Though I tend not to cover much of the modern merchandising that plays off of 80s nostalgia, from time to time I do see some stuff that I just have to share. While walking around Toys R Us the other day looking at their new Halloween displays I stumbled upon some little toys that really caught my eye. They’re called the Trash Pack…
In a nutshell, these little guys are the equivalent of the cheap-o vending toys you tend to find at the entrances to grocery stores and as prizes in arcades. They’re a collection of 1″ monsters, critters, spoiled food items and bugs (both micro-biotic and insectile in nature) that are a cross between a pencil topper and a charm toy. Normally I probably would have passed these up as the available packages (containing either 5 or 12 figures) were pretty pricey ($6 for 5 and $10 for 12), but the sheer amount of 80s era influeces packed into these little guys was just too attractive…
First off, the figures are packaged in little plastic garbage cans that immediately evoke the M.U.S.C.L.E. men phenomenon, but there’s also an obvious Garbage Pail Kids vibe with the all the gross gags and collectability. On top of that these are also riffing off of the current resurgence of figural eraser collecting that’s really gripped kids for the first time in 25 years. If these had also come with stickers I think my mind would have melted…
All in all I have to say that even though the thought that went into the merchandising was pretty cool, the price-point is just way too out of whack. All told there are almost 200 different figures (including color variations on around 55 different molds) and the chances of scoring a complete set for under $100 seems pretty slim. When you consider that these are just glorified vending toys, that makes these guys pretty darn expensive. Also, though some of the molds are pretty cool (I highlighted my favorites in the photos), there are a lot that just don’t read well (in terms of coming across as what they are.) These are available in 2, 5, and 12 packs, and I think that if the price was reduced by half they might catch on, but I have a hard time seeing parents plunking down the kind of cash it would take to get there kids started out on a decent collection.
