The Ugglys Pet Shop (Moose Toys)

The Trash Pack and Mutant Mania might be gone from store shelves, but Moose Toys has new line of little weirdos out to help fill the void. This time the theme is pet animals, but once again Moose has added "a gross out" element, so we've got puke, sludge, poop and all that kind of stuff. Meet the crazy critters of The Ugglys Pet Shop!

When I first saw photos of these, I didn't plan on buying any. They didn't seem to bring anything new that The Trash Pack didn't already offer over many series. But when I actually saw them up close in Toys R Us, I had to pick up a pack. It didn't hurt that I found a package with both a monstrous-looking crab and a weirdo frog, both of which I found hard to resist.

Let's run through some Ugglys Pet Shop basics:

• The figures are sold in eight-packs (with six figures visible and two hidden) as well as blind two-packs that come in little cans. The eight-packs cost $9.99 at Toys R. Us, and I believe the two-packs were $2.99. Other products are also available, such as little "houses" for the animals that make sounds, a "Dirty Dog Wash Van" and a Pet Store. 
• There are 41 different sculpts, but each figure comes in a few color variations so when you factor those in, there's a lot of Ugglys to collect. The characters are categorized in seven groups: Slimiest, Smelliest, Hairiest, Grossest, Stickiest, Gross Homes, and Limited Edition "Rusty Pets."
• Each package comes with a blind-bagged little hunk of "surprise poop," which come in various sculpts and colors (brown, green and even metallic colors). I think this little addition automatically gives the line the biggest gross-out factor of any Moose series so far. 
• As with The Trash Pack and Mutant Mania, the figures have different levels of rarity in order to add a chase element to the line.
• The figures are around 1 to 1.5 inches tall and are made out of a soft, flexible rubber that's more like Monster in My Pocket material than the squishy Trash Pack material (I was really pleasantly surprised by this--I was actually expecting a firmer plastic just by looking at the figures). The Ultra Rare figures are made out of a sticky rubber, which I wish Moose wouldn't have done (enough with the sticky toys already--they're just fuzz and dirt collectors).

Now let's see a few of the Ugglys up close.

Here are two of the many doggies in the line. We've got Stenchy French Bulldog on the left and Dopey Doberman on the right. Oh, and a turd right there in the middle. I was hoping to find a golden turd, but instead got a plain ol' brown one. What can you do.

While dogs make up the bulk of the figures in Ugglys Pet Shop, my favorites are actually the other animals. Like these two, the aforementioned Funky Frog and Clawful Crab. I love how the frog looks like a sickly version of Kermit, and that gnarly crab sculpt is just awesome.

I also pulled this little guy, the Horrid Hamster. It was one of the hidden figures in my pack. I actually had no idea he was supposed to be a hamster until I looked him up on the pamphlet. He's definitely one of my favorites, though. I dig how loopy and dazed he looks.

And there you go--my first trip to The Ugglys Pet Shop. I'm not yet sure whether I'll be collecting more figures from the line, but I'm definitely glad I bought a pack. Some of the sculpts are really fun, and the material that Moose used really adds to the appeal.

What about you? Have you picked up any Ugglys Pet Shop toys yet? What do you think?

Alien critter mini figures from Nickelodeon Gak Vac (1992)

If you were a kid in the '90s, I'm sure you remember Gak. The squishy, squeezable compound, a Nickelodeon product, was a popular fixture in toy aisles back then. What you might not know is that the Gak product line actually included a few Little Weirdos-approved monster mini figures!

photo by flickr user astronit

The creatures pictured here were released with only one product in the Gak line--1992's "Gak Vac." The Gak Vac was a small toy vacuum that you could use to suck up Gak and then spit it out. The best part is that the set also included these four figures, referred to as "weird looking critters" on the Vac's packaging. I guess the idea was that you'd plop these little dudes in the Gak and pretend they were squirming around in it while you sucked it up.

The figures are between 1 to 1.5 inches tall, made of a light, hard plastic and all came in a sunshiny neon yellow color.

Probably because people don't think about figures when they think of Gak and possibly because the Gak Vac wasn't that hot of a seller (if the K-B Toys discount sticker in the above shown example indicates anything), these little weirdos fly under the radar even among vintage mini figure and monster toy collectors. They might be super obscure, but they are definitely cool figures with fun sculpts. Click the photos below for a close-up look at each one of them.

An updated version of the Gak Vac was released a few years ago. It also came with a few mini figures (called "Gakoids"), which were stylistically quite different from the vintage creatures. For a review of that, check out bigazzhead's review on LittleRubberGuys.com.

How many of you guys remember the Gak Vac and its mini critter companions?

Mono Minis of the Day: 5/30/15 to 6/14/15

Here are the latest batches of Mono Minis of the Day--as posted daily on the Little Weirdos Instagram, Twitter and Flickr. The lineup in the photo is as follows, from left to right, top to bottom:

1. Popy mini kinkeshi
2. The Lord of the Sea from Gormiti Micros
3. Brain Ghost from The Real Ghostbusters
4. Monster from Monstruos Mutantes
5. Goomba from Nintendo Super Mario keshi  
6. Blazin' Basel from SLUG Zombies  
7. Night Mare from Neclos Fortress
8. #199 from MUSCLE
9. Robot from set of clear capsule machine robots
10. Cave troll from Russian set of trolls by Oritet
11. Kaiju pencil topper eraser
12. Minotaur from Monster in My Pocket
13. Bigfoot-like monster from Monstruos de Matutano
14. Brainy Janie from Garbage Pail Kids Minikins
15. Spiderman from Handful of Heroes
16. Fringe from Funny Fringes

Doom Götter: rubber monster minis by Imperfecz / Ironhaus Pro

Early this year, Imperfecz Toys and Ironhaus Productions teamed up for a new line of rubber mini monsters called Doom Götter (which I believe translates to Doom Gods). With the second series freshly released this month, I thought it was the perfect time to finally get my hands on some, take some photos and do a write-up.

You might remember that Imperfecz and Ironhaus previously collaborated on a couple of other great sets, Mutants and Infestors. The duo continue to outdo themselves--Doom Götter is possibly their best creation yet. Not only are the monster sculpts nicely varied and incredibly well done, but this set raises the game by including a play environment element that makes it extra fun. The concept is all different kinds of kaiju fighting and wreaking havoc in a city setting, so each monster comes with battle-damaged resin buildings so you can set up a little display with them. Very cool idea!

Both of the series so far include two different monsters, so as of now there is a total of four different figures available. Each monster is sold separately, cast in a soft, flexible rubber and comes packaged as most indie mini figures do--in a little plastic bag with a header card. Two buildings come along with every monster, attached in a separate bag.

Let's take a closer look at each series.

The first set is inspired by Japanese Yokai lore and features Bake-Kujira (sculpted by Ironhaus's Jimmy Rommel) and Akaname (sculpted by Imperfecz's Luke Harris). In Yokai legend, Bake-Kujira is a ghostly skeleton whale. Here, Jimmy expands upon that basic description a bit by adding in a bit of ticked-off dinosaur. The result result is a fierce little monster sculpt with some fantastic texture and detail. Akaname has a smoother sculpt and an eerier vibe to its design. Also known as the "filth licker," in Yokai lore this creature is known for "licking up the grime and dirt that accumulates in unclean bathrooms" (hmm...thanks, Wikipedia). Luke's sculpt makes it look much more bizarre than it does in any of the depictions I saw in Google Images, and I love that. Its gigantic, curled tongue, bulbous arms and muted facial features make for a really creepy little weirdo. Side note: The long tongue and general oddness made me think of a Wol Cabasshite with arms and legs.

Now onto the brand new Series 2. This time the theme stretches out from Yokai a bit, with one of the monsters being the infamous cryptid Chupacabra. The other figure, Ushi-Oni, continues down the Yokai path set by Series 1. Chupacabra is a Jimmy Rommel sculpt all the way, in that this little beast looks majorly scrappy, plus simultaneously pissed off and a little giddy about the damage he's about to inflict. Jimmy has a way of packing a lot of personality into his sculpts, and Chupa is a perfect example. Luke's Ushi-Oni is a truly unique figure, and like his Akaname, sports some wonderfully freaky proportions. In Japanese legend, this creature is known as having a horned, bovine head and a spider or crab-like body, and you can definitely see that here. I also get a bit of an ant vibe from Luke's interpretation, which makes it even weirder. One of my favorite things about Doom Götter is the variety of the monsters, and the different styles Jimmy and Luke bring to these sets make them extra special.

I've also got to call out the building accessory pieces because they're pretty damn nifty in their own right. The kaiju are of course the stars of the show, but the buildings really do add a lot to the coolness factor of Doom Götter. Of the eight different ones I got along with the four figures, each is a unique sculpt with nicely-done detailing accentuated by simple black paint apps. It's a lot of fun to set them up with the figures to create a mini battle scene.

Doom Götter is a fantastically creative indie toy line, and I really hope Imperfecz and Ironhaus continue to release more figures and buildings so we can build out our displays even further. 

You can pick up some for yourself in the Imperfecz store. Each figure and building pack is either $10 or $12 plus shipping, and you can also purchase extra packs of buildings in quantities of either five or ten. The figures are available in a variety of colors, and you can even add a paint wash to them to highlight all of the details. Check 'em out!