Series 4

Good news! It seems our fears that OMFG series would be like Star Trek movies, where every alternating one sucks (with the difference that for Trek, it's the odd numbered ones, while OMFG was shaping up to be evens), were unfounded. Because here we are in Series 4, and we're presented with one of the strongest lineups yet! Once again funded through Kickstarter, the price has gone up a bit: the previous series cost $10, while this one is up to $12. Is that general inflation, or because we're getting a lot of really complex figures? We'll have to wait to see what's in Series 5 to be sure. This time around the background of the packaging is orange, which really clashes with the big blue lips on the OMFG logo. Our first figure is Fossil Freak, designed by Michael Sterns. A large, hunched monster, Fossil Freak lives up to his name by looking like a half-decayed dinosaur. A ceratops of some kind, judging by the nose-horn and the big frill on the back of the head. The original design makes clearer what's supposed to be bone and what's supposed to be skin, but you can figure it out from the sculpt without much trouble. The different sizes of the arms is cool, and if you look at him from behind, you can make out a large, exposed brain. His entire spine sticks out, all the way down to the tip of his tail. Billy Parker's Wooly Wisp is the weakest figure in the set, just being a generic furry monster. Yes, that's the exact same thing we said about Stroll in Series 1 - apparently I just don't like fur, while OMFG fans just keep voting for it. Wooly Wisp is reminiscent of the Missouri Monster, a Bigfoot with eyes and no face. But just because he's overshadowed by his friends doesn't mean he's bad. The sculpting on his fur is impressively detailed, and he's got a dynamic pose, shambling forward. It's because of this that he had to be made from two molds: the right leg is separate, glued in place. Were there any multi-part MUSCLE or Monster in My Pocket figures? Speaking of monsters, that's what Bullseye is. Designed by Raging Nerdgasm (tee hee hee!), this is the sort of mini-demon you'd expect to see in a Hieronymus Bosch painting. As suggested by the name, he's an eyeball with hooves and horns. Not that he looks particularly bullish - the horns are definitely more demonic than bovine, and there are only two hooves. The horns (and tail) are a separate piece glued over the top of the head, and all the "skin" has a fine, wrinkly texture that looks like an eyelid. This is a bunch of fun! The biggest and most complex figure in the set is Tree Witched, which is supposed to be a pun on "bewitched," but works better as that than as an actual name. And that's "complex" both in terms of design and construction: the head and arms are all separate pieces glued to the body. Super complex! Of course, there really wasn't any other way to turn (sculptor) GormTransMonster's nice work on MudMarox's design into three dimensions. But again, wasn't the point of the old toys that they were all made from a single mold? More than that seems like cheating the system. But who's going to complain when you get something that looks this cool? Tree Witched is a big ambulatory tree, but what really makes this figure cool is the tiny treehouse perched on his shoulder. Small touches like that are what turn a mediocre idea into a good one. Our final figure is Corwin Webb's Siren. In the original Greek, the Sirens were bird women - they had wings, and it's not like fish are known for their beautiful songs, right? It was the Romans who moved them to the sea, and by that connection they've slowly become mermaids instead of harpies. This figure definitely goes the mermaid route, giving a topless woman with the lower body of a fish. She's even more of a giant than Tree Witched was, judging by the pirate ship she's casually holding in her right hand. Adorably, all her jewelry - bracelets and a necklace - are made from anchors. Her crown appears to be made from shipwreck flotsam, like it just stuck in her hair as she surfaced. Her scales are detailed nicely, too. The OMFG figures range in size from 1⅝" to just under 2⅛", and have no points of articulation. The plastic is a little bit flexible, especially on thin pieces like the sails on Siren's ship, but it's mostly solid. The standard set is pink, but other colors were available at higher pledge levels (and through other sites). Series 5 was only available to be voted on by Series 4 Kickstarter backers, so we already know who's going to be in it. Whatever you think of that lineup, Series 4 has a good one. -- 07/29/15

Tweet