Munny Munny Munny Munny!

You may have seen this cute little guy before, but why does Sizzle care about him (though the figure is void of any genitalia or marking features, I consider it to be male)?

Well, my big brother long had a passion for Kidrobot (link below) and their store in San Francisco, CA. He is a huge fan of both their mass-produced and limited-run vinyl toys (that term makes it seem so childish, but that's definitely not my standpoint). He has an ever-expanding collection of pieces (that's a nicer term) from artists ranging from Frank Kozik to Huck Gee to MAD, and until recently, none of it really grabbed me. I always cared about it because my brother liked it, and I enjoyed the clean design and simplicity of some of their products (and I liked going to their stores), but I never really explored the culture too much.

Slowly, that passion flowed down the hall and infected my little brother who, though interested in the Smorkin' Labbit (from Frank Kozik) and Fatcaps (from MAD), quickly started exploring their do-it-yourself (DIY) line of toys grouped together in a little land called MunnyWorld. That's where I became interested. Those blanks were the center of any interest I had in their store, and I loved the idea of being able to customize it with anything from paints to markers to clay. Actually, after looking at some of them, you can pretty much customize them with anything up to and including the kitchen sink.

My little brother painted a couple of their regular sized Munny (about 7" tall and just about $25), and it looked like fun, but on the last day of September, my big brother and I made a stop in their store while in San Francisco. He got himself a sweet watch, and that was cool, but the memorable moment was him convincing me that I needed to get something so badly that he would buy it. I tried declining, but we settled on a glow-in-the-dark Mini Munny (about 4" tall and just about $10). I quickly doodled a little shirt on him, colored in the ears, threw a little color on the bat, and doodled a quick little "ANDY" on the base of one foot (a little homage to one of the most legit children's movies (though, I think it's even better for adults, and it's already up to a trilogy so that term is wrong) of all time (personal opinion but undeniable)). Little did I know, that was just the start of a serious (but very enjoyable) affliction.

So, I picked up a blank regular-sized Munny and a couple small ones, and slowly made them my own. Be advised, I am no artist, but I still have fun, and I'll throw a couple of my first endeavors out there...

This is the first glow-in-the-dark Mini Munny, and I named him "Munny on Deck".

Then, there is the regular-sized Munny. I first gave him somewhat of a space-themed stardust paint job, but I stripped it down and repainted him. This is what he looks like now, and I call him "Tricolori di Munny".

I also painted a little Mini Munny that I gave to my big brother, and I called him "CosMunny Jr. V1". This is what he looks like.

I also made a little Mini Bub look like Winnie the Pooh, and I named him "Bubbie da Pooh". This is what that little guy looks like.

Then, I made a Mini Munny look like a monkey in a t-shirt with about forty minutes of Sharpie action. His name is "Munky Bidness - Tourist", and this is what he looks like.

Then, I made him a little partner-in-crime (PIC, if you will) that is supposed to look like a monkey in a Captain America outfit. Now that I think about it, "partner-in-crime" is a bad term for something dressed as a superhero. Anyways, after about forty minutes of Sharpie time, I got this little guy, and his name is, of course, "Munky Bidness - Captain America".

Here are the Munky Bidness figures together.

I think that pretty much covers my little customized Munny figures, but I'm working on painting one with chalkboard paint so I can doodle on him all day (erase and repeat).

They are also produced in a Mega Munny size (about 18" tall and about $200). Some day, I will have one.

There is such a huge world out there with these things from custom-made items by artists and amateurs to huge guys like this one below (which has a chalkboard finish), but I think I will leave it at that for now (I might come back to it).

I thought it might not hurt to have a few pictures instead of a bunch of boring text posts all the time. So, here you go, and it's still relevant to me!

Prices (from Kidrobot):
Mini (4"): $9.95
Regular (7"): $24.95
Mega (18"): $200.00
Customs: Vary
Enormous Version: Very Rare, Seen on eBay for $9,000

Links:
Kidrobot: Store