Review – OMFG Series 1 (U of Muscle)

It was last summer when the OMFG Kickstarter project first went live (first mentioned here), and today I’m finally going to get one of several sets of the toys online so that all of you can get a closer look at this small, single-piece figures. For more info on the series see the official webpage at October Toys, and for this yellow set you’ll want to visit the U of Muscle online shop. And probably sooner rather than later . . . these are kinda limited.

Skull Man

First in the set is Skull Man, a 1.75-inch tall toy made of skulls, Skull Man here looks great and is tightly sculpted with so many little skulls forming his body that I’m not even going to try and count all of them. I love how he has skulls of all different shapes and sizes — and the one massive skull for the torso was a nice touch — and this one might just be my favorite design from the first series. Sculpting all of those tiny skulls had to be a painful experience.

Stroll

Next up is the tallest of the bunch, the 2-inch tall fuzzy and one-eyed Stroll. Sculpting fur like this has to be hell, and at this small size the fur looks great and really shows that a lot of time and skill was sunk into creating the toy. And call me crazy, but I think the yellow used in this set may have been the best color choice for this particular sculpt; I can’t say why, but to me it just seems to be perfect for the design.

Phantom Shithouse

I am so very happy that these toys were created in single colors. Why? Because seeing this guy’s arms and legs in their “proper” color would drive home just how disgustingly fun this design really is. A classic outhouse — complete with crescent moon on the door — Phantom Shithouse is the shortest of the group at just 1.5-inches tall. But all of the bulk of the design makes him a hefty piece, and by piece I clearly mean piece of . . . no, let’s not go there. A weird design, but not my favorite of the batch. Still, it’s well done and clearly a perfect representation of the concept.

King Castor

A castle-come-alive, King Castor looks like he should be the first piece in a chess set created by madmen. The face details on the front of the figure are the only weak point — that face is just a little too small for me to make out the details — but the structure of the figure (I love those arms) means I can overlook the face problems and enjoy the piece for what it is: a monstrous castle ready to stomp the countryside and destroy everything in its path. I’d love to see this one cast in a stone or classic Lego gray color.

Crawdad Kid

The final piece in the line (so far), and arguably the tightest and most ambitious sculpt in the line, Crawdad Kid is also 2-inches tall and has — as you can see — a ton of details in the head, costume, and claws. The jacket, pants, and boots are all masterfully sculpted and Crawdad Kid grows on me more and more the longer I study the toy. It’s not my favorite, but it’s definitely the number two toy for me in this set.

Closing Thoughts

The OMFG series of toys is clearly inspired by the eighties M.U.S.C.L.E. and similar single-piece, rubbery toys, and what’s been produced is a professional batch of toys that fans of those older lines will want to own. The official webpage shows the various colors that have been released, and at the moment I’m recommending this line to everyone out there who likes mini-figures and enjoys even one of the sculpts they see here.

I have to warn you, though, that as with a lot of toys like this they look cooler and cooler as you collect colorways so don’t order even one set unless you’re ready to start tracking down the other colors. And keep you eyes open for the second series!

Philip Reed used to not be a fan of single-piece toys without any articulation, but over the years his mind has been changed. If he were to get into toy design today it would probably be with a line of single-piece robots. Robots are fun!