An assortment of Mystical Warriors of the Ring, S.U.C.K.L.E., and OMFG Series 2 figures
likes of Rampage Toys and Nama Niku’s
over the past couple of years, with the
small but dedicated scene continues
of new artists and, inevitably, the revived
Plastic, and even The Super Sucklord
has an even healthier indie community,
early bootlegs encouraged a huge swell interest in pocket mini figures has also lead to some very interesting, larger scale factory produced lines too.
Skirting on the edge of Designer Toy, mainstream, and pocket mini scenes, October Toys’ community-based line OMFG set a new standard for mass-
produced pocket mini figures back in
2011. Largely drawing inspiration from the Americanized keshi of the mid to late ‘80s both in terms of style and
presentation, the majority of recently
released lines have been produced in
China using a similar hard PVC as the
original M.U.S.C.L.E. Usually released in
comparatively small runs, with colorways often running between 80-200, these types of figures almost always come
packed on a blister card or in a Bandaistyle trash can for added authenticity.
This industry has seen continual growth
likes of Unbox Industries, Fantastic
offering up their takes on the classic monochromatic 2” figure.
As with the mass-produced lines, keshi and pocket mini figures’ increase in
popularity has lead to an explosion of talent in the self-produced scene as
well. Unlike the previously mentioned series though, the self-produced
to flourish. Not surprisingly, the East
with outfits and brands such as Onion Fights, Newtervision, Moqkeshi, and Nerdone pushing the boundaries in
terms of both creativity and authenticity of production, blending traditional style
with unconventional mediums, including soft vinyl and hard resin, to dazzling effect.
creations tend to rely heavily on the
Similar to the indie/self-produced
characterized by their soft rubbery
— community now spans a worldwide
original Eastern keshi culture, largely feel over the hard, American-style PVC, and are limited to runs of anywhere between 10-200 pieces, dependent
on the choice of either hand-cast or
sub-factory-led production. Brought to the forefront in the West by the likes of Ironmask, Eric Nilla, and, recently,
Metal Monkey’s Universe of Violence
(UoV) series as well as a steady flow of releases from The Disarticulators, this
figures, the pachi — or bootleg
roster of A-list artists, ranging from Healeymade and his conceptual
M.U.S.C.L.E. & M.A.S.K. mash-ups, Triclops with their wholly bootlegembracing B.A.S.T.A.R.Ds, and, of
course, Buff Monster’s recent Melty
Misfit take on Cheap Toys. Aside from
these resin produced figures with their
Art Toy leanings, there are still a number of artists staying true to the original
An assortment of pachi figures Clutter 28 | 47