The Home for Odd, Ugly and Neglected Toys

Multi-Colored Monster Head Skeletons (or Apple Devil and Friends)

Multi-Colored Monster Head Skeletons (or Apple Devil and Friends)

Rejoice!

Another strange collection of unidentifiable toys! I really, really need your help with this one.

It all started with this guy.

Apple Devil
(Click to enlarge)
Pink Devil Skeleton

Isn’t he the best thing since weirdo sliced bread?

A fellow toy-collecting buddy of mine, Duane, found him at a flea market a few years back. He actually used to drag this toy around to various comic shows with the Wide Awake Press crew as our table mascot (I’m not sure if it helped sell more comics).

Pink Devil Skeleton

I’m telling you, for me, it was love (and envy) at first site. Duane nicknamed him Apple Devil. I now officially had a name for my new crush.

(Click to enlarge)
Pink Devil Skeleton

The name is surprisingly appropriate. The guy’s got a plump, round, red head w/ green eyebrows and horns. He definitely shares some visual cues of an apple.

Just look at him. A screwed up pink skeleton body with a full-on, bright-red devil head with blatantly inaccurate, skeletal anatomy.

That’s what makes him so great!

(Click to enlarge)
Pink Devil Skeleton

It’s been years and years, and Duane reminds me of Apple Devil every chance he gets (since I’m Mr. Toy Blog and everything). Do you know what it feels like to have one of your best friends and fellow toy collectors just dangle this unfathomably, rare jewel in front of you?

(It’s not that bad actually. I mean, c’mon. It’s just a toy for Christ’s sake. Waitaminit! Now that I think about it. I did the same thing when I found the Nightmare Warriors at a toy show we attended together. Ha! Serves me right I guess.)

Well, that all leads me to this little story. Just recently, I posted a link to my blog on LittleRubberGuys.com just to get some feedback from some other fellow toy fanatics. One friendly member, who goes by the name THEGODBEAST, contacted me and actually sent me some pics of weird toys in his collection.

He had some pretty cool stuff. I was just scrolling through the pics… analyzing every toy, making sure I wasn’t missing anything, but I couldn’t believe what I saw next.

(Click to enlarge)
Devil Skeletons

I was sitting at my desk staring at a photo of not one but two – TWO more little skeleton guys with monster heads! And not only that, but they were totally unlike the Apple Devil (other than the fact that they had monster heads on skeleton bodies). So, I’m guessing there was a series of these toys? Various monster heads on skeleton bodies?

These two guys were blue and green, while the Apple Devil was red/pink. It kind of completes the RBG color profile (sorry… lame designer reference).

Surprisingly, THEGODBEAST was more than willing to sell these figures to me. Unfortunately, he had no more information about what these are or how they came to be.

So, here you are. Check out these beauties.

Blue Goat Devil
(Click to enlarge)
Blue Devil Skeleton

Here we have the blue devil guy. He seems a little more goat-like. Check out his horns and ears. He’s cool and all, but he’s not as cartoony as the pink guy.

(Click to enlarge)
Blue Devil Skeleton

And another detail worth noting is the non-matching blue plastic of his torso and appendages. Now that’s quality!

(Click to enlarge)
Blue Devil Skeleton

Now this guy is just nasty. The realistic tongue hanging out of his mouth just creeps me out.

Snake Face
(Click to enlarge)
Green Snake Skeleton

And lastly we have this guy, who breaks the pattern of the devil head on a skeleton body. This appears to be a snake-head man.

(Click to enlarge)
Green Snake Skeleton

His head looks like a large snake head that’s swallowed the head of another scaly monster. It’s kind of weird.

(Click to enlarge)
Green Snake Skeleton

The face on this guy is a lot more generic and nondescript. Not nearly as much character/personality in the face sculpt as the previous two figures.

What the hell are these things? I’m gonna see them in my comedic nightmares.

I recently contacted Duane about my miraculous find, and he surprised me with a very grand gesture. He actually decided to let me have Apple Devil. Duane decided Apple Devil’s better off in my home where he’ll have more of a purpose.

Of course I couldn’t just take Apple Devil without some sort of toy compensation…

Gross Out Gang

… so I decided to give Duane the three remaining Gross Out Gang figures he needed to complete the set (don’t worry. They were doubles). I’m now the proud owner of Apple Devil, and Duane gets to play with Nose Ark, Egg Brain and Wired Wilma.

A happy ending for all. Thanks Duane 😀

…or is it? The toys have no markings whatsoever. Maybe they just miraculously came through some portal opened by members of the occult. Can these be some unsuspecting tools of the devil? Hope not. I’m going to try my best not to worship them. I guess I’ve accidentally created a shrine full of false idols for all you Weirdo Toys readers out there to worship. Sorry about that. If you feel a bit too unnerved by the presence of these plastic demons, you can always call on Lil’ Jesus to save the day.

Lil' Jesus

I’m not sure how many devil heads there are, how many colors there are or what. There are absolutely no markings to reveal the year they were made or company that produced them. You think they’re bootlegs or some forgotten 80s toyline? If anyone knows anything, please let me know.

• Buy devil toys on eBay!

INFO UPDATE
Success! I’ve discovered what these skeleton guys are.

With a bit of laborious web-detective work I was lead to an old topic on the Action Figure Archive forums.

Underworld Warriors

Underworld Warriors

Underworld Warriors

It appears that these figures are from an old 80s toyline called Underworld Warriors. As I anticipated, they are a series of generic multi-colored bodies with unique heads. I’m not sure how many are in the set or who made these toys. In my attempt to read these low-res pics, all I can make out is “Made in Hong Kong” along with some other truly inspiring bullet points:

• Moving Arms & Legs
• Twisting Head
• Complete with Shield & Weapon

Wow! Their arms, legs AND head move? It’s almost like they’re an action figures or something. It is cool to know they came with a shield and weapon though. That’s just more stuff to search for I guess.

Lastly, look at that horrendous packaging. A sloppy logo and a very, very crummy drawing of a skeleton guy climbing out of a coffin… and he’s wearing a cloak. Makes him look like Little Skeletal Riding Hood. I wonder if any of the characters in this line are actually depictions of that guy.

Oh, and thanks, Patrick, for the informative email. I wish I’d received your message before spending the research time myself… but at least I found these crummy eBay pics 😉

If anyone out there has these toys, please, please contact me. I’ll definitely take them off your hands.

INFO UPDATE AGAIN!

Yes! Thanks to Clambo at Clam’s Toy Box, I have a better quality image of the Underworld Warriors card. Apparently the back of the card is just blank cardboard. Classic.

I noticed I misquoted the bullet points on the package. Every “&” is actually just an “N.”

(Click to enlarge)
Underworld Warriors


28 Responses

  1. oldman says:

    Another “GREAT” find. I see a future exhibit
    at the Smithsonian Institute if this keeps going.

  2. Jason says:

    Congrats. You’ve made me jealous again.

    How the crap am i going to find these? I got dibs on any doubles that may cross your path in the future. Thanks for sharing the weirdness.

  3. the pizza says:

    snake face is my favorite. this post makes me want to go to the flea market so bad. it still needs to get a bit warmer and more spring-like around here. i’m fiending to hunt for old toys, i can feel it on an almost cellular level. the goodwill ain’t cutting it.

  4. @ Oldman – A weirdo toys exhibit really would be pretty cool. I’ll have to start working on that.

    @ Jason – I can always judge the quality of the toy blog entries by the Jealousy Meter. How high does this one rank? 😉

    @ the pizza – Yeah, spring is great flea-market weather. I need to start going again too. I never find anything worthwhile at Goodwill stores.

  5. pl0xman123 says:

    Snake-head man’s face is going to give me nightmares!
    Also, what is up what that Jesus toy?? He has no legs..

  6. bubbashelby says:

    Those are some weird sons-a-bitches!

  7. These are sweet, I especially like the Blue Goat Devil. I’m really enjoying your blog!

    Oh yeah and tag your it

    http://eclectorama.blogspot.com/2009/03/yea-meme-six-random-things.html

  8. Mr. Sean says:

    Those are SOOOOO cool! Man. I’ll keep an eye out for them. Also, received my MADBALL. Thanks alot!
    Sean.

  9. Reis O'Brien says:

    These figures are so awesome! I’ve never heard of them before. Excellent find and great story, my friend!

  10. krakit says:

    I think its funny that these monster/skeleton
    figures have pastel body colors. I was thinking
    they might be the natural colors of the material for
    having glow-in-the-dark bodies, but you didn’t
    mention anything about GID. So I’m guessing
    they’re purposefully all pastel with bright colored
    heads! Weirdo for sure!!

  11. @ pl0xman – I know! That jesus is super-short. Wait’ll you see the Lil’ Mary, Moses and Noah.

    @ BubbsShelby – Music to my ears 😉

    @ Charles Howell – Thanks .I’ll have to return the “6 random things” favor. Maybe I’ll get to it this weekend.

    @ Mr. Sean – Glad you got your Madball. My pleasure 😀

    @ Reis O’Brien – Thanks for the support. I think they found me.

    @ krakit – Nope. They don’t glow in the dark (at least the ones I have don’t). Looks like they’re intentionally pastel colored. I like these weirdos.

  12. Clambo says:

    I have one of these MOC. He’s not for sell, but I will provide better pics if you are interested. If so leave a message here.

  13. mistuh_t says:

    I want better card pics! I’d love to see the whole lineup.

    also, Justin-check out this new thread I started over at october toys forum, I think you’ll dig it.

    http://www.octobertoys.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3095

  14. Thanks Clambo! You are the best! That’s super generous of you.

    Hey Mistuh-T. You’re in luck. I just posted a higher-quality pic of the Underworld Warriors package. I hope it’s good enough for you.

    I’d love to see the whole lineup too. Don’t think it’s not on my “wishlist” 😉

    Oh, awesome post on October Toys by the way. Thanks for sharing!

  15. THEGODBEAST says:

    Glad my pair went to a good home for someone that truly appreciates their oddity!

    TGB

  16. Poe Ghostal says:

    These are awesome. It will take all my power not to start chasing them down…

  17. PB says:

    snake face is my favorite. this post makes me want to go to the flea market so bad. it still needs to get a bit warmer and more spring-like around here. i’m fiending to hunt for old toys, i can feel it on an almost cellular level. the goodwill ain’t cutting it.

  18. duane says:

    Justin brotha, Who knew that the Apple Devil and his gang where due for such greatness!! Excellent blog and thanks for the sweet props! Love to you my mang!

  19. Love to you Duane. Thanks for the friendship and sharing the Apple Devil. He’s now on display for the world to see 😀

  20. zehn says:

    What is an apple devil?

  21. Dennis says:

    I’ve had one in the past that had a green face and a witch hat that was also a Underworld Warrior. I have a photo of it if you want it because I don’t see it anywhere on your website.

    Also, here’s one for sale on ebay.
    http://cgi.ebay.ca/Underworld-Warriors-1980s-Rare-Skeleton-Action-Figure-/200554487689?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item2eb1fa9f89

  22. Crispect says:

    I had the “Apple Devil” one when I was a kid! It scared the hell out of me. I don’t remember where I got it from. I remembered it a while ago and googled “Devil Toy” just for fun seeing if it would come up and I couldn’t believe that I actually found it haha. I don’t remember where it ended up though, my mom probably gave it away with all my toys to someone else I guess.

  23. Alex says:

    Hi, I just recently came across this old thread in the course my own research into some old toylines. I’m not sure how helpful this is but when you mentioned the bullet points on those cards it struck a bell. I recently started a collection of Galaxy Warriors in all of their many incarnations. I found that one of the easiest ways to determine which figure goes with which line is to first group them based on which points are articulated, solid or 2 piece torso, etc.. because there are in fact several lines that use bodies based entirely on sungold molds, and have no markings whatsoever. In fact even some of the Sewco ones are unmarked. Anyway, I’m rambling so I’ll real it back a bit and get to the point of the story. I found that if I could find a good pic of one on a card they helpfully list the same bullet points you mentioned (including an accurate summary of which parts are articulated) in the exact same place on the card using the same wording. In fact the basic card layout of “Underworld Warriors” is exactly the same as “Muscle Warriors”. Unfortunately I have no idea who makes them either but it could be another piece to the puzzle.

  24. krakit says:

    SpankyStokes.com has an article about Skullmark making a soft vinyl action figure based on the skeleton figure of the UnderWorld Warriors series. Skullmark will call part of the new toy line SkullWorld Warriors. http://www.spankystokes.com/2015/09/return-of-underworld-warriors.html

  25. krakit says:

    more photos of the Skullmark soft vinyl toys based on the UnderWorld Warriors at MAN-E-Toys blog http://man-e-toys.com/2015/09/03/man-e-news-skullmarks-skullworld-warriors-sofubi-teased/

  26. Joshua says:

    I stumbled upon this website just now when I came across photos of the Underworld Warriors on ebay and instantly recognized them. It’s great to now know what they are called after 30 + years and I do remember the packaging. It was very simple and basic.
    I may be one of the few people that actually remembers seeing the Underworld Warriors in stores back in 1985 or 1986 at “Everything’s a Dollar” at the mall, of all places! It’s crazy to think that these figures were only $1.00 then, but are now going for much, much more. I was 6 or 7 at the time and was given a few of these figures as presents since I was also a MOTU fanatic at the time. Each figure came with a spider shield and a staff accessory of sorts. The coolest accessory was the skeletal arm staff which on one end had four skeletal fingers (that I remember were really sharp)! In fact, if you scrapped the clawed hand on your skin by accident, it would cause pretty bad scratches, paper-cut level scratches. It was the 80’s afterall before everything was made of rubber and had a million warnings on the packaging.
    Unfortunately, the sharp clawed fingers on that particular accessory were brittle and all of mine were reduced the meta-carpel nubs in no time. The webbing on the shields were also very brittle and broke off pretty easily leaving the spider on the shield without a web.
    These guys were really cool and I can confirm that there were only 6 in this set. I remember seeing them on the rack and there were quite a lot of them, alongside other MOTU knockoffs which dominated the toy isles at the time. The white skeleton and snake headed dudes my favorites.

  27. Kad says:

    Hello i have 4 of this under world warriors . Igual Will listo then on eBay . Of you are interested on them write me a mail. I Will provide The photos so you can check them.

  28. Kad says:

    I have four of The under world warriors . Igual you interested let me know and i sent you some pics . If you want i can list them on eBay for safety

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Goto Top