OMFG Series 4 LRG Green Review!

Today I got a chance to go over the new series of OMFG mini-figures from October Toys.

Those last few who don't know, October Toys is an independent toy company that brings the creativity and artistic skill of their community together in the form of little plastic figures.  Series four here is the forth time they released mini-figures designed and voted on by their fans.

This particular slime green set is an exclusive to the LRG web-store, but as you can see it's a perfect match for those who grew up enjoying Monster In My Pocket.  The slime, of course, was not included.  I added that for extra effect, just in case you didn't believe me how awesome they looked.

This series is quite the diverse cast, so at least right now, it's hard to express how I feel about them together.  There are figures in this set that look the best OMFG has looked ever, with the Haunted Tree House being something that immediately grabs your attention with some wow factor.  Yet, figures like him are easily identifiable as multi-part mini-figures, and depending on how much that matters to you, it could land some negatives in the design aspect.

The one figure I thought would fall victim the most to this, actually turned out to be the highlight in this set, in my opinion.  Poorly pictured on the side in my picture is the Siren.  She's a large mermaid like creature, and stupidly, I hid the ship she is holding in her hand.  With the ship, she has a lot of tiny detail, from the crown and a hanging bracelet, all of which remains single molded.  Most legs and arms of the other figures are clearly separated at birth, but not Siren's.  Siren is almost completely single-mold with the only exception being the deck of her tiny ship.  Taking this into account, she's almost in every way a perfect throwback to the retro MIMP toy line, from the monstrous theme, the nearly single-mold design, and the final touch of a vibrant neon color.  A very big thumbs up from Keshi Drop, for sure!

But that's not taking away from the rest in the series as well!  Discover them for yourself and find your favorite too!  You can find the flesh tone version at the October Toys web-store and this green variant at LittleRubberGuys.  Both links are below!

http://www.octobertoys.com/shop/

http://littlerubberguys.storenvy.com/

Shamrock Arrow Wonder Festival Summer 2015 Exclusives!

And now Shamrock Arrow has revealed the goodies that they will be bringing to Chiba's summertime 2015 Wonder Festival!

We've seen their Ninja Heaven figures before in purple, black, and flesh tone, but now we can safely say red and blue will be added to the mix as well.

This is such a neat little figure, and to see them share a behind-the-scenes look at these guys is pretty fun.  Thumbs up for sure!

What do you guys think?  Are you guys enjoying the Ninja Heaven guys and everyone else from Wonder Festival this year?  Comment below with your opinions and/or let me know if I missed anyone.

Thanks for stopping by!

http://shamrock-arrow.com/

Yutani Shouten Wonder Festival Summer 2015 Exclusives!

As promised, I have more updates coming to Wonder Festival Summer 2015!

Japanese studio, Yutani Shouten, will be dropping this convention exclusive of this priest character.  It appears he'll come in four different colorways, flesh tone, green, blue, and red, but I am not sure if they will be sold individually or as a pack.

If there is one thing I can add about finding Japanese-exclusive keshi, is that it's very hard to find any details about them.  Most times, I come across them on Instagram without much description at all.

That doesn't take anyway from this mini-figure, in any way, as I feel this is the hottest piece I've seen so far that's going to be a Wonder Festival exclusive.  I think it partially that SD style of proportions, but there's also just a ton of depth to this guy.  Between the open palm and the staff in his other hand, everything looks perfectly placed for a gorgeous slug mold mini.

Just love this guy!

Certainly, if I can find him on the secondary market, I'll grab any one of these colors, and I suggest you do too.

FTWR Wonder Festival Summer 2015 Exclusives!

Released on their Instagram account, Japanese studio, FTWR Toy, has previewed a slew of awesome looking keshi mini-figures ready for Wonder Festival, coming right around the corner on the 26th.

The latest release for their Zombie Army has another interesting character, this time in the form of a two-headed zombie.  Like before, there are parts and pieces that come separate and/or can be removed, and that's probably the only hang-up I give these guys.  As long-time readers may know, I'd really prefer keshi to be single piece.

That's not to say they won't be bringing some of that either.  FTWR is also bringing a two pack of Ninja Slayer mini-figures to Wonder Festival this summer.  This pair looks pretty decent too, but maybe not up to the level you'd expect from Onion Fights, Newtervision, or Shamrock Arrow, at least in my opinion.

It's definitely exciting to see both conventions and their releases are still in full-swing, at least in Japan, and I'll certainly have more news when the day comes closer.

It Came From a Vending Machine: Teddy Bear Twinkle Tops!

Today we have yet another installment of It Came From a Vending Machine, where I take a look, maybe a horrified one, at a strange series you can find in a vending machine.  This time, the creature feature belongs to Teddy Bear Twinkle Tops.

I found these guys at the local grocery store, like most vending machines are found.  Places like this and department stores have always had a connection to my childhood and finding the strangest of figures.  And although most finds are horrific husks of a past long forgotten, I feel compelled to throw a few quarters just to keep up the tradition.

But tradition aside, let's take a closer look at these Teddy Bears.  Technically, these mini-figures do double-duty as pencil toppers, like pictured here.  I've always been suspicious of the pencil topper thing.  I was born in the 80's and I remember the 90's well.  I don't really remember a lot of toys pushed over the top of a lot of pencils.  In fact, I've always felt it was an obvious way to save on plastic, hollowing them out in the center for a pencil.  And really, I have had no problem with that.  I've just never been convinced it was really for any other reason.

Even despite the giant hole through the bottom of these guys, they are actually pretty fun little guys.  The bear theme doesn't particularly resonate with me, but I enjoy the translucent plastic, glitter, and minimal paint application.  Maybe only an inch tall, these guys are likely to scale with Trash Pack or GPK Minikins, so they are a bit smaller than I would have liked.

Overall, though, it certainly could be worse for a couple coins.  They certainly beat the panda erasers I covered some time ago, and maybe even the awfully painted Family Guy mini-figures, although I'm not sure neither are much of an accomplishment.  As these guys most likely go, it'll be really hard and really not worth hunting down a full set.  I only picked up a few, but it appears each pose could come in a variety of different colors.  You could empty a machine getting all the variants of all the poses, but I feel anything past a few may be a complete waste.

LRG-Exclusive Green OMFG Series Four!

If you saw the release of October Toys' OMFG Series Four, but didn't really care to have them in boring old flesh tone and wanted them in something more akin to Monster In My Pocket color, you're in luck!

Dropped last evening, LRG-Exclusive neon green of the new series hit their web-store, and honestly, so far, this set might just be the one to get.
OMFG does take their anagram name from MUSCLE, but one could argue the similarities might end there.  From then on, it might be closer to the monstrous neon MIMP, and this slime colorway emphasizes that just that much more.

Grab this set, while you can, at the link below, and while you are there, check out the matching neon green OMFG sets of yesteryear they have for sale too!

http://littlerubberguys.storenvy.com/

Newtervision Ikki Wonderfestival Summer 2015 Exclusive!

With San Diego Comic Con 2015 in the books, it's easy to crash on the couch and think that's the end of this busy, crazy, year.  For fans in Japan, it's only getting started.

July 26th, Japan will be seeing their second Wonderfestival this year, so I expect all kinds of news to be popping up about all the awesome exclusives ready for the show.

Creators of the Karov minifigure, Newtervision, are back again with another cult classic video game character.  This time, in classic flesh tone, they are releasing Gonbi from the retro video game Ikki.

Like Karov, the thick, chunky proportions of this keshi minifigure makes this guy very appealing.  Now if I could only make it to Japan, this guy could have very well made it into my ever-expanding collection.

For more update on the Wonderfestival exclusives, check back soon!

OMFG Series Four Drop!

We have all been waiting for the last bit of news from October Toys, on their OMFG Series Four launch, and without much warning, the long-anticipated new set hit their store earlier today.  

Released in a classic flesh tone, this five figure set includes the top community-voted and community-made designs, all wrapped in a MIMP and/or MUSCLE throwback theme.

These guys are absolutely awesome and the OMFG community involvement, although not flawless, is worthy of praise and something very special for people dabbling into character design.  Who knows maybe I'll submit a design on of these times too!

Pick up these guys at the links below!

http://octobertoys.com/

http://www.octobertoys.com/shop/

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Series 2 Keshi!

Some time ago, I covered the first series of these awesome anime keshi, and today, I'm glad to bring some leaked pictures of upcoming series two.

I absolutely love this series, and I am certainly missing out not hunting them down more.  What is great about this toy line is there mixture of part-flesh tone part-translucent mini-figures from the anime TV series.

The tough part about collecting this line in particular is that it's a Japanese gashapon release, and pulling the imports across the ocean adds some difficulty and price.  Regardless, this is a very attractive set and worth tracking down.

More information will come about this series when it comes.

MWOTR July Release Reviews!

With San Diego Comic Con happening this weekend, it's easy to get swept up in all the excitement there, however there's still tons happenings across the world and interwebs to also look at.

Today, we are doing just that and looking at Mystical Warriors of the Ring's July releases, all of which you don't need to wait in a long line or travel to California for.  You can order everything we'll be going through, right now, from the comfort of your home, provided they haven't sold out.

July has been a giant month for Mystical Warriors of the Ring.  As well as revealing the upcoming Molie commentator figure, the prototype pictures of which can be seen on their Instagram account, they have released a massive drop of Series Two/Goliath goodness.

Massive drop?  Is that really the right term to use?  Sometimes I even make me scratch my head and wonder who allows me to do this.

The Series Two set saw their first alternative colorway release since their introductory metallic black version.  Barring no holds, MWOTR came out swinging with fan-favorite Glow In The Dark.  Glyos-compatible Goliath sees his third and fourth variants, also in Glow In The Dark and the new Tag Team Championship metallic bronze.

I was super excited to get the bronze variant, because I'm a glitter freak, and while he's a pretty gnarly figure on his own, I wish he was more cover-your-eyes blindingly shiny.  Like other figures of this variant, I think the base plastic, if that's actually even what it's called, is a clear PVC figure, then the bronze dust is added to it.  This creates a lot of Cat's Eyes effects all across the figure, so no two will look exactly the same.  I feel the green and black figures had stronger metallic variants, using colored PVC as a base, particularly the black colorway, which pops wildly for me.  Maybe it's just my eyes or a weird lighting trick, but I suggest picking up both the bronze and metallic black and comparing them yourself to get what I mean.

The shocker in the release is certainly the Glow In The Dark Goliath.  Many toy collectors of all sorts of format will state their favorite variant is indeed Glow In The Dark, but, as I've always enjoyed turning off the lights and seeing them light up, I've never gone particularly bonkers over them.  This Goliath, however, is just nuts.  Although you lose the detail you'd get from the other variants, this chunky beast is absolutely nuclear.  The pictures I took are god-awful and do no justice, because these Glow figures virtually glow green on their own, without light!  The Glow Goliath is that anime, super-charged, ready to attack with his special finishing attack, when you think you've finally taken him out.  Not cover-your-eyes blindingly shiny, but cover-your-eyes blindingly glowing!

For more information and where to purchase your own July MWOTR's, check out the links below!

http://mystwarriors.com/blog/
http://mystwarriors.com/shop.htm

Toy Haul 07/03/15 Forever Yes Prize!

Today's mail bag is something of a special one, seeing how I didn't have to spend a single penny on it.  In fact, this whole lot of mini-figure goodness was a prize I won the LRG forums.

It was a Forever Yes contest where we all celebrated our favorite bootlegs of every toy format, not just keshi.  There was some really great entries, including Robert Cop the RoboCop and more, but it seemed like the nightmarish Turtles Fighters TMNT knock-offs won me the bundle of keshi.

Inside the bundle we have a little be of everything.  In the back, there was the plastic figures from the Monsters and Zombies army men tube.  In front of them are Monster In My Pocket figures I don't have, as well as some S.L.U.G. Zombie humans I need for the collection too.  The gems of the package, in my opinion, are the Soma Ninjas in the front.  They may look familiar because they were quite popular in vending machines years ago.  I remember having a bunch of these, but who knows where they wandered off too.  It's great to have a couple back now.

With the ending of one contest, I started my own.  My Forever Yes contest shares and celebrates our guilty pleasures in toy collecting, if collecting these sort of toys weren't already guilty enough.  Please follow the link and join in the fun!  It's free of charge!

http://www.littlerubberguys.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=229758&hl=

MWOTR:Evolution Bronze Goliath Drop!

The team behind the Mystical Warriors of the Ring revealed their Glow in the Dark releases not too long ago, but they also said they had a secret left in reserve.

Today, they announced that secret in the form on Goliath's fourth colorway, bronze, and the first variant sold outside MWOTR's web-store.

That exact location across the inter-webs has yet to be released, but I'll have the info here when I have it.  Until then, expect this guy to hit an online store July 4th at 12pm CST.

http://mystwarriors.com/blog/

UPDATE:  It looks like the Bronze Goliath won't be sold through a different web-store.  Like normal, purchase this guy at the MWOTR website tommorrow at noon CST.  Thanks!

SDCC 2015 Super7 MOTUSCLE Part Two!

It's that time again.  You know the time!  The time where SpiderEarth back tracks and takes back a few harsh things he previously said because, one, it was missing some information, and two, I'm an idiot.  At least we can say this isn't the first time, and really no where close the the last time either.  So, let's skip this, and take a second look at Super7's MOTUSCLE and more importantly this guy pictured over here.

While, I was pretty much on target about the Skeletoken/Pop-Up Shop weirdness, not everything will be sold that way.  It looks like you will only be doing all that crazy stuff if you only wanted the SDCC exclusive black colorway set (and a few other things outside MOTUSCLE).  Everything else, including the flesh set, will be sold at the convention at either or both Super7/Mattel booths.  This is a great relief and surprised for us chumps that neither have the means to make it to SDCC or the luck to be in the front of the lines for special tokens.

If the black colorway set didn't really have to salivating about them, the SDCC exclusive purple Skeletor mini-figure pictured here just might.  He's a super-attractive limited-edition guy, and there should be a lot more of him kicking around and for cheaper, because he's both solo and just hanging at the booths.

Contact your mules and forum friends!  Super7 is coming out strong at SDCC 2015!