Background

Obviously inspired by collectible mini figure lines such as M.U.S.C.L.E. and Monster In My Pocket, October Toys set out to produce a truly collaborative series of toys. With the help of Kickstarter and the Toy Break Forum, the OMFG! - Outlandish Mini Figure Guys! - project was discussed, hyped, funded and ultimately released.

This project originated from the fabulous group of artists, designers, and toy enthusiasts that have gathered at the October Toys/Toy Break forum. Over the course of several months, dozens of character ideas were submitted from all around the world and the forum voted for their favorite designs to be put in to production.

They whittled down the group to the five designs that make up the OMFG! Series 1: Crawdad Kid, King Castor, Multiskull, Phantom Outhouse, and Stroll. There are a number of exclusive colorways, but for this review, we'll take a look at the October Toys Exclusive Flesh colorway and the Kickstarter Exclusive Black colorway.

The Facts



OMFG! Series 1
Series: OMFG! (Outlandish Mini Figure Guys!)
Manufacturer: October Toys
Material: PVC
Dimensions: Between 1.5" and 2" tall
Points of Articulation: Zero
Designs: Multiskull designed and sculpted by Charles Marsh (aka Monsterforge); Crawdad Kid designed and sculpted by Daniel Yu (aka Dory); Phantom Outhouse designed by Kyle Thye and sculpted by Ralph Niese; King Castor designed and sculpted by Dominic Campisi (aka The Evil Earwig); Stroll designed by John “Spanky” Stokes and sculpted by George Gaspar
Edition Size: Flesh/Pink October Toys Exclusive – Open Edition; Black Edition – Kickstarter Supporters
Pricing: $10.00 (set of 5 figures)

Packaging

October Toys went the carded blister pack route. All five figures are packaged in the same bubble. The color scheme of the packaging mimics the 1980's M.U.S.C.L.E. line that this series pays homage to. Also, on the back on the card, there is a black and white illustration of the various characters in Series 1.

Our Opinion

Being a youngster in the 1980's afforded me some excellent opportunities...seeing The Monkees reunion concert live, watching R. Budd Dwyer off himself on live television, and playing with M.U.S.C.L.E. figures (or as we called them M.U.S.C.L.E. men). Since I long for those childhood days and all things retro – hence a 30-something collecting toys – I was excited to see that October Toys was attempting to get funding for a M.U.S.C.L.E. inspired toy line.

After the populous chose their favorite five characters, which would make up OMFG! Series 1, the funding part was easy. October Toys flew past their Kickstarter goal of $11,000. That ended up getting the series on the fast track to production.

Looking at the finished product, it's awe-inspiring how well these figures replicate the feel of the M.U.S.C.L.E. series. One thing I noticed was that some of the figures appear to have several molded pieces. If I can remember correctly, I think M.U.S.C.L.E. figures usually came from a single mold (similar to the Multiskull here).

The sculpting work on all of the OMFG! figures is some of the best I've seen for pieces this height. That's pretty amazing, since each character is sculpted by a different artist. Obviously, there's no paint to speak of.

I've grappled with determining my order of favorite characters in Series 1. I think that Multiskull leads the pack, followed closely by the Phantom Outhouse. Multiskull could slide into a M.U.S.C.L.E. collection undetected, while I just find everything about an evil outhouse entertaining. Both the King Castor and Crawdad Kid pull off the retro look (the Crawdad Kid and Stroll figures are a little bigger than every other character in this series).

The only character I didn't think worked in this format was Spanky Stokes' mascot – Stroll. I like the look of the character and the sculpting is great...it just have the retro qualities that make the other figures work. Now, if they would have released this exact figure as a 6” tall vinyl or resin piece...it would have been killer.

In OMFG! Series 1, October Toys has the first big hit of 2012. It's not often that a toy's development, production and release runs as smoothly (or transparently) as this project. And let me reiterate...the set of 5 figures is $10.00. Just let that sink in...

You can pick one up at the following:

OctoberToys.com: $10.00 set of 5