Top Toupie Pull Spin Battle (Dollar Tree weirdos)

Dollar Tree stores can occasionally be a source for some Little Weirdos-approved cheap toys (see here and here), but really great stuff doesn't surface there all that often. Well, if you're a mini figure collector, now is one of those times they actually have something worth picking up.

A week or two ago I saw people posting about "Top Toupie" figures on Facebook, and the photos being shared caught my attention. Basically, these things are tiny figures (about half an inch tall) that come with spinning tops. The figures have little holes underneath that allow them to be plugged into bases on the tops, and then you can pull a cord through the side of the tops to make them spin. The idea is that you're supposed to pit two of the little dudes on their spinning tops against one another. Although, I don't really know how the outcome of a spinning top battle is judged. Whichever top stops spinning first loses?...damn it, I'm over-thinking cheapo dollar store toys.

My six Top Toupie figures plugged into their tops

Anyway, all this talk about Top Toupie drove me to check out my nearest Dollar Tree this past weekend, and I picked up six different ones, which you see in this post. A few observations:

In action!

• I'm not even sure if "Top Toupie" is an actual name for these. I Googled "Toupie" and apparently it means spinning top in French, so maybe the package just lists what the toys are in two languages. Also, "Toupie" makes me think of "toupée," which I believe is the first time a toy ever made me think of toupées.

• The spinning tops are cool enough, but if you're reading this, the main attraction here is no doubt going to be the mini figures. They're pretty detailed and nicely sculpted for being so tiny. Plus, they're monochromatic (always a plus in my book), and they're made out of a hard plastic, so those who aren't a fan of Trash Pack-like squishiness should have no problem with this material.
• The mini figures come in three different colors: orange, blue and green. At my Dollar Tree they only had orange and green ones for some reason (hence the lack of blue in this post).
• There are at least 18 different figures, with one figure and one top (plus two different neon-colored attachable platforms that connect to the tops) in each package for $1. Each figure seems to only come in one of the three colors. Characters include a mix of monsters, hero types, sports guys and more. The six I picked up are a mummy, a werewolf, a lion-man, a minotaur, a pirate, and a knight. Others available include a ninja, a punk rocker, a boxing kangaroo, a luchador, and a sumo wrestler (click here for a photo showing the 18 different sculpts that have been identified).
• The tops actually work pretty well. They didn't fall apart while I was testing them out, and that's half the battle right there when it comes to dollar store toys.
• The packages also include translucent neon plastic "pods," I guess meant for storage of the figures when they're not taking part in spin battles.

The figures with their pods

So yeah, overall I dig these. I can think of much worse ways to spend a buck. Next time I'm at Dollar Tree I'm sure I won't be able to resist the temptation to pick up a couple more. I'd like to get my hands on that boxing kangaroo.

What about you? Have you seen these? Did you buy any, or are you planning to on your next trip to Dollar Tree?