Recreating a Toyline: BUGMEN OF INSECTA

In 1983, DFC Multi-Toys Corp created a line of insect warriors called the "BUGMEN OF INSECTA."  These 6 figures & 2 vehicles proceeded Coleco's (more popular and remembered insect warriors,) the"Sectaurs," and were released at popular toy outlets like Toys R Us. As a child my Aunt Leta had a way of finding us a variety of toys that my brothers and I weren't currently collecting on our own to help spark and further our adventures with playtime, & imagination. Receiving 1 figure each from her that Christmas, the BUGMEN have always had a fond place in my heart as a durable, fun, and little known figure line from my childhood.  Although the figures had no media and just a brief blurb on the back of their cards, both the figures & packaging resonated with me as a 50's-70's kind of sci-fi throwback tale of giant monstrous bugs reclaiming the Earth.  My brothers & I  had the characters  KING STINGA, CARNIVORA, & WEBSPINNER IV (the other 3, LORD GRASSA, ELEPHAS, & the lone female BLACK WIDOW were equally cool) but as with most little known toy lines of the 80's, these figures moved out of the toy infested aisles as quickly as they arrived, and have been mostly forgotten except by the savviest of today's adult collectors.  Today these are near impossible to come by, as carded samples are so rare, and loose samples usually are very worn, but through the building power of the Glyos system I saw a way within THE GODBEAST'S exciting KABUTO MUSHI figure to rebuild these characters using 95% of what the Kabuto Mushi figure already came with as the aesthetic.  So in a an usual attempt to recapture a small sample of my childhood, I started looking at Glyos in a new way, to homage figures & characters of my past, something the current Kabuto Mushi line is doing right now with slick paint applications. I'm proud to say that in just about a little over a year of it's original release, through the help of Marty Hansen and his investor Kaleb's kindness and inventiveness, through Kabuto Mushi I have been able to complete this project and rebuild a 2015 updated version of the 80's infamous BUGMEN OF INSECTA!

*special thanks  to Onell Design & Spy Monkey Creations for also helping to complete my recreations/reimaginings.

RISE OF THE BEASTS & October Toys Contest Art Entry "Vespula!!"

  A hot indie property that I am very excited about is the all new "RISE OF THE BEASTS" line! A creative new breed of figures that homage the beloved 1980's toylines "Battle Beasts," "Masters Of The Universe," and "Thundercats" in one mighty mash-up of awesome! Creators Jon Karis and the good people at Plastic Imagination have helped form a new line filled with endless creative character and storyline possibilities!  I have been fortunate enough to have contact with Jon and want to share in his passion for this new and innovative line of figures. The high quality PVC production figures are a 60mm scale (similar to the modern "Guardians Of The Galaxy" and "Avengers: Age Of Ultron"  retail lines), and work with all Glyos compatible figures (created by Onell Design), as they also contain the Glyos peg & socket system. The figures have 4-5 points of swivel articulation at the pegs, & have hands that can hold most 3mm weapons.  This line is both affordable and fun and Jon and Co. have many incredible characters planned for the future!  There is also a cool retro style mail-away incentive batch of figures on the store site to entice you to army build with this terrific line!

A recent contest opportunity was held on "October Toys Forum" for "Rise Of The Beasts" where you could create what type of beast you would like to see next in the line.  Happy to join in the fun I went with a "Yellow Jacket” concept female that I called “Vespula” ...as I always wanted to make a Bee Girl warrior. lol  I imagined her as a hero but then thought she could also work as a villain within the soon to be vast ROTB universe.  My vision is that her 2 “knives” could double as wings with a port on one side of the knife and a Glyos peg on the opposite side of the knife to connect together & separate.  Then there could be another port on her back to plug 1 of the unconnected Glyos pegs from her knives/wings onto her back. 

If you are interested in RISE OF THE BEASTS be sure to pick up the 1st 2 figures offered in both Painted & Unpianted options of the Rhinoceros and Scorpion available now from "Little Rubber Guys.Store" and help support this great new line of figures! There are 4 more beastly characters already in the works to expand the line, a Lion, an Ape, a Horned Lizard, and an Ant!  Take the plunge and get your collecting started as I think you will love this new line as much as I do!

pic by J. Karis

Buy ROTB @ the OFFICIALSTORE: http://littlerubberguys.storenvy.com/collections/884539-rise-of-the-beasts

Learn about ROTB from the OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://riseofthebeasts.com/home.htm

Talk about ROTB @ the OFFICIAL FORUM: http://www.littlerubberguys.com/forums/index.php?showforum=121 

See the latest ROTB developments from the man himself on JON KARIS' LITTLE RUBBER GUYS INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/littlerubberguys/