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The Mongroid is a twisted creature - first a fetus in the disgusting external womb that Dr. Talisac had created, it burst free and grew into a terrible monster, like a man with hands for feet and an enormous gaping mouth emerging from its stomach, its demented face twisted in pain and agony in screams that will never be heard.
He could feel the child struggling to get out now. He could hear its tiny, high-pitched voice as it worked to free itself. The pain was excruciating; a vicious hallucinogen. He sobbed and he screamed; the Convent had never heard such cursings as it heard now. But finally the womb tore as the Holy Child scrabbled with his little hands, his little nails, and in a gush of blood-tinged fluids the Mongroid was disgorged onto the ground amongst the corpses.
All grown up from the deformed fetus in Talisac's womb, the Mongroid is a sickening creature to behold - his sculpt is wonderfully horrible. Like a man doing a back-bend, Mongroid walks like a crab on his four hands, each clad with a leather strap at the wrist so tight it breaks the skin, stained with blood. The Mongroid is 6" from hand to hand, lying in its single pose with little articulation to allow it to move - each arm and wrist is articulated, as well as the neck, none of which offer exceptional movement to change the single pose it is in. However, this pose is great as it is, as it shows off
the sickening sculpt of Mongroid from every angle.
Mongroid's sculpt is great, with the massive mouth emerging from his stomach the centrepiece. It gapes open with a small round throat and misshapen rows of teeth, sculpted in soft plastic, covered in a green excrement like substance. The lower mouth is like rubber, allowing the mouth the be 'closed' to an extent. Below this mouth, which stretches over the pelvis to where the genitals should be, is a mass of leather straps bounding the legs to the body - if you lift these to look underneath, you can see a large cavity of organs where it appears flesh has been torn, with no remains of normal genitalia. 
Each of Mongroid's arms (legs?) stretch out as if walking, the hands flat on the ground - the sculpt of these is great, like real hands, with individually sculpted nails and indents just like a real hand. Leather straps separate the articulated parts, and bloodied chains and hooks hang from each connecting together, so that Mongroid drags a mass of them as he walks beneath his body. Finally, his head sculpt is great - his eyes are wide and bloodshot, staring as if terrified, while his mouth is bound in leather, silencing a scream of pain. A thin trail of blood runs from the mouth and eyes, as if Mongroid is crying. It's really pretty terrible, but sculpted and painted excellently - the craft and expertise of the McToys workers has never been more present - the detail is wonderfully real.
What else can I say about Mongroid? As pointed out elsewhere, he makes a great (disturbing) pencil holder - but you're more likely not to keep him around for that. He's not very playable, but his pose is fine, and he's right at home in display with the other Tortured Souls. Overall, Mongroid is definitely one of the most vile, and a great addition to the set. As for the Tortured Souls line, this was one of my favourite lines of 2001; an inventive and artful set for mature collectors who liked such things, this line wasn't just disgusting for the sake of disgusting - the figures are art, and the back story behind them is interesting and entertaining.
Overall this is a fine set of figures for the mature collectors who like this sort of thing - the squeamish should stay far, far away.
Overall Rating: B+
Shocka's Placing in the Line: 4th
Agonistes | The Scythe-Meister | Lucidique | Talisac | Venal Anatomica | Mongroid
What does it say about Clive and Todd that Mongroid's mouth looks most like a vagina? Why's he got feet on the end of his legs? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.
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