Well, it happened. I fell, and fell hard. The Grossery Gang is the followup to Moose Toys' Trash Pack, a line of gross-ish mini-figures similar to Uggly Pets or Fungus Amungus or Mutant Mania, only it's actually lasted. My big complaint has always been that the figures are too soft and squishy, and do not hold paint well - lack of durability, argh. Mind you, some of them are made in better-quality PVC, but that's not the point of today. The point is that I bought all of these figures at once. Ahahahahaha.
The point is, they've got action figures. These are essentially the grandchildren of Food Fighters from the '80s, and they are glorious. Standing at about 4"-ish, they have solid construction, great articulation, and even removable heads! They only cost about $6, which is a huge value for your dollar (one figure, one accessory, and one exclusive Grossery figure). The idea is that the Grossery characters are up against the Clean Team, a set of chrome-colored cleaning equipment robots. Apparently there's a movie.
The first set lists nine figures, but only six have been seen. But take heart, Moose is sure to deliver the last three before long!
On a hilarious note, these figures cross over perfectly with the Grossery Yucky Mart playset, but I only picked it up after doing 90% of the photography for this review. So enjoy the three pictures at the end taken there, and imagine it as way more fitting than the Blue Wall. But anyway, let's look at all six figures!
PUTRID PIZZA
aka Pizza Face
Pizza Face is one slop with the lot. The never-say-die leader of the Grossery Gang is ready to lead his gross gang into greasy battle. With his pizza slicer weapon he'll serve it up to his opponents. Defeating the Clean Team will not be cheesy but Pizza Face is a supreme fighter! Get ready to fight dirty!
(Yes, the bio really looks like that)
Putrid Pizza is the flagship character for this line, and he looks fantastic! He's got great detailing, and a texture that actually looks kind of greasy.
Yes, his head looks great just as a pizza slice on its own.
This is his exclusive Grossery, a variant on the original character - he appeared in Series 1, but this is a brand new sculpt.
Yes, you can easily fit the Grossery on his head, and the combination works extremely well!
I can easily divide the six figures into a favorites tier, and he's one of the ones on top.
DODGEY DONUT
aka Rocky
Rock hard and ready to roll, Dodgey Donut is rude, crude and barely food! Dodgey Donut is a hole lotta trouble! With limbs of iced rings, he's a donut who's about to go nuts! When it's time for a dirty battle he's the one you'll want by your side. This scrappy snack is always 'round when you ned him! Get ready to fight dirty!
Dodgey Donut suffers a little from lacking a head - although he certainly looks fantastic like this, he's missing the head-swapping feature. Still, look at him! He's a donut! And a great one!
Also, his weapon is a pair of churro nunchaku. That's hilarious in many horrible ways.
His exclusive Grossey is fun, though clearly somebody has tried the donut and found it too dodgey to continue (ha ha).
Even without a proper head, Dodgey Donut is still great. Come on, churro nunchaku.
GRUB SUB
aka Meathead
Loud, proud and easy to spot in a crowd, Grub Sub thinks he's the life of the party! But when the Putrid Power kicks in he's the force with the sauce! He's a moldy Bread Head who's ready to sandwich anyone who gets in his way. Get ready to fight dirty!
This one is probably my favorite. Though granted, his weapon - a ketchup bottle in mid-squeeze - looks somewhat obscene, that doesn't detract from the figure.
Look at that sculpting! He's a roast beef sub, and he looks perfect! The figure also has some heft to him, with a head that's more solid than either of the "larger" figures in this line.
Grub Sub's head looks fantastic on its own, too.
His exclusive Grossery is kind of weird, and the lack of visible meat hurts it a bit.
That said, it really looks good on his body - though I've tested, and most Grosseries look great on Grub Sub's body, because it can stand in for a lot of food and trash textures.
This figure is probably my favorite to just mess around with, and it's very easy to see why.
GOOEY CHEWIE
aka Gooey
Extra crude and already chewed, this dude's not "Old School" - he's "Old Drool!" Icky and sticky, Gooey Chewie can't wait to get his sticky hands on the Clean Team. They had better watch out for his sloppy slingshot beause when he hits, he sticks! Get ready to fight dirty!
Gooey Chewie is the smallest and skinniest figure, but is just insanely fun. His head may be a little... odd, but he's honestly absolutely great.
He's also one of the best ones to pose in the wild, ha ha!
Gooey Chewie's exclusive Grossery is also triangular, which is much different from his square original. The texture actually fits, too!
It looks particularly good on his body, too.
Really, Gooey Chewie is another extremely fun figure, even though he's kind of skinny.
TRASH HEAD
aka Clanky
Trash Head used to be your average filthy trash can until he was splashed by toxic uice and mutated into a pile of trash that's ready to smash! Trash Head is choc full of slop and is ready to empty himself on his enemy! He'll always throw up a challenge to the Clean Team! Get ready to fight dirty!
Even though grabage Grosseries are a fixture in the line, Trash Head honesty seems out of place surrounded by all this food. There is a fly monster among the remaining three figures, but it doesn't help Trash Head as the Odd Man Out. He also lacks a proper head.
His fish skeleton is held somewhat like a gun, though you can also hold it more traditionally. Now this figure does look great, and has some of the most complex detailing in the line, even though he's "different."
The exclusive Grossery looks really good, and matches very well with the figure.
Trash Head may be the "weakest" character here, but it's still a very good figure on its own merits.
VAC ATTACK
aka Oh Great and Shiny one
Don't mess with this sucker! Vac Attack's mission is to suck up the muck and tidy the trash! He may look spotless but his hands are definitely not clean! The Grossery Gang had better watch out because he's one mean cleaning machine who's out to stop the slop one sticky stain at a time! Get ready to fight dirty!
And finally we have Vac Attack, the sole member of the Clean Team in the first wave of figures. Vac Attack may look completely different from the others, but that's just like the Clean Team minis. His finish makes him look a lot like a classic car, which is certainly unexpected - but he's cool! He comes with no accessories, although he can "hold" the tubes coming out of his back, and you can plug ccessories into the underside of his arm cannon.
The exclusive Grossery is hard PVC, just like other members of the Clean Team - and I prefer that to soft, brittle rubber. Great paint job, too!
Admittedly, his head compares interestingly with the mini figure.
The head swap almost works perfectly, though Vac Attack is too wide to properly replace the head without resting at an angle. Still, he looks interesting and will blend in well when more members of the Clean Team show up in this line.
These figures are amazing. I've been carting them around, playing with them, bringing them to lunch (pizza! subs!), and just in general being a small child again. What more can we say?
I mean, sure, they aren't PERFECT, but these toys ar ehonestly some of the most fun anybody could have - and they're insanely affordable! I can't wait for the last three to be released, and here's hoping that more action figures are on the way!