Neclos Fortress: Angels & Demons

Seven Angels: Camael, Hamiel, Gaburiel, Mikael, Kashiel, Zadokiel, Rafael

Demons: Astarot, Bealzelb, Lucifer, Neclaga, Satanachia, Pazuzu

One of the best things about the Neclos Fortress keshi line is the incredible range of characters it offers. You've got your standard mythological monsters, your original characters (like main bad guy Neclos himself), your heroic warriors, Lovecraft-based creatures, and so on. Strangely enough, the makers of the line even went so far as to include a number of "actual" angel and demon figures from religious texts. Yes, this is a line that finds Gabriel the archangel and Lucifer existing alongside a killer apple.

The Neclos toy line was made as eight different "parts," with each part containing 40 unique figures. In parts three and four, a number of demonic deities were tossed in. In part seven, a group of archangels made an appearance. Why exactly were these included in the line, and what significance do they play in the Neclos story and game? Hell if I know, because it's all in Japanese. But my best guess is that the angels are used as allies to help in a hero player's game, and the demons are just another subset of evil-doers for players to defeat.

In the photos above, you can see the various angel and demon figures. Below is a list of them. I believe they're all based on figures from ancient texts, except for the orange winged beast, Neclaga, who is a character original to the line that I included because I thought he went well with the demons.

Seven Angels (how Neclos spells them and who I think they're actually supposed to be)
Camael = Chamuel?
Hamiel = Haniel
Mikael = Michael
Kashiel = ?
Rafael = Raphael
Zadokiel = Zadakiel
Gaburiel = Gabriel

Demons
Astarot / Astaroth
Bealzelb = Beelzebub
Lucifer
Satanachia
Pazuzu

If you have more information on exactly what function these figures play in the line's story and game aspect, please fill me in. What I do know for sure is that their inclusion only makes Neclos Fortress that much more of an intriguing toy line.

For much more on the Neclos Fortress toy line, check out another site of mine, the Neclos Fortress Collectors Archive.

Mono Minis of the Day: 8/11/13 to 8/26/13

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. School Boy from ZOMBIE
2. Unnamed robot monster from Terrible Monster
3. Mutant Dungeon Bastard custom keshi (kitbash by Nama Niku, cast by Eric Nilla)
4. Unidentified character from Villgust
5. Skeleton pirate from unidentified Argentinian line
6. Amazon from Kamen Rider SD vending bootlegs
7. Dinosaur from Neclos Fortress
8. Johnson from SLUG Zombies
9. Unnamed creature from set of mutant monster party favors
10. Unnamed creature from set of suction robot/aliens
11. Unidentified character from Saint Seiya vending bootlegs
12. Cubeman from MUSCLE
13. Great Beast from Monster in My Pocket
14. Spew from Mini Boglins
15. Gizmo reproduction keshi (cast by Eric Nilla)
16. Unnamed monster from Terrible Monster

Wacki Balls: Crazy Madballs knockoff keychains!

box artwork image from wacki balls auction

I continue to be amazed by the information that can be found online. You see that white, skull-like monster ball keychain in the photo above? I had that guy since the '80s, and never knew anything about it or saw any others of its kind. I always just assumed it was a random, nameless knockoff. Well, I was wrong, because I recently learned it was part of a set of six and that the set is named "Wacki Balls"!

Thanks to an Instagram post by monster ball collector gutterutter, I discovered not only those details, but also that sets of Wacki Balls were up for sale on eBay. Of course, I jumped all over it. Who knows when these things will come up for sale again? Plus, it was time my weirdo was reunited with his family.

Wacki Balls are indeed wacky. In fact, they're so wacky that whoever produced these had to misspell "wacky" to properly convey their level of wackiness. For me, there are a couple things that make them so bizarre--even when compared with most other Madballs knockoffs. First, their unusually bright, cheerful colors belie their monstrous features and overall grossness. Second, their expressions are extra crazy. They look like a combination of pitiful despair and complete mania. I love it!

I also just discovered that Wacki Balls existed in larger, typical Madball-sized form! As detailed in this post over at monster ball-themed blog Blarghhhspot, each of the Wacki Balls mini keychain gang also has a regular-sized, foam ball counterpart. Apparently, a company named Lucky Star made them in 1986, so I'd imagine they also made the keychains simultaneously, but who knows. Obviously, the mini keychains are a lot less detailed than the standard Wacki Balls, but the character names and base colors are the same.

Which brings us to the characters themselves. Let's take a look:

Greasebat & Friends Gummi Play Set

WHAT: These incredibly fun little guys make up a set of mini figures called the "Greasebat & Friends Gummi Play Set," with Greasebat being the main man (well, main monster), joined by Stee-Gar, Spikewad and M5 Bravo. These creatures are the creations of Jeff Lamm, an artist who describes his work as being "heavily influenced by Japanese monster toys, Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth, pop art and vintage manga." Personally--not being familiar with any existing back stories to the characters--they also look a bit to me like what might happen if Where the Wild Things Are were set in outer space! Or Japan. Any way you want to think about them, Greasebat and company are really cool little weirdos.

While Greasebat monsters have previously been brought into toy existence in the form of larger designer figures, the Gummi Play Set is something new, finding the characters interpreted in smaller keshi form. They've been produced by Unbox Industries and each stand about 2 to 2.5 inches tall, but actually feel quite a bit larger than most keshi because of their thick, bulky sculpts as well as their material. The material has a very unique feel to it that's not typically found in these types of toys (or pretty much any types of toys, for that matter). What you feel when you pick one up is sort of a soft, rubbery texture, but upon closer inspection you find that the figures are actually quite firm and solid. It kind of plays tricks on my fingers, and I like that! Between the bulk of the sculpts and the material, you really feel like you're holding a quality toy. It's apparent Unbox put a lot of care into producing the set.

The four figures come bagged together along with a header card illustrated with eye-catching, retro-style artwork that features all four characters. The sets are offered in two different colors: pink and orange. When I ordered a pink set, I wasn't sure if it would look like a true pink or more of a M.U.S.C.L.E.-like flesh-pink. I was happy to find out it's more of an actual, bubblegum pink. It's really quite vibrant, especially when seen in person.

Here's a closer look at each of the four creatures:

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:

The Trash Pack: Gross Ghosts

I've casually collected Moose's Trash Pack toy line since it first came out, occasionally picking up a pack but never attempting to put together any full series. It's always cool to see a popular line of mini figures on the shelves--especially if it's monster-related--but overall I've found the Trashies a bit too cute or cartoonish for my tastes, even though I think certain ones are pretty great. So, I decided recently I wasn't going to buy any more and just stick with what I already have.

I failed at that plan. Hard.

I probably wouldn't have, if it weren't for the Trash Pack Gross Ghosts. Gross Ghosts is a special "Mystery Series" of Trashies exclusive to Target stores, taking select popular Trashies from past series and resurrecting them in new, clear colors along with translucent aqua-colored garbage cans. Which for some reason makes them about 10 times cooler to me. So I bought a pack. Or four.

They were just too cool to ignore. Somehow the new transparent colors really make the Trashies scream "Buy us, you fool!" extra loud from the toy aisle.

There are 62 standard figures in the Gross Ghosts set, with each figure falling under a classification of common, rare, ultra rare or special edition, as usual with the Trash Pack series. There are also four Gross Ghosts that are packed exclusively with Trash Pack accessories: two with a Gross Ghosts edition Wheelie Bin storage container and two with the Garbage Ghost Truck. Here's a look at the Wheelie Bin with some Trashies as well as the two exclusives that come with it:

The Murks: Smurfs gone bad!

Did you ever find yourself rooting for Gargamel when you watched The Smurfs? Maybe even a little bit? Well then, allow me to introduce you to the Murks. These 1" rubber figures are among the latest creations from Jimmy Rommel/Ironhaus Productions--and by putting a dark spin on the famous stubby, hat-wearing, blue-skinned creatures--tap into the same kind of parody fun that makes something like Garbage Pail Kids so appealing. Or Trash Can Trolls (does anyone else remember Trash Can Trolls?).

There are currently two different Murks available as a pair, with Jimmy mentioning on his blog that a few more sculpts have been in the works and may become available depending on how the first ones do.

I especially like how one of the Murks appears to be a twisted version of Papa Smurf!

They're pretty well-timed, too, since Jakks recently released their Smurfs Micro Village mini figures. Which means that now you can have some demented fun by using the Murks terrorize your Smurfs village.

So, if you'd like to enrich your life by way of cool, mini, rubber, evil, Smurflike monsters, you can head on over to the Ironhaus store and grab some of these little weirdos for yourself.

The Other World: '80s fantasy toy gold from Arco

Just another day on planet Glowgon: Heroic warrior Ronin takes on Froggacuda, Monster of the Red Lake!

As you might have already gathered, I tend to have a weakness for cheap-looking toys. Especially ones that involve any combination of monsters, fantasy and the 1980s. Crappy paint jobs? No problem. Bizarro, sort-of-unfinished-looking sculpts? Cool with me. That's probably why I love The Other World--an early 1980s budget toy answer to Masters of the Universe--so much. This line featured a host of fantasy warriors and strange creatures, and was released by Arco as part of the '80s fantasy craze. Whatever the line might have lacked in production quality, it made up for tenfold in pure charm.

First, let's cover the basics. The Other World premiered in 1982 and included a couple different kinds of figures: standard bendable heroes and villains around 4 inches tall, and larger monsters. Most of the figures came with glow in the dark weapons and smaller companion creatures (Jipps and Mogs). There was also a playset available called "Castle Zendo," which consisted of a plastic castle front and a thin plastic mat depicting the terrain of planet Glowgon, the setting of the line's story.

The initial series (pictured above) consisted of about five different standard bendable characters and five larger monsters in addition to the castle playset. From 1983-1984 there were additional figures released--which are rarer than the Series 1 toys today--rounding out the line with about five more standard characters and four more monsters. For a comprehensive list and photos, check out the Other World section of the Action Figure Archive.

To further add to the appeal of the line, the good people of Arco also created a story surrounding The Other World. To summarize, some good guys--lead by king Raidy--and their loyal Jipps (really short club-wielding orange dudes basically made up of arms, legs and a huge conehead) had to take on the evil Zendo and his minions the Mogs (like the Jipps only purple and meaner-looking) to locate something called the Pir'Ankus, which would apparently give Raidy the power to restore peace to planet Glowgon. You know, your typical fantasy stuff. The toys were packed with mini comics that detailed the story. Here's an example of one:

Having two older brothers who were prime age to want these sort of toys when they came out, I remember a bunch of them around the house in the late '80s and early '90s (which I kind of stole for myself and still have...I doubt they miss them). At that time I desperately wanted more (especially the Froggacuda, which I only knew from the artwork on the packaging), but they were already off store shelves for a few years by then. Needless to say, as soon as the Internet became a household thing and I was old enough to buy stuff on it, I started to seek more of these badboys out!

Now, let's take a look at a sampling of The Other World's denizens:

Weirdos In Space: Gusto

WHAT: Yet another extremely fun indie toy line to appear on the scene recently, Weirdos in Space adds a little twist to your typical "little rubber guys" by putting them in their own mini spacecrafts, complete with clear plastic domes. The initial set consists of two different creatures--Blurble's Gusto (pictured above) and Rampage Toys' Cupcake Lucha--each piloting their own Bio-Drone ship created by Tru:Tek, which you might recognize from the Tiny Terrors from the Deep mini figure set. The initial release of the figures featured a variety of color combinations, including all flesh, blue/orange as shown, and a few others which you can see in this post.

I photographed the Gusto piece above on the lid of an old grill, believe in or not. I prefer to think of it as alien terrain.

WHEN: Wave One of Weirdos In Space was made available in late spring of 2013. The initial batch sold out soon after being released, and I'm unsure whether there are plans to release more of these or new Weirdos In Space sculpts in the future.

WHERE: The Weirdos In Space were available to purchase through Tru:Tek's Man-E-Toys.com store. The initial release sold out, but at the time of writing this you can purchase the Tiny Terrors From the Deep figure that uses the same Bio-Drone ship sculpt through the store.

WHO: Tru:Tek produced and released the figures, collaborating with Rampage Toys and Blurble on the pilot characters.

Mono Minis of the Day: 7/26/13 to 8/10/13

Here are the latest batches of Mono Minis of the Day--as posted daily on the Little Weirdos Instagram, Twitter and Flickr. What are your favorites this time?

The lineup in the photo is as follows, from left to right, top to bottom:

1. Goomba from Super Mario Nintendo keshi
2. HORDE Ape from HORDE
3. Magnitude Ichiman from MUSCLE
4. Birdman/Garuda from Dragons N Monsters
5. Gulper Ghost from The Real Ghostbusters
6. "Canned Food Fighters" bootleg vending figure
7. Bootleg TMNT Merdude from Ghosts and Monsters figure playset
8. Invisible Devil from Lucky Yuckies
9. Goblin from Monster in My Pocket
10. Unnamed skeleton warrior from '90s fantasy playset
11. Phantom from Neclos Fortress
12. Unnamed dino-monster playset figure
13. Ram-Man bootleg Masters of the Universe vending figure
14. Doc Ock from Handful of Heroes
15. Soar Throat Ghost from The Real Ghostbusters
16. Ogre from Monster in My Pocket

Small caged Boglin by Arco

Back in the late '80s, when yours truly was a tyke and Boglins could still be found resting their lovably ugly mugs on toy store shelves, I got the little guy pictured above. At Toys R Us, I believe. I remember wanting a Boglin so badly--and at some point I did get one of the standard rubbery hand puppet varieties as well--but I think I liked this mini caged Boglin just as much as I liked the real deal.

Now, this one's a bit of a mystery. Obviously, it's not a regular larger Boglin, but it's not one of the monochromatic Mini Boglins that were sold in the U.K., either. Instead, it's slightly larger than a Mini Boglin and made of a less rubbery plastic, plus has articulated arms and painted details. Its markings include a few different names, including Arco, Seven Towns Ltd., and Clarke, Trotto and Mass. There has been speculation that it may not even be a Boglin at all, as you can see in this thread I posted about him over at LittleRubberGuys.com. Personally, I'd put money on it being an official Boglins item, since it looks exactly like a Boglin and I have a vague memory of it being sold as such (for some reason I kind of remember the name "Pet Boglin," but it's totally possible I could just be making that up). Beyond that, I couldn't tell you exactly what the particular line of these caged Boglins was named, or how many different figures it included.

Speaking of caged, that's part of what makes this guy so cool. How great is it that he comes with a chain and a little plastic cage that snaps shut, so you can keep him contained from wreaking havoc when you have your back turned? I also love the expression mine has. He sort of looks dazed and confused.

And that's about the extent of my knowledge about this toy. I'd love to find out more details about the line. I'd especially like to see a packaged example of one of these Boglins.

Have any of you out there ever encountered a Boglin of this variety?

Tiny Terrors From the Deep: Lobsterman

WHAT: Lobsterman is an independently produced rubber mini figure that originated as part of a set of three figures called "Tiny Terrors from the Deep." This impressive, sharply-detailed little critter was sculpted by Zectron, while the two other figures in the set were done by Tru:Tek and BigmanToys. The set was inspired by the '90s X-COM video game "Terror From the Deep," and really captures the feel of a classic video game monster. I really love the attention to detail on this one, from his highly-textured shell or his looped antenna. It's the kind of figure I wouldn't mind owning a whole army of!

So far, Lobsterman has been produced and offered in variety of colors such as pink, green, blue/orange, black, purple and magenta.

WHEN: Lobsterman first became available along with the other Tiny Terrors From the Deep in early 2013, and has continued to be available in different colors throughout the year.

WHERE: Lobsterman has been available at certain conventions as well as online through Tru:Tek's Man-E-Toys store. At the time of this post, the figure is available to order in a few different colors via the store.

WHO: The figure was sculpted by Zectron and has been produced and sold in different colors through a collaboration with Tru:Tek.

Diener Mythological Creatures revisited

Shortly after I started this site I posted about Diener Mythological Creatures, a set of figures that was released by the Diener company around the same time as or shortly after Diener Space Creatures in the early 1980s, but not as well known as those. While the Space Creatures were based on weirdos from old sci-fi properties, these were focused on "real" monsters pulled from mythology and folklore--sort of like a modest precursor to Monster in My Pocket.

Because I took nicer photos since that first post as well as the fact that I have a weakness for Diener figures, I thought I'd revisit the line in more detail.

As far as I'm aware, there were only six different figures in this set: a centaur, a garuda/birdman, a unicorn, a minotaur, a gorgon/Medusa, and a dragon. Let's take a closer look at them all:

Centaur & Garuda

Centaur: Not the most exciting sculpt, but a man-horse is a man-horse, I guess. Somehow they managed to make this figure look almost 2D instead of 3D, with his arms sculpted as being straight down at his sides, and both sets of legs straight together.

Garuda: It's kind of strange that they decided to make a Garuda/birdman for this set, considering there were only six figures and there are many more commonly-referenced mythical creatures that would have been more likely candidates for inclusion. But a birdman was also included in the Dragons N Monsters line of the same era, so maybe they were all the rage in the early '80s, or something. Like the centaur, this is a pretty simple sculpt, but not a bad looking figure. I like how he's got gigantic wings that are as tall as his entire body.

Unicorn & Minotaur

Unicorn: The least monstrous creature of the set. Like the centaur, a pretty standard interpretation. This one was also sculpted in a way that makes it appear sort of 2D. I'd imagine this was to make production of the figures simpler.

Minotaur: I don't know exactly why, but for some reason I find this minotaur a bit goofy-looking. And I kinda love it for that. His body just looks so normal and non-beastlike, but then he's got the huge bull head. I think this one is my second favorite of the set.

Medusa & Dragon

Medusa/Gorgon: Medusa was always one of my favorite monsters. I remember that as soon as I saw her on the Monster in My Pocket series one checklist after I got my first four pack as a kid, I tried to track her down in one of the 12-packs and was so excited when I finally did. It could have had something to do with the fact that the prototype they showed on the checklist was packing some major cleavage. Or maybe just because she's a cool monster. In any case, I might just be biased toward the character, but this is my clear favorite of the Diener Mythological Creatures set. I like the way they sculpted her head full of snakes, as well as her wretched, sort of dumbfounded expression.

Dragon: I don't know whether this is supposed to be a specific monster or just a generic dragon. I am guessing just a generic dragon. In keeping with the rest of these figures it's a pretty simple and straightforward, but still a cool little sculpt.

While the Diener Mythological Creatures might not be as iconic to collectors as the Space Creatures, it's a fun set that would be worthwhile to many mini figure and monster toy collectors. They were produced in a couple different materials: firmer plastic, like the versions shown above, as well as a softer eraser-like texture. There seems to be an ongoing demand for these types of Diener toys, but they appear frequently in eBay lots so it shouldn't be all that difficult for anyone to put a set together.