https://nerditis.com...gang-time-wars/
Now that we've gotten past giants, let's look at some ordinary toys just appearing on shelves now! Grossery Gang has sure come a long way from its origins. It started out as a food-based Trash Pack revamp, but then began to... mutate. In its current form, the little rubber figures have weapons, and the gimmicky toys are extra-gimmicky! The theme for the newest set is time travel - the Time Wars are upon us, so we have figures themed from different parts of history - western, pirate, medieval, ninja, prehistoric, and future. You know, those clear-cut time periods you'll find inside every history book. "Pirate." But this has taken the figures even further from their earlier incarnation than the previous bug wars theme - while ironically mirroring some of the Trash Pack's later themes, such as Series 7's prehistoric toys. The two kinds of gimmicky special figures are futuristic cyborgs, which are part-rubber part-hard plastic, and computer viruses - slightly firmer, translucent rubber, with a "core" that looks like metal. The two-packs are Flush Force-esque toilets, which fizz and overflow to reveal the toys inside (please don't do this for the toilets that come with 8-packs - the fizz will wreck those computer virus figures). And of course, there are action figures, too! Now, unfortunately, the horribly un-durable squishy rubber of the previous series are still here, even when paired with firmer plastic on occasion. It's a pity and a shame, as if they had been just a little more durable, this series would be INCREDIBLE. But anyway, three of the action figures are out, and I've also picked up some of the regular minis, so let's take a look!
Cyber-Slop Pizza aka Mr. Slice Guy
Cyber-Slop Pizza's a slimy cyber-slice who's on a mission and nothing's going to stop him! Half machine and half mozzarella, this sloppy pizza has come back from the future to collect as much grossness as he can get his filthy futuristic hands on and he's not leaving until every drop of slop is sucked up!
Man, I don't know where to start with this one. He's pizza with Terminator and Darth Vader toppings, and a time traveling delivery service! This guy's the clear crown jewel of the set. His cape is rubber (thankfully. I don't like soft goods), he's got a hunched, uneven posture, and his cyborg parts fit in hilariously well. His gigantic cannon "fires" its missile if you flick it, and has space for the mini to clip on! That's actually the shared gimmick for all three figures. "Missile" "launchers."
The mini is a good preview of the cyborg figures. Its body is mostly soft rubber (ugh), but the tech parts are hard plastic, which actually protect the rubber a bit. Anyway, it looks cool!
Speaking of that missile... yeah, so you flick it, but it looks great. The design definitely fits.
It's weird how I don't seem to have much to say about this figure, but honestly, what you see is what you get. It's quite good!
Putrid Pizza aka Pizza Face
Putrid Pizza has crawled out of the toilet to help the Grosseries take on the Rotbots! Prehistoric and with a rock hard crust, he only has one thing on his primitive brain - Grossness! He has no fear when it comes to saving the slop from being sucked into the future! He's stone age, cheesy and extra greasy!
So, he's a cave man now. Deal with it. This version of Putrid Pizza has an identical head to the original, but an all-new body, wearing animal skins! His weapon is also clearly a log that launches... uh, fire? orange rocks? I dunno. But I'm suddenly on board with all these themed pizza dudes - regular, Rambo, neanderthal, and cyborg. I wonder what's next?
And the mini is... heh... heh... heheheheheheheHAHAHAHAHA - sorry, I love those neanderthal eyebrows. I can just imagine this guy going "DURRRRRRRN" all the time!
Anyway, Putrid Pizza doesn't bring much new to the table, especially when compared to his futuristic counterpart, but the pizza guys make for a good group photo, so I can't fault this one.
Gooey Chewie aka Gooey
Gooey Chewie is powered up and ready to take on the Rotbots! He is a Kung-Goo master master who can stick it to the enemy with his icky ninja skills! He moves in silence as he sneaks up on his target and launches a surprise saliva attack1 Gooey Chewie has the drool that rules!
Okay, so like he's a ninja now. When the other figures are released, you'll find pirates, knights, and stuff like that - you know, time travel! But Gooey Chewie is now... a NINJA! And his gun shoots "ninja stars," or somethin' like that. Ninja.
His mini is not shaped like the previous bonus mini Gooey Chewies, but that's because it's more like his regular-release (you know, the original gum dude). He's so wrapped up in ninja garb that you'd be forgiven for not knowing this is supposed to be gum. Fun fact: "Ninja" gear is actually kuroko garb from Noh theater - stagehands would dress all in black as visual shorthand for "This person is not part of the play. Ignore him as he moves props around." But then the NINJA character would be dressed the same, to take the audience by surprise when they did something! And there we go.
Gooey Chewie is a pretty extensive resculpt, with only the legs shared from previous versions. I like the way they ninja'd him up, though the three returning characters (there's a medieval donut) won't hold a candle to all the new ones advertised (pirate shark? punk potato? cyborg pumpkin? GIMME).
Although Gooey Chewie isn't the most impressive of the group, he's pretty cool.
Scum Skull is a prehistoric figure. He looks so much like Gon that I wish this figure was made of better material! But seriously, great expression on him, haha!
Sir Muck Knuckles is medieval, and kind of creative - I love the way he holds his sword!
There's a snake in Spewy Boot, which is a hilarious pun! The weapons are pretty creative in this series.
Pukoo Clock wields a cuckoo - there are clock and timepiece-themed figures, too. This makes up for my forgetting to photograph one of the ninjas (sushi roll, nunchaku, stuff like that).
Carrot Slop-Bot is a thing of beauty. This is my favorite figure, and I have made so many Terminator jokes that it isn't funny (it can't be any worse than what they've already done with the franchise).
Likewise, Slimeapple-Bot has some of the best paint in the line, for a small rubber figure!
Yuck Computer Bug has a visible "metal" core - from what I can see, it's like a screw or a brain or something. Maybe someday I'll cut a duplicate open to see... or something. Anyway, the computer viruses are pretty different from the norm, but I like the aesthetic (as wella s the slighly firmer rubber).
Spew Tooth is a little more buglike - well, the computer bugs look kind of like this in general. Some have grinning faces, some just have eyes, but that's what they are.
So, there you go! I'm getting tired of the soft rubber, but these Time Wars figures still bring enough creativity to the table to reel me in! And the action figures frankly keep getting better and better each series!
