They say Monday morning, opening time, is the best day and time to shop the DI, and they weren't kidding! I have to say this is one of my best hauls yet!
Toys were the name of the name this trip. Before, I wouldn't have even given the plush toy section a passing glance, but after reading about some great plushy finds on Laura's blog, Boo Bobby, I realized there are some great plush toys out there. They're not all crane game rejects.
The Plushies
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| Picture quality=Toy Quality |
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| Iss a me, Malleo! |
The first plushy I came across is a Super Mario bootleg, Super Malleo! I just couldn't say no to this ugly fella. I probably saved some poor kid from getting this cruddy thing from his mom. I can see it now.
Ma: look Johnny, it's that turtle man you love so much!
Johnny: Uh, gee, thanks mom... *tosses Malleo in trash when he thinks his mom's not looking*
Ma: Johnny, are you throwing out that turtle man?
Johnny: Ummm, no Ma, I'm just, uh, I'm storing him in the trash bin, yeah! For Science!
Ma: Oh, all right. You crazy kids and your science!
Ma: Johnny, are you throwing out that turtle man?
Johnny: Ummm, no Ma, I'm just, uh, I'm storing him in the trash bin, yeah! For Science!
Ma: Oh, all right. You crazy kids and your science!
Anyways, this thing's pretty messed up, Malleo is stiff as a board. What is he made of? Hard styrofoam? It feels like his feet are filled with some cheapo foam pellets. I kinda feel ripped off paying a dollar for this guy, but hey, he's good for a laugh. Now all I need is his brother Weegee and I'm set!
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| How the heck do you pronounce AiAi? |
Next we have AiAi from Super Monkey Ball. I was never really a big fan of Super Monkey Ball, but I do love SEGA and he's pretty cute. Plus, You can totally see his cute little tush! Which apparently is "NOT FOR SALE". Well that's just weird.
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| Come on, wear some pants AiAi! |
Moving on. The last and best plush I found was Cookie Monster! Who doesn't love Cookie Monster!? I hear they have him eating fruit now, what's up with that!? What were they thinking? I know we should teach our kids to eat their fruit, but come on, he's Cookie Monster, not Fruit Monster!
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| I just couldn't keep Ava away from Cookie Monster! |
Now this is Cookie Monster at his best! Great new video.
Sorry about my little rant there. Where was I? Oh yeah, Cookie Monster also has the official Applause tag on his bottom. :D
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| Official Applause Cookie Monster! |
While I was trying to take a picture of the C Man, Ava kept trying to play with him. What a cutie! Did you like my Cookie Monster impersonation? I also do Elmo, but I don't do parties, sorry.
I also picked up this little gargoyle lion warrior guy. He was a tad pricey at 75 cents (I'm so cheap!) but I like him. The only marking to be found reads "HONG KONG". Does anyone know anything about this guy? Is he one of those no name brand toys? Who knows?
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| Raaawr! |
Now, on to the other toys. All the rest of the toys came in a $1 grab bag! Let's see what's inside.
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| Grab bag Jackpot! |
G.I. Joes!
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| I'm guessing the 2 on the left are Cobra and the on on the right is a Joe |
The G.I. Joes in this grab bag are what really caught my eye. I've actually never come across Joes at the DI before, so I was pretty lucky. The grab bag they were in was still being wheeled out on a cart from the back room. Sadly one lost an arm, in the war. I never had many G.I. Joes as a kid, so I'm not sure which Joes these are. I'm guessing one of them is a Cobra. I could probably research it, but I'd rather get the expert opinion of John at the The Clawful Punch. I'll let you know what he has to say, in the mean time go check out his blog, it's totally rad, you'll be glad you did!
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| Meet Tiggy and Blobby, the Outer Terrestrial Creatures |
As I was peeking into the grab bag I spotted these little beauties from the Outer Terrestrial Creatures toy line! I never thought in a million years I'd ever come across these figures! In fact, I would've had no idea what I'd come across we're it not for Weirdo Toys. You should check out Justin's review of these awesome toys. It's fun and educational!
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| I like how one head is snake-like |
Now, this awesome 2-headed dragon toy looks like it was made by the same company that made the gargoyle lion warrior above, whatever company that is. These things are pretty solid plastic and I must say, very classic 80's style! Once again, the only marking to be found reads "HONG KONG". Does anyone out there in Internet Land have any info on these creatures? They look so dang familiar!
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| Froggacuda, Monster of the Red Lake |
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| Look at that maw! |
Yet another awesome 80's toy! I had to do a little research on this one, as I never came across this as a kid. According to my research he's from The Other World toy line by Arco. His name is Froggacuda, monster of the Red Lake. How awesome is that!? I found a fun blog that discusses The Other World figures and other fun, weird toys called Little Weirdos. Go check it out!
This little Furby figure is a McDonald's happy meal toy. I believe he was the only non-80's toy of the grab bag bunch.
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| Furby, just playin' some smooth jazz |
I'm reminded of this old Furby commercial.
I was never a fan of Furby. It seemed like everyone wanted one until they actually owned one, then they hated it because it never shuts up, so they'd stuff it in a drawer! If i came across one at the DI I'd probably still pick it up, especially a Gizmo Furby. At least this one doesn't talk, he just plays the blues, baby! He some how plays that sax with his little Furby feet. Very impressive!
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| Just look at those red eyes! |
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| He's so ripped! |
Here we have what looks like an imp of some sort. I can imagine dozens of these little monsters infesting a home and causing mischief. He sure is ripped, just look at those back muscles! I have no clue as to this imp's origins, there are no markings to be seen. Does anyone have any ideas?
Well, that's all folks!
Well, that's all folks!
"Behind the Scenes"
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| Finger Puppet Monster falls in with the wrong crowd |
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| Froggacuda's mouth is perfectly designed for quick consumption of prey |
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| ISSSS A MEEE, MAAAAALLEEEEOOOOOOoooo!!! |
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| Wow. |
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| Pretty nasty. I might have purchased this classy item, but it was missing the butt. |
Stay Tuned for part Deux!
I also picked up some cool, yet non-toy items. This post was getting a little long, so I decided to save the rest for a future post. Thanks for tuning in!
The imp is actually a companion figure that came with the villainous characters from the Blackstar toy-line for the '80s. It came in other colors, as well, including blue and red.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple and they are very cool.
Also, that "Mario" plush was a carnival prize. I know this because I had the Luigi-version when I was a kid that I won from a dart game at the Fourth of July fireworks/carnival. This was probably '88/'89?
Awesome stuff!
while I was trying to prove I wasn't a robot several times, your comment popped up.... and you answered the goblin/imp question! I can sleep now without googling... thanks, Trash Man. Now to prove I'm still not a robot...
DeleteOh cool! Thanks for the info on my little imp friend, or should I say "alien demon" friend. It's funny, cuz I was looking at some pics of Blackstar toys and the demon companion kinda outshine the main toy!
DeleteI am thrilled, and at the same time horrified, that Malleo's younger brother Weegee is out there somewhere. Maybe I'll find him some day.
Thanks so much Trash Man! Your amazing toy knowledge is much appreciated! Thanks you for your comments!
Looong post but it just got better and better! Okay, that beast headed thing looks like it may be Balrog from the animated Lord of the Rings from when we were kids, google it if you don't remember. A dead ringer.... and the Froggacuda? Awesome score!! You did very well on that one... the little bright green goblin, I have one too! I was very excited when saw it, I thought you were gonna tell me where he's from. I remember him, so vaguely... there's a castle involved... anyway, we have to find out. Or we don't and life will remain relatively unchanged.
ReplyDeleteThe shot with all the reptilian dudes was the best...it just got goofier from there, lol! You have a sweet little baby girl, most awesome treasure in this post!
P.S.
I'm so jealous of Cookie Monster. It's not even cool..... ;)
Yeah, my posts have been running a little long lately. They went from "Hey, look at this! The End!" to being forever long, lol! I'm glad you enjoyed it, despite it's long windedness.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, he really is a dead ringer of the old animated Balrog from LOTR, cool! I still can't find any info on the toy though. It may just be generic toy, but it just had to be modeled after Balrog! I'm really glad I paid the 75 cents, totally worth it for a Balrog toy!
I'm glad the Trash Man was kind enough to reveal the identity of the green imps! I'm going to keep my eye out for more Blackstar toys. Filmation made for some awesome cartoons and toy lines!
I almost didn't include a "behind the scenes" section, since the post was so long. I'm glad I did though, it was fun snapping those silly pictures. I normally just snap a picture of everyone on my white shelf, but with Ava crawling around it got a little chaotic. Turned out nice though.
Ava is just the cutest and definitely our greatest treasure! It's amazing how much life changes when you bring a new soul into the world. It's a challenge raising a baby, but so worth it!
LOL, I knew you'd be super duper jealous of Cookie Monster. I think I should just send him your way and help you grow that awesome Applause plush Sesame Street collection.
Oh man, that is one epic grab bag! Totally jealous of the lion gargoyle guy.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the link!
I know, I was giddy with delight when I snagged it!
DeleteIt's crazy just how many little weirdos were all grouped together in one grab bag! Your blog is fun to read an helped me learn about these little guys!
Thank you so much!
Hey Mason awesome grabs! The Joes are Zartan's brother Zaran(missing his arm sadly), Royal Guard and Sgt. Slaughter!
ReplyDeleteThe little red eyed imp is from Blackstarr and the two-headed dragon might be from the Fantasy Worlds line from Acro(same folks that did that Froggacuda or maybe Imperial who did a lot of these along with Godzilla, King Kong and Universal Monsters years ago.
Cool cool cool! Thanks for the info on the Joes John. I think Sgt. Slaughter is my favorite, he's pretty rad! Now I just need to take on the impossible task of tracking down accessories.
DeleteI'm glad to know where the imp is from. He's way cooler than the main toy that he was originally paired with!
Thank you for stopping by and helping me identify these toys! You rule!
http://actionfiguresca.proboards.com/thread/8397
ReplyDeleteHuzzah! More or less I have solved the mystery of the Lion Demon and the 2 headed dragon! Every last one of these toys is now officially identified.
Thank you all for your comments and for helping me ID these newly adopted toys!
FYI: The link doesn't work. :/ The Demon Lion Balrog and the Two-Headed Dragon are from the 80s fantasy toyline Sword and The Sorcerers.
DeleteOh MAN Froggacuda! I had him as a kid and loved him! What a great haul - that lion demon dude is epic! I had some of those Sword & Sorcerer toys too.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I spent as lot of my youth in West Jordan. My aunt used to give my cousins toys away to the D.I all the time as punishment if he didn't put them away or if he was in trouble! I shudder to think of all the wonderful 80s toy greats that made their way to the D.I in those days.
That's awful! It's funny you should say that though, because whenever I take home a sweet find like this I'm always curious what the story is behind the toy and how it wound up at the DI. When I was taking home that awesome grab bag I was thinking,"Man, some poor guy lost some sweet toys because his mom finally cleaned out the garage." Chances are the previous owner doesn't even care, but who knows.
DeleteThere's actually an item that my brother-in-law owns that has passed through the DI 2 or 3 times. His mom kept trying to get rid of the thing by donating it to the DI and he'd go back, find it, and buy it back!
Thanks for dropping in Eric! I hope your poor cousin didn't lose too many of his toys to the DI! If you're ever in the Murray area, stop by my place for a bit and we'll talk toys!
The lion headed demon is from The Sword & Sorcerer line by Fleetwood Toys: http://www.plaidstallions.com/racktoys/fleetwood/848.html
ReplyDeleteThats a lot of great stuff! I think the best thing is the Outer Terrestrial Creatures! Love those guys.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they're far out! I've wanted one ever since I spotted them on Weirdotoys.com. I'm always on the look out for more.
DeleteYou got a Sgt. Slaughter Triple T Tank fig!Very jealous ;)
ReplyDeleteI'd be willing to trade him. I just don't have very many Joes, so I think it would be nice to send him to a home with more Joes. Let me know if you'd like to work out a trade. :)
DeleteI don't have this version so yeah we could work something out.What kinds of figures are you into?Drop me an E-Mail ;)
DeleteSent you a message via the all powerful Google. :)
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