Saturday, October 31, 2015
Phantasm
This ghost is from a Kinder surprise egg set named Fantasmini from 2001. His name is Joe Skate (Jo Skettino) and he glows in the dark. It's hard to say if he is goofy or regular, but with no feet it might not matter. There have been a lot of undead skeletal skaters (and a vampire) on BPA but this is the first ghost.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Handy Manny
This Handy Manny figure has to be the only figure that comes with a broken skateboard. I guess he can fix anything. The figure and board are were included with a workshop playset from 2009. You'd think this might be a ramp building playset but it is not.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Stuart Little II
As mentioned last week, Stuart Little returns to BPA in a loop toy practically identical to last post's Johnny Test toy. Stuart's last appearance was a figure from 2003 promoting Stuart Little 2. This toy is also from 2003, this time from Hardees. As wheels on the bottom of the toy turn it turns a band in the middle causing Stuart to complete the loop. Unlike Johnny Test, Stuart is actually standing on his board and grabbing stink bug.
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Johnny Test
Johnny Test is the titular character from a cartoon that debuted in 2005 on the WB. It ended up on Cartoon Network after a few years and ran until 2014. This toy is from 2010 and came with Hardees kids meals. It features Johnny more or less sitting on a block attached to a skateboard. As the entire toy moves a band in the middle revolves Johnny around the fullpipe. This is based on an almost identical toy from Hardees featuring Stuart Little (to appear on BPA next time!).
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Zag
Zag is half of the puppet duo Zig and Zag, characters that appeared on a few shows from the late '80s through the present including the Big Breakfast on Channel 4 in the UK. They also eventually got their own animated show (to debut in 2016). According to an Angelfire website that cataloged Big Breakfast merchandise this figure is from 1995.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Max Goof II
Max Goof returns with a figure promoting An Extremely Goofy Movie from 2000. This is the direct-to-DVD sequel of A Goofy Movie, which Max's previous appearance on BPA was promoting. This figure was a Happy Meal toy that also included a spring launcher and was part of a set that included a number of figures on wheels, including 2 others on skateboards (but no one actually standing up on them).
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Franklin
Franklin is from the Franklin the Turtle book series which is also the basis for a Canadian animated TV show. The TV showed aired from 1997 - 2009 and was shown in the US on Nickelodeon. It looks like it was geared to younger kids and does not look very good (watching a minute of a random episode confirms this).
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Imaginext Skateboarder
Imaginext is a series of rather forgettable figures made by Fisher Price. The skateboarder is from 2013 and was released in the 3rd series of blind bag figures. These guys look like a cheap imitation of other toy lines that have found some success in the blind bag format. Or maybe I'm just partial to Legos.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Bugs Bunny II
Bugs Bunny returns to BPA with a rocket-powered skateboard. This figure was a Kinder egg surprise from 2010. The rocket attachment detaches so Bugs can ride a normal skateboard (in a not-so-normal way). Bugs previous appearance was as a posing PVC figure.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Epileptic Terror Attack
Epileptic Terror Attack, or ETA, were a skate punk/thrash band from Sweden active in the early '00s. This EP has a pretty standard thrash sound for the time and includes the skate track "Looking for a Spot."
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Kinderino
Kinderino is the name of the anthropomorphic kinder surprise egg. This dude is from the sport set from 2014. He's rocking a sideways hat and giving a buddy-christ like thumbs up. The paper he came with is below and gives some unnecessary instructions on how to assemble him and also includes a postage stamp-like image of him pulling a slob air.
This is the 2nd skateboarding egg to appear on BPA - the first was a beach partying enamel pin.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Troll Doll II
The previous troll that appeared on BPA was from Russ which seemed to be the main manufacturer in the US for a bit (according to Wikipedia there were some copyright suits that eventually restored the original Danish manufacturer as the sole copyright holder). This guy is one of the many knockoffs that were ubiquitous in the '90s when these things were last popular. This dude looks like he is ready for some beach party action on his wind-up board. The front truck actually rotates to give him a bit of a random trajectory.
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Gals Panic
This 7" is a split between Austin's Gals Panic and Madison's Coolhand Band. It was released in 1995 on Root Bear Records, which according to Discogs only had this 1 release. Both bands play the type of pop punk you might expect from this time period. The Gals Panic side features 2 four-armed anthropomorphic elephants skating on '80s boards. It also looks like the one guy's front truck is mounted backwards - no wonder he's bailing.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Snoopy VIII
Snoopy returns for an 8th time with a figure that is pretty similar to a previous entry. This guy is a bit bigger and his ears aren't pulled back (I guess he's cruising a little slower). This guy is made by Irwin and although I don't have an exact date for him the package I found online shows a URL so it is late '90s at the earliest. I'm digging Snoopy's choice of board shape.
Edit: Found an in-package image showing this figure is a Baskin Robbins premium.
Other previous Snoopy appearances on BPA: Snoopy Mug, Wind-up Snoopy, Work Out Snoopy, Fatigues Snoopy, Poochiefied Snoopy, The Easter Beagle, Peanuts Skate N Surf set, & Peanuts Mini Skateboard set.
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Donald Duck VI
Donald's 6th appearance on BPA comes in a bit of an unusual form - a bandana. I'm not sure when this is from but I'm going to guess the '90s based on the colors and background pattern. This has yet to make it into my pad bag to go under my helmet but it will soon (just as soon as I remember where it ended up).
Previous Donald appearances: a PVC figure, a bendy figure, an enamel pin, another enamel pin, and another PVC figure.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Xtreme Skater Bean
The Xtreme Skater Bean is a Mighty Beanz from 2010. Unlike the previous Mighty Bean on BPA, this dude is actually riding (that's probably what makes him extreme). Looks like he is pulling a lien air. There is a random inclusion of a bird on the side and the effect of having his feet up on the board gives the rest of the bean a weird dynamic, but I guess you can only do so much with a bean graphic.
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Stewie the Rabbit
Stewie is a rabbit and also a Nerful. Nerfuls were a rather unknown line of toys from the mid-80s that were previously featured on BPA when Campy made an appearance. Stewie was a bit more well known since he just came with a board rather than a whole camp set. According to this bio he "is a smart-aleck, skateboarding rabbit who loves nibbling on radishes, peas, doughnuts, and other round foods." I've also included Frankie below on the board, a Nerful that came with a wagon. He looks a bit more like a skater to me.
Stewie and Officer Bob from the promo sheet. Even Parker Brothers knew that cops hassle skaters.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Flunchy II
Flunchy returns! This time in pin form. No idea when this pin is from though. Flunchy's previous appearance was as a PVC figure.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Huey, Dewey & Louie
Huey, Dewey & Louie make their first appearance as a trio on BPA (Dewey previously made a solo appearance). These guys were part of a Kinder egg surprise set called "Mickey Mouse & Friends" from 2013. They are all the same mold but painted differently. Their colors (which are usually the only way to differentiate them) changed quite a bit in the early cartoons but stabilized for Duck Tales. Speaking of Duck Tales, it looks like a reboot is on the way.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Smurfette II
Smurfette returns in figure form. She has made a number of appearances here on BPA, most recently as an enamel pin. Prior to that she appeared on a mug and as part of the Surfin' Smurfs figures. This figure is from 2001 and is a Kinder egg surprise. As usual, Smurfette is skating in her signature heels. She's also riding a leaf board, something seen before with the Super Smurf.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Phlegm
Phlegm are a mostly unknown band out of Germantown, MD. This is their only release that I know of although they did appear on Mystic Records Washington, DC Sounds of US Cities LP. This LP seems more or less self-released on Catalyst Records in 1986. The title, which is only mentioned on the spine, is Pretty Hideous Little Elves Get Munched. The band end up sounding more like a UK band, kind of like The Exploited, which is not a bad thing but definitely not quite expected. The back shows the band with one of the dudes holding a Phlegm board.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Jake
Quick yard sale find, photographed but not purchased. He's holding a board held on by velcro but there is no way for him to hold his feet on (like real life I guess). What's going on with his huge watch? Apparently this is a "I Can Dress My Doll (And Myself!)" doll.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Mario III
Mario returns to BPA as a figure. This guy is pretty similar to his last appearance although about twice as large. The larger Mario does not really stand up; I suspect this is because he was originally a keychain. He's got a 1994 date on his back making him a little bit older than his smaller companion. Mario's first appearance was as an enamel pin.
Pre- & Post-Mushroom Powerup |
Saturday, July 11, 2015
D-Vision
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Hibou
Hibou translates to owl in English (from French) but actually only describes the owls with "horns." Chouette is an owl without horns. I'm not sure when this is from or if it was advertising anything specific, or just an owl in shoes riding a skateboard.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Mickey Mouse IV
Mickey Mouse's 4th appearance on BPA comes in the form of this very tiny figure. This figure was a Kinder egg surprise from 1989. It looks like he might be leaning on a tiny surfboard but it is definitely a big skateboard. He's got a pretty weird outfit going on - orange pants, yellow shirt and purple vest. It's the same year that Cross Colours came out so maybe that explains it. Past Mikeys include 2 enamel pins and a bendy figure. Check out the "not skating" tag to see all the posers.
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