Let's Talk Wobblers - Back In The Day...

[Justicewarrior88]

I'm in the mood for some Old School wobbler talk! With the new lines of ReAction and Legacy figures it seems there is an influx of people just interested in talking about those with no love for Wacky Wobblers or even Pops, so I figure that must be how the Wacky Wobbler people felt when Pop's first started with all the influx of people who only cared about Pops!

So with that being the said, I wanted to talk about Wobblers, Old School, New School, I'll even allow Jacob to talk about some Spastiks here if he wants to! I know I wasn't here for it but I'd love to talk about and hear stories about the good ole days, when Wobblers were KING!! What are some of your favorite Wobblers, Which pieces were you most excited about, lets talk!!

[SnackDaddy]

I'm a Pop!tard originally BUT wobblers kill Pops! When it comes to the details like the Heath Ledger Joker is spot on

As far as old school wobblers, I like the Freddy's, especially the infredible hulk and Freddy stark

I also like the (don't know if it's a wobbler or spastik) but it looks like a steak

[glowfunkofreak]

Here is a Fun Fact : Wobblers came over on the Mayflower !!
( it's true .. just ask Craig or Carol .. they were there .. )

[Justicewarrior88]

I started with some of the Star Wars Wobblers, I think the Jawa might have been my first one, but soon after joining the forums I was overwhelmed by the vast amount of variety that the Wobblers had! Shortly after joining Jacob gifted me a little bit of everything, Spastik, Wobbler, Pop, you name it. One of which was a Bone Daddy! It was love at first sight and the rest is history! As you can clearly see Bone Daddy is by far my favorite wobbler!

[BigM]

I'm with Huse. I started out as a POP! guy and I probably will remain one. I do love some of the wobblers and my collection of them is slowing expanding.

[chester]

OMG I LOVE WOBBLERS.
My favorites are PEZ(all)
El Diablo
Harvey cartoon
Munsters
Advertising wobblers
The list goes on and on.
p.s. Ron I didn't know Craig and Carol came over on the Mayflower? I though they were on one of the smaller ships like the Nina or Pinta?

[FFJim]

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got a spring. Wacky Wobblers were my first Funko love, and none of the other lines have come close to their appeal. My all-time favorites: the Funny Face line.

[Justicewarrior88]

OMG I LOVE WOBBLERS.
My favorites are PEZ(all)
El Diablo
Harvey cartoon
Munsters
Advertising wobblers
The list goes on and on.
p.s. Ron I didn't know Craig and Carol came over on the Mayflower? I though they were on one of the smaller ships like the Nina or Pinta?

Hey Paul! Hope you are doing great! Which was your first Pez piece and what makes you love em so much? I don't have a lot of the Pez pieces but I do really like the Bone Daddy pieces that I have! In fact I still need the Mini Bone Daddy Pez! Are there any specific pieces that you wish would have been made into Pez?

[Justicewarrior88]

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got a spring. Wacky Wobblers were my first Funko love, and none of the other lines have come close to their appeal. My all-time favorites: the Funny Face line.

I LOVE Ron's pics of his Funny Face collection, I think that is the first time I really saw a set of them, since then I've always thought they were neat! I'm not familiar with Funny Faces though, what are they from? I am trying to focus my collecting more towards specific wobbler sets, was thinking Funny Faces might be one of my next goals! I know some of the exclusives are near impossible to track down, but as long as I can get quite a few of them I'll be happy! I'd also love to pick up some Meal Magic wobblers one of these days! We may have to talk about that sometime!

[lovetheangels]

I like the HB, Advertising, and old school cartoons like Mr Magoo, Felix, Popeye, Tom & Jerry best. My very first wobbler and still my all time favorite is the Collector series glow in the dark Booberry.

[Justicewarrior88]

I like the HB, Advertising, and old school cartoons like Mr Magoo, Felix, Popeye, Tom & Jerry best. My very first wobbler and still my all time favorite is the Collector series glow in the dark Booberry.

Hey Ken!! I'm right there with ya! Love love love me some Advertising wobblers! Love the Cereal Monsters! Have a nice little display with Pops. Wobblers, Banks, Crystals... Has room for more when I get a chance to pick a few more up! It's good to hear that they will be sharing some of the Old School love with pops, but I do wish they would continue on with more wobblers. That Booberry does look amazing, where was he sold/given away at? I also like the Glow Count Chocula he's from the First Fundays in 2002 right? And one of these days I'd love to get a Make A Wish Count Chocula! Dreams right!!

[Alleycat]

Here is a Fun Fact : Wobblers came over on the Mayflower !!
( it's true .. just ask Craig or Carol .. they were there .. )

Carol and I were already there to greet the new settlers. I was known by the friendly settlers as "Prances with Protos", while my next-teepee neighbor, Carol, was known as "Slaps Ron With Skunk". The cruise directors of each of the three ships (the first of the now infamous Carnival Lines) each came bearing gifts for us - gold, frankincense, myrrh, and a huge treasure chest of doobies - all as Captain Stubing continued to prowl the decks looking for what has been rumored to have sounded something like "the WJM Newsroom"???.

By the time we finished enjoying our gifts, we split the remaining gold and went our separate ways. "Slaps" became a cowpoke, while I changed my name to "the Artist Formerly Known as Prances" and went on to open for such famous Vegas acts such as Milly Vinilli and Scooper, The Wonder Dog.

Fast forward to 2005, where I was reunited with Slaps (we had by then adapted our current names) at Fundays in good 'ol San Diego, U.S. of A. We became instant friends again until she "inadvertently" pushed me into the path of a boxed pair of Freddy Flyers that was hurling through the air at near supersonic speed. I then fell on her in slow motion. Neither of us have been the same again. But we did still have most of our shares of the gold, which we have been using to fund our incurable Funko habit ever since.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Now what was this topic about???????

[Justicewarrior88]

Here is a Fun Fact : Wobblers came over on the Mayflower !!
( it's true .. just ask Craig or Carol .. they were there .. )

Carol and I were already there to greet the new settlers. I was known by the friendly settlers as "Prances with Protos", while my next-teepee neighbor, Carol, was known as "Slaps Ron With Skunk". The cruise directors of each of the three ships (the first of the now infamous Carnival Lines) each came bearing gifts for us - gold, frankincense, myrrh, and a huge treasure chest of doobies - all as Captain Stubing continued to prowl the decks looking for what has been rumored to have sounded something like "the WJM Newsroom"???.

By the time we finished enjoying our gifts, we split the remaining gold and went our separate ways. "Slaps" became a cowpoke, while I changed my name to "the Artist Formerly Known as Prances" and went on to open for such famous Vegas acts such as Milly Vinilli and Scooper, The Wonder Dog.

Fast forward to 2005, where I was reunited with Slaps (we had by then adapted our current names) at Fundays in good 'ol San Diego, U.S. of A. We became instant friends again until she "inadvertently" pushed me into the path of a boxed pair of Freddy Flyers that was hurling through the air at near supersonic speed. I then fell on her in slow motion. Neither of us have been the same again. But we did still have most of our shares of the gold, which we have been using to fund our incurable Funko habit ever since.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Now what was this topic about???????

Wow I wanted stories!! Boy was I in for a surprise, never knew we'd get the actual truth! Now the question of how Craig and Carol fund their massive Funko addiction has finally been answered, I had always wondered and now I know!!!

Craig as always your humor, well... Humors me!!

Now Craig I know you love protos the best, what is it about the unpainted that really gets you excited? Is there a specific piece that you were most excited to obtain? I know most protos are bought from Gemini these days, how did you go about getting most of your protos in the past?

[kevinbuddha]

Here is a Fun Fact : Wobblers came over on the Mayflower !!
( it's true .. just ask Craig or Carol .. they were there .. )

Carol and I were already there to greet the new settlers. I was known by the friendly settlers as "Prances with Protos", while my next-teepee neighbor, Carol, was known as "Slaps Ron With Skunk". The cruise directors of each of the three ships (the first of the now infamous Carnival Lines) each came bearing gifts for us - gold, frankincense, myrrh, and a huge treasure chest of doobies - all as Captain Stubing continued to prowl the decks looking for what has been rumored to have sounded something like "the WJM Newsroom"???.

By the time we finished enjoying our gifts, we split the remaining gold and went our separate ways. "Slaps" became a cowpoke, while I changed my name to "the Artist Formerly Known as Prances" and went on to open for such famous Vegas acts such as Milly Vinilli and Scooper, The Wonder Dog.

Fast forward to 2005, where I was reunited with Slaps (we had by then adapted our current names) at Fundays in good 'ol San Diego, U.S. of A. We became instant friends again until she "inadvertently" pushed me into the path of a boxed pair of Freddy Flyers that was hurling through the air at near supersonic speed. I then fell on her in slow motion. Neither of us have been the same again. But we did still have most of our shares of the gold, which we have been using to fund our incurable Funko habit ever since.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Now what was this topic about???????

You know Carol's time goes back even further............she planted the giant sequoias in California. There are cave drawing that shows Carol near the trees as saplings.

Craig is known as "The Methuselah" by his people. He is a god amongst his people who revere him as the "happy light-footed one with toys" (very light in his loafers)........... .

[Justicewarrior88]

Haha What about you Kevin?!? I know you are overflowing with a wealth of Wobbler knowledge and stories! Love to hear from ya about all things wobbley!!

[yoohooal]

The advertising wobblers were what started it for me - Col Sanders was my first. It was like the Wild West of collecting back then - scouring around for exclusives - going to concerts, sneaking in to conventions, etc. I can remember calling a PX at an army base to score the Coca-Cola Army wobblers.

[Reverend]

and a huge treasure chest of doobies

So where can we find this "Chest"

[Reverend]

It's all about Funko originals for me!

[icemanfan44]

always loved advertising characters , especially cereal. That is what got my interest and how I started collecting Funko.

[glowfunkofreak]

Who wants to tell the story of the Army Wobblers ?

[gruppetstudios]

I dont collect wobblers, but my favorites are the fosters home for imaginary friends and Felix the cat

[FunkoNewb]

The majority of my collection revolves around Marvel wobblers/chase pieces/protos. Iron Man my main focus... I have all of them (except the 1/12 Freddy Starks, one day...) from the reg prod piece, the chase, and the proto. I have a ton of other marvel production peices, chases, and protos. I think one of my favorite wobblers I own would be the 1/12 retro metallic Hulk. I'd love to finish my set of Freddy Hulks, I need the green GITD variant.

[essexwobblerking]

My first wobbler was Charlie the Tuna. I love all the old cereal characters. Really any of the food advertising characters are my favorites. I miss seeing new wobblers being released on a monthly bases. Us wobbler collectors get treated like a red headed step-child. We are the ones who made Funko what they are and we get NO LOVE.

[chester]

My first wobbler was Bone daddy purple. My sister bought him for me.I then purchased the Boy and girl PEZ! Since I collect PEZ also. I love all the PEZ Funko,but my favorite is PEZ Rudolph and Hermey. I wish I had more of them.

[kevinbuddha]

So, who's gonna tell the story about the "little black dress"? The Mayor and his many names? The party in Otto & Fran's room at Fundays 2003 in Las Vegas? Victoria Secret Girl?

Jim the Anvil? The first ever GITD 48 edition LTJ Spastiks (3 versions) that crashed a website due to orders?

[Reverend]

So, who's gonna tell the story about the "little black dress"? The Mayor and his many names? The party in Otto & Fran's room at Fundays 2003 in Las Vegas? Victoria Secret Girl?

Jim the Anvil? The first ever GITD 48 edition LTJ Spastiks (3 versions) that crashed a website due to orders?

Bring it on Kevin it sounds interesting

[glowfunkofreak]

The party in Otto & Fran's room at Fundays 2003 in Las Vegas? <--- Ohhh good times Brutha

Please tell me .. I can't remember much ..

[j-phung]

Oh lord, this is gonna get interesting.....

[jguerin117]

pops got me started with funko but to this day my favorite set of anything funko would be the HB set of wobblers. my huck wobblers, and huck and dino banks are still my most pried and cherished funko pieces

[Mad4toys1963]

I bought some wobblers before buying any pops...I think the first wobblers I bought were Dick Dastardly & Muttley to go with my Fantastik Plastik Wacky Races set. That started me on Funko. My very favorite wobblers are my Banana Splits Pop Art set. Between the awesome bright colors & the sentimental value they hold for me...I absolutely LOVE them!

[Alleycat]

Now Craig I know you love protos the best, what is it about the unpainted that really gets you excited? Is there a specific piece that you were most excited to obtain? I know most protos are bought from Gemini these days, how did you go about getting most of your protos in the past?

Justin, here's my post about color protos from another topic that briefly explains my obsession with protos:

I prefer color just because they're, we'll, colorful. They give the figures interesting character. They become a cross between a somewhat realistic looking production piece, to the simple uncluttered essence of the character when in all white. The color adds another dimension - emphasizing the parts that make the whole.

And they look so cool displayed together.

I collect the wobblers and some vinyl Funko protos - mostly in colors.

I now have over 600 pieces of protos plus their production / chase items.

I'm insane.

In addition, I collect protos because of their rarity - something that I believe is under appreciated by most collectors. It seems that limited editions of production pieces are more desirable and more costly than protos - which is fine with me!!!!

But it all began back in 2005 at Funday when I caught my first proto at the "proto toss". It was the head of an Einstein wobbler with gray fuzzy hair. It was an enchanting moment for me. This was the Funday when Mike Becker publicly handed over the ownership of Funko to a boyish faced young man by the name of Brian Mariotti.

Justin, the piece I had been most excited to obtain would have to be a tie - the never produced John Lennon that I got from Brian, and Gladys the Looney Lunch Lady. Both of these protos evoke memories and emotions that remind me of some of the good things in life.

Memories of the Beatles - who I first saw as a teen on TV on the Ed Sullivan Show (after which I combed my hair onto my face). Memories of hearing them on the radio throughout my high school and college days and every place I went during my 4 months of study abroad. Memories of how someone so kind could be so quickly be snuffed out by a single madman - yet another reminder of just how precious life is.

Imagine……...

Gladys was gifted to me by FunkoFanJim, - one of the sweetest and kindest people I've known and i still consider to be a dear friend. As Jim was developing Gladys, he kept a few of us informed of her progress on the old Toy_Talk board. His excitement about her was infectious. Shortly after she was released, Jim quietly handed one of her protos to Carol as we were waiting for the Con to open up for preview night - we were with a group of Funatics in a bar (Tiffany??) not far from the convention center in San Diego (2009????).

When I saw her, I almost dropped my coke. Jim was well aware of my addiction to protos, and caught the look on my face, then turned to me and said "I'll send you one when I get home". And he did. The Looney Lunch Lady lives on in several iterations, and can still be found "on the serving line doling out globs of 'food' and muttering 'shudda bought Meal Magic' ".

As for where I get most of my 600+ protos, as you've noted, many from Gemini, but more from eBay, other kind Funatics, and from the Big Kahuna himself, Brian. And currently, once a month from Brian as a member of the Proto of the Month Club. Others I have obtained by 9 years of going to the Con and Fundays.

[glowfunkofreak]

Great post Craig ..

The bar is the Tivoli .. we had a blast there last year.

[Scotty]

When I found Funko, I had no idea there was anything but Wobblers--even though I was pretty late to the game. Hanna Barbera was my first love. My reason for liking the Wobblers over the PoPs is because of the likeness; the Wobblers are liking having the actual characters hanging out in my den--I still look at them every day and smile.



How can you look at these guys and not smile

Of course, I've picked up a few things beyond the HB stuff, but still wish there'd be some new HB Wobblers. When I joined there was some talk about Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy--what a great 2-piece box set that would have made. Of course, my preference would be for a Snooper and Blabber box set; I'd also love to see a Deputy Droop-a-long so Ricochet would have some back up. A guy can dream, right?

[Reverend]

Love the story Craig thanks for sharing

[Justicewarrior88]

The majority of my collection revolves around Marvel wobblers/chase pieces/protos. Iron Man my main focus... I have all of them (except the 1/12 Freddy Starks, one day...) from the reg prod piece, the chase, and the proto. I have a ton of other marvel production peices, chases, and protos. I think one of my favorite wobblers I own would be the 1/12 retro metallic Hulk. I'd love to finish my set of Freddy Hulks, I need the green GITD variant.

Love your Ironman army!! They look fantastic together!!

[Justicewarrior88]

My first wobbler was Charlie the Tuna. I love all the old cereal characters. Really any of the food advertising characters are my favorites. I miss seeing new wobblers being released on a monthly bases. Us wobbler collectors get treated like a red headed step-child. We are the ones who made Funko what they are and we get NO LOVE.

Good to see some old time members stoping by to chat! I remember looking through some old topics and it was the same handful of people all talking back and forth, seemed more like a back and forth friendly conversation rather than a large group of people all comment a few one liners and what not.

Seems like a lot of us got addicted with the advertising wobblers! I know what you mean though I wish we could see some more old school wobblers rather than just seeing current and movie wobblers.

[Justicewarrior88]

My first wobbler was Bone daddy purple. My sister bought him for me.I then purchased the Boy and girl PEZ! Since I collect PEZ also. I love all the PEZ Funko,but my favorite is PEZ Rudolph and Hermey. I wish I had more of them.

Bone daddy!! Woo hoo!!

You had quite a big non Funko Pez collection too huh? The Rudolph and Hermey Pez are pretty rare right? 1:12 or something. Are you wishing you had multiple Rudolph's or wish that they would make more Christmas Pez to go with them?

[Justicewarrior88]

So, who's gonna tell the story about the "little black dress"? The Mayor and his many names? The party in Otto & Fran's room at Fundays 2003 in Las Vegas? Victoria Secret Girl?

Jim the Anvil? The first ever GITD 48 edition LTJ Spastiks (3 versions) that crashed a website due to orders?

Would love to hear more stories!! Storytime with Kevinasaurs, the Funko Dino!

[Justicewarrior88]

I bought some wobblers before buying any pops...I think the first wobblers I bought were Dick Dastardly & Muttley to go with my Fantastik Plastik Wacky Races set. That started me on Funko. My very favorite wobblers are my Banana Splits Pop Art set. Between the awesome bright colors & the sentimental value they hold for me...I absolutely LOVE them!

The pop art sets are pretty neat!! When I first started I got a killer deal on the Fred and Barney pop art sets! Also have been gifted a set of the pop art Bumbles which I LOVE!!

[Justicewarrior88]

Craig I love it!!! Thanks for sharing such awesome details with us! I think it's awesome how some small piece of plastic can bring such great memories! What might just be a regular piece to one person could be the most valuable piece to you if it holds memories! Plastic will not last forever but the memories will always stay with us! Thanks Craig!