Since October Toys' O.M.F.G. line kicked open the door for crowdfunded designer figures bringing fancy designs at Keshi prices, we've seen a new batch of these guys from somebody every year or so. I was happy to see Last Resort Toys Run-A-Mucks Series 1 Flesh Mini Figure Set as well as its glow counterpart. There are more colors, but I stopped with these - they're bigger than other previous lines, with a few massive figures that barely fit in the golf ball display cabinets I've been using for mini-figures. The focus is a lot more "gross" or "violent," with 4 of the figures holding weapons, 3 of the figures having something coming in or out of their mouths, and two figures appearing to be self-destructing. These aren't cuddly - there's no snot or giant, weird eyeballs but these are some slightly more disturbing figures. Last Resort Toys has also been remaking classic monster mini-figure toys in giant sizes, so they're very familiar with the format and how to get the most out of it.
Unlike simpler sculpts for OMFG, MOTUSCLE, SUCKLE, and others that aspired to be a single-piece figure, most of these guys are two pieces. You can only get so much on a single mold - a lot of these have glued-on limbs or other elements Bryan Fulk sculpted all of these guys, but some of the designs have appeared elsewhere before - Nik Sardos' Coughin' Coffin was a previous entry in the OMFG voting rounds.
Grinade (Al Sharpe) and Blowman (Bryan Fulk) are the two self-destructive figures. Blowman is a snowman with a blow-dryer aimed at his head, which seems like something out of Calvin & Hobbes - it's spectacular. The twig-like arms are thin with wooden textures on them, with a simple, melting snowman sculpt complete with top hat and carrot nose. And mittens! A pool of himself collects at his base, granting stability to a rounded figure that is in danger of toppling over. This would have made a great oversized, painted vinyl figure.
Similarly ghoulish is Grinade, a grenade with a smile out of Sam Keith's The Maxx and decade-appropriate boots. Super buff arms seem like a nod to the M.U.S.C.L.E. inspiration, and they're glued in as a separate piece connected to the handle. the pineapple-esque weapon is the kind of thing 1980s weapons-book-obsessed kids would die for, an appropriate mascot for a decade where military equipment literacy seemed oddly ubiquitous in gradeschoolers. It's not for kids... but you could see kids losing their minds over this.
The mouth weapon duo of Antaeus (Sam De Jesus) and Captain Sporloff (Commander Sporloff in the campaign, by Trysta) serve as the smallest and largest figures in the pack. Antaeus is comparatively tiny, but is more imposing than the old Mattel wrestlers. Slightly wider than many, the short figure is technically taller with that gun tongue towering over numerous other collectible mono-color figures. His right arm is a separate piece, molded to the gun while the left arm is just a separate element glued in. The figure seems appropriately retro with limited detail like a scarred eye and webbed feet, but no scales or slick finish. It's just a little frog thing that's going to shoot you with its tongue.
Captain Sporloff was a sketch that the artist made in high school, and it's basically an octopus with a skull head and a ray gun. That skull is a separate element and it's really slick - I mean that. Unlike the others with their matte textures, she is a glossy-headed creature. Her eyes are like a goat's, the skull is inhuman, and of course it lacks a jaw because it has massive tentacles spewing forth from the gaping hole. I count eight in all - two of which are gripping that retro blaster. The others are wrapped in a column serving as a base, making this a stable figure with surprisingly good tentacle detail. The tentacles are all distinct arms when you pick up the figure and examine the bottom, rather than unfinished, flat-footed figures. This one is huge, hefty, and a real gem.
Coughin' Coffin (Nik Sardos) and Stinkweed (Gabriel Barragan and Christopher Howard Wolf) round out the collection. I remember seeing Nik's coffin design years ago when voting took place on the October Toys forums for previous series of O.M.F.G., and I was always disappointed it didn't win. It's an excellent design - much like Puke Knight, the barf is a separate element. Unlike Puke Knight, there's significantly more detail to enjoy here - every piece is textured on every side. The base of the coffin is textured like wood, and there are barfy details under the puke pile too. The coffin itself has a tongue that holds the spew in place quite nicely, while also connecting to a tongue-shaped imprint in the bottom. Coughin' Coffin is loaded with interior mouth detail too, plus you can see bones and a skull inside the pile of dirt. I'm tempted to buy one of the clear sets just to see this in clear blue or clear red. This feels like the design that got the most attention by the sculptor, and is arguably the set's most remarkable figure. Your mileage may vary.
Stinkweed is almost as detailed, with a decaying flower head, root limbs, and a flower pot filled with dirt and roots crawling out. The bottom of the pot is cracked and you can see dirt caked in a clump that's probably going to fall through at any moment, while the shriveled-up and clearly agitated head trudges on though sheer force of wilted will to do its heinous deeds. I assume. The squatting figure has grotesque limbs made of intertwined roots and stems, each of which giving an appearance not entirely unlike a claw. The face is pocked, and the neck almost doubles as hair receding back from an old face. The sculpting work on the teeth is remarkable, and this is another real gem in this set.
I don't doubt there will be another series some day, as long as people buy these guys. The set comes in a big plastic tray, which comes in a large bag with the largest header card I've ever seen on a pack of mini figures. $20 is kind of expensive for six small figures, but they're meaty compared to most others and more complex. Every figure seems to be at least two or more pieces connected or glued together, so you're getting a lot of plastic in these oddball characters. It feels like a more confrontational set, but I like what they put together here. I hope to see another batch next year, and I'd nudge you to consider picking them up for somebody as a gift. They certainly won't have them already!
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