Halloween Porcupine Characters: Wow, I Thought They Were Baby Koosh Balls!
Written: Mar 20 '08
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Pros: Cute figures, fun to play with, great toy for small animals.
Cons: The poor ghost gets incredibly dirty, seasonal item.
The Bottom Line: Skip the treat's when handing out Halloween goodies, toss some spooky stuff in their sack!
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| Freak369's Full Review: Halloween Porcupine Character Ball |
I don’t think I am alone in saying that Halloween candy is awesome but I always try to find cool things to have for kids who want something a little different. I was lucky enough to get a set of the Halloween Porcupine Character Balls a few years ago and always thought they were cute but a little on the strange side. Did they really need to add the soft but spiky centers to them? Were they supposed to be tossed around? The last surviving member of the Spook Team is the ghost, you can see a picture of him on my main page [scroll all the way to the bottom]. The witch and monster, presumably Frankenstein, were both lost when we moved cross country but I still have high hopes of them eventually surfacing in some mislabeled box that sits in the attic.
A Witch, Monster & Ghost Walk Into A Bar …
These are fun but small figures that are great to give out to trick-or-treaters who want something other than candy. I know, the idea of a kid picking something other than candy when they are going door to door is a little odd but having these in a small bowl or standing up on a treat tray might be just enough to entice them to skip the chocolate and go for something a little longer lasting. All three of them are the same height, a little over two inches tall. They have a solid rubber body so if you get hit with one, you are going to feel it. It remains a mystery if they are supposed to be an actual toy or just some type of a decoration. My faithful little ghost stands guard on the top of my computer with some other fiendish friends and thanks to his plump feet he rarely falls over.
As far as the monster and witch are concerned, they too have large feet so they never tipped over; if you are someone that has a lot of 'junk' on your CPU or monitor you know that one bad apple can spoil the lot. A nice trick to keep everyone upright is to use some poster putty on the bottoms to keep them from falling over and knocking everything else over. The witch has a smile on her face but most of it is blocked from view because of the soft spikes that jut out from her torso; the monster too is smiling and has the typical Frankenstein features you would expect. One thing that you won't know until you have owned them for a while is they are complete dirt magnets. You might not be able to tell from the photo of the ghost but it is pretty gross. The rubber bodies don't feel like they have any finish to them, any type of handling will get them dirty and as you might expect, the spikes are the hardest to clean.
Since the witch and monster are on the missing list I have only the ghost to work with; there are no markings on him anywhere, not even a "Made In China" but I do remember that all three of them came in one small package with a cardboard top to it. They were a gift from someone that knew I was in to all things Halloween and figured I would get a kick out of them. The ghost has seen some serious action; not only does he protect my computer he also pulls double duty as a toy for Loki and Bartleby , the smallest dogs in the house. Neither of them chew on the ghost but they do get a kick out of carrying it around or tossing it against the door. Maybe they are expecting it to bounce, it's hard to figure out what a doxie is thinking you know.
If you are interested in getting these to hand out as an alternative to Halloween candy you can find them at Century Novelty. I have no idea where my friend got them and when I emailed her about it she was clues but she did say that she got them at a local store. I did a ton of searches for these and had no clue that they were called Halloween Porcupine Character Balls; all this time I thought they were little mini Koosh balls since that is what the spikes on their tummy's look like. The spikes are not hard and they won’t hurt you [or kids] but as I said, these are made of solid rubber so if they get tossed around and someone puts some heat behind them, you are going to feel it.
The Bottom Line
As I said, it might be hard to think that there are kids that would rather get a toy or something non-candy based for Halloween but any time I have had stuff like this, there have been a ton of kids that have taken me up on the offer. I plan on ordering these again this year and having them for the trick-or-treaters but I won't give up my quest to find the originals. Sure I could have saved a witch and monster from the Halloween 2007 assortment but it wouldn't have been the same. They would have looked the same but every time I saw them I would have known that they weren't the same ones that came with the ghost. I don’t consider these to be a chocking hazard for younger kids but you will want to be careful that they don't start chewing on the spikes.
Whether you use them as trick-or-treat items or as small decorations, these three are cute, solid and have a true Halloween appeal to them!
As always, thanks for the visit…
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2008 Freak369
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Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): see review
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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