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Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: Raffles on 01 January 2024, 08:32:57 PM
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Hi all,
Hopefully it's ok to post this topic? It's not strictly wargaming but it is loosely related.
I was digging around in my parents' attic today and found these:
(https://i.ibb.co/2Yx97hf/IMG-20240101-195146-edit-644379259164915.jpg)
Mini boglins were popular toys in UK in the early 90s and I used to collect them as a boy. I don't think they were ever released in the USA so thought they might be of interest to any Americans or non European members. They were also hand sculpted using putty and then made using a resin mould.
The curious thing is, they were originally designed by two Americans who used to work on the Muppets. I think, had they been released in the USA, they would have been huge.
The crafting technique fascinated me as it must be very similar to how mini wargaming figures are made.
There's a whole history of how they were created here:https://timothyyoungauthor.com/2020/08/17/mini-boglins/
(https://timothyyoungauthor.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/timsculptingboglins.jpg)
It does make me feel quite nostalgic, toys back in the 80s/90s had so much more character and were far cooler than modern stuff (not that I play with toys, but I have a 3 year old daughter who now wants to play with my boglins).
It must have been such a fun job being paid to invent and design stuff like this. Are there any other boglin fans in the house? I think they would also make great models for Fantasy/DnD.
https://timothyyoungauthor.com/2020/08/17/mini-boglins/
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Boglins were sold in the US... in fact...they still are!
https://theboglins.com/
Tim Clarke (who worked with Jim Henson's company - on films like the Dark Crystal) has kept the rights to his Boglin toy line all these years and has released new ones about every 15-20 years. There as an infusion of new boglins in the early 2000s and a KS in, I think, 2019 or so. There are several Boglin shorts on Youtube that are fun to watch.
I don't think they were ever as popular in the US as they were overseas, lack of cartoon tie-in - as was popular during the era - probably hurt US sales, but two joined our house this Christmas morning!
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Well this is a blast from the past!
I used to collect these in the early 90s, with a passion! I went to all kinds of lengths to ensure I had every single one. By the time I was ten (in 1993) I had the whole set.
Once I had the set, though, suddenly they had no meaning to me anymore, and on an impulse move, I traded them with another kid from school in order to swap places with him in a sports event, to ensure I would win! He agreed and I honoured the deal.
To quote Lemmy (of Motörhead fame):
"You know the chase is better than the catch..."
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I love mini boglins! They were one of my most treasured toys as a child and I still have my collection in the attic. They're too precious to me to let my own kids play with them lol
I didn't know they were hand-sculpted, that link with wargaming just makes them all the more appealing.
Must resist urge to go on ebay and complete my collection o_o
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I used to have loads of them, I loved Boglins as a child along with Monsters in my Pocket!
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Monsters in my Pocket!
Yes! I collected all of those too! Can't remember what I did with them though...