I don’t toss around the word “grail” very often when it comes to action figure collecting. Sure, I am always on the lookout for must-have items for my collection, be they vintage, current, or future releases, but I find that a “grail” is something that is essential to my collection, but also with the connotation that it is something difficult to acquire. Thus getting a grail doesn’t happen very often. That being said, when a chance at something that I actually do consider grail-worthy comes along, it makes it all the more special, and that is most certainly the case when I had the chance to get a complete set of the vintage “Head-Popping” Madballs figures. Guys, these dudes are the absolute definition of “grail” when it comes to my toy collection.
Everyone knows the Madballs, right? The gross-out balls from the 1980s were built upon such a simple concept, but done so very well. They have certainly carried some pop-culture permanence over the years, and even if you did not grow up in the greatest toy decade ever, I am sure you are at least peripherally aware of them. The basic (and most popular) iteration of the Madballs have gotten a few rereleases here and there over the years; in fact, MONDO has just solicited their first series of new Madballs with updated sculpts and (seemingly) fantastic detail and quality.
You know what? That is awesome because I believe that keeping Madballs relevant is a great thing because, well, they are awesome. However, I have to take this chance to say that just the basic balls themselves are far from the best incarnation these characters have ever seen. That title falls squarely and deservedly on the Head-Popping figures – the only versions that actually gave us bodies and play action to these fantastic designs. Before these were released in 1986 by AmToy, I enjoyed having a few of the basic balls, like my favorites, Oculus Orbus, Dust Brain, and Skull Face, but I also spent a good deal of time wondering what the “rest” of them looked like (since the balls themselves were clearly just the “heads”), and lamenting that they could not play with the rest of my action figures very well.
So obviously, when I found these guys in some store way back when, I was thrilled, and I knew I had to have them all. I might have only come home with Dust Brain and Skull Face that day, but I knew getting the rest would be a priority. Eventually, all of the rest, Oculus, Wolf Breath, Sreamin’ Meemie, Bruise Brother, Lock Lips, and Slobulous would join the fray, and I was counted as a very happy, but very spoiled little kid. Sure, I never had the Mad Rollercylce with Horn Head, but that never really got me down because what I did have was so cool.
I will contend that, even with all of the AMAZING toy designs from the 1980s, the Madballs remain some of the very best. Those character designs, along with the fantastic detail, made for some really cool playthings, and I can objectively say that the added bodies brought on by the Head-Popping figures continued that theme perfectly, and made it even better. It was like finishing a painting, really, and every single character was enhanced by continuing their form beyond just their head. Some of the designs went the obvious route and showed you what you suspected was always supposed to be there, and some used quite a bit of creativity in finishing off the form.
Getting into the HP figures, the aforementioned Skull Face, Dust Brain, and Oculus Orbus were my favorite characters, and while they remained at the top of my list, many of the others gained a lot more favor with me, just by virtue of having some arms and legs. Lock Lips and Bruise Brother definitely became more intimidating, and Wolf Breath’s expansion into a full-blown wolf man allowed him to share in some classic iconography. The level of sculpted detail in all of these is pretty exceptional for the time of their creation, and these represent a very rare example (even by today’s standards) where every detail that was supposed to be painted, actually was. With the exception of a couple of the characters, all of these guys were missing rest of their form because it just did not seem appropriate that they were only heads, so I cannot stress enough how satisfying it is for me to have been able to witness their full realization.
That being said, a couple of the characters, Screamin’ Meemie, and Oculus Orbus were actually just fine in their simple ball form because, well, one was actually a ball, and the other a round eye. However, this is where the design work really takes off for the HP figures, because the creativity in finishing these guys is really excellent. Screamin’ Meemie goes from being a baseball, to a crazy baseball player in kind of a twisted play on Mr. Met sort of way. It is a simple concept, but a neat feature. Still, to this day, even though Meemie has the benefit of actually being a ball in concept, oddly enough, he stands out the most as not really fitting in with the rest of the group. That isn’t to say that I don’t like him, I am a huge baseball fan, so I am glad to have him, but with a wolf man, mummy, and Frankenstein guy, he kind of stands out.
I think Oculus Orbus is the real crowning achievement here though, at least in terms of design. He was already one of my favorites, but the concept for the rest of his body is so perfect in completing an “eyeball man.” Oculus’s eye head sits on top of body of twisted muscles and nerves that come together to form a torso, arms, and legs. While it is pretty monochromatic, the concept behind it, and the execution are so imaginative, I cannot help but love it. So, while Skull Face and Dust Brain probably rated higher for me in terms of characters, Oculus is definitely my runaway favorite figure.
Now, they did not call these guys “Head-Popping” Madballs for no reason, and if you remember, the figures actually had the ability to launch the rubber-coated heads off in any direction via a spring-loaded neck, and a trigger in the back. This was obviously the signature detail with these (the bodies were just a wonderfully necessary evil), and while it is definitely a very fun aspect, it was always the most frustrating, too. I went through SEVERAL Skull Face figures because the little clip in the neck that held the head in place was prone to breaking, and once that happened, the head would no longer stay on body. In a classic case of being a “weird” kid, when my first Skull Face figure broke back in the 80s, I actually had a “funeral” for him whereby the rest of the crew put him in a box and buried him in the yard. A crude send off for such a great design, but he is probably still buried there in the backyard of my mom’s old house. Anyway… as a collector now, the action feature does little or nothing for me, and the set that I acquired actually had the function disabled on all but one of them. I was not and am not bothered by that at all.
It was always my hope to scour eBay and trade threads to find these figures until I had them all, but price and rarity was always daunting, and I never pursued it that seriously because it seemed like a really difficult and expensive thing to do, especially in light of the fact that I collect a LOT of different toys. Never would I have imagined that the opportunity to get them all, and in pretty great condition, in one fell swoop had a chance of ever coming along, but then, it just kind of happened. I want to thank my friend for helping me with this because getting a REAL grail for a collection doesn’t occur every day, and I am so over the moon having these, I cannot even describe it.
Concepts like the Head-Popping Madballs are what made 80s toys so great, and I am afraid that we might be living in times now where we will not see that kind of originality in action figures ever again. So, if you are into these, I would suggest seeking at least a couple of them out, because they really are awesome. The designs are inspired, they are fun, and even customizable with head swaps. As I said, MONDO is working at getting the original Madballs back into the market, but I would squeal with delight if they pursued the Head Popping figure approach as well. It is a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World out there, and I am delighted to be living in it again, even after all these years.
