6.13.2015

Mission Details

The latest assortment from the factory has arrived and everything is ready to go!

When we were first putting this selection together months ago, the internal craze around here was the vintage Manglors toy line. Originally developed by Ideal back in 1984, the Manglors still stand as one of the stranger creations in the history of toys. "Made of the strangest stuff on Earth", a funky material called Sorbothane, the driving play mechanic of the line was based around actually tearing the figures apart and putting them back together again. The "memory" of the material was supposed to then "heal" the body back into its original form and position once the pieces were pushed back together. Sort of like a bio-fit function. Well, as many of us who had the toys discovered, they really didn't work like the TV ads and packaging claimed. I recall staring at my Manglord in silence after I had torn him limb from limb and attempted to reassemble his dull green body to no avail. Suffice it to say, old Manglord lived the rest of his shortened life held together by medical tape and a fair amount of childhood malice.

Due to the major flaws in its play pattern and some seriously intense competition on the toy shelves at the time, the Manglors only lasted for two waves. Manglors eventually faded into obscurity as the renamed "Vulcalors", destined to languish in the toy shops of Italy as the American market careened towards the Age of Mario.  

I've always wanted to see the Manglors resurface, so when our friend and collaborator John Kent over at Toyfinity secured the rights to regenerate the property, I went a little nuts at the thought of bringing the characters back to life -and this time with no medical tape!

As we steadily work behind the scenes between our two companies on resurrecting the Manglors, the creative influence of these bizarre beasts slowly finds its way into our regular operations. The strange muted color hues that Skeleden is now sporting are directly inspired by the original Manglors character toys as well as the stunning Ken Kelly paintings that graced the Manglor boxes.

Accompanying the vintage toy vibe this Sunday will be Argen and the Gendrone Bio Hunters (including the return of the reconfigured Robo Force kit Gendrone Force Defender), now forged in the new Gunmetal Silver PVC that we have been experimenting with recently. The factory really nailed the metallic look with this production run, with just enough of that cool but hard to capture light and dark balance that shifts so drastically in different environments. Argen and Manglor Skeleden have not left my pocket since I received them.

Good grief, that was a Manglor download. I suppose it's time for the list!

We are on track for this Sunday, June 14th at 9:30PM EDT. 


The Manglor Mutation


Dungeon Traveler Skeleden -Manglor Mutation (Green/ Purple w/ painted eyes, Green Skeleden head/ armor/ upper arms/ thighs/ axe, Purple Traveler base body/ upper arms/ thighs/ Pheyden head) $12 (Manglord Homage)
Dungeon Traveler Skeleden -Cosmodemon Mutation (Pale Orange/ Butterscotch w/ painted eyes, Pale Orange Skeleden head/ armor/ upper arms/ thighs/ axe and Butterscotch Traveler base body/ upper arms/ thighs/ Pheyden head) $12 (Manglodemon Homage)
Dungeon Traveler Skeleden - Dragotauri Mutation (Light Blue/ Blue w/ painted eyes, Light Blue Skeleden head/ armor/ upper arms/ thighs/ axe and Blue Traveler base body/ upper arms/ thighs/ Pheyden head) $12 (Manglodragon Homage)
Dungeon Traveler Skeleden -Sauruzard Mutation (Tomato Red/ Plum w/ painted eyes, Tomato Red Skeleden head/ armor/ upper arms/ thighs/ axe and Plum Traveler base body/ upper arms/ thighs/ Pheyden head) $12 (Manglizard/ Manglosaurus Homage)

Elder Exellis -Bio Hunters (Gunmetal Silver w/ painted eyes, removable belt, LSA head, Dark Traveler head/ scarf/ inner scarf) $8

Axis Buildman Argen MK XVI -Bio Hunters (Gunmetal Silver w/ Red visors and White tampos -Includes new two part head and scarf) $12
NOTE- Each Axis Buildman is made up of one Buildman and one Axis Joint Set.

Advanced Phaseon Enyriun MK V -Bio Hunters (Gunmetal Silver w/ Red visors and White tampos) $10
NOTE- Each Advanced Phaseon is made up of one Phaseon and one painted Hub Set

Gendrone Force Defender -Bio Hunters (Gunmetal Silver w/ Red/ Black accents and White tampo) $16
(Special Reconfigured Edition of Toyfinity's Robo Force Maxx Zero)

Neo Sincroid -Bio Hunters (Gunmetal Silver w/ Red visors/ White tampos and bonus Glyan head) $8

Noboto -Bio Hunters (Gunmetal Silver w/ painted eyes, White tampos and bonus Protoclone head ) $8 

Gobon -Bio Hunters (Gunmetal Silver w/ Red eyes and White tampo) $8

Armorvor  -Neo Granthan Manglor Mimic (Purple/ Green Paint with Black visors and bonus head/ backpack) $10 -Features all new Neo Granthan head

Crayboth -Manglor  $4
Crayboth -Cosmodemon  $4
Crayboth -Gunmetal  $4

Swing Joint Set -Gunmetal Silver $4

Hub Set -Gunmetal Silver w/ Red accent and White tampo $4
NOTE- Each Hub Set is sold in a specific Drone configuration.

Axis Joint Set -Gunmetal Silver $4

Phase Arm/Gobon Blaster Single Set -Gunmetal Silver w/ Red accent $2 

Super Crayboth -Dragotauri Hybrid (Light Blue Vinyl/ Blue paint/ Red accents) $25
-Features some all new paint applications


Thank you for reading this tale from under Manglor Mountain!

Special thanks to John and the Toyfinity team for letting us have some fun with their properties!


7 comments:

  1. What an epic drop!! Awesome new gunmetal additions to the mix! We'll also celebrate the spirit of the Manglors with their colors and the pull apart function that actually works plus they can actually stand up!!! Great work on this line up guys and thanks! It was totally unexpected but a very welcome surprise!

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  2. Absolutely epic drop Matt! This drop is bigger than I thought. This release will probably kill the wallet ha ha!! I guess I'll just have to wait and find out :)

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  3. Great line up Matt! I'm going to pretend this drop was made special for my birthday. These color combos are totally rad!

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  4. I have to say, I'm excited for that Gobon! Also some building pieces. I'm going to have to build a new Renegade.

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  5. I know it's going to be a good drop when I see the first photo and a huge grin appears on my face. Personally I cannot wait for Doc to bring the Manglors back. The Glyos system is perfectly suited for them, and you know I love me some monsters Matt.

    Actually this drop hits on all my childhood loves: Reptiles, Robots, Konsters/Aliens & Skeletons.

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  6. "Suffice it to say, old Manglord lived the rest of his shortened life held together by medical tape and a fair amount of childhood malice."

    This had me laughing out loud, Matt! The drop looks great, can't wait to get my hands on these figures!

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  7. Oh, forgot this last bit: Ken Kelly, the artist for the original Manglors artwork, lives in a nearby town here on Long Island. A local comic book store, 4th World Comics, has had him there as a guest quite a few times and he's even attended a nearby convention called "Eternal Con" that happened last May. Supposedly Ideal toys corporate office was located near NYC & even a 72 year old Window Washer I used to work for knew one of the big wigs at that company back in the day. A lot of Ideal employees lived on the island back then, crazy how this all happened in my own backyard!

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