OTMFG BrainWaves Black Colorway Drop!

I've pointed out in previous updates that 2015 hasn't really been a year that brought a lot of love and attention to October Toys' OTMFG.  In years past, they would see a scheduled monthly drop that excited a lot of fans, but this year it just wasn't there in full-force.  Not to repeat myself or to harp it on much, it's great to see they are not forgetting it this holiday season and they are finishing year off with some keshi love.  And who else should we see, but the lone warrior of 2015 itself, BrainWaves.

Out now, this lump of coal variant of the hot new addition to the OTMFG line-up and the only known variant to the figure since the writing of this update.  So far, to my knowledge, there are only this black version and the flesh version, so if you are like me, getting this one might just complete your set.

But if you are a completionist like me sometimes, you might be interested to know they have a lot more than just this variant, if you are looking to start a collect off big or looking to wrap one up.  I'm talking about eight Zombie Pheyden colorways, two Brocotal colorways, the flesh Baby Deadbeet, and five elusive Mini Gwin variants that are all still available, so check them out!   It's all just a couple bucks each!

Alright guys, until next time!

http://octobertoys.com/

The End of Moose Toys' Mutant Mania?!

With the news of it hitting the clearance racks across Europe, it appears this just might be the very end of the Mutant Mania toyline from Moose Toys.

Long time readers will remember old posts questioning Moose Toys and Mutant Mania for design choices.  For those who may not know, Mutant Mania was a cool new twist on the classic Kinnikuman/ MUSCLE minifigures.  They were made in awesome vibrant colors and had all kinds of crazy and gross-out characters akin to The Trash Pack.  Where it really fell apart, at least for me, was that they were nowhere close to being a single slug minifigure.  In fact, they were three pieces held tightly together with a rubber barbell that ran through the exposed back of the minifigure.  This was the selling point of the toyline.  It made it customizable, as well as playable, that is, if anyone really felt the same.

Mutant Mania's first set sold and created a fan base, however, I can't really say how well or how big, considering the toyline didn't really grow much past that.  I suppose we can all say it wasn't successful enough, whatever the numbers were, as it is only a year later and it seems to be in it's clearance bin death throws.

Let's not forget Moose Toys have been in this situation with a keshi-inspired toyline many times before.  We can remember The Trash Pack as well as Fistful of Power before that, met the same fate, so I wonder if this is it with Moose Toys and minifigures.  The good news is they still have Shopkins and Uggly's Pet Shop still going to this day, but Mutant Mania was aimed directly as the Kinnikuman audience and failed just over a year.  Would they look at their mistakes and take another shot or move away, maybe to return in some time in the distant future?

We can all take a look into our crystal balls and make our guesses, but what's not to say other keshi-inspired toylines will fall with them?  It always seems when you add a new feature or modernize it up a bit, it takes away from the appeal.  When it pulls away from creative character design and sculpting, what product is really for sale?  Keep it simple and beautiful, I say.  Don't cut up the sculpt.  Don't dig out it's back.  Don't make some ridiculous rubber barbell spine that looks out of place, and don't try to sell me on anything but well-crafted keshi minifigures, because I'm not sure it'll be that successful.

It Came From A Vending Machine: Lil' Brats!

Welcome back, everyone!  There is just so much to thoroughly enjoy about this time of year!  Is it the super cold weather?  How about the infinite darkness and daylight that only seems to be around for fifteen minutes in the morning?  What about the holiday music, on endless loop, from every store starting as early as weeks after Halloween?  There's always the rampart holiday shoppers, charging and barging through parking lots and store doors.  Boy, there is just so much, it's a wonder why anyone would be sick of it and wish it was actually just a couple days long like normal!  Buy, hey, before it's over, let's not forget about the children and our segway into today's It Came From A Vending Machine, featuring Lil' Brats!

Like other vending machine toy howlings, I come across them almost randomly, shopping from here to there, and today's is really no different.  These guys seem to be a new addition to the super market inside the plaza, so I figured I would give them a shot, especially because they appeared keshi-like, or at least, as keshi as a painted mini-figure would be.  In fact, at first glance, I thought they were something akin to Homies or the Family Guy miniatures I've covered in the past, so for once, I was pretty excited to waste some coins on some awful plastic.

That was the first impression away, because what awaited for me inside the capsules was something much different.  Even from the picture I took with my tree, it's hard to imagine them, hollow, with the same sort of texture and softness as you would expect from one of those tropical fish squeeze bath toys.  Yeah, to my surprise, these mini-figures were very not keshi in almost any way.  They were hollow, very soft, and sculpted to possibly be squirting toys, once upon a time before bootleggers rehashed them.  Poses on them seem to indicate they were intended to spit out water or what have you, but now with giant holes in the bottom of their feet, leave that feature dry.

Immediately disappointed, I looked for something salvageable with these guys.  In my head, I knew I couldn't rightly add them to my keshi collection, but maybe there's something to like about them all the same.  Although I'm sure readers know I'd rather have zero paint application than any, the application on these guys is straight up horrible, even by bootleg standards.  Smudges of different colors plague every mini-figure.  Colors not even found in other places appear smeared on the back of a head here and down a leg there.  Some paint scuffed completely off.  I suppose I don't need any more evidence that these guys all traveled together, loose, and whatever happened along the way just happened.

Lil' Brats look and smell like toxic waste, and I imagine they would taste the very same.  These guys, will most certainly be freebies tossed in with trades with forum members, and I hope for your sake, you don't ruin your festivities with more awful Lil' Brats.

Kaiju Smackdown Krampus Preorder!

Hey, everyone, welcome back!  As we come closer and closer to the soul-crushing dread of the holidays, we can at least find some solace in one avatar of peace and goodwill, and by that of course I mean our favorite forgotten Yuletide demon, Krampus!

Readers may recall the Kaiju Kaos Smackdown Kickstarter project sometime ago that really won me over on their high quality resin minifigures.  They have been steadily increasing their ranks, adding more monsters to smack down, and this holiday season, they are opening their site for pre-orders on their lastest creation called Krampus!

Everything about this guy is super fun and exploding with grumpy, Grinch, character.  If you're in the market to keep a Santa ornament in line or a few hoofed characters on the grill, this is the guy for you!  Go check him out in all his festive colorways by clicking the link below!
http://baileyrecords.storenvy.com/collections/1238595-smackdown-mini-figures