hi, I found your Instagram and headed over to this blog. I would of liked all the pictures on your Instagram, but that would of been creepy haha! I got excited to see one of my favorite and beloved childhood toys, Tiggy! I still have him back at my parent's house in a box somewhere and was wanting to re connect with him again. I forgot he was half tiger and half alien. That totally made sence in my 4 year old mind when I saw him at Stater Brothers in the toy section and begged my mom to get him for me. Awesome blog, keep it up!

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    1. Thanks for the comment and kind words! I hope you manage to free your Tiggy. :)

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  2. I rember those when i was 10 years old. My favorite toys. Got lost and never found them again. I bought them for $1 each in a px in okinowa japan in the early 1980's. I like to know where they can be found too.

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    1. Interesting--I didn't realize they were ever sold in Japan. They do appear pretty often on eBay so you should be able to pick some up that way. They aren't usually too expensive.

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