OMFG!!!! That’s the name of this line, but it gets censored on some message forums. Oh, you silly people with your wacky shenanigans. But anyway, the Outlandish Mini Figures Series 4 has finally arrived! October Toys is continuing this toy line, and… well, OMFG 1 and 2 came out before Life In Plastic was a thing, so you really only got to see Series 3 from here. In short, the line is:
1. Totally crowdfunded, with fan-voted designs and designers. It was on Kickstarted back in 2011, before Kickstarter was a really big thing.
2. Stylistically based on MUSCLE and other similar mini figure lines.
3. Occasionally includes extras from OTMFG, a sidekick series (OTMFGs have been coming out since Series 2, but 3 and 4 actually came wth them if you preordered on the Kickstarter).
4. Series 1 was met with huge acclaim, Series 2 was met with a middling response, Series 3 got lots of praise, and now we are on Series 4.
The figures are the same type of plastic as Series 1 and 3 (technically so was 2, but the consistency and color felt a little different. Darker and glossier), though there is one notable difference – on average, Series 4 figures are smaller than the ones that came before. The difference isn’t huge, and it certainly isn’t a game-breaker, but these guys are closer to typical MUSCLE size than their brethren.
Theme is another interesting thing. Series 1 was pretty varied. Stroll was a cute mascot type, Multiskull was an amazing sculpting showcase, Phantom Outhouse was a funny gag character, Crawdad Kid was a surreal piece of art, and King Castor was a big walking castle. Series 2 seemed to fall back on more “cutesy” designs, with Shirtle, Cry-Borg, and Grimm Gourd seeming more like a “kid’s” line (not necessarily an insult), Cuddlehard as the OMFG logo, and Puke Knight as a removale two-piece figure. Series 3 relied heavily on puns, but with an added monster connection. Pugnacious and Fruit Punch were puns, TenCan was somewhere between pun and monster, Doctor Decay was pure monster, and Barbariannaut was like an ’80s kid’s fantasy. The Zombie Glyos figure included was an awesome bonus, and pushed it toward the monster level. So, what about Series 4?
OMFG Series 4 is very, very monster-themed. Let’s take a look!
First up is Fossil Freak, designed by Michael Stearns and sculpted by George Gaspar (Gaspar owns October Toys, and seems to handle sculpting duties if the original designer does not sculpt their creation). It’s a hulking, half-decayed dinosaur chimera, and although I do like the figure, I have to admit that it’s pretty hard to photograph well. Now, I want to point out that none of these figures re bad, and in fact Seris 4 is a really strong offering as a whole, but Fossil Freak is probably my least favorite of the set. Something about his hulking form just did not translate as well to his reduced size. The bighead dinosaur monster is still pretty cool, but he doesn’t personally rock my world. Still, the design isn’t anything to sneeze at, especially his tiny human arm or his massive exposed brain.
Designed and sculpted by Billy Parker, Wooly Wisp is a little reminiscent of Stroll from Series 1 – in a way, he looks like the mascot for a company (which Stroll is). Of all the figures, Wooly Wisp would benefit most from some paint, particularly on his beady eyes. He has kind of a Bigfoot vibe going on, especially since he’s doing the Cryptid Walk, but some of the finer detail can get lost in his hairy sculpt. Of all the figures in Series 4, Wooly Wisp is most like a MUSCLE in size and composition, and it’s easy to see how he won those votes.
People have wanted a female OMFG figure for a while now, but one never really won out – I honestly expected the snake and scorpion girls from the first few sets to win, but it never happened. However, The Siren, designed by Corwin Webb and sculpted by george Gaspar, made it in. At first glance, she’s a pretty traditional mermaid, topless but with no nipples, and some pretty decent tail sculpting and posing (she is posed almost exactly like Monster In My Pocket’s Triton figure, in fact). But then you notice that she is carrying a full pirate ship in one hand, which is impressively detailed for this scale – look at that Jolly Roger! Siren has a potentially fragile point on that ship, but she is an impressive piece of tiny sculpting work.
Tree Witched, sculpted by designed by MudMarox and sculpted by GormTransMonster, is the biggest figure in the set – he’s the size of a typical OMFG figure from Series 1-3! An impressively detailed sculpt, he immediately draws comparisons to Multiskull from 1, Grimm Gourd from 2, and Doctor Decay from 3. Honestly, Multiskull is still the most amazingly-sculpted figure in this line, but th4 two stand well together. Grimm Gourd had a problem of looking more like an onion than a pumpkin, and Doctor Decay was a little flat. Tree Wiched is not – it’s a very dynamic sculpt with all sorts of awesome little Halloweeny details. This tree monster was done incredibly well.
Bullseye, sculpted by Tom Khayos and Ana Bruja-Khayos – wait, no, that’s Raging Nerdgasm, hah – is quite literally a bull’s eye. Sort of. He’s this set’s resident “weirdo,” and is quite awesome. That eye is well-sculpted and full of personality (it reminds me of a specific Far Side cartoon), and his bullish parts could easily stand in for demon or alien parts if you want. Bullseye’s non-standard design is a great addition to OMFG, and this figure feels like he could fit into any of the sets so far.
And finally, we have our bonus OTMFG figure. Brainwave, designed by Joe Whiteford and George Gaspar, will eventually be available on October Toys, but for now is a Kickstarter bonus only. Concerning OTMFG, the Zombie Pheyden came with OMFG, whereas Deadbeet, Retro Robot, et. al. are completely on their own, though thye do fit into OMFG pretty well. Brainwave counts because of the simultaneous release. As a walking, talking brain-monster, Brainwave is petty unique. He’s got a spinal cord tail, skull jaws, cartoon sneakers and gloves, alien antennae, and mad scientist goggles. His sculpt is really detailed, with some impressive brain and bone work, and is just filled with personality. This guy is a great little bonus – and since he isn’t inextricably tied to Glyos, he also stands well as a little monster on his own!
So, how are they overall? OMFG Series 4 does not disappoint. It takes some interesting new steps and branches out pretty well while still remaining clearly part of the original line. And that thing about everything being a monster is true – one could easily see these figures as random encounters in a SNES RPG game. That’s a good part of their charm, though, as OMFG makes toys that honestly are like nothing else on the shelf, even with their clear MUSCLE theme.